Assessment of visibility in industrial construction projects: a viewpoint from supply chain stakeholders

• Published in: Construction innovation 2021-10, Vol.21 (4), p.782-799
• Main Authors: Dharmapalan, Vineeth, O’Brien, William J, Morrice, Douglas, Jung, Minhyuk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automation; Construction; Construction industry; Contractors; Decision making; Frequency analysis; Global positioning systems; GPS; Information sharing; Inventory; Inventory management; Materials management; Prefabrication; Productivity; Project engineering; Statistical tests; Supply chain management; Supply chains
• ISSN: 1471-4175; 1477-0857
• DOI: 10.1108/CI-07-2020-0114

Purpose Stakeholders of construction projects exhibit different perceptions regarding the visibility of materials in the supply chain, which affects the timely delivery and installation of materials. This study aims to quantitatively investigate the differences in viewpoints of owners, contractors, designers and suppliers about the visibility of materials at supply chain locations and different material types during the construction of industrial projects. Design/methodology/approach Survey data about visibility at nine typical supply chain locations and three common material types were collected from owner, contractor, designer and supplier groups and analyzed using frequency statistics, relative importance index and tests for equality of odds. Findings Offsite Tier-2 supplier, ports and kitting site shows the lowest visibility level for the owner, contractor, supplier and designer groups. Also, the supplier group tends to have adequate to extreme visibility at the Tier-2 supplier, kitting site and during transportation compared to owner, contractor and designer groups. An example finding concerning the visibility of material types is that owners and contractors perceive prefabricated material requires higher visibility than all other material types. Research limitations/implications The findings are limited to construction projects in the industrial sector. Further, the survey participants were based in North America at the time of participation. Practical implications The study’s findings indicate how visibility is spread across supply chain locations and for material types for the owners, contractors, suppliers and designers of industrial projects. As such, academia and industry’s research and investment efforts can be more focused on locations and material types that need improvement. Social implications Industrial projects play an essential part in improving society’s daily lives, and this study’s findings contribute to improving the efficiency of the supply chain during construction of industrial projects. Originality/value Although previous studies mentioned the need and importance of visibility improvement, none have sought to understand the perception of leading supply chain stakeholders about visibility at supply chain locations and of material types. This study’s findings provide specific insights and directions for advancing in these areas with regard to supply chain visibility.