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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed case study on the methods and organisational structure used for controlling the time schedule for a large and complex project. The paper discusses the use of “project controlling”, a term used to describe project control by a third-party organisation. Design/methodology/approach The researchers used action research to collect data for the case study. A member of the research team was a “participant-observer” on the project on a day-to-day basis for a period of 18 months collecting and analysing data which were subsequently analysed by a mixed methods approach. Findings The use of a “Project Controlling Unit” operated by an independent adviser organisation has significant advantages over traditional methods. It can provide timely, consolidated, independent guidance to the client and assistance to other participating organisations. Research limitations/implications The research has confirmed the effectiveness of the method on the project under study. Practical implications The findings provide guidance for enhanced project control on large complex infrastructural projects that will be of interest to other researchers, other clients and other construction organisations both within China and internationally. Social implications Organisations that seek to develop Project Controlling Units to implement the methods described in this paper will need to review their recruitment and training strategies to ensure that appropriate and experienced staffs are engaged. Originality/value The paper extends the knowledge relating to “project controlling” method. The findings provide additional insights to progress reporting and the management of construction production on HOPSCA and other large infrastructural projects.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate in-depth the current approach of managing client requirements in construction and to highlight the significant factors, which contribute to the complexity of managing the requirements in order to define a better approach. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a leading international global built asset and engineering consultancy organization was conducted over two years. The case study was conducted principally using semi-participant observations supplemented with other qualitative data collection methods (i.e. interviews, questionnaires and document analysis). Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings – The results highlight major factors associated with the complexity of managing client requirements information, which include: mechanisms for documentation, storage and access, distribution of requirements information between stakeholders and across lifecycle phases of a project, traceability management and the provision of effective change management incorporating dependency checking and impact analysis. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the research is the use of an in-depth study of a single organization, which applied the same project management method across all the projects they managed. Further work is planned to develop the proposed framework fully, and develop a software platform to operationalize and evaluate its industrial applicability with construction projects. Practical implications – The implications of this research is that a better approach to managing requirements information is needed, which will facilitate the design, construction and operations of buildings within budget and time. An integrated framework and an associated tool are suggested to implement the approach. Originality/value – This study identifies major research gaps and problems in the architecture, engineering, construction and facilities management industry; proposes and presents Electronic Requirements Information Management framework to facilitate lifecycle management of the requirements.

PurposeVirtual prototyping technologies linked to building information models are commonplace within the aeronautical and automotive industries. Their use within the construction industry is now emerging. The purpose of this paper is to show how these technologies have been adopted on the pre‐tender planning for a typical construction project.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology taken was an “action research” approach where the researchers and developers were actively involved in the production of the virtual prototypes on behalf of the contractor thereby gaining consistent access to the decisions of the planning staff. The experiences from the case study were considered together with similar research on other construction projects.FindingsThe findings from the case studies identify the role of virtual prototyping in components modelling, site modelling, construction equipment modelling, temporary works modelling, construction method visualization and method verification processes.Originality/valueThe paper presents a state‐of‐the‐art review and discusses the implications for the tendering process as these technologies are adopted. The adoption of the technologies will lead to new protocols and changes in the procurement of buildings and infrastructure.

The single project paradigm which dominates the literature of both project and construction management research does not accurately reflect the reality of many construction clients, who have large ongoing construction portfolios rather than one‐off construction projects. Although several concepts of multi‐project environments (MPEs) exist, an investigation of the form and dynamic interactions of components within MPEs of construction clients was lacking. This paper presents the factors identified as exerting greatest influence on project delivery within construction clients' MPEs.

The construction industry is acutely aware of the need to improve the integration, planning and control of its design and production processes. A number of projects undertaken within Loughborough, Salford and Cambridge Universities, in collaboration with a number of construction industry organizations, are addressing this issue by investigating, and developing tools to assist, the design and construction process. Emerging from these projects is the common need for IT systems and support that will facilitate the capture, storage and retrieval of project knowledge. It is only by relating these compatible IT applications to a common and recognizable project process framework that construction industry organizations will be able to make optimum use of the available technological developments. This paper describes the development of techniques and strategies to support the integrated planning and control of design through the collaboration of the main designers, suppliers and contractor working on complex building projects, and discusses the relevance of clustering these in relation to the phases and activities of a generic model of design and construction.