Sensitivity of Construction Activities under Design Uncertainty
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 3
Abstract
In the quest to shorten project delivery time, construction professionals have the option of overlapping design and construction activities. Although time savings can be achieved by overlapping, conducting design and construction operations in a nonnatural sequence can carry significant risks. To mitigate these risks and make more appropriate overlapping decisions, concurrent engineering concepts can be used to classify upstream design activities in terms of design evolution and downstream construction activities in terms of sensitivity to upstream design changes. The focus of this work is to determine the factors that contribute to the sensitivity of construction activities. A series of semistructured interviews with experienced construction professionals show that the level of transformation, lead time, modularity, and the interaction of built components are some of the factors that determine the amount of sensitivity in construction activities to upstream design changes. These determinants provide for a quick assessment of an activity’s sensitivity, which can help practitioners limit risk when planning the overlapping of design and construction activities.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSF0324342. The writers would also like to thank the case study participants who volunteered their time for this study.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 3 • March 2009
Pages: 199 - 206
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 7, 2007
Accepted: Sep 2, 2008
Published online: Mar 1, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2009
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