CEM270: Organising for Innovation and Digital Transformation

Module code: CEM270

Module provider: School of Construction Management and Engineering, School of Built Environment

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Ruth Dowsett, email: r.m.dowsett@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Digital transformation is high on the construction sector agenda. However, adopting innovation and digital technologies does not always guarantee success. Success depends on appropriate implementation. This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the practice of implementing and managing innovation and digital technologies in the built environment. This is achieved through a focus on analysing construction processes.

Aim:

To gain relevant knowledge and skills to analyse construction processes and structures and develop abstracted and systemic forms of representation and understanding. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Map and define design, construction and operation processes and organisational systems, functions, roles and relationships at firm, project, group, individual, and task levels of analysis. 
2. Analyse and represent simple information flows and data structures relevant to projects and built environment/infrastructure assets. 
3. Use appropriate methods to explore complex and ill-defined problems. 
4. By the end of this course students should have improved their ability to use systemic forms of representation and demonstrate abstract understanding of technical and business problems. 

Module content

• Digital transformation in construction organisations - a broad view of how new technologies, digital tools, and information systems are leveraged to enable firms to provide services and products. 
• Application of methods of researching, analysing and formally representing processes and data in design construction and operations (e.g. entity-relationships, object models, use cases, data flow diagrams). 
• Strategies for addressing digital transformation change management challenges 
• Organisational cultural issues and user acceptance in the construction industry. 
• Human-computer interaction in construction, hybrid practices, task analysis in computer-supported collaborative work. 
• Systems approaches, diagramming, improvement tools. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching and learning are offered through case-supported lectures and tutorials, web-based material, guest speakers from digital technology and construction firms, a group project and presentation, guided reading, and individual assignment. 

Study hours

At least 24 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The below information applies toall full time and flexible modularstudents on taught PGT programmes in SBE

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Exercises throughout the module week will challenge students’ understanding, and provide opportunity for informal review and feedback. Feedback throughout the module week will provide formative input into the development of the individual written assignment. 

Reassessment

Additional costs