A Study into the Establishment of an Index System for Factors Affecting Project Delivery System

A Study into the Establishment of an Index System forFactors Affecting Project Delivery SystemHong Ke 1,a ，Xiuna Liu 1,b ，Fuyan Zhou 2,c1school of management, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China2 Shandong huayu Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd, Jinan 250013, Chinaa kehong816@,b liuxiu125@,c 359191213@Keywords: project delivery system; index system; frequency number statistic; correlation analysis methodAbstract: The right project delivery system is critical to the success of a project. A factors index system is important to choose a right project delivery system. Based on features and business properties of a project ，a factors index system is established including the project, the performance of project, project parties and external environment. After using the two methods of index selection—frequency number statistic and correlation analysis method, 19 factors in the said 4 levels are finally selected to form the factors index system, which can be a reference for selecting the project delivery system.IntroductionProject Delivery System, is mostly known as PDS internationally. In China, it is called project management or engineering contracting mode. Chen Yongqiang et.al [1] called it PDS (hereinafter referred to as “PDS” in this article). It is a systematic method organized and implemented by all parties involved in the project to complete the scheduled project, to achieve the owners’ goals and objectives. PDS has advantages and disadvantages, identifying and comparing factors that affect PDS option is more appropriate choices.Therefore, to save cost and improve project performance, how to choose correct and suitable PDS has become a hot topic among current scholars. And from the cases of PDS, we can see that whether the selection of PDS is suitable or not is one of the key factors determine the success of a project[2].Therefore, how to set up a set index system applicable for PDS, in line with the features of project and environmental construction, etc. is a pressing problem to be solved.Literature reviewGiven that PDS has important influence on project performance, many scholars at home and abroad use multiple case study and literature review respectively, to analyze factors affecting the selection of PDS. See Table 1.Applied Mechanics and Materials Vols. 584-586 (2014) pp 2153-2158Online available since 2014/Jul/04 at © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerlanddoi:10.4028//AMM.584-586.2153Table 1 Relevant Literature Author method Affecting factors Mafakheri et. al[3] Case study Market competition, operating properties of the project, scope change, risk management, external licensing and so on Al Khalil et. al[4] Case study Owners’ capacity, construction conditions , construction speed, delivery speed, Industry alliance , value engineering, project duration, project complexity, owners’ participation and so on Chen Yongqiang et. al[5] Literature review Complexity, owners’ participation, owners’ experience, third party license for owners, market competition and so on Wang Zhuofu et. al[6] Conclusion Soundness of financial management , the owners’ management ability, the owners’ requirements for quality and so onFrom the above table, there are two major defects in current research: one is the different research methods and research perspectives. The other is that the concluded index frompresent study is too general. A complete set of index system hasn’t been formed.The establishment ideas of a PDS selection index system Definitionsfor the range ofPDS selection. In recentyears, withrespect to the studies into the selection of PDS types, scholars have done a lot of beneficial studies. For example, the PDS explored by Chen Yongqiang et. al[5] included CM; DBB; DB; EPC; DBM; DBO and DBOM, etc. The expanded form of PDS also included PPP, BOT, etc. The PDS Oyetunji et. al[2] studiedincluded DBB; DBEPC; EP + C;EPCM; CM);PMC; Turnkey and BOT. In order to build an index system to cover all the PDSs, the article defines the scope of PDS into 10 types, including DBB, DB, CM, EPC, DBO, DBOM, PPP, BOT, PMC and Turnkey. This paper will select index from these 10 types.The framework of index system. In order to build a PDS index system comprehensively, systematically and scientifically, the index system defined in this article includes the project, the performance of project , project parties and external environment. The frame diagram is shown in Figure 1.Figure 1 The Framework of Index System(1) The composition of index at project level. The indices at this level mainly include project size, project types, project function and operating properties of the project and so on.(2) The composition of index at the performance level of project. The indices at this level mainly include the construction period, quality, cost, safety, business contract, etc. Since security and business contract, etc. are inconvenience to calculate quantitatively. So this paper mainly takes the construction period, cost and quality as indicators at performance level.(3) The composition of index at the project parties level. Since there is a contract relationship between owner and contractor, this article associates them as a factor affecting the selection of PDS. The indices at this level include the burden on owner management, trust and so on.(4) The composition of index at external environment level. The greater uncertainty the external environment has the greater transaction costs there will be. Therefore, when selecting PDS, the influence of external environment has become one of the factors to be considered. The indices at this level include culture, laws and regulations , external license ,construction conditions and so on. The establishment of a PDS selection index systemMethodology for the establishment of index system .In order to make established index system simple and clear, the index system is divided into 3 levels in terms of affiliation. From high to low, there are comprehensive index, composite index and single index. Comprehensive index reflects the type of PDS selection. Composite index reflects the four levels of indices affecting PDS selection sorted out above. Single index reflects the specific index affecting PDS selection at various levels. Based on the definition of PDS selection type and construction of index system, adhering to the “comprehensive, typical, scientific and operational” principle, with the four levels of affecting factors contained in the established index system as direction, single index is selected. Single index includes the common indices chosen from PDS selection types defined by literature, performance index, indices used by some scholars and experts to select PDS[1], then frequency statistical method is adopted to have primary selection for PDS selection index, to choose the index with higher frequency as the prepared index. Then use “correlation” to screen out the PDS indices with consensus and higher praise.The primary selection of single index. Through existing literature and PDS selection practice, original indices are obtained and similar or related indices are classified. Through “frequency” statistics, indices from three sources are calculated and primary indices are obtained, as shown in Table 2.Table 2 Index Set after Primary Selection composite indexsingle indexThe project (15 indices) Operating properties of the project, project scope, project complexity, contract price, financial guarantee, certainty for completion time, project overview, project scale, type , function, project amount, project location, alteration permission, project dispute, depth of project design The performance of project (24 indices) Cost cost rate, within budget, soundness of financial management ,financial management compliance ,cost growth and strength, funds rate, project certainty, cost certainty, for various stages Duration scheduled completion within the time limit for project, completed onschedule, construction speed, project duration, time limits, schedule delays, delivery speed ,delay rate of construction period, Feasibility of performance goals Quality turnover quality, management quality, material quality and quality level of project ,quality of equipment, quality of design, process quality Project parties (15 indices)Contrac- tor contractors take responsibility alone, similar project experience of contractors, design control, risk distribution and the ability of contractorOwner owners’ prefer, owners’ capacity, available owners’ personnel, risk undertaking of owners, involvement and confidence level of owners after awarding the contract, involvement and satisfaction of owners, the burden on owner management, trustExternal environment (7 indices)Culture ,Laws and regulations ,Market competition ,Industry alliance ,External license ,Construction conditions , Market development Index source: Oyetunji et. al [2], Mafakheri et. al [3],Al Khalil et. al [4],Luu et al[7],Ng et. al[8] Correlation approach to select indices. To make every index more typical, after primary selection, the indices are screened out with the correlation approach. Before this, questionnaire is used to mark every index. The specific steps are as follows:(1) Questionnaire design. 5 point Likert Scale is used to design questionnaire. “5” means great influence. “4” means ordinary influence. “3” means small influence. “2” means minimum influence. “1” means no influence.(2) The selection of experts. To carry out effective studies into PDS selection and ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of data, questionnaires are delivered to three types of experts: the first is theorists in the studies of PDS selection. According to the number of published papers, 15 experts are selected. 10 questionnaires were returned. The return rate was 66.7%. The second is staff in project management consulting company. 30 questionnaires were delivered and 12 were returned. The return rate was 40%. The third is cost engineers working for more than 6 years. 25 questionnaires were sent. 12 were returned. The return rate was 48%. 70 questionnaires were delivered altogether. 34 questionnaires were returned, among which 34 were effective. The return rate was 48.6%. The validity rate was 100%. Carry out statistics over returned questionnaires and calculate the means of each index. The result is shown in Table 3.Table 3 Indices after Primary Selection: the Means of Expert Scoring Level indices Primary indicesScore Primary indicesScore Primary indices Score The project (15 indices) project scale,4.06 project function, 4.21 project type, 4.98 contract price,4.85 financial guarantee, 4.07 project scope, 4.86 Operating properties of the project 4.19 depth of project design, 4.96 certainty of completion time, 3.82 project overview, 4.92 project amount, 4.65 project dispute, 3.94 alteration permission 3.65 project location 4.32 Project complexity 4.93 The performance of project (24 indices) Soundness financial management , 3.26 completion within the time limit for project, 4.90 cost growth and strength, 3.69 quality level of project, 4.93 completed on schedule, 3.25 within budget, 4.02 management quality, 4.02 cost rate, 4.95 delivery speed, 4.92 Funds rate, 3.96 schedule delays, 4.21 turnover quality, 3.21 Financial management compliance 3.98 equipment quality, 4.32 time limits for various stages, 4.01 project duration, 4.12 cost certainty, 4.91 project certainty, 4.91 delay rate of construction, 4.98 construction speed, 3.25 feasibility of performance goals 3.78 process quality 4.31 material quality 4.16 design quality 4.26 Project parties (15 indices) contractors take responsibility alone, 4.02 satisfaction of owners, 4.25 burden on owner management, 3.26 risk undertaking of owners, 4.76 the ability of contractor ， 4.91 confidence level, 4.25 owners’ capacity, 4.92 involvement of 4.85 the requirements of 4.72owners, owners,involvement of owners after awarding the contract, 4.25 similar project experience of contractors, 4.98 design control, 3.79 owners’ prefer 4.92 risk distribution 4.13 trust3.85Externalenvironment(6 indices) culture , 4.91 market competition, 4.53 external license ,4.49 laws and regulations 4.87 industry alliance 4.92 construction conditions 4.82 Market development4.45 (3) The correlation analysis. To understand the correlation between indices and reduce the overlaps between indices and the subjectivity of expert scoring, according to the results of scoring, SPSS13.5 software is used to calculate the correlation coefficient matrix.The results show that the correlation coefficient between some indicators is up to 0.9 or more, Thus, according to the principle of correlation index select, replace indices with higher correlation with indices that are easy to measure. Therefore, the influence of laws and regulations, market competition, conditions of construction sites and external licensing are selected as the single indices in external environment.The establishment of index system. From primary selection to screening and finally, the determination of single index sets, according to the classification of indices, the established index system of PDS selection is shown in Figure 2.References[1] Chen, Y.Q, Zhang, N. and Yang, Q.B: Journal of Engineering Management, 2010, 24(5), p. 473-474.In Chinese.[2] Oyetunji A A,Stuart d. Anderson: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 2006(4), p.3-12.[3] Mafakheri F,Dai L,Slezak D,Nasiri F: Journal of Management in Engineering 2007 ,23(4),p.200-206.[4] Al Khalil M I: International Journal of Project Management 2002, 20(6), p.469-474.[5] Chen, Y.Q. Jiao, J.S and Zhang, Y.B: International Economic Cooperation 2010(2), p.51-55.In Chinese.[6] Yang, G.S, Wang, M. and Wang, Z.F: Construction Economy 2007(7), p.109-110.In Chinese.[7] Luu D T,Ng S T,Chen S E: Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering Vol.19 (2005), p.269-276.[8] Ng S T,Luu D T,Chen S E: Construction Management and Economics 2002(20),p.285-296.Architecture, Building Materials and Engineering Management IV10.4028//AMM.584-586A Study into the Establishment of an Index System for Factors Affecting Project Delivery System10.4028//AMM.584-586.2153DOI References[7] Luu D T, Ng S T, Chen S E: Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering Vol. 19 (2005), pp.269-276. /10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3801(2005)19:3(269)。