Generalising via the Case Studies and Adapting the Oil and Gas Industry's Project Execution Concepts to the Construction Industry

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore whether it is possible to generalise findings on project execution in the oil and gas industryrelated to the use of project execution models and a 3D design environment, based on case study research. Besides, sufficientsimilarities between the two industries were assessed and the applicability of the findings from the cases in the oil and gasindustry was assessed. The selected cases (the ongoing projects) have several principal similarities, but the extents of use differ.The project execution model (PEM) of the oil and gas industry is based on codified knowledge from project execution, whichmakes it easier to transfer such models to other industries. The use of 3D design environments or building information modeling(BIM) in the construction industry is similar to the use of PEMs in the oil and gas industry but BIM differs on model complexityand object information. The findings indicate that it may be possible to develop generalizable project execution concepts in theoil and gas industry by using the conceptual generalisation theory. Indeed, it is herein proposed that the high-similarity betweenthe variables related to PEM and BIM enables the transfer and adaptability of PEM-based concepts to the construction industry.