A Report on the Globalization of the Construction Industry Essay

The Mace Group Ltd was formed in 1990 by a small team of construction professionals in London, United Kingdom. It has over 4,000 employees. The company has three strategic sectors serving clients in the private, public and infrastructure sectors and five strategic hubs in Europe, Middle East & North Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Sub-Sahara Africa that service over 70 countries. By the end of 2013, there were 214 operations directors, 82 directors and yearly turnover was 2.5 billion dollars. Today Mace is an international consultancy and construction company, offering integrated services across the full property and infrastructure life cycle. In North America area, Mace provides project management, cost consultancy and facilities management services across the country. It has regional hubs in New York, Newark, Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. In Engineering News Record’s Top 250 Global Contractors List for 2014, Mace has been ranked 10th in the list of top 20 non-U.S firms in international construction management and programme management fees, 9th in the list of the top 20 non-U.S. firms in total global construction management and programme management fees and 166th in the overall list of top 250 international contractors.

Managing and implementing sustainability requires the commitment of all stakeholders and new ways of working, thinking and learning. [4]” The paper highlights the importance of a coordinated supply chain action in the construction sector and emphasizes the need for construction companies to train and invest in resource- efficient building methods and practices. This will manage the balance between stability and change [4].

A basic definition for the procurement is “the way the building is realised” and “involves assembling and organising the skills and services of a team of construction professionals”. (the Construction Round Table, 1995). More precisely, the construction industry describes procurement as “a system that establishes the roles and relationships which make up a project organisation”; hence the overall organisation and communication structure for the management, administration and control of a project is established by the procurement system. (D.C.H Coles, 2010)

© Crown copyright 1994 Applications for reproduction should be made to HMSO First published 1994

The construction industry has been around since the beginning of civilization and since that time people have continually tried to find better ways to build. The speed with which the construction industry moves is unlike any other. Things are done very differently than they were 20 years ago, and things will likely be done in a new way 10 years from now. The vast history and seemingly exponential growth of the industry means people must find innovative ways to gain an advantage. Drone technology has expanded in recent years from military innovations to civilian applications, and while it may not appear personal drones provide much benefit to the construction industry, their limitless applications yield innumerous opportunities on a jobsite. This paper explores some of the many uses a drone can have to advance the construction industry, as well as the liabilities which also come with this new technology. This paper will focus on the areas of efficiency, safety and security; how drone uses can make jobsites run smoother and safer, while also recognizing how drones will add the long list of concerns contractors face on a daily basis.

Construction is a highly profitable industry that has the ability to support workers with decent wages.

I wake up in the morning at 5:30 to go to work. I take a quick shower then I eat breakfast and finally I leave to work. I drive to work in my really old green mini van. I have to pick up my fellow co-worker on my way to my job. As I drive through the streets of Los Angeles I see the poor and rich neighborhoods. Its sad to see the city that I live in become to what it is now I see a lot of racist things such as Mexican flags on American people's front porch. That sounds normal right? maybe you think that they are half mexican and half american but no that's not the case. Every single flag is vandalized with graffiti. Things like “Go Back To Mexico” or “Why are you even here” are the types of things I see while driving down the streets of LA. On the other side of the Mexican flag the people that have flags in their porch typically have the

The current United States economy, more specifically the housing market, has had great affects on the construction industry with unemployment currently floating around 30%. Canadian Chemical, a global provider of better quality products and services is one of the many commercial construction companies that are experiencing problems. More construction companies are following a, “the low bidder gets the job,” mentality versus providing true quality products and customer service, which in return results in a company like Canadian Chemical to lose sales. TJ Wood who is the Vice President of Sales for Canadian Chemical understands the dilemma and is unsure how to better generate sales for the company. After reviewing the sales representatives, products being sold, selling expenses, and the income statement it is evident changes need to be made in order to remain relevant as a top seller in the industry.

In construction projects, mostly the firms (in this case the firms become client) do not have the skills or develop skills inside the firms to undertake the projects due to amount of the projects should be conducted or the complexity of the projects (Reve and Levitt, 1984). Therefore, the economic decision to conduct the projects is to procure them to third parties. However, more commonly the client agonize the final quality of the projects will meet standard requirements. Thus, impacts to involvement of complex contracts of construction procurement.

The collapse in the housing market and a global recession dramatically reduced demand for construction equipment. The current global economic state is slowly progressing, which is a positive indicator for the industry. Increasing farm income over the next five years will most likely boost demand for agricultural and turf machinery, but farmers will probably remain cautious with their purchasing decisions. Therefore, domestic sales will continue to be static. However, increasing demand in South America, China, India, and other global emerging markets is expected to significantly boost international sales of all product lines over the next few years as population and income growth in these emerging markets will drive this trend.

There however are challenges in the industry occasioned by uncertainty on future spending on construction projects by the government. Moreover, the cost of doing business and the ability to increasingly make revenue have created a challenging environment for the construction firms. Therefore stakeholders in the construction industry are concerned with whether the government would increase its spending and whether the public construction projects will be available in the future since less than 10 percent are currently financing their clients.

Morledge, R, Smith, A, Kashiwagi, D (2006) Publisher; Blackwell, Place of Publication; Oxford, Building Procurement, p6.

The BIM introduction into the New Zealand’s construction industry has been discovered as the step to improve productivity and to improve efficiency. This paper seeks to the application of BIM to the New Zealand construction industry successfully and to the proper analyzing of the growth of BIM in New Zealand. Also this report elaborates the opportunity of BIM in New Zealand’s construction industry as well as compared with the other major countries using BIM. Furthermore, in this literature, the future expectation of BIM in New Zealand is discussed.

The construction industry much like other industries is dependant with the distribution of “scarce resources” (Drake,1994). Many of its resources known as the factors or production i.e. labour, capital, land etc. are limited (Gregory-Mankiw, 2008), however, wants and desires within the industry are infinite (Myers, 2013). Kishtainy notes that this creates two problems; at any given time, there will be a fixed number of resource, against numerous wants. Sloman 2003 adds that in an effort to rectify this, he argues that we must make choices, in terms of choices within the construction industry Myers suggested that firms need to considered their investments made, how they construct and for whom they construct for.

The indication from market intelligence studies is that the current CIMERWA Ltd company’s strategic objectives will not provide the company with opportunities for sustainable growth especially when considering the anticipated paradigm shift in the market towards 3D building models, flexible concrete and substitution products. External environmental analysis (PESTEL) indicates that globalization and technology will influence speedy development and availability substitution products for cement in an effort to build affordable houses.