Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

The revenue requirements method which is used by utility companies for determining rates is applied to the problem of determining rates for construction equipment. The method follows engineering economy principles and explicitly considers operating costs, recovery and return of capital and income taxes. By expressing the result as the required before‐tax revenue that a piece of equipment must generate, the method is intuitively appealing and easily comprehended by management. The example uses both Canadian and American income tax legislation.

The duties, responsibilities, and objectives of a specification engineer are defined in job descriptions by ASCE grade and title. The qualifications of a typical specifications department are indicated. Such job descriptions are useful for organizing or expanding a specifications department and for educational purposes. It is stated that the position should be separate from both design and procurement.

With the decrease in cost and increase in capability of computer systems, many companies are going through or considering going through the process of implementing in‐house computer applications. A case study of Story Construction Company traces the evolution from manual operations in the late 1960's to the current complete in‐house computer operation. Some of the ways this transition has affected company employees from clerical to top‐level management are considered. Finally, observations and conclusions are made about the impacts of computerizing company operations. The process of implementing company‐wide computer operations is not without pitfalls, expenses, and difficulties, but the gain is well worth the difficulties.

The effective integration of design and construction offers important benefits and means to achieve project objectives. The results are given of an investigation of industrial and building projects undertaken to identify the steps progressive owners, designers, and contractors take to improve project constructibility during the early phases of a project. Using information from 15 projects, it describes the major concerns, approaches used, and constructibility improvements related to three key issues: developing the project plan, laying out the site, and selecting major construction methods. These findings then provide a basis for conclusions and practical applications to improve constructibility during the conceptual planning phase of a project, when the leverage is greatest.

Unionized construction workers in a major midwestern city are surveyed to collect data on the workers' perceptions of their workcrews. Data are analyzed using factor analysis and five elements of work crew functioning are identified: general effectiveness, openness, cohesion, goal clarity, and goal difficulty. The relationships between these variables and the workers' motivation, reported performance, and job satisfaction are analyzed. The conclusion reached is that contractors must manage their workcrews in terms of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. By doing this, worker performance and satisfaction can be increased.

Construction professionals are recognizing the need to focus on the materials management process as a proactive, identifiable entity that has a significant impact on the cost of construction. In recent years construction contractors have developed integrated, or “total concept,” materials management systems (MMS) that combine and integrate the takeoff, vendor evaluation, purchasing, expediting, warehousing, and distribution functions. These materials management systems produce tangible benefits in the areas of improved labor productivity, reduced bulk materials surplus, reduced materials management manpower, and cash flow savings. The cost of developing and implementing these systems can be substantial, but the benefits outweigh the costs, particularly when the system is used by the crafts for scheduling their work around bulk material availability.

Constructability is the optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, engineering, procurement and field operations to achieve overall objectives. Seven concepts for improving constructability during the engineering/procurement phase of a project are presented and analyzed. A limited number of specific applications of each concept are also presented. The concepts promote construction‐driven schedules, simplified design configurations, standardization of elements, and module/preassembly designs which facilitate fabrication, transport, and installation. Concepts also address the accessibility of manpower, materials, and equipment; design modifications to facilitate construction in adverse weather; and specification improvements.

Owner‐furnished Equipment (OFE) procurement is a contract administration technique utilized on many construction projects to save costs and time. Presently, little is known factually about the specific tactics that contribute to a successful OFE procurement, or what the magnitude of those benefits may be. This article presents the results of a comprehensive research study of OFE practices, problems, and benefits. Fifty‐five OFE construction projects are analyzed, allowing a series of conclusions and recommendations to be developed. The major points examined include: characteristics of typical OFE projects and products; the quantified extent of project benefits and costs realized; the likelihood and consequences of related contract disputes; effective contract monitoring strategies; and whether owners or third‐party contract administrators should manage the supply contract.

Many of today's construction projects require both complex technology and sophisticated management techniques. Experience prevails in the requirements for management positions, but appropriate education can assist prospective managers to maintain steep learning curves in rapidly acquiring this experience. The Business Roundtable's study of construction education recommended increased emphasis at the graduate level. This paper describes a graduate program, including both technical and management elements, to prepare engineers beginning careers in construction. Although complete coverage of all suggested technical and managerial subjects is not possible in a single program, this proposal may assist in increasing discussion between educators and industry professionals regarding the relative priorities for background in the technology and the management systems required for construction careers. It may also assist prospective graduate students in selecting the mix of engineering and management courses which provide the best preparation for the construction career paths they choose.

Owners often attempt to use construction contract language to apportion responsibility for unforeseen site conditions among themselves, contractors, and designers. The legal merits and limitations of alternate contract clauses and contract forms have received considerable attention in the literature. Here, using the data from several recent studies, it is shown that the actual contract language used is largely irrelevant to the actual costs borne by owners and contractors. More importantly, the management techniques used determine the ultimate cost to all participants. Two management techniques particularly relevant to unforeseen site conditions are the use of interpretive reports and the early resolution of claims. These techniques, their effectiveness, and the overall limitations of legalistic approaches to the management of unforeseen site conditions are discussed in detail.

Activity durations are often estimated by modifying standard work productivities for specific site and job characteristics. Modifications are typically developed from engineering judgment and past experience. In this paper, an explicit hierarchical rule‐based framework for making such modifications is investigated. By explicitly formulating estimation rules, the factors felt to influence work productivity can be identified and the accuracy of particular modification rules assessed. Alternative estimation methods such as statistical techniques and a hybrid rule‐and‐statistical framework are discussed. A prototype expert system for masonry construction duration estimation, MASON, is described and used to illustrate the rule‐based estimation approach. Facilities in MASON for explanation and productivity improvement analysis are also described.

A system is described that combines: (1) Videotape data collection from field construction operations; (2) statistical reduction and analysis of data; and (3) computer‐based simulation modeling. As implemented, a videotape camera taken into the field records data about the logical relationships between, and the cycle times of, the various elements in ah operation. With the aid of a computer connected to a tape player, these data can be extracted from the tape and analyzed statistically to yield estimated values for the productivity of the system and its components. With the aid of a microcomputer, the user then can build a network‐based simulation model which replicates the performance of the real‐time system. Integration of simulation with powerful and economical video methods of data acquisition, linked to a computer for data extraction and statistical analysis, makes it economically feasible to collect real data with which to develop and run simulation models, even for complex operations of short duration.

Cost predictions which are lower than the budget of the actual built project are routinely labeled bad estimates. However, the large majority of cost growth derives from scope growth. Much of this scope growth is frivolous. Recommendations are made as to how this common problem might be minimized, and frequent agents that contribute to cost growth are identified and examined. Economic consequences of such waste are considered. An argument is made for the early development of realistic scope statements, in order that more accurate estimates may be made, and unexpected waste and overruns may be avoided.

Bunching (Queue's) theory is developed into a quickly applicable set of curves. When these curves are realistically applied, they assure the most economical match‐up of hauler fleet size per loader.

The results of a study of small to medium size construction firms designed to determine their views concerning construction productivity is presented. The areas that were viewed as having high potential for productivity improvement include supervision (62%), labor contracts (52%), labor training (51%), EEO rules and regulations (47%), planning (56%), scheduling (49%), and communications (49%). The findings also indicate that the average potential for productivity improvement of both main office and on‐site functions is roughly the same for both large and small organizations. This would indicate that although differences exist between large and small contractors their overall potential for productivity improvement is approximately equal. In addition, there appears to be a consensus among both small and large firms that productivity improvement efforts should primarily be concentrated in planning, scheduling site supervision, and labor agreement functions.