Martin Betts

Qualifications

BSc(Hons) Reading, Phd, CNAA, FRICS, FCIOB, FRSA, FIEAust, CPEng

 

Career History and Biography

Professional and Group Associations

 

Research Areas

Professor Martin Betts' research activities and interests embrace: strategic management in construction, construction IT, construction project management, built environment and engineering education and construction futures.  He has been directly involved in research projects funded to over £1.5 million.  He has personally been responsible for obtaining career research funding from external sources of more than £3.5 million.

 

External Collaborators

At QUT, Professor Martin Betts helped establish a $25m Project Management Academy jointly with TU Delft, U Texas at Austin and Cranfield Business School, for the Royal Dutch Shell Group and is extending this with other companies. His group was selected from amongst more than 100 world Universities as one of the 4 world leading project management groups and has retained its position in the Shell Academy through a 3 year engagement to date.

He is part of an award winning community engagement and research partnership with the Brisbane Airport Corporation which was recognised with the BHERT award of Australia’s leading research and development collaboration. Professor Betts has helped secure external funding for research chairs from: Queensland Health, Robert Bird Group, Queensland Rail/Main Roads/Transport, Queensland Major Contractors Association, the Power Engineering Alliance, the Concrete Masonry Association of Australia, and Brisbane Airport Corporation.

In the UK, He was founder Director of a government-endorsed, industry led network in the UK.  This group, known as Construct IT, promoted and coordinated research and benchmarked and facilitated improvements in industry IT and process performance.  It was designated by the UK Minister as a National Centre of Excellence. He has published industry-oriented reports in Construction IT which were debated in the boardrooms of major international construction companies and influenced the funding decisions for IT investments in those companies. The Centre was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Excellence in Higher Education in 2000 and is the only construction-related UK project to have received this award as part of the national honours system.

Primary External Responsibilities

 

Teaching Leadership

Professor Martin Betts secured the status of joint subject centre within the UK HEFCE Teaching and Learning Support Network scheme for the Centre for Education in the Built Environment for his former School at Salford.  This placed his School as a National Centre of Excellence in Construction Education.  Professor Betts has also secured the leadership of the UK Government Making Connections initiative to take forward national collaboration between professional institutions throughout the Built Environment, all UK Universities and industry to promote relevant inter-disciplinary Built Environment education and to address current recruitment challenges facing the sector. He now leads a Carrick Discipline Based Pilot Group in the Built Environment. He organised and hosted a major international conference on construction education and research in Salford in April 2003, has convened its follow up in Hong Kong in 2006, and will convene its further meeting in Sri Lanka in 2008.

Career funding from industry, government and research councils: £3,645,000

 

CRC CIEAM Funding

SI 205: Integrated Information Model for Community Infrastructure and Asset Management

The project objective is to develop an integrated information framework for community based asset management and to establish technology environments for the interoperable exchange and management of asset data. The focus is on Local Roads assets in Queensland and Victoria working with Local Government Queensland Association and the Municipal Association of Victoria.

 

CRC CI Funding

 

CRC CIEAM/CI Funding

 

Making Connections Grants

 

EPSRC Platform Grants

 

EPSRC IMI Grants

 

DETR Grants

 

IMS/EU Grants

 

DoE Grants

 

ESPRIT Grants

 

IMI Grants

 

Department of Environment Grants

 

EPSRC Grants

 

Savant Grants

 

CSSP Grants

 

Shimizu Grants

 

NUS Grants

 

Shimizu Grants

 

Other Grants/Funding

Professor Martin Betts has examined research theses at PhD and MSc level for 15 candidates in six countries.

 

Currently Principal Supervisor for the following theses:

IT-enabled strategic business models for globally competitive Australian integrated engineering companies

Name: Debra Smit

Course: Master of Applied Science (Research)

College: QUT

Completion due: 2009

 

Developing IT-Enabled Capability for Strategic Infrastructure Asset Management.

Name: Eric Too

Course: Ph. D.

College: QUT

Completion due: 2012

 

Currently Associate Supervisor for the following thesis:

Evaluation of Strategic Management Practices in Construction Industry : A Study of Indonesian Enterprises

Name: Muhammad Sapri Pamulu

Course: Ph. D.

College: QUT

Completion due: 2009

 

Selected List of Publications

 

• Ni. Q., Yarlagadda P.K.D.V., and Betts. M., “An Extensible Manufacturing Resource Model for Process Integration”, International Journal of  Computer-Aided Design & Applications, Vol. 4, Nos. 1-4, 2007.

• Betts. M., Black. P., Christensen. S., Dawson. E., Du. R., Duncan. W., Foo.E., and Nieto. J.G.Towards Secure and Legal E-Tendering, Electronic Journal of Construction IT, KTH Sweden., Published April 2006 at http://itcon.org/2006/07/.

• Pamulu, M. Sapri and Kajewski, Stephen L. and Betts, Martin (2007) Evaluating Financial Ratios in Construction Industry: A Case Study of Indonesian Firms. In Dewobroto, Wiryanto and Hardjasaputra, Harianto and Adventus, Manlian R. and Widjajakusuma, Jack and Sitohang, Fransiscus Mintar, Eds. Proceedings 1st International Conference of European Asian Civil Engineering Forum (EACEF), pages E-158, Jakarta, Indonesia.

• Pamulu, M. Sapri and Kajewski, Stephen L. and Betts, Martin (2007) Manajemen Teknologi Informasi Dalam Industri Konstruksi Indonesia (Management of Information Technology in Indonesian Construction Firms), in Abduh, Muhammad and Marzuki, Puti Farida and Fatima, Ima and Pradoto, Rani G. K. and Pribadi, Krishna S. and Soemardi, Biemo W. and Tamin, Rizal Z. and Wirahadikusumah, Reini D., Eds. Konstruksi: Industri, Pengelolaan, dan Rekayasa, chapter 2, pages pp. 73-84. ITB Press.

• Smit, Debra K. and Wall, John and Taylor, Claudelle and Betts, Martin (2006) eLearning Modules – Increasing Knowldege Of Collaboration Tools For Construction Management. In Proceedings CRC Construction Innovation Clients Driving Innovation: Moving Ideas into Practice, Gold Coast.

• Wall, John and Smit, Debra K. and Betts, Martin (2006) A Strategy To Use E-Learning To Disseminate The Benefits Of Construction Management Software To Students And Industry - An Australian Initiative. In Baldwin, Andrew and Heui, Eddie and Wong, Francis, Eds. Proceedings Bear 2006 - Construction Sustainability and Innovation. CIB W89 - International Conference on Building Education and Research, Hong Kong.

• Too, Eric G. and Betts, Martin and Arun, Kumar (2006) A strategic approach to Infrastructure Asset Management. In Sirikijpanichkul, Ackchai and Wai, Shih Hoi, Eds. Proceedings BEE Postgraduate Infrastructure Theme Conference 2006, Gardens Point Campus, Queensland University of Technology.

• Smit, Debra K. and Stewart, Rodney and Wall, John and Betts, Martin (2005) Implementing Web-Based Collaboration Platforms in Construction: Evaluating the Eastlink Experience. In Proceedings The Queensland University of Technology Research Week International Conference, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

• Wall, John and Smit, Debra K. and Betts, Martin and Ahmed, Vian (2005) An International Comparison Of E-Learning In Action – An Interactive Graphical on Line Teaching Resources for Residential Construction in Australia and a Blended Programme to Support Irish Entrepreneurs in Ireland. In Sidwell, Tony, Eds. Proceedings QUT Research Week 2005, Brisbane.

• Stewart, Rodney A. and Smit, Debra K. and Betts, Martin (2005) Implementing web-based collaboration platforms in construction: Evaluating the Lane Cove Tunnel (LCT) experience . In Proceedings International Conference on Construction Engineering and Management, Seoul, Korea.

• Too, Eric G. and Betts, Martin and Dowdle, David (2003) A Framework for Construction IT Education. In Proceedings CIB W89 BEAR Conference 2003, Salford, UK.

• de Lemos, Teresa and Betts, Martin and Eaton, David and Almeida, Luis (2003) An Examination on The Sustainable Competitive Advantage of Private Finance Initiative Projects. Construction Innovation 3(4):pp. 249-259.

• Too, Eric G. and Betts, Martin and Dowdle, David (2002) Approaches to Construction Information Technology Education. In Proceedings ITC@EDU 1st International Workshop on Construction Information Technology in Education, Portoroz, Slovenija.

• Amor, Robert and Betts, Martin and Coetzee, Gustav and Sexton, Martin (2002) Information Technology for Construction: Recent Work and Future Directions . Journal of Information Technology in Construction 7(16):pp. 245-258.

• de Lemos, Teresa and Betts, Martin and Eaton, David and de Almeida, Luis T. (2001) Model for Management of Whole Life Cycle Risk Uncertainty in the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Journal Of Project Finance 6(1):pp. 68-79.

• de Lemos, Teresa and Betts, Martin and Eaton, David and de Almeida, Luis T. (2000) From Concessions to Project Finance and the Private Finance Initiative. Journal of Project Finance Fall:pp. 1-19.