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Number of results: 7
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Abstract

The cognitive aim of this study is to point to the optimum number of local government units and the optimum boundaries of spatial units in Poland with the assumption of minimizing the cumulated theoretical travel time to all settlement units in the country. The methodological aim, in turn, is to present the use of the ArcGIS location-allocation tool for the purposes of delimitation processes as exemplified by administrative boundaries in Poland. The rationale for the implementation of this study is that number and the boundaries of units of all levels of Poland’s current territorial division are far from optimum in the light of minimization of accumulated theoretical travel time to all settlement units in the country. It may be concluded that it would be justifiable to increase the number of voivodships from the current number of 16 to 18. Besides it would be necessary to introduce modifications in relation to units with regional functions. In contrast, the number of districts and communes should be reduced. A continuation of this research may go in the direction of including analysis of public transport network in the research, creating in this way a multimodal set of network data. This would illustrate, apart from the potential itself resulting from the infrastructure, also the actually existing connections.
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Authors and Affiliations

Marta Borowska-Stefańska
Szymon Wiśniewski
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Abstract

The article proposes a new approach to the identification of key agents, knowledge and resources required to complete tasks being performed as a part of construction projects. The author used the concept of meta-networks to model the relations between agents, knowledge, resources and tasks of a project. Up until now, the identification of key means of production employed a measure of performance of the project that was modelled using a metanetwork. However, this measure is limited as it does not take into consideration the significance of individual tasks or the relations between them. The author thus proposed a structural modification of the performance measure for the purposes of identifying key agents, knowledge and resources of a planned project. A case study analysis has confirmed the application potential of the proposed approach. In practice, the results that were obtained can aid planners in evaluating the performance of a project's plan. Information about key agents, knowledge and resources can constitute the basis for drafting alternative plans which would be more resistant to failure due to the possible loss of key means of production over the course of carrying out a project.

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Authors and Affiliations

G. Śladowski
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Abstract

The article highlights the fact that numerous key decisions in temporary construction organisations are made as a result of informal, non-contractual relationships between organisation members that are not a result of formal organisational structures. These hidden relationships can be visualised in the form of social networks and Social Network Analysis methods (SNA) can be used to perform their structural analysis. In latest studies on self-organising networks in the construction sector, researchers have mostly focused on the design phase of large construction projects, e.g. infrastructural ones. Meanwhile, there exists a need for similar research to focus on temporary organisations created for the purpose of performing construction work. The authors took up this subject and examined a self-organising network of communication between the participants of the construction of a multi-family residential complex located in Katowice, Poland. The structural analysis of this network facilitated its in-depth understanding and identifying certain flaws and dysfunctions concerning individual participants of this project, which became a basis for further discussion. At the same time, the authors highlighted the benefits of managing such a self-organising network in the context of the effective achievement of project goals.

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Authors and Affiliations

G. Śladowski
E. Radziszewska-Zielina
E. Kania
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Abstract

Construction projects are characterised by complexity in the technical, organisational and environmental sphere. The organisational complexity of such projects makes it necessary to manage relationships between actors who fulfil various functions. Formal organisational structures that have been developed for this purpose do not always reflect the actual relationships between construction project participants. In literature, scholars more and more often point to the need to identify and monitor such informal relationships and attempt to manage them in order to effectively carry out projects. Structural analysis of so-called self-organising networks of relationships between project participants is carried out on the basis of established structural measures by performing Social Network Analysis (SNA). In a situation when inappropriate communication between project participants relative to management staff expectations is detected, interventions meant to improve communication in such networks are possible. The goal of the article is proposing an optimisation-oriented approach to planning such interventions while taking various constraints, such as communication costs, into consideration. As a part of this optimisation, the authors proposed a method from the heuristic methods group. This solution will support decision-making in terms of intervening within an informal relationship structure. The method was presented on the example of an actual construction project involving the construction of a complex of housing buildings. the self-organising network structure was defined on the basis of a survey carried out among the project's participants and concerned communication between them over a four-week period. As a result of the structural network analysis, abnormalities in communication between project participants were detected. The optimisation method developed by the authors pointed to possibilities of improving communication effectiveness within this network. The effects of the analysis confirmed the application potential of the method that was presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

E. Radziszewska-Zielina
G. Śladowski
E. Kania
B. Sroka
B. Szewczyk
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Abstract

Communication and information flowduring construction project execution is often discussed in the literature. Numerous scholars note the presence of problems with communication and information flow and highlight that these problems also affect construction project completion time and cost. The vast majority of studies on the impact of communication on construction project completion time and cost takes on a qualitative character and there is a lack of quantitative analyses of this subject. To address these deficiencies, the authors of this paper propose a quantitative approach to assessing communication between construction project participants in the aspect of its impact on said project’s completion time and cost. The authors used meta-network theory to model and analyse the problem, as it can fully depict the problem’s complexity. The method proposed allows for dynamic identification of key information flow paths between project participants, which determine its performance in an essential way. The proposed approach can support decision-makers in effective management of communication between a construction project’s participants, which has a positive carryover to achieving planned project goals. The method was tested on a real-world development project that featured the construction of a housing complex in Katowice, Poland.
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Authors and Affiliations

Ewelina Kania
1
ORCID: ORCID
Grzegorz Śladowski
1
ORCID: ORCID
Elżbieta Radziszewska-Zielina
1
ORCID: ORCID
Bartłomiej Sroka
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
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Abstract

In the literature, researchers present construction projects as temporary self-organising coalition networks, composed of specialist entities that work towards set goals. The number of parties involved in the various processes during construction causes communications relations to be exceedingly complex and to change. The environment of a construction project is dynamic and complex, and self-organising communication networks are sensitive to institutional and social change. It becomes necessary to identify situations rooted in both insufficient communication during the carrying out of a project and its excess, which generates unnecessary cost. Effective control of information flow within self-organising communication networks through its planning and monitoring by project management can contribute to achieving project goals. This paper presents a proposal of an optimisation approach (in terms of minimising communication costs) to information flow planning that accounts for various constraints, on the example of a real-world case of building a housing complex in Poland.
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Authors and Affiliations

Ewelina Kania
1
ORCID: ORCID
Grzegorz Śladowski
2
ORCID: ORCID
Elżbieta Radziszewska-Zielina
3
ORCID: ORCID
Bartłomiej Sroka
1
ORCID: ORCID
Bartłomiej Szewczyk
2
ORCID: ORCID

  1. MSc. Eng., Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
  2. PhD. Eng., Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
  3. Prof. PhD. Eng., Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
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Abstract

This paper investigates the fact that construction projects, due to their specificity, are complex, temporary and dynamic. Over their course, participants change, successive construction works are done and new information becomes available. This carries over to difficulties in communication. In the literature, numerous studies note the fact that a network-based approach to the analysis and monitoring of communication as a part of complex construction projects is commendable. Relations between agents, knowledge and tasks in the context of communication within a construction project can be visualized in the form of a meta-network, and suitably developed structural measures can be used to analyze them.
In this paper, the authors used meta-network theory to analyze relations between project participants, knowledge and tasks in the context of communication within a construction project, on the basis of the construction of a housing estate located in Katowice, Poland. Meta-network structural analysis allowed for a deeper understanding of these relations and the detection of essential information about the level of communication in the project under investigation, which was a basis for further discussion. The authors also stress the benefits from the approach presented and argue that it should be a starting point for effective management in the sphere of communication in construction companies.
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Authors and Affiliations

Ewelina Kania
1
ORCID: ORCID
Grzegorz Śladowski
1
ORCID: ORCID
Elżbieta Radziszewska-Zielina
1
ORCID: ORCID
Bartłomiej Sroka
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, ul.Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland

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