London Real Estate Dissertation

Investigation into the Impact of Government Regulation on the London Real Estate Market

Dissertation Title: Impact of Government Regulation on the London Real Estate Market. Persistent challenges in the UK’s and particularly London’s real estate market are commonly attributed to the inelastic supply of housing or shortage of housing. The resulting escalating nature of the property prices in London have however attracted a considerable amount of attention from policy makers. The presented research study builds on the existing body of research and critically examines seven specific policy measures designed to address the problems in the London’s real estate market. The examination relying on the descriptive as well as inferential (Pearson’s correlation test, multi-linear regression analysis) methods revealed that stamp duty rate and Get Britain Building represent particularly effective strategies, a combination of which can be used in the future to further stimulate the development of the London’s real estate market.

London Real Estate
London Real Estate

The main aim of the presented report is to critically examine the extent to which government actions affect the real estate market in London. For the purposes of this study, the main research aim can be broken down into the following set of interlinked research objectives:

  • To review regulatory measures and government initiatives in the period from 2000 to 2015 that influenced the real estate market in London
  • To examine the practical effects of specific government actions on the real estate market in London in terms of housing prices, housing supply, housing demand, availability of social housing and rent values
  • To evaluate the gap between intended and actual affects of particular government actions on the real estate market in London

London Real Estate Dissertation Contents

1. Introduction
Aim and Objectives
Rationale
Structure

2. Literature Review
Regulatory Measures and Housing Market
Trend Towards Homeownership
Affordable Housing
Characteristics of London Real Estate Market

3. Methodology
Research Strategy
Research Method
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Limitations

4. Results and Findings
Overview of Real Estate Market in London
Pearson’s Correlation Test
Multilinear Regression Analysis
Overview of Key Policy Measures
Stamp Duty Rate
Help to Buy
Localism Act
Get Britain Building
Social Housing Policies
Analysis of Impacts of Policy Measures on Real Estate Market in London
Stamp Duty Rate
Help to Buy
Localism Act
Get Britain Building
Social Housing Policies

5. Discussion

6. Conclusion
Practical Implications
Limitations
Further Research

References

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UK Construction Skills Shortage

Alleviating Skills Shortage Concerns within the UK Construction Industry

Since overcoming the recession period in the mid 2000’s the construction industry has had significant levels of growth and is an in demand sector within the UK’s economy. In order for the demand to be met by the Industry it requires a significant amount of skilled workforce to cope with the current great strides in growth. This is however creating a big concern within the industry as it is believed that the supply of skilled workforce will be unable to meet the demands which are set out and the construction industry is facing a barrier to progress further. The purpose of this study is to find possible solutions on how the ever growing skills shortage can be implemented and improved by identifying what the cause is behind the skills shortage is and what initiations are in place to overcome these at present. This research provides an overview of the skills within the UK construction industry and where the possible problems lie in terms of the ever growing skills shortage.

UK Construction Skills Shortage
UK Construction Skills Shortage

The author carried out research with the aid of literature which has been reviewed and carried this research further by conducting an interview to gain a view of professionals within the industry on the current situation and possible solutions. The main findings from the research were that the respondents believed a skills shortage existed within the industry and if the current situation were to continue then a barrier for the industry to grow would be faced in the near the future. The reasons which were gained from the research was mainly that the industry was not attractive enough to potential new recruits and the lack of opportunities to be a part of the sector are limited. The main conclusion from this study is that in order to overcome the current skills shortage problem within the UK, the industry needs to invest from within in order to enhance the attractions which could possibly attract new recruits within the industry.

Dissertation Objectives

  • Review where, why and how this problem has occurred
  • Examine the demand for the need of skilled workforce with in the industry
  • Identify methods in which the skilled workforce can be increased
  • Provide recommendations on how this problem can be resolved

1 – Introduction
Rationale
Aim
Objectives
Structure

2 – Shortage of Skills
Background
Construction Industry Overview
CIOB Surveys in Skills Shortage
Changes in Policies
Construction Industry Training Board

3 – Research Methods
Research Approaches
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research
Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Literature Review
Questionnaire

4 – Data Analysis and Discussion
Sample Size and Response Rate
Structure of Questionnaire
Review and Discussion of Questionnaire
Introductory
Skills Shortage
Apprenticeships and Training
Discussion and Evaluation of Research
Summary

5 – Conclusions and Recommendations
Research Aim
Satisfying the Objectives
Research Limitations
Recommendations

Bibliography

Appendix
Questionnaire

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I do hope you enjoyed reading this post on Alleviating Skills Shortage Concerns within the UK Construction Industry. There are many other titles available in the construction dissertation collection that should be of interest to construction management students and building professionals. There are many dissertation titles that relate to other aspects of construction such as project management techniques, environmental management, building and construction methods to name a few. It took a lot of time to write this post and I would be grateful if you could share this post via Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you.

Dissertation Managing Project Complexity

The Importance of Experience in Project Managers when Managing Project Complexity – A Study into the UAE

Traditionally, the success of a project lays on the shoulders of project managers and its achievement is constantly measured by the properties of cost, time and quality, which appear to be a simple way of measuring within the construction industry. Interest for project management is becoming fundamental. Yet, projects keep on failing at an astounding rate. This research has investigated the education level of project managers in managing project complexity, by understanding the current educational level of project managers and also to understand whether advanced education is required before achieving the designation of project manager.

Managing Project Complexity
Managing Project Complexity

This dissertation also investigates the leadership qualities and skills required for project manager to handle complex project. This research was done in 2 steps; first step of the research is to review the literature. The literature review consists of project success, complexity, background experience, skills, leadership qualities and education. Second step is to conduct an online survey by preparing 20 questions and is sent to 50 selected project managers and directors of different companies and sectors. Out of 50, 31 responded to the survey.

After analyzing the results from survey, it was found that most of the project managers have not achieved any advanced education before achieving the designation and their current education emphasized more on engineering – technical aspects and less on management aspects. The project managers who had advanced education were given more importance to hard skills (which are scope, time, quality and cost) and soft skills (which are communication, social, conflict management, etc.).

In this dissertation, many project managers had different view on project complexity. However, most of them stated that the factors relating to complexity are due to financial problems, uncertain designs and no proper construction details. Finally, the dissertation has been concluded by saying that advanced education is required for project manager to manage uncertainty and complexity. However having experience is one of the most important factors in addition with education for project success.

Dissertation Objectives

  • To investigate the educational level in project managers and to understand their abilities in adapting with change in project complexity
  • To understand the skills and experience needed to become a project manager and for project success
  • To measure project success in complexity
  • To understand the leadership qualities required for project success

1 – Introduction
Background
Rationale
Aim
Objectives
Research Methodology

2 – Project Success

3 – Complexity
Introduction
Complexity in Construction
Measuring complexity in construction

4 – Project Manager’s Experience and Skills Required for Project Success
Project Manager’s Experience
Project management skills
Required skills for managing complexity

5 – Leadership in Project Managers for Project Success
Leadership in Construction Industry
Different Leadership challenges faced in Complexity
Leadership Styles and Competencies in Construction
Political skills, Leadership and Project success
Modern Leadership in Construction Industry

6 – Education for Project Managers
Challenges faced in project management training and education
Evolution of project management and project managers
Approaches in educating project managers
Advanced training in educating project manager

7 – Research Methodology and Design
Research Methodology
Survey Questionnaire

8 – Data Results and Analysis
Data Results
Data Analysis

9 – Conclusion and Recommendations
Summary
Recommendations

References

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I do hope you enjoyed reading this post on Importance of Experience in Project Managers when Managing Project Complexity. There are many other titles available in the construction dissertation collection that should be of interest to construction management students and building professionals. There are many dissertation titles that relate to other aspects of construction such as project management techniques, environmental management, building and construction methods to name a few. It took a lot of time to write this post and I would be grateful if you could share this post via Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you.

Health and Safety in Construction

Health and Safety in Construction

Title: Health Safety Construction – This report is as an advisory document to surveyors. It provides a critical appraisal of legal, economical and ethical issues relating to health and safety, considering the role of organisations and individual employees in complying with current legislation, and specifying limitations imposed on the conduct of the property professional.

Introduction

Health and safety is an area of concern which every surveyor and property professional must address. The costs of failing to do so may be felt by the professional in question, or may be borne by the property organisation or their clients. Understanding of health and safety issues necessitates knowledge related to three specific areas of concern – strict parameters regarding legislation, and economic concerns, and the more general but nonetheless important area of ethical conduct. Legal concerns comprise statutory regulations regarding site visitation, health and safety inspection, on site conduct, and provision of safe and reliable equipment. Economic issues are related to the necessity of budgeting for health and safety training, insurance against injury, and loss of revenue resulting from legal action in cases of health and safety breaches. Ethics relates to the individual nature and integrity of property professionals, and the establishment of specific codes of conduct within organisations.

Legal Constraints

When visiting premises or sites it is compulsory for a property professional to possess appropriate legal certification. To this end, certification via a valid CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) card is mandatory to gain access to all major UK construction sites (CITB, 2016). The purpose of schemes such as the CSCS is to ensure all construction professionals are competent and have the necessary training and qualifications for the work they will undertake (CITB, 2016). In addition, guidance issued by the Royal Institute of Chartered surveyors (RICS) states that, prior to any visit to a site or premises, a property professional should conduct a pre-assessment process to determine hazards that may be encountered on the visit (RICS,2011). To this end, it is important for the employer to have clearly understood procedures in place, and to provide suitable training and information for the employee (RICS,2011) This guidance should facilitate the organisation’s compliance with statutory regulations such as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002 (COSHH). Under COSHH legislation an employer must to decide how to prevent harm to health, for instance by appropriate risk assessment.

Consideration must be given to the risk associated in regards to work-related health and safety of an employee in the working environment. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) “employers must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all employees” (HSE, 2016). Section 2 of the act specifies general responsibilities owed by an organization to its employees. For example, for the purposes of site visits, the employer is obligated to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), and the employer must ensure the PPE meets the minimum required standards and is fit for purpose. This stipulation is further supported by Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. In terms of this legislation, employers are also obliged to provide and maintain a safe working equipment (Rics, 2011). Compliance necessitates regular inspections to certify the fitness for purpose of PPE and all other on-site equipment. Failure to meet this requirement will result in a breach of section 2 of the HSWA, and may result in prosecution, as seen the case of HSE v Zurich Management Services Limited (Zurich) and Railcare Limited (Railcare).

health and safety in construction
health and safety in construction

Another key responsibility for employers is the provision of employee health and safety training. This should be facilitated by regular attendance on training courses covering current health and safety regulations. The employer must also provide employees with all relevant information regarding the company’s specific health and safety policies and procedures. It is important to note that the employer is not solely responsible for the health and safety of the organization. HSWA section 7 describes a statutory duty for the employee “to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts of work” (Legislations.gov, 2016). Therefore, employees must follow procedures, training and policies given by their employers. If an employee is unclear on any policies, or feels they are not adequately trained to complete a task, they are obligated to communicate this to the employer. Breach of HSAW section 7, often results in litigation relating to professional negligence, as seen in the case of HSE v Barry.

Surveys and Reports

Lone working is common in the property industry. There is no legislation against this practice; however, in the absence of appropriate risk assessments provisions and procedures, lone working may be hazardous. For this reason, under the Management of HSAW Regulations 1999, assessment of risk pertaining to lone working must be conducted every day prior to work commencement. This is further enforced by the HSE regulations stipulating the responsibility of employers to ensure the safety of their works (HSE,2013); prior assessment should be supported by clearly established procedures for communicating with the lone worker, and scrupulous maintenance of records by employer and employee alike. If it is deemed overtly hazardous, lone working should not be considered, or an extensive rescue and recovery plan should be implemented to reduce risks.

Hazardous surveys must be conducted in accordance with current regulations. Rulings and standards to this effect may be obtained directly from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This means that professionals are bound by strict methodologies when conducting surveys and writing reports.

Contract Administration

When acting as Contract Administrator (CA) the property professional is obligated under the Constructions Design Management Regulations to manage health and safety risks throughout the construction process (HSE, 2015). The CA should prepare a written construction phase plan detailing the main dangers inherent in any given project, and suggesting appropriate control measures. For example, working at height necessitates a plan for the installation of gable ends, toe boards and guardrails. In general, the acting CA should have the relevant training, knowledge and experience necessary to carry out his duties safely. Again, this is supported by HSE regulations specifying the employer’s responsibility to ensure all employees are suitably trained to conduct specific tasks to which they are assigned.

Economic limitations

Legally all organisations must meet certain criteria in order to comply with current health and safety legislation. Under the Employers’ Liability (compulsory insurance) Act 1969 employees based in Great Britain are required to obtain Employers’ Liability insurance (HSE, 2012). The cost of the insurance premium is solely dependent on the nature of the business and risks associated. The nature of activities in construction-related professions means that higher insurance premiums are to be expected. Failure to meet this requirement may result in fines of up to £2500 (HSE,2012). Additionally, the HSAW act 1974 requires employers to finance the provision of information and training to ensure the health and safety at work of their employees. For instance, it is mandatory for a construction-related company to provide for employee attendance at courses covering the incidence of work with hazardous material. Further expenditure will be incurred in the provision of equipment necessary to complete work safely, such as PPE. However, the cost of meeting statutory requirements may be subsidised, on the basis that it facilitates improved standards of health and safety. According to HSE documentation, in the year 2014, 3% of workers in the construction industry sustained a work related injury (HSE,2015). This amounted to 65,000 separate incidents, resulting in 1.7 million working days lost. Increasing health and safety standards will help to minimise the potential for work related injuries, consequently, decreasing the chances of loss in working days and resultant economic burden to employers.

Breach of HSAW regulations may pose significant economic threat to an organisation, as it often results in a monetary sanction. The HSE can bring prosecutions before the magistrates’ court in which penalties of up to £20,000 per breach may be imposed (RICS, 2011). Furthermore, under HSAW (offences) Act 2008 imprisonment is also a possibility for almost any offence (RICS, 2011). In more extreme cases, persons may be prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. The prosecution process whether it be for minor or substantial breaches, is bound to have a negative impact on the reputation of the organisation, resulting in a loss of clients and eventual a loss of earnings.

Ethics

There are grey areas which are not governed by legislation in this case the moral integrity of an organisation or professional is relied upon. Regardless of the type of task being carried building surveyors should recognise that they have a responsibility to the public and should at all times act in a manner which affirms this (2008,).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Interpreting legislation can be problematic; ambiguous terminology such as ‘reasonable and practicable’ is often cited to summarise the necessary level of compliance to legislation. Documents such as the Surveying Safely RICS guidance note 1st edition (Gn 74/2011) provide advice on how a property professional may meet current legislation. While these guidance notes are not enforced by law, in circumstances in which allegations of legislative breaches are made against a surveyor, a court or tribunal is likely to take account of the substance of RICS guidance. By conforming to such guidance notes, a surveyor should have at least partial defence against allegations of professional negligence. Hiring a health and safety office may also be advisable to ensure that an organisation is practising in such a way as to comply with current legislation. In relation to economic issues, good practice may minimise the incidence of expenses incurred in consequence of breaches of legislation. While ethical conduct is significantly related to personal and professional integrity, appropriate ethical conduct may be further encouraged by the establishment of codes of conduct within individual organisations. Such measures allow for in-house disciplinary proceedings, and bring the added advantage of improving the public image of the organisation in question.

References

CITB (2016) CSCS FAQs (Frequently asked questions)

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (2011) Surveying safely 1st edition, guidance note. Coventry: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 1-13

Health and Safety Executive (2013) Working alone Health and safety guidance on the risks of lone working. London: Health and Safety Executive 1-5

Health and Safety Executive (2012) Health and safety training A brief guide. London: Health and Safety Executive 1-6

Health and Safety Executive (2016) Principal contractors: roles and responsibilities.

Health and Safety Executive (2012) Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 A brief guide for employers. London: Health and Safety Executive 1-6

Health and Safety Executive (2016) Construction industry

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RFID Tags Construction

Role of RFID Technologies in Building Construction Supply Chain Management

RFID Tags is a technology that is currently growing in use in other industries such as manufacturing and retail (Hannon, 2007).

Any construction business relies on its supply chain for the effectiveness and the speed of construction task. An overflow of the supply can create a situation of high clutter while not enough supply can easily become the bottleneck issue for the whole construction project. For such reasons, it is extremely important for the construction companies and businesses to monitor every process of supply management and determine how the supply chain system is maintained. Supply chain management includes placing orders for the supply, estimating what quantities of the products are required for different construction tasks, and ensuring that the construction workers always have enough supply of the resources to continue the work. The supply chain management also handles the work of finding alternatives to the existing supplies in case of a dispute or supply interruption. Ensuring prompt delivery of supply and an effective monitoring system has always been a challenge to the management of supply systems. Fortunately, the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) has emerged as a perfect solution to this issue.

Background of construction technique

Any construction project follows basically the same procedure and a large part of it depends on the supply of the raw materials and the other equipment. Such items are the essential element of the whole project. The construction techniques are the traditional ways of using the supply chain management to develop the project from the scratch. While the construction project might differ in terms of techniques and the scale of the project, the supply chain method has remained utterly unchanged since the initial times. The contractors or developers initially estimate the resources required and then place it in the warehouses or at the site of construction. This makes the whole scenario very cluttered as it takes a lot of time to find the right piece of supply when it is required costing a significant amount of time in construction.

The new technique of RFID tags on the supply resources puts an advanced approach to the whole thing as it gives the task an enhanced process of knowing what goes where. Many projects depend on the small building blocks and with the help of RFID tags, the construction engineers can make it very easy to find the right piece of supply when it is needed. This is a method that saves great amount of time and also increases the accuracy of the whole construction task.

Advancement of the RFID technique

Nowadays a number of big and small construction firms are making use of RFID tags in the process of construction, locating the supply and resources and in placing the building blocks to their right place. The technology of Radio Frequency Identification tags have made great advancement in recent times and have been proved highly useful in various construction tasks. With constant development in this field, the RFID tags are now more versatile, reliable and cheaper than before. Now it is possible for a construction business to make use of RFID tags in the resources it is using and to tag every building block with help of RFID tags without putting a financial overhead on the organization. This technology doesn’t cost a lot these days and it is a onetime investment only that remains beneficial in all of the construction tasks. The construction companies can use these tags in placing the building blocks in their right places, finding the blocks and other tools easily when needed with help of tag readers. This whole approach increases the convenience of supply chain management tasks and improves the speed and efficiency of the task.

The shortcomings of the existing techniques

Even though the RFID technologies provide the potential benefit to construction industry for tracking the construction components, several limitations related to practical applications can be identified (Jang, 2007).

The development of RFID technique in the construction tasks was required due to the number of shortcomings that exist in the present situation of developing a construction projects. It is true about every large scale construction project that due to large number of resources available on the site, there is always a great deal of clutter present. Finding the right resource at the right time becomes extremely difficult, and it costs a lot of time sometimes to find the right resources when needed. This is a real situation in almost all the construction tasks and it slows down the construction process. Most companies keep some time in the estimated construction time reserved for this purpose only.

Most construction plans make use of small building blocks that go on in the actual building to finish the construction task. Putting these building blocks in the right place requires some efforts and is essential for the construction project. However, finding the building blocks and then identifying their right place in the project takes a lot of time with the current manual techniques. The site manager may need to search through every building block to find the desired one, and in a large scale construction task, there might be thousands of blocks that could take a great amount of time. To overcome these shortcomings, the construction companies need a different approach or technology that can speed things up and they have got it with the RFID tags technology as it will provide higher accuracy and better alternative of locating the resources.

Modern Approaches to Construction Supply chain management

Multiple RFID readers are deployed at fixed locations to receive the signals of active tags for tracking the tagged objects (Ustundag, 2012).

The modern approach in the supply chain management follows the rule of developing the habit of tagging all the resources and building blocks with RFID tags. This is a great way of keeping track of all the processes that are going on with the construction task. While the RFID tags might cost some nifty investment to the company in its initial implementation, these devices can really boost the speed of the construction and can help the company in finishing the whole work sooner. Each time the company finished a work in less time, that saves money to the company as the staff and machinery remains off duty or out for a new task.

RFID Tags
RFID Tags

The RFID tagging technique makes use of Radio Frequency identification tags which are placed on the various supply elements and building blocks for correct identification in the later processes of construction. This approach can very well assist the construction managers in keeping track of the individual elements and their placing at the right place. Not only it keeps the manager informed about the location of a particular supply item, but it also reveals the information about the available supplies to make sure that the manager knows when there is a need of new supply order. RFID technology is really revolutionary in the construction methods and it will surely result in great benefits.

Benefits of the modern RFID tags technology in construction business

RFID is a branch of automatic identification technologies using radio frequencies (Ruwanpura, Mohamed & Lee, 2010).

The use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) can surely boost the speed of the construction tasks and may very well result in modification of the present technology to a higher extent. A construction company can monitor its supply chain in a better way and certainly a more efficient way with the help of this technology. The benefits of this technology are listed below in regards to the construction supply chain management:

  • Increased speed: The RFID tags make it easier for the managers and the field staff to locate the items and supplies quickly. This helps the speed issues of the construction task and makes the whole thing go a lot faster. Even in the tasks involving placing of the building blocks for the construction process to complete, this helps the site mangers or the Crain operators to easily find the block that needs to be placed. Overall, the RFID technique is precise and fast, and any construction task can benefit from both of these aspects.
  • Accuracy: use of RFID tags provide every building block or supply item a specific code and this is not just limited to that as it can also store other information with the code. This information can involve details like where the block needs to be placed, what are the exact dimensions of it. This kind of information is readable through the RFID tag reader. This kind of technology ensures that no building block is placed at wrong place due to human error or technical mistake.
  • Long term costing: RFID tags purchasing and implementation costs a little in the first phase of development. However, it quickly recovers its cost in one or two construction projects with increased profits to the company. Finishing projects quicker helps the company save money and this becomes a profitable investment for the company.

Conclusion

The RFID based tagging technology is a great technique to manage and monitor the supply chain in a construction business. The RFID technology will enhance in the near future and will reach a level that can better assist the managers with the development tasks of construction projects. The reliability of the tags will increase and so will the lifespan of the tags. In future it will be possible to simply monitor all of the RFID tags through a single computer screen to measure if all of the building blocks in the construction project are placed at the right place or not. Anyhow, the use of RFID tags in construction supply chain management has a bright future.

References

Ustundag, A. (2012) The value of RFID: Benefits vs. costs. Springer.

Hannon, J. (2007) Emerging technologies for construction delivery. Transportation Research Board.

Jang, W. (2007) Embedded system for construction material tracking using combination of radio frequency and ultrasound signal. ProQuest.

Ruwanpura, J., Mohamed, Y., & Lee, S. (2010) Construction research congress 2010: Innovation for reshaping construction practice. (Vol. 1, p. 247) ASCE Publications.

Hunt, V., Puglia, A., & Puglia, M. (2007) RFID: A guide to radio frequency identification. John Wiley & Sons.

Finkenzeller, K. (2010). RFID handbook: Fundamentals and applications in contactless smart cards, radio frequency identification and near-field communication . John Wiley & Sons.

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