Dr David J. Edwards BSc(Hons), PhD, FFB, MCMPE
(Seen here operating a CAT 318 360°)

 

Prior to joining Loughborough University, Dr Edwards studied full time to achieve a first class honours degree in Building Management at Wolverhampton University. As part of his undergraduate studies he achieved 21 A grades in three years, with an average grade of A 14.8 (of the best twelve, put forward for the final degree classification). He was also awarded the Best Student of the Year Award by the Chartered Institute of Building on each of the three degree course years and simultaneously published two research papers in the  refereed research journal Building Research and Information. He has since gone on to complete a PhD in two years, publishing 15 research papers and one textbook along the way. In 1999, Dr Edwards was employed as a Research Fellow (at Wolverhampton University) and was promoted to Senior Research Fellow eleven months later. In January 2002, Dr Edwards accepted a position at Loughborough University as a Lecturer in Construction Plant Management although he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in April 2004. He is also the founder of the Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research Centre (OPERC). Dr Edwards is currently undertaking research contracts for the EPSRC, JCB, Finning (Caterpillar) UK Ltd, Hilti, Defence Logistics Organisation (UK Ministry of Defence), Contractors Mechanical Plant Engineers and other leading industrial organisations. He is also the sole academic representative on a specialist Health and Safety Commission panel for workplace transport accidents as well as a peer referee for the Health and Safety Executive; indeed the HSE now sponsor and host the annual OPERC workshop event in Southwark, London. He has published more than 70 peer reviewed research papers, 14 textbooks/textbook chapters, numerous conference papers (as well as residing on the tenchical panel of several conferences) and is a peer referee for 20 academic journals; although he is also a peer referee for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Health and Safety Executive, the UK Minstry of Defence and the National Research Foundation (South Africa). To date, Dr Edwards has secured more than £500,000 of research funding.

Key research collaborators

JCB, Hilti, Finning (Caterpillar), Liebherr-Great Britain Limited, The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, V-Com Solutions, Volvo, The Chartered Institute of Building, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, The Construction Plant-hire Association, Contractors Mechanical Plant Engineers, Scottish Plant Owners Association, NPORS, Association of Industrial Truck Trainers, Wates Construction and many other industrial practitioners.

Research Funding to Date

Edwards, D.J. and Holt, G.D. (2000) £53,000 Sponsored by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Commenced March 2000 and completed May 2003)
Edwards, D.J. and Holt, G.D. (2000) £10,000 Sponsored by Industry (Commenced September 2000 and completed January 2003). 
Edwards, D.J. and Holt, G.D. (2001) £207,000 Sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Commenced October 2001)
Edwards, D.J. and Nicholas, J. (2001) £5,500 Sponsored by JCB (Completed September 2001).
Edwards, D.J. and Nicholas, J. (2001) £10,000 Sponsored by JCB (Completed December 2001)
Edwards, D.J. (2002) £30,000 Defence Logistics Organisation, UK Ministry of Defence (Completed April 2004)
Edwards, D.J. (2003) £45,000 Sponsored by JCB (Started January 2004)
Edwards, D.J. (2003) £20,000 Defence Logistics Organisation, UK Ministry of Defence (Completed 2003)
Edwards, D.J. (2003) £20,000 Defence Logistics Organisation, UK Ministry of Defence (Completed 2003)
Edwards, D.J. (2003) £30,000 Defence Logistics Organisation, UK Ministry of Defence (Completed April 2004)
Edwards, D.J. (2003) £17,500 Consultant to IRAS Group.
Edwards, D.J. (2004) £3,500 CMPE Sponsorship
Edwards, D.J. (2004) £1,250 Marubeni Komatsu Sponsorship
Edwards, D.J. (2004) £3,000 Finning (UK) Ltd Sponsorship
Edwards, D.J. (2004) £1,250 Volvo Construction Equipment Limited
Edwards, D.J. (2004) £3,500 Merlo Sponsorship
Edwards, D.J. (2004) £30,600 Libyan government sponsored research work (Mr Zarrog Othman)

Academic Referee Activities

Dr Edwards is/was a referee for:

• Building and Environment
• Journal of Construction Procurement
• Building Research and Information
• Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering
• Engineering Construction and Architectural Management
• Journal of Construction Research
• Task Group 29 (TG29) on Developing Countries of the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
• First International Conference on Innovation in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, July 2001(Loughborough University, UK)
• Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
• International Journal of Project Management
• CiB W89 BEAR (Building Education and Research) 2003 conference, Salford University, Manchester, UK.
• Construction in Developing Countries, W107, Training for Construction Industry Development, ISBN 974-8208-52-4. Ed. Professor Stephen O. Ogunlana.
• Automation in Construction
• Journal of Engineering Design and Technology 
• Construction Management and Economics
• Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction
• IT in Architecture, Engineering and Construction
• Computer-aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering
• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), London
• Computers and Structures
• Advances in Engineering Software
• National Research Foundation, South Africa

Dr Edwards is also on the Editorial Board of:

1. Journal of Construction Research
2. Journal of Engineering Design and Technology 
3. Member on the technical committee for the IADIS International Conference, E-Society 2004, Spain, 16-19 July 2004
4. The Tenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, Rome, Italy, 30 August - 2 September 2005
5. The Eleventh International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, St. Julians, Malta 18-21 September 2007

Ph.D Completions

Oloke, D.A.O, 2003, Development of a Web-based Off-highway Plant History Information System. Ph.D. Thesis submitted to the School of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Wolverhampton.

Cabahug, R.R. 2003, A Profile for Clasifying Plant Operator Maintenance Proficiency. Ph.D. Thesis submited to the Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University.

Other scholarly activities

Accompanied Mr Barry Robinson of Finning (Caterpillar - UK) to attend a Caterpillar performance study of their new 365 tracked hydraulic excavator. September 13th – 16th, 1999, Le Mon, France.

Invited panel member of the task force for plant operator training, Contractors Mechanical Plant Engineers (CMPE).

Co-developer of ESTIVATE

Economic modelling consultant to Mr Richard Sharp, JCB Sales, Rocester, 28th June 2000.

Marketing consultant to Mr Andrew Shaw, JCB Parts, Uttoxeter, 17th September 2001.

Plant and Equipment Marketing consultant to private practitioner July 2001 to September 2001.

Plant Operator Training consultant to private practitioner January 2001 to May 2001.

Organiser of the Komatsu plant seminar 5th April 2000, University of Wolverhampton.

Organiser of the Caterpillar plant seminar 10th May 2000, University of Wolverhampton.

Consultant to Captain Phil Taylor at the Royal School of Military Engineering, Chatham, Kent, November 2001.

Invited lecturer to the Royal School of Military Engineering, Chatham, Kent, October 2000.

Internal Examiner for Pu Zang’s PhD, Title, University of Wolverhampton.

Internal Examiner for Sun-wah Poon's, PhD, Analysing and Predicting Falsework Failure in Hong Kong, Loughborough University.

Director of Studies for Major M. Morris.

List moderator for, and owner of the Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research Centre (OPERC).

Panellist on the HSC stakeholder group for workplace transport.

Guest Lecturer for the Scottish Plant Owners Association, November 2002.

Co-developer of the OPERC 'web-based' health and safety test for plant operators.

Guest Lecturer for the Federation of Piling Specialists, Derby, April 2003.

Guest Lecturer for the Contractors Mechanical Plant Engineers, Peterborough, May, 2003.

Guest Lecturer to Finning (UK) Ltd, Caterpillar, Malaga, Spain, May, 2003.

Guest Lecturer for the Contractors Mechanical Plant Engineers, Preston, August, 2003.

Webpage administrator for the Contractors Mechnical Plant Engineers (2003 onwards).

Developer of safetynet; an internet based health and safety test and management information system (2004).

Director of studies for Mr Zarrog Othman.

Guest Lecturer at the Midland Construction Safety Association, 10th August 2004.

Guest Lecturer at the North West Construction Safety Association, 6th September 2004.

Guest Lecturer for British Nuclear Fuels, Glos., 22nd October 2004.

Director of studies for Mr Duncan Summers.

Guest Lecturer for the Institute of Quarrying, Derbyshire, 12th January 2005.

Guest Lecturer for Patrick Brangan Associates, Dublin, Ireland, 29th January 2005.

Guest Lecturer for Grammer Seating (Germany/Japan) April 2005 (Mr D. Summers).

Guest Lecturer for Professor John Smallwood adn Dr Theo Hauptt, Port Elizabeth, South Africa (May, 2005) (Mr D. Summers).

Guest Lecturer for the North West Branch of the CMPE, 31st May 2005.

Guest Speaker on HAV to the Major Contractors Group, 4th July 2006.

Keynote Speaker for the Health and Safety Executive on Workplace Transport, Birmingham, 6th July 2006.

Panellist on the Health and Safety Executive's Hand-arm Vibration Forum 2006.

Panellist on the Health and Safety Executive's Brake Testing for Quarry Vehicles Forum 2006.

Speaker at the Construction News Plant 07 conference event, Birmingham, March 2007

Speaker at the Construction News Safety conference event, London, April, 2007

Guest speaker at the Principal Contractors Health and Safety Forum, Bradford, Yorkshire, 10th May 2007

Speaker at the Laing O’Rourke safety officers forum, Leeds, May 2007

Speaker at the EMAP awards event June 2007

Speaker for GAP Group on HAV, 4th June 2007