TECHNICAL PAPERS
May 1, 2005

Prediction of Engineering Performance: A Neurofuzzy Approach

This article is a reply.
VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLY
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 131, Issue 5

Abstract

Engineering and design professionals constitute a major driving force for a successful project undertaking. Although the industry has been active in addressing the performance of construction labor and methods to estimate or predict such performance, relatively fewer efforts have been conducted for the engineering profession. In an attempt to fill out this gap, the paper presents a study to utilize neurofuzzy intelligent systems for predicting the engineering performance in a construction project. First, neurofuzzy systems are introduced as integrated schemes of artificial neural networks and fuzzy control systems. The use of these neurofuzzy intelligent systems, particularly fuzzy neural networks, in predicting engineering performance is then demonstrated in the industrial construction sector. The development of the system is based on actual project data that was collected through questionnaire surveys. Statistical variable reduction techniques are further employed to develop linear regression models of the same engineering performance prediction scheme, and results are being compared between both techniques.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Acknowledgments

The writers would like to thank the members of the CII research team on engineering productivity measurement for their help and support throughout the course of this study.

References

Barrie, D. S., and Paulson, B. C. (1992). Professional construction management: Including CM, design-construct and general contracting, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.
Chalabi, A. F., Beaudin, B. J., and Salazar, G. F. (1987). “Input variables impacting design effectiveness.” Rep. No. SD-26, Construction Industry Institute, Austin, Tex.
Chang, L. M., Georgy, M. E., and Zhang, L. (2001). “Engineering productivity measurement.” Research Rep. No. RR156-11, Construction Industry Institute, Austin, Tex.
Choi, K. C., and Ibbs, C. W. (1990). “Costs and benefits of computerization in design and construction.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 4(1), 91–106.
Davis, K., Ledbetter, W. B., and Burati, J. L. (1989). “Measuring design and construction quality costs.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 115(3), 385–400.
Diekmann, J. E., and Girard, M. J. (1995). “Are contract disputes predictable?” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 121(4), 335–363.
Eldin, N. N. (1991). “Management of engineering/design phase.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 117(1), 163–175.
Engineering News-Record (ENR). (1999a). The top 400 contractors sourcebook 1999, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Engineering News-Record (ENR). (1999b). The top 500 design firms sourcebook 1999, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Escoda, I., Ortega, A., Sanz, A., and Herms, A. (1997). “Demand forecast by neuro-fuzzy techniques.” Proc., 6th IEEE International Conf. on Fuzzy Systems, IEEE, Barcelona, Spain, 1381–1386.
Fergusson, K. J., and Teicholz, P. M. (1996). “Achieving industrial facility quality: Integration is key.” J. Manage. Eng., 12(1), 49–56.
Georgy, M. E. (2000). “Utility-based neurofuzzy approach for engineering performance assessment in industrial construction projects.” PhD dissertation, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, Ind.
Georgy, M. E., Chang, L. M., and Walsh, K. (2000). “Engineering performance in industrial construction.” Proc., Construction Congress VI, ASCE, Orlando, Fla., 917–927.
Gordon, C. M. (1994). “Choosing appropriate construction contracting method.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 120(1), 196–210.
Haykin, S. (1999). Neural networks: A comprehensive foundation, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Lin, C. T., and Lee, G. (1996). Neural fuzzy systems: A neuro-fuzzy synergism to intelligent systems, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Maloney, W. F. (1990). “Framework for analysis of performance.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 116(3), 399–415.
Medsker, L. R. (1995). Hybrid intelligent systems, Kluwer Academic, Boston.
Mendenhall, W., and Sincich, T. (1992). Statistics for engineering and the sciences, 3rd Ed., Dellen, San Francisco.
Neter, J., Wasserman, W., and Kutner, M. H. (1990). Applied linear statistical models: Regression, analysis of variance, and experimental designs, Irwin, Homewood, Ill.
Pedrycz, W. (1995). Fuzzy sets engineering, CRC, Boca Raton, Fla.
Pocock, J. B., Liu, L. Y., and Tang, W. H. (1997). “Prediction of project performance based on degree of interaction.” J. Manage. Eng., 13(2), 63–76.
Portas, J., and AbouRizk, S. (1997). “Neural network model for estimating construction productivity.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 123(4), 399–410.
Post, N. M. (1998). “Building teams get high marks.” Eng. News-Rec., 240(19), 32–39.
Sanders, S. R., and Thomas, H. R. (1993). “Masonry productivity forecasting model.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 119(1), 163–179.
Smith, S. D. (1999). “Earthmoving productivity estimation using linear regression techniques.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 125(3), 133–141.
Sonmez, R., and Rowings, J. (1998). “Construction labor productivity modeling with neural networks.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 124(6), 498–504.
Thomas, H. R., and Napolitan, C. L. (1995). “Quantitative effects of construction changes on labor productivity.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 121(3), 290–296.
Tsoukalas, L. H., and Uhrig, R. E. (1997). Fuzzy and neural approaches in engineering, Wiley, New York.
Tucker, R. L., and Scarlett, B. R. (1986). “Evaluation of Design Effectiveness.” Rep. No. SD-16, Construction Industry Institute, Austin, Tex.
Yan, J., Ryan, M., and Power, J. (1994). Using fuzzy logic: Towards intelligent systems, Prentice-Hall, New York.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 131Issue 5May 2005
Pages: 548 - 557

History

Received: Nov 5, 2002
Accepted: Dec 23, 2004
Published online: May 1, 2005
Published in print: May 2005

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Maged E. Georgy [email protected]
Assistant Professor, Division of Construction Engineering and Management, Structural Engineering Dept., Faculty of Engineering, Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt. E-mail: [email protected]
Luh-Maan Chang [email protected]
Associate Professor, Division of Construction Engineering and Management, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907. E-mail: [email protected]
Project Manager, Bovis Lend Lease Japan, Tokyo, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share