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Dr Vasantha Abeysekera

Name :	Dr Vasantha Abeysekera
Position :	Senior Lecturer (Construction Management)
Section :	Faculty of Engineering and Surveying Agricultural, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Office :	A221
Location :	Springfield Campus
Phone :	+61 7 3470 4152
Extension :	4152
E-mail :
Qualifications :	BScEng Sri Lanka MSc, PhD L'boro,UK

Home Page : http://www.usq.edu.au/users/u1013058
The views expressed on staff homepages may not reflect the views of the University.

Professional Memberships

Chartered Engineer; Member, Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka, since 1985 to date

Member, New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors, since 1999 to date (probationary till 2007)

Professional Affiliations

Member, Society of Construction Law New Zealand, since 2008 to 2010

Member, American Association of Cost Engineers, 2002-2007

Research Interests

Construction business management

• Client-financed construction
• Building with banks – Exploring construction-friendly solutions
• Organisational buying behaviour (with special reference to monetary retentions)
• Financing construction through monetary retentions: The feasibility of a construction guarantee fund
• Exploring the concepts of cost density, cost polarity, and cost homogeneity
• Soft application of Chaos Theory to management of chaotic construction operations
• Building ‘theory’ on monetary retentions

Construction project management

• Re-engineering payment procedures: Incentivising contractor performance through monetary retentions
• Performance measurement of main contractors/subcontractors
• Choreographing construction logic: Simplifying Planning Complexity
• Quality driven planning and scheduling
• Exploring the concept of ‘living through a project in advance’
• Criteria for selection of contractors: Improving predictability of performance through strategic differentiation
• Lean project management: Minimising waste in Alliance projects
• Disaster management: Project management for rapid re-construction
• Building ‘theory’ on construction planning and scheduling

Construction production management

• Incentivising contractor performance through monetary retentions
• Construction defects and monetary retentions
• Productivity and cycle time reduction in design and construction
• Pricing for safety: Modifications to SMM
• Key performance indicators for measurement of health and safety
• Lean construction: Developing the understanding of TFV vis-à-vis planning and scheduling
• Strategies for choreographing construction logic using 4D/5D software solutions
• Subcontractor bidding practices in multiple invitations to tender
• Building ‘theory’ on management of brickwork operations

Construction and engineering education

• Time management of young learners
• Study management through construction project management

Recent Research Outcomes

Three most recent :

Based on one per category:

Abeysekera, V (2008). Building theory for the built environment: The case of monetary retentions, [Keynote Address], CIB W89. Proceedings of the International Conference in Building Education and Research (BEAR) organised by Salford University (UK) and EURASIA. Heritance Kandalama, Sri Lanka, February 11-15.

Abeysekera, V. (2009). Construction-Friendly Bank: A Pre-Feasibility Study. Collaboration and Integration in Engineering, Management and Technology, 5th International Conference on Construction in the 21st Century (CITC-V), May 20-22, Istanbul, Turkey

Abeysekera, Vasantha (2010) Output characteristics of 'Chapparu' brickwork. Engineer, Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 43 (4). pp. 57-74. ISSN 1800-1122

Choi, Daniel and Abeysekera, Vasantha and Ramachandra, Thanuja (2010) Security of final account payments: the case of New Zealand. In: CIB World Congress 2010: Building a Better World, 10-13 May 2010, Salford Quays, United Kingdom.

Currently Teaching Courses/Programs

CMG1001: Introduction to Construction Management and the Built Enviroment
CMG2001: Job Organisation
CIV2605: Construction Engineering
ENG4111: Research Project Part 1
ENG4112: Research Project Part 2

Teaching Experience

Tertiary : 20 years
Other : 10 years

Administrative Responsibilities

Director, Construction Management Studies,University of Southern Queensland, Australia (2010 July to date)

Program Coordinator, Bachelor of Construction, and Associate Degree in Construction (Construction Management/Civil Construction majors), University of Southern Queensland, Australia (2011 to date)

Programme Leader, Master of Construction Management/ Associate Professor of Construction Management, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand (2007-2010)

Managing Director, Pahana Construction (Pvt) Ltd., Sri Lanka (1991-1998; construction services)

Managing Director, Pahana Management Services (Pvt) Ltd., Sri Lanka (1991-1998; project management services, research and development services)

Joint Managing Partner, Pahana Business Centre, Sri Lanka (1991-1998)

Director, Consultancy and External Resources Centre, Open University of Sri Lanka (1990/91)

Course Team Chairman, Postgraduate Programmes in Construction Management, Open University of Sri Lanka (1988-1991)

Head, Department of Civil Engineering, Open University of Sri Lanka (1991)