Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

The history of the use of network analysis in the construction industry is reviewed. The difficulties encountered in the diffusion process from country to country, from industry to industry, and from company to company are examined. Differences between industrialized and developing countries are also considered. It is found that: (1) Research and development activities in the construction industry are inadequate whereas implementation problems in network applications require thorough investigation; (2) the diffusion of networks in developing countries is taking place with a delay when compared to the diffusion in industrialized countries, mainly because of the smaller sizes of companies and projects, limited resources, and because of the inherent higher uncertainty in the construction industry; (3) most civil engineering curricula have recently been revised and incorporate new management topics; and (4) successful introduction of network planning into construction companies, and therefore the rate of diffusion, seem to be directly dependent on the reasons why they were introduced initially.

The turbulent building construction industry—a condition applying today to the entire economic system—determined both by macroeconomic causes (general trends) and by micro economic factors (the irregularity of contract awards) points to the need for flexible organizational models in which large firms become “Macrofirms,” playing a role based predominantly on coordination and management, while the smaller enterprises would undertake activities of a specialized character. The implementation of such models can only be attained by subcontracting specialized work, making it possible for small specialized firms to count on continuous specialized work for their personnel. In this type of model, defined as a “heliocentric Copemican” type system, the use of management information systems must be highly developed and computer utilization extended not only to bookkeeping and general clerical tasks, but also and above all to management and planning. Eventually, these information systems should be extended to support preventive, routine and special maintenance services for the upkeep and improvement of the buildings constructed.

The Seikan Tunnel in Japan is a long undersea tunnel with a total length of 53.850 km that links the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Tunnel excavation began in 1971 after a quarter of a century of survey activities. Along with the progress in the excavation and construction of the tunnel, a variety of technologies were developed. The progress of the construction and the pilot boring and grouting methods used to overcome the invasion of seawater, and the excavation methods used to cope with huge soil pressures are presented. The geological characteristics of the seabed are also described.

Problems of material size variance and existence of multiple and sometimes conflicting managerial objectives in asphaltic aggregate mixing are considered. A chance constrained goal programming model is presented which seeks satisfaction of cost minimization as well as other goals. The model considered in this study demonstrates the added cost of satisfying gradation specifications at a given confidence level. While added cost is undesirable, the probabilistic solution will accomplish aggregate blending objectives, while deterministic solutions not considering variance will not.

The heavy rigging operations for setting of large components at a nuclear project are described. Industry background in the use of several types of rigging systems is first reviewed and applied to the unique requirements of the project described. The evaluation of alternatives and the detailed steps in planning and preparation are then described. The importance of interface planning and coordination of the multiple organizations involved is emphasized. Field activities in the successful completion of the rigging operation are described. Conclusions and practical applications regarding both the rigging technology and the management approaches used are presented.

A contractor seeking the highest expected value from each competitive bid will lower the markup, as the number of competitors increases. The contractor's competitors can be expected to do likewise, and their adjustments affect the contractor's expected value. Thus, the number of competitors affects a contractor's profit twofold. The sheer number of competitors dilutes the probability of winning, and competitors' adjustments of their markups undercut his own markup. Competitors' estimated adjustments are easily included in a bidding analysis based on a modified general bidding model or on Gates' model. Friedman's model is not compatible with adjustments by competitors. There is a natural equilibrium among competitors based on their relative costs. A contractor with lower costs will bid a higher markup but still a lower bid than competitors. But it is not to the contractor's advantage to undercut the opposition further. Coupled with the relative insensitivity of expected value to markup, this leads to stability in the competitive bidding process. The interaction within a market, the estimating of competitors' adjustments, and the impact of the number of bidders are demonstrated for the different models.

Construction of the Trident drydock required lowering piezometric levels in a sand and gravel aquifer underlying the drydock site 100 ft (30.5 m). The design of the construction dewatering system was based on a 15‐day, 1,900 gpm (120 L/s) pump test. The dewatering system consisted of five pumped wells installed at the shore, 12 pumped wells installed through the cofferdam at the drydock site, and 15 unpumped wells installed inside the cofferdam after unwatering and subgrade preparation. Details of the well systems, installation procedures, power supplies, design features, and as‐constructed geometries, are provided. The results of individual and well system tests are presented and related to design assumptions. Construction performance of the various well systems is described. Well performance data indicated aquifer conditions were more variable than assumed for design. However, the well system as designed was sufficiently redundant to readily provide the required reduction in piezometric level to allow drydock construction.

Impressive results have been achieved by implementing financial incentive programs in construction in several foreign countries and in numerous other industries in the United States. This paper identifies the historical causes for the scarcity of such programs in the U.S. construction industry, highlights current obstacles to their introduction, and recommends steps to avoid or overcome them, so as to open the way to future introduction of incentive programs. The study employs the Delphi technique and concludes that the near absence of pay programs in the construction industry in the U.S. can be attributed to: (1) Tradition and conservatism of the industry; (2) union opposition; and (3) the nature of the work. The panel predicted significant differences between the overall attitudes of the various parties toward productivity pay programs; the contractors and the owners will be supportive, the employees somewhat supportive, the government neutral, and the union opposed.

In the method developed, the conventional method of allocating resources are not used. Instead, resource‐hour units are employed. This enables to allocate resources precisely and the analysis becomes realistic unlike any other method. The method uses linear programming to determine the maximum rate of construction and the resource requirements in various activities. Sharing of resources which are available in limited quantities and balanced trades are all catered for in this development. The economics of using additional resources, working overtime and the optimal usage of all resources are the more important aspects of this paper. The step by step process of introducing additional resources and overtime ease the decision making process considerably. The method also helps to determine whether it is more economical to invest in additional resources or introduce work on overtime. If there is no proper method to compute resource requirements, a considerable waste in resource utilization would result. If resources are under utilized, even by a very small quantity, a considerably large delay of time would incur.

The use of professional construction management has increased rapidly since the introduction of this form of organization in the early 1960's. Despite this widespread use questions concerning the scope, definition, and differences in implementation of this project delivery system remain. An ASCE technical committee has investigated these questions and disseminated information concerning professional construction management through technical sessions at ASCE meetings, published papers, and a specialty conference. This paper summarizes the results of these activities and provides references of the literature available regarding the development and use of professional construction management.