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Editorial 
 

 
Associate Professor 
David Baccarini 

 
Associate Professor 
Peter Davis 

 

Welcome to the second issue for 2008 of the Australasian 
Journal of Construction Economics and Building. The variety of 
papers this issue reflect the diverse range of problems and 
challenges facing the construction industry including payment 
mechanisms; cooperation, value and trust; quality management 
systems, a standard method of measurement for building works 
in Ghana; Evaluating truck empty running and individual learning. 

The first paper from UK by Ibrahim Motawa and Ammar Kaka 
explores payment mechanisms for integrated teams in 
construction. The writers introduce a methodology to simulate the 
profiles of alternative payment mechanisms. The outcome is 
focussed on helping project teams define the most appropriate 
mechanism for each member. They indicate that the model they 
have designed is superior to currently available cash flow models 
and will enable complex cash flows to be managed more fairly 
and successfully. 

Jan Sundqvist provides a second paper in this journal for our 
readership. Jan investigates what he refers to as innovative 
companies, particularly focussing on cooperation and partner 
choice. 

S. Thomas Ng, Ekambaram Palaneeswaran and Mohan 
Kumaraswamy collaborate to produce a paper associated with 
quality management systems and ISO9000; discussing the costs 
and benefits associated with improvements in product quality and 
achievement of desired objectives of client’s and their 
satisfaction. They found that contractors could benefit from using 
ISO9000-based QMS in both a tangible and intangible way.  

Gabriel Nani, Peter J. Edwards, Theophilus Adjei-Kumi, Edward 
Badu and Peter Amoah provide an insight into the Standard 
Method of Measurement (SMM5) of building works in Ghana. 
They record a number of modifications and their impact on a 
desirable outcome in terms of information and use. They note 
that the relevance of certain characteristics vary from one region 
to another as a result of technological, cultural and legal 
differences.  

Winston M. Shakantu, Mundia Muya, John E. Tookey, and Paul 
A. Bowen evaluate truck empty running in South African 
construction considering efficiency and logistical challenges. 
They highlight the potential for reducing empty running by 
construction trucks through back-loading waste to points of 
disposal, reuse, recycling or reclamation using a reverse logics 
concept. 

Finally, Ingeborg Wasif, Per-Erik Josephson and Alexander 
Styhre indicate that personal networks are the most common 
source of learning for all professions. They interviewed 28 
individuals in 6 Swedish construction projects leading to a 
conclusion that suggests attempts to increase learning have to 
address the differences in learning behaviours of various groups. 
Through experimenting and organizing for learning it is possible 
to change the learning behaviour from learning as a 
consequence of problems to learning for future improvement. 

iv The Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building [Vol 8, No 2]