Construction engineering and management (CEM) consists of two different important themes of construction: construction engineering (CE) and construction management (CM). However, in Indonesia, historically, the more popular thread, in terms of profession and in academia, has been CM. The development of CE has then become one of the biggest challenges in Indonesia.
The CE theme of CEM is related to engineering efforts for production—it focuses on the technologies and processes for producing outputs in the field; whereas the CM theme is related to coordination and utilisation of resources at a project level.
The more popular professions as well as academic disciplines have been leaning towards CM. It is a fact that construction practitioners seem to think CM is considered easier to master than CE. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges has been to develop the CE theme in Indonesia. Several consecutive accidents that happened last year, during construction and after, could be a result of the country’s lack of capability in CEM knowledge.
IR MUHAMAD ABDUH, MT, PhD
Associate Professor of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and serving as Head of Civil Engineering Undergraduate Program; and General Secretary of Board of Indonesian Civil Engineering Higher Education Communication (BICEHEC or BMPTTSSI)
Ir. Abduh received his Ph.D. degree from Purdue University, USA, in 2000, with his dissertation about utility assessment of electronic networking technologies for construction delivery. His academic career at ITB has spanned over 25 years and he has dedicated his time to teaching, research and community services. His research interests are in the areas of construction engineering and management, especially topics related to procurement, logistics, supply chains, productivity improvement, lean construction, simulation of construction operations, sustainable construction, ICT applications and infrastructure management.
Since 2000, he has been advocating the importance of ICT for construction and a new paradigm in construction production and lean construction. He has also developed new elective courses related to new concepts for construction, such as the use of simulation for construction operation, lean construction, construction supply chains, and sustainable construction. Moreover, local seminars and conferences were used to inform about the need to change the construction industry in its production processes in Indonesia. Sustainable collaborations with other stakeholders, such as contractors and the government, have also been established. It has been his dream to always inspire the Indonesian construction industry to seek new paradigms, concepts and technologies that could be utilised effectively.
To read the complete article, register your details above
to be notified once the revamped Construction Plus App is ready!
