Implementing uncertainty management in Chinese construction industry

The performance of the UK construction industry has been challenged by a number of major reports (e.g. Egan Report,1999). A survey of Chinese construction practice carried out as part of this research project has shown that many of the problems are shared and that there is a keen interest in China to improve performance. The research has demonstrated the need for a systematic treatment of uncertainty to support decision making in China. The study employed the principles of systems thinking to propose a systemic skeleton: WISDOM. It is an advanced perspective that encapsulates the essence of systems thinking and lays the theoretical foundation for the production of decision support software - JUSTISE. The purpose of the software tool is to facilitate the establishment of new thinking within a management system for Chinese construction practitioners. The purpose is to help construction practitioners manage risk and uncertainty to improve project performance. JUSTISE was born out of PERIMETA and has been designed with many new features and functionalities. The software has been tested by a wide range of users from the Chinese construction industry. The feedback from the application of the software through wisdomcatcher.com was collected to prompt its further development. Through the application of JUSTISE, systems thinking methodology has been delivered to a number of Chinese construction companies. It has been pleasing to find that JUSTISE has worked well in the Chinese industrial environment. People have benefitted from the novel perspective it provides. More importantly it enables people to better understand and deal with uncertainty to improve project performance. JUSTISE is still in its infancy and needs to be improved. The software is an aid in the continuous rethinking of current experience. It embraces a range of fundamental knowledge and enabling technologies to provide systems solutions to complex problems in future engineering practice.