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Survey Instruments for Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptions on Construction Sites
Title
Survey Instruments for Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptions on Construction Sites
Creator
Menches, Cindy
Date
2012, 2012
Description
The document is a compilation of the Baseline Assessment, Foreman Survey, and Exit Interview documents for National Science Foundation...
Show moreThe document is a compilation of the Baseline Assessment, Foreman Survey, and Exit Interview documents for National Science Foundation research project, CMMI-1100514, Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptive Events on Construction Sites.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation, CMMI-1100514, Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptive Events on Construction Sites.
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Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files Progress Report June 2011
Title
Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files Progress Report June 2011
Creator
Kleps, Stephen M., Menches, Cindy
Date
2013-09-18, 2011-06
Description
This publication presents an literature review, progress of an environmental scan, and preliminary findings of research for the project...
Show moreThis publication presents an literature review, progress of an environmental scan, and preliminary findings of research for the project entitled Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files.
Sponsorship: Electri International
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Understanding Construction Workers’ Risk Decisions Using Cognitive Continuum Theory
Title
Understanding Construction Workers’ Risk Decisions Using Cognitive Continuum Theory
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Saxena, Jaya
Date
2013-09-19, 2013-09-19
Description
The goal of the research presented in this article was to construct a theory about the influence of decision cues on intuitive and...
Show moreThe goal of the research presented in this article was to construct a theory about the influence of decision cues on intuitive and deliberative decision-making in high-hazard construction environments. Drawing from Cognitive Continuum Theory, the article specifies a framework for understanding why and how construction workers make decisions that lead to taking or avoiding physical risks when they encounter daily hazards. A secondary aim of the research was to construct a set of hypotheses about how specific decision cues influence whether a worker is more likely to engage their intuitive impulses or to use careful deliberation when responding to a hazard. These hypotheses are described in this article, and the efficacy of the hypotheses was evaluated using cross-tabulations and nonparametric measures of association. While most of the associations between decision cues and decision mode (i.e., intuition or deliberation) identified in this data set were generally modest, none of the associations were statistically zero, thus indicating that further research is warranted based on theoretical grounds. A rigorous program of theory testing is the next logical step to the research, and the article thus concludes with numerous suggestions for extending the research and testing the proposed hypotheses.
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Jobsite Characteristics that Influence Improvised Decision-making on Construction Sites
Title
Jobsite Characteristics that Influence Improvised Decision-making on Construction Sites
Creator
Kleps, Stephen M., Menches, Cindy
Date
2013-10-07, 2013-10-07
Description
This article examines the relationship between specific construction project characteristics and the degree and speed that the foremen are...
Show moreThis article examines the relationship between specific construction project characteristics and the degree and speed that the foremen are able to improvise in response to disruptive events on the jobsite. Specifically, characteristics such as the number of crew members working under the supervision of a foreman, the occupancy status of the project (i.e., occupied or unoccupied) during construction, the stage of completion of the project, and the levels of turbulence, time pressure, cooperation, collaboration, and organization, were examined. Using a multilevel regression modeling approach, an analysis of 244 disruptions reported by 50 foremen was conducted to determine whether the construction project characteristics could predict more or less improvisation and faster or slower improvisation by the foreman. The findings indicate that on construction projects that are rated by the foremen as more organized, the foremen can make more modest improvised decisions to resolve a disruption, but that on construction projects that were rated by the foremen as more collaborative (i.e., involved joint decision-making), a greater degree of improvisation was deployed. In addition, it was found that on sites that were rated by the foremen as more cooperative (i.e., involved greater willingness to help each other), the foremen required more time to improvise their decisions.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation
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Emotional reactions to variations in contract language
Title
Emotional reactions to variations in contract language
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Dorn, Lawrence
Date
2012-07-20, 2012-07-25
Description
This article introduces a theory of emotion-driven behavior in construction contracting and provides support for this theory by presenting the...
Show moreThis article introduces a theory of emotion-driven behavior in construction contracting and provides support for this theory by presenting the quantitative results of a study on the emotional reaction of individuals to the language in contract clauses. Four different versions of the standard Delay Clause found in most construction contracts were extracted from four different contracts and were presented to a group of 27 individuals. Participants rank ordered the clause versions from 1 (most negative) to 4 (most positive). Overall, Clause Version 2 was ranked as having the most negative contract language, with nearly 75% of the participants ranking it as most negative. In contrast, Clause Version 4 was ranked as having the most positive contract language, with over 50% of the participants ranking it as most positive. Participants likewise selected negative emotion words to describe their reaction to Clause Version 2 and positive emotion words to describe their reaction to Clause Version 4. The findings suggest that contract clauses that contain negative language do tend to generate negative emotional reactions while positive contract language do tend to generate positive emotional reactions.
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