Thinklab

Envisioning Digital Futures

Dr. Chika Udeaja

Associate

Biography

I joined the University of Salford in March 2016 as a senior lecturer and the programme director for the Construction Project Management programme in the School of the Built Environment. Prior to joining the School, I worked as a site engineer and as a design engineer before undertaking postgraduate studies in Concrete structures at Imperial College London. This was followed by a spell as a bridge engineer in Malaysia. When I came back to the UK, I undertook a postgraduate research in Construction IT at the London South Bank University. On completion of my PhD in 2002, I joined the University of Newcastle as a researcher, and was involved in developing CAPRIKON and other research projects. My career as an academic in the UK started in 2005 at Northumbria University as a lecturer and later promoted to a senior lecturer in the School of the Built Environment. Over the years, I have delivered a variety of modules ranging from ‘construction technology’ to ‘project management tools and techniques’ at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I have led a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Northumbria University. I have supervised three PhD candidates to successful completion and examined several PhD candidates as an internal and external examiner. Currently I supervise four doctoral students and am involved in the supervision of both undergraduate and postgraduate research projects at University of Salford. I am a co-author of Capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction, a book highly recommended for construction industry professional. I am a committee member (CM) of ARCOM and also a CIOB member. As a CM, I have been involved in facilitating doctoral workshops, both nationally and internationally. My motto has always been to work with other members to achieve the ARCOM charter and advance knowledge in the area of construction management.

Research Interests

My research focuses on the four crucial elements that define global Architecture,Engineering and Construction industry: 

  • Intelligent decision support systems for procurement: A key focus of my work is the use of negotiation and collaboration to facilitate decision making in the supply chain.
  • Integrated Sustainable Construction: Investigating the environmental, economic and social impact of construction activities on the whole life cycle delivery of projects.
  • Resilient Infrastructure: Exploring the different resilient approach (i.e. soft and hard approaches) to manage both new and ageing infrastructure.
  • Knowledge?Information management for project developments: Application of construction soft and hard system in project delivery (i.e. use of BIM project delivery).

Research Projects (current and previous)

  • IT INDIAN HERITAGE PLATFORM: Enhancing cultural resilience in India by applying digital technologies to the Indian tangible and intangible heritage (2018-2021), role: PI-Investigator (50%), AHRC, Total budget: £183,267.
  • External grant with JLG Manufacturing: A scoping study to leverage BIM for efficient management of Plants Operations in Construction projects (Nov. 2017 – April 2018), role: PI-Investigator (100%), Enterprise- JLG Funds, Total Budget: £30, 363.
  • The Education Trust of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Award – A Comparative Study of Construction Cost Management Services  in  the  UK  and  China (COSTKA) ( 2013 – 2014), role: co-Investigator, RICS Trust, Total Budget: £48, 976.
  • Towards creating a business strategy to assist Small Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in EU procurement Directives (2012 -2013), role: PI- Investigator, HEIF Fund, Total Budget: £30,000.

Qualifications and Memberships

  • B.Sc. Building (2nd Class Honours Upper division), University of Nigeria, Nsukka – 1992
  • MSc. (DIC) Concrete Structures, Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, London – 1997
  • Ph.D. Construction Management (Development DSS for SCM), London South Bank University, London – 2002                               
  • PGCE (Teaching & Learning in Higher Education), Northumbria University, UK – 2006

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Member, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) (1995 – Present)
  • Affiliated Member, Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) (1998 – Present)
  • Member, Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) (2003 – Present)
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)(2004 – Present)
  • Fellow, The Higher Education Academy (2007 – Present)

Publications

  • Babtunde, S., Udeaja, C. E. and Bouazza, T. (2019), Barriers to BIM implementation and ways forward to improve its adoption in AEC firms, International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation (Accepted for publication).
  • Ekundayo, D., Babatunde, S. O., Ekundayo, A., Perera, S. and Udeaja C. (2019), Life cycle carbon emissions and comparative evaluation of selected open source UK embodied carbon counting tools, Australia Journal of Construction Economics and Building (AJCEB) (Accepted for publication).
  • Nwachukwu, V.C., Udeaja, C.E., Chileshe, N. and Okere, C. (2017) “The critical success factors for stakeholder management in the restoration of built heritage assets in the UK”, International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. 35 Issue: 4, pp.304-331.
  • Tan, A, Udeaja, CE, Babatunde, S and Ekundayo, D 2017, ‘Sustainable development in a construction related curriculum- quantity surveying students’ perspective’ , International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 21 (1) , pp. 101-113.
  • Hosseini, M.R., Banihashemi, S, Chileshe, N., Namzadi, M.O., Udeaja, C., Rameezdeen, R and McCuen, T. 2016. BIM adoption within Australian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs): an innovation diffusion model, Construction Economics and Building, 16(3), 71-86. 
  • Chileshe, Nicholas, Rameezdeen, Raufdeen, Hosseini, M. Reza, Lehmann, Steffen and Udeaja, C.E. (2016), ‘Analysis of reverse logistics implementation practices by South Australian construction organisations’ , International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol.36 (3), pp. 332-356.
  • Babatunde, SO, Perera, S, Zhou, L and Udeaja, C.E. 2016, ‘Stakeholder perceptions on critical success factors for public-private partnership projects in Nigeria’, Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 6 (1) , pp. 74-91.
  • Babatunde, SO, Perera, S, Zhou, L and Udeaja, C. E. (2015), ‘Barriers to public private partnership projects in developing countries’ , Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 22 (6) , pp. 669-691.
  • Udeaja, C.E., Ekundayo, D, Zhou, L, Pearson, J and Perera, S 2015, ‘Educating tomorrow design and construction economists’ , in: Design economics for the built environment :impact of sustainability on project evaluation , Wiley Blackwell.
  • Robinson, H and Udeaja, C.E. (2015), ‘Re-using knowledge and leveraging technology to reduce project design and construction costs, in Design Economics for the Built Environment’ , in: Design economics for the built environment : impact of sustainability on project evaluation , Wiley Blackwell.
  • Babatunde, S, Perera, S, Udeaja, CE and Zhou, L 2014, ‘Challenges of implementing infrastructure megaprojects through public-private partnerships in Nigeria : a case study of road infrastructure’ , International Journal of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, 3 (2) , pp. 142-154.
  • Udeaja, CE, Ekundayo, D, Zhou, L and Perera, S 2013, ‘Material waste in the construction industry : a review of the legislative and supply chain issues, in Reuse of by products and materials in the construction industry’ , in: Reuse of materials and byproducts in construction : waste minimization and recycling , Green energy and technology , Springer, London, pp. 5-27.
  • Tan, H.C., Anumba, C.J., Carrillo, P.M., Bouchlaghem, N.M., Kamara, J.M., and Udeaja, C.E. (2010), Capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction, Wiley-Blackwell publication, Oxford, United Kingdom.
  • Udeaja C. E., Kamara J. M., Carrillo, P. M., Anumba, C. J., Bouchlaghem, N. M. and Tan, H. (2008), A web-based strategy for live capture and reuse of construction project knowledge, Automation in Construction, Elsevier, Vol. 17, No. 7, pp 839-851.
  • Tan, H.C., Carrillo, P.M., Anumba, C.J., Kamara, J.M., Bouchlaghem, N.M., and Udeaja, C.E. (2007), Development of a methodology for live capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction, Journal of Management in Engineering, Vol. 23, No.1, pp18-26.
  • Tan, H.C., Carrillo, P.M., Anumba, C.J., Bouchlaghem, N.M., Kamara, J.M., and Udeaja, C.E. (2006), Live capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction organisations, Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 4, pp 149-161.
  • Udeaja, C. E and Tah, J. M. H (2005), Multi-agent-based procurement in the construction material supply chain, in Agents and Multi-agent system in Construction, edited by C J Anumba, O O Ugwu, and Z Ren, Taylor & Francis, London, pp 272-309.
  • Udeaja, C., Tah, J.H.M., and Ndumu, D. (2003), Materials supply chain co-ordination using multi-agent systems techniques – a conceptual framework, International Journal of IT in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction. January 2003, pp67-83, ISSN: 1570-7822.