Construction Management and Surveying Research Group

Research interests in the Construction Management and Surveying (CMS) Research Group cover four areas: the application of computer systems in construction; contemporary challenges of sustainability and regeneration; the integration of design and construction processes; and quantity surveying and construction law.

Sustainable construction will require ever more integration between design and production; concepts that recognise the inherent complexities of construction and management structures will be essential in the future. The issues of technology driven projects and the limitations of the current organisational approaches should be addressed. Thus, creating an organisational framework to deal with the full integration of the supply chains for component based construction and the recognition that the industry is virtually wholly oriented to off-site component manufacture are vital for addressing the contemporary challenges of the construction industry.

Quantity Surveying in the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying incorporates aspects of construction and property law as well as the application of management techniques aimed at improving the value of construction operation and efficiencies in costs. Members of our CMS research group are currently investigating restrictive covenants in property contracts and statutory adjudication and its impact on the UK construction industry.

With the nature of construction projects ever increasing in complexity and clients requiring very short delivery times, the use of computers to expedite construction processes both in the office and the jobsite cannot be over-emphasised. The construction industry is one of the most fragmented industries in the world as it consists of so many specialist parties ranging from structural engineers, services engineers, architects, quantity surveyors to steel fabricators, component manufacturers, masons and carpenters. Each of these team members have to contribute to the successful completion of a project.

The CMS group has a keen interest in the use of computer technology (software and hardware) to provide effective tools to help in the better integration of the contribution of the various parties involved. Some of specific interests include: Building Information Modelling, the development of computer applications to solve everyday construction and engineering problems; the use of mobile devices on construction sites; and the integration of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) on construction projects.