TY - JOUR
T1 - Developing a benchmarking system for architecture design firms
AU - Salvatierra, José Luis
AU - Gálvez, Miguel Ángel
AU - Bastías, Freddy
AU - Castillo, Tito
AU - Herrera, Rodrigo Fernando
AU - Alarcón, Luis Fernando
N1 - Funding Information:
The goal of this research was to develop a benchmarking tool for architecture offices by measuring both their KPIs and their management practices. This should result in a repository of data that supports a process of continuous improvement in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. This research was led by the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the Federico Santa María Technical University and aimed to develop a virtual data capture platform to evaluate the performance of architecture offices in Chile within the framework of “The Clover 2030 Engineering Strategy” project funded by Corporation for the Promotion of Production (CORFO). The objective of the project was to obtain a series of benchmarks for Latin American architecture offices. In the initial research phase described in this article, the participating universities actively collaborated with a select group of Chilean offices affiliated to the Association of Architecture Offices (AOA) in Chile.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the funding and support provided by CORFO (The Clover, Engineering 2030, PUC-USM), GEPUC, and FONDECYT (1181648) to develop this research. R.F. Herrera acknowledge to VRI Scholarship from Universidad Católica de Chile and CONICYT – PCHA/ National Doctorate/2018 – 21180884 for funding the graduate research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.
PY - 2019/2/11
Y1 - 2019/2/11
N2 - Purpose: The construction industry’s business model is mainly based on the interaction among the architecture office, the engineering office and the construction company. The performance and practices of architects’ offices, unlike those of the other actors, are difficult to characterize and there have been few studies on these issues. To better understand architects’ performance, the purpose of this paper is to develop a benchmarking tool based on real practices identified by managers of Chilean architecture offices. Design/methodology/approach: The research method includes a complete literature review, followed by a study of a sample of nine Chilean architecture offices, with whom a series of four workshops was developed, to establish both performance indicators and relevant management practices. Finally, these metrics were applied in an architectural office as a pilot case. Findings: Four management dimensions were defined: client management, external coordination, internal organization and human resources. Key performance indicators were divided into process, financial and quality indicators. The workshops carried out with the architectural offices demonstrated the relevance of benchmarking tools such as the one developed, which enables the systematic measurement of both management practices and performance indicators. Originality/value: Although there have been several efforts to create benchmarking tools for the construction industry, few efforts have focused on architecture offices. Therefore, this research aims to explicitly identify management practices that can be used for this type of organization and to coordinate among multiple actors to find the best way to measure their performance, other than the fulfilment of schedules and budgets.
AB - Purpose: The construction industry’s business model is mainly based on the interaction among the architecture office, the engineering office and the construction company. The performance and practices of architects’ offices, unlike those of the other actors, are difficult to characterize and there have been few studies on these issues. To better understand architects’ performance, the purpose of this paper is to develop a benchmarking tool based on real practices identified by managers of Chilean architecture offices. Design/methodology/approach: The research method includes a complete literature review, followed by a study of a sample of nine Chilean architecture offices, with whom a series of four workshops was developed, to establish both performance indicators and relevant management practices. Finally, these metrics were applied in an architectural office as a pilot case. Findings: Four management dimensions were defined: client management, external coordination, internal organization and human resources. Key performance indicators were divided into process, financial and quality indicators. The workshops carried out with the architectural offices demonstrated the relevance of benchmarking tools such as the one developed, which enables the systematic measurement of both management practices and performance indicators. Originality/value: Although there have been several efforts to create benchmarking tools for the construction industry, few efforts have focused on architecture offices. Therefore, this research aims to explicitly identify management practices that can be used for this type of organization and to coordinate among multiple actors to find the best way to measure their performance, other than the fulfilment of schedules and budgets.
KW - Architecture
KW - Architecture offices
KW - Benchmarking system
KW - Design management
KW - Key performance indicators
KW - Management
KW - Management practices
KW - Organization
KW - Productivity
KW - Questionaire survey
KW - Workshops
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85061326532&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/ECAM-05-2018-0211
DO - 10.1108/ECAM-05-2018-0211
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85061326532
VL - 26
SP - 139
EP - 152
JO - Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
JF - Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
SN - 0969-9988
IS - 1
ER -