Selection of Construction Methods for Construction Projects: A Knowledge Problem
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 140, Issue 4
Abstract
Appropriate selection of construction methods used in the execution of a project is a decisive factor for its development and the achievement of the desired results. In many cases, this process is undertaken without suitable attention, generating negative consequences for the project. It is therefore necessary to search for different approaches that would accomplish greater efficiency in the realization of this process. This requires a deep understanding of current practices for implementing the process for construction methods’ selection and the major problems that affect this selection process. The purpose of this article is to report the results of a study oriented to identify the main features of this process such as is currently the standard practice in construction firms. The results obtained allowed the identification of current practices, process problems, and information involved, and the knowledge required for carrying out the selection of construction methods for a construction project. A map of the knowledge associated with this process is proposed. It is concluded that the selection of construction methods is highly intensive in knowledge and that this knowledge is held mainly in the mind of professionals of construction companies, a fact that limits the availability of this knowledge and its use by the construction company in new projects. The main reason for this situation is that construction companies do not have formal systems to collect, process, and manage this kind of knowledge.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Basha, M., and Gab-Allah, A. (1991). “Value engineering in Egyptian bridge construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 393–401.
Dai, J., Goodrum, P., and Maloney, W. (2007). “Analysis of craft workers’ and foremen’s perceptions of the factors affecting construction labour productivity.” Constr. Manage. Econ., 25(11), 1139–1152.
European Construction Institute. (1994). Total productivity management: Guidelines for the construction phase, Productivity Task Force, Economic Construction Institute, Loughborough Univ., Leicestershire, U.K.
Fortune, C., and Lees, M. (2003). “Exploring common practices in construction project management: A UK perspective.” Proc., Joint Int. Symp. of CIB Working Commissions: W55, W65, and W107, National Technical Univ. of Singapore, Singapore, 344–354.
Hurtado, T., and Bruno, G. (2005). El Proceso de Análisis Jerárquico (AHP) como herramienta para la toma de decisiones en la selección de proveedores, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Perú.
Illingworth, J. (1993). Construction methods and planning, E&FN Spon, London.
Love, P., and Li, H. (2000). “Quantifying the causes and costs of rework in construction.” Constr. Manage. Econ., 18(4), 479–490.
McCaffer, R., Williams, I., and Hassan, T. (1997). “Developing best practice in European construction.” 1st Int. Conf. on Construction Development: Building the Future Together, School of Building and Real Estate, National Univ. of Singapore, Singapore.
Olomolaiye, P. O., Jayawardane, A. K. W., and Harris, F. C. (1998). Construction productivity management, Addison-Wesley Longman, Essex, U.K.
Pan, N. (2008). “Fuzzy AHP approach for selecting the suitable bridge construction method.” Autom. Constr., 17(8), 958–965.
Pan, N. (2009). “Selecting an appropriate excavation construction method based on qualitative assessments.” Expert Syst. Appl., 36(3), 5481–5490.
Poon, J., Potts, K., and Musgrove, P. (2003). “CONBPS: An expert system to improve the efficiency of the construction process.” RICS Res. Pap., 4(21), 1–47.
Rojas, E., and Aramvareekul, P. (2003). “Labor productivity drivers and opportunities in the Construction Industry.” J. Manage. Eng., 78–82.
Russell, A., and Al-Hammad, I. (1993). “A knowledge-based framework for construction methods construction.” Can. J. Civ. Eng., 20, 236–246.
Serpell, A. (2002). Administración de operaciones de construcción, Alfaomega, México.
Soetanto, R., Glass, J., Dainty, A., and Price, D. (2007). “Structural frame selection: Case studies of hybrid concrete frames.” Build. Res. Inf., 35(2), 206–219.
Tam, C., Deng, Z., and Zeng, S. (2002). “Evaluation of construction methods and performance for high rise public housing construction in Hong Kong.” Build. Environ., 37(10), 983–991.
Tapia, C. (2007). “Análisis Crítico del Diseño de Procesos en Chile.” Tesis de Magíster en Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Tatum, C. B. (1988). “Classification system for construction technology.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 344–363.
Thomas, H., Maloney, W., Horner, R., Smith, G., Handa, V., and Sanders, S. (1990). “Modeling construction labor productivity.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 705–726.
Udaipurwala, A., and Russell, A. (2002). “Computer-assisted construction methods knowledge management and selection.” Can. J. Civ. Eng., 29, 499–516.
Youssef, M., Anumba, C., and Thorpe, T. (2005). “Intelligent selection of concrete bridge construction methods in Egypt.” Proc., 2005 ASCE Int. Conf. on Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 140 • Issue 4 • April 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 28, 2012
Accepted: Mar 5, 2013
Published online: Jan 6, 2014
Published in print: Apr 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Jun 6, 2014
Authors
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.