Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemAfter the Ribbon Cutting: Governing PPPs in the Medium to Long Term(WILEY, 2017-09)Abstract Much attention has gone towards ‘up‐front’ processes when delivering infrastructure public–private partnerships (PPPs), but less on how to best govern after the ribbon is cut and the infrastructure built. This paper identifies the primary contractual and institutional governance challenges arising in the medium to long term of PPP concession contracts and explores these governance challenges through interviews with high‐level PPP industry insiders. The paper presents new findings on the importance of good public administration for successful PPP operation, and on the interesting evolution of medium‐ to long‐term governance arrangements. It finds that although industry interviewees agreed PPP governance had improved significantly, they had differing views on how capable Australian states were in governing PPP and how well this task was being undertaken. They were also split on the adequacy of transparency; half feeling satisfied with the current contractual arrangements, and the other half favouring greater transparency, because commercial confidentiality had alienated the public.
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ItemImproving design performance by alliance between contractors and designers in international hydropower EPC projects from the perspective of Chinese construction companies(MDPI AG, 2018-04-13)© 2018 by the authors. Extant literature lacks a systematic framework addressing the mechanisms of the alliance functional process and its impacts on management activities together with performance in delivering Engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) projects. This study quantitatively investigates the cause-effect relationships among these themes by building and validating a conceptual model of contractor-designer alliance in international hydropower EPC projects. With the support of data collected from an industry survey, the results reveal the key design problems, application of contractor-designer alliance, design management level and performance, which form a sound basis for design management emphasis in EPC activities, e.g., sufficiently considering sustainability of hydropower projects by incorporating environmental, social, and economic factors into designs. The path analysis indicates that the contractor-designer alliance can not only improve design performance by enhancing design management, but also directly promote design performance. This research has significant contributions to the body of knowledge by building interdisciplinary linkages between the areas of alliance, design management, and performance, theoretically demonstrating the mechanism of how interfirm cooperation functions to achieve superior design outcomes of hydropower EPC projects. Understanding these causal relationships will be crucial for contractors and designers to optimally allocate their complementary resources for seeking better design solutions in dealing with both technical issues and sustainability factors.
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ItemPolicy Options to Regulate PV in Low Voltage Grids-Australian Case with International Implications(Springer Nature, 2019-12)This article shows a socio-technical evaluation of the Australian case which has international implications for energy policy and regulation. Australia is one of few places globally that have faced domestic PV (photovoltaic system) adoption of above 50% of feeder connections. This leads to grid issues and is an emerging issue globally. Grid issues include over-voltage, thermal overload, frequency instability and voltage instability. This paper offers a policy process to regulate PV. This research extends earlier econometric modelling of Australian PVadoption data and extends it to focus on PVregulation in low voltage grids. This paper explores five policy options to help regulate PVin low voltage grids: the role of distribution businesses, inverter regulation, PVexport limits, cost reflective pricing, and storage. Policy complexity comes from the need to incorporate many stakeholder perspectives, and this research contributes to policy clarity by seeking a consensus.
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ItemImpact of Earthquakes on the Transportation Infrastructure of Indonesia: A Preliminary Study(The Institute of Research & Community Outreach, Petra Christian University, 2019-03)Indonesia is a high seismic region and one of the most vulnerable countries prone to experiencing damaging earthquakes. It is critical that lifeline infrastructure remain operational or is quickly remediated after an earthquake to minimise physical, social, and economical losses. Not much work has been carried out in understanding the effect of earthquakes on transportation infrastructure systems. This study aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of earthquakes on the transportation infrastructure in Indonesia. This is achieved by firstly reviewing the frameworks and tools for conducting seismic risk assessment of lifeline infrastructure. The critical components of the transportation system are then identified. Various forms of transportation infrastructure damage caused by earthquakes are discussed. An overview of the damaging earthquakes for the past 20 years is presented. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are provided about the future work required for conducting risk assessment of the transportation infrastructure in Indonesia.
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ItemEngaging employees with good sustainability: Key performance indicators for dry ports(MDPI AG, 2019-05-24)Dry ports have the potential to enhance the sustainability of transport systems, yet their introduction requires major changes to the current logistics chain. Further, emphasising sustainability goals and continued employee engagement can be a challenge when developing or implementing organisational change management programs in dry ports. Key considerations include governmental requirements and compliance, investor expectations, as well as employee engagement; these factors may be conflicting. The top-down management approach supported by strong leadership, participative approaches and constant communication assists in achieving successful change management. Sound selection of key performance indicators (KPIs) provides a set of metrics to track and aid the change process. They serve as a unifying link between top managements’ sustainability goals and employees’ engagement. The initial findings of our research confirm that both port and terminal operators have a gap in their understanding of the importance of sustainability goals and environmental goals. This will have a flow-on effect of port and terminal operators not driving the right messages to their staff in their organisational change management programs. Based on a critical literature review, it has been established what might qualify as good sustainability KPIs for dry ports. An example of a dry port at the Port of Somerton has been included. As every dry port has different requirements and constraints, it is important to develop KPIs together with stakeholders.
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ItemQualitative Analysis of the Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Chinese International Construction Projects(MDPI AG, 2018-11-22)Chinese contractors undertaking international projects are frequently criticized for their poor Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) performance. It is noticed that people with different occupations may perceive OHS differently. From a qualitative perspective, this study investigates the perceived OHS performances of design managers and construction managers engaged in Chinese overseas construction projects, considering a range of subgroups classified by people’s overseas experience, project size, project industry, project location, and firm size. The analysis was based on an e-questionnaire survey that sampled responses from 52 design managers and 160 construction managers involved in 110 international projects, and face-to-face interviews with 26 managers. The findings indicate that the assessment variation of OHS performance between design managers and construction managers is not only related to their different mental ways, but also can be mediated by their in-progress communication and affected by project and organizational conditions. The varying OHS performance in projects with different sizes or from different regions also suggests that Chinese contractors should be more proactive in OHS management instead of passively responding to external requirements.
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ItemThe impact of technical standards on international project performance: Chinese contractors' experience(ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2017-11)
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ItemThe Risk of Power Imbalance in Project Delivery: A Study of Large Victorian Public Infrastructure Projects(Atlantis Press, 2017)In large public infrastructure projects, political risks due to the power imbalance between central and delivery agencies are often overlooked or underestimated. The primary motive of the delivery agency in distorting information for political gains should be deemed a risk that creates uncertainty for large projects planning the outcome. In this study, seven large infrastructure projects in the state of Victoria, Australia are examined through a workshop involving key stakeholders who had played active roles in these projects. The findings revealed that power asymmetry between central and delivery agencies exist and would lead to optimism bias, which in turn creates uncertainty and risk of overpromising in the business case. Power asymmetry exist in large infrastructure projects because the central agencies usually only have the responsibility but not the skill set needed to measure the robustness of the business case. These types of political risks are difficult to quantify and even detect. This paper recommends a few managerial strategies that have referential values and/or can be used to mitigate and circumvent this risk.
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ItemCAUSES OF CONTRACTORS' CLAIMS IN INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING-PROCUREMENT-CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS(VILNIUS GEDIMINAS TECH UNIV, 2017)Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) method has increasingly been applied in international markets. In this research, the causes of contractors’ claims in international EPC projects are modeled and empirically tested with industry survey, structural equation modeling and case studies from the perspective of Chinese contractors. The established model outlines the causes of contractors’ claims as: external risk (sociopolitical risks, economic risks, and natural hazards), clients’ organizational behavior (untimely payment, change orders, and inefficient processing), and project definition in contract (unclear scope of works, and unclear technical specification). The structural equation modelling validates that these causes have direct influences on claim respectively. Besides, clients’ organizational behavior acts as a partial mediation between external risk and claim, demonstrating that external risk can also exert influence on claim through affecting clients’ organizational behavior. Seven case studies further confirmed and interpreted the substantive meaning of these relationships. This study establishes interdisciplinary linkages among knowledge areas of contracting, risk management, organizational behavior, and international EPC project delivery, which has important primary contributions in both theory and practice. Understanding how the fundamental factors interactively lead to claims can help contracting parties to develop effective claim strategies, proactively mitigate project risks, and ultimately improve EPC project performance.
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ItemEnhancing Trust-Based Interface Management in International Engineering-Procurement-Construction Projects(ASCE-AMER SOC CIVIL ENGINEERS, 2017-09)