Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

The buggy whip is a symbol of one of the world's oldest and largest industries—transportation. Little has changed in the buggy whip itself, yet the transportation industry has undergone significant changes. From the evolution of the wheel to man's landing on the moon, several quantum leaps have been achieved. Is the construction industry making the same quantum leaps? Despite significant events, we are executing construction projects in much the same manner as was done in the thirteenth century. If American industry is to compete on a global scale, it must increase its research and development activities manyfold.

Business failure is an extremely disruptive force in the construction industry. The chance of failure for a construction company has increased over the past 10 years. In the past five years, the average age of a construction company at failure has been declining. Construction companies must always be aware of the possibility of business failure. Constant monitoring of their financial condition through the use of financial ratios is key. Overall industry indicators must also be monitored and trends analyzed to determine swings in failure probabilities. This paper investigates the effect of macroeconomic factors on business failures in the construction industry, and develops a model for evaluating and forecasting these failures.

The market for commercial, industrial, and institutional building renovations has grown significantly in recent years. To meet the challenges of this increasingly important part of the construction industry, a new four‐phase Disturbance Scheduling Technique is presented. It is an adaptation of the Critical Path Method (CPM) which resolves current shortcomings by integrating construction activities with ongoing building operations. An algorithm is applied to modify logic network diagrams and account for construction constraints peculiar to the renovation process. A demonstration on an actual project yields very positive results in accomplishing both better synchronization with facility operations and significant time savings.

Several competitive bidding models since the late 1960s have been founded, criticized, and even rejected, based on incorrectly stated arguments concerning the apparent symmetry of the competitive positions of the prospective bidders. The proliferation of these arguments has led to confusion about the validity of the proposed models. This paper: (1) Illustrates the correct use of symmetry in competitive bidding as a function of available information and control; (2) explains the differences among nonsymmetric states of information that lead to apparent symmetry in the case of only two competitors; (3) presents and explains the assumptions that lead to Friedman's general bidding model; (4) proves the probabilistic validity of Friedman's model by using correctly stated arguments of symmetry; and (5) provides the foundations for understanding the limitations of other models.

This paper concerns an investigation into the causes of high costs of construction in Nigeria. A preliminary survey involving all the professionals in the construction industry identified delays and direct cost overruns of the project as the principal factors leading to the high cost of construction. A questionnaire was then designed incorporating factors causing delays and cost overruns. It was distributed to engineers, architects, quantify surveyors, contractors and others involved in construction. A method of analysis was formulated and carried out based on the profession of the respondents and on the role of the individual in the industry (i.e., client, consultant, and contractors) and on the nature of construction (civil works and building works). Results indicate that: (1) High costs can be minimized by minimizing lapses in the management of human and material resources; (2) despite some slight differences, the professionals generally agreed that shortage of materials, methods of financing and payments for completed works, and poor contract management are the three major reasons for high construction costs', and (3) price fluctuation was identified as the most important factor responsible for the escalation of project costs.

This paper provides suggestions on how to manage a construction graduate research program. It is written from the perspective of a major research institution where faculty members must balance their commitments to undergraduate and graduate teaching, advising, research, and continuing education. The paper presents a pragmatic view of the writers' 31 years of experience in university teaching and research. The paper describes important factors that affect faculty productivity in scholarly activities. Specific topical areas are the involvement in the undergraduate program, graduate program course‐work, and the number of graduate students. Suggestions for controlling the graduate program are made relative to its size, admission policy, thesis and report requirements, and the mix between master's and doctoral candidates. The process of maturing into a quality research is outlined as a two‐phase process. Early in one's career, breadth of exposure and collaboration with others is important. Maintaining quality is of paramount importance. In midcareer, depth in research is a desired goal. The maturing process is accompanied by the future development of research skills and in‐depth knowledge of a literature. In initiating a new research initiative, the feasibility needs to be established. Begging and borrowing are essential skills.

Continuous extruded curbing operations are investigated to identify the major parameters that influence the productivity of placing curbing. The study is conducted by collecting data directly in the field by observing curb placing crews. The curbing operations are similar in that all operations occur in one geographic area, with one type of extruded concrete curb, and with the same work procedure. The results show that productivity is significantly influenced by the number of finish points encountered. Finish points include corners, radii and curb terminations. It is noted that productivity is significantly influenced by the extent of auger wear as measured by the amount of concrete that has been extruded by the auger. An economic analysis of productivity and auger wear is conducted. It is found that these augers should generally be replaced much sooner than actually occurs in practice. The results indicate that productivity can be predicted or estimated with reasonable accuracy when specific job parameters are known.

Although the construction industry does not yet have a broad base of experience with bar code technology, a wide range of applications has recently been developed by member firms of the Construction Industry Institute. The findings of a research project supported by the Construction Industry Institute are summarized. Specific applications in the areas of quantity takeoff, field material control, warehouse inventory and maintenance, tool and consumable material issue, timekeeping and cost engineering, purchasing and accounting, and document control and office operations are discussed. Research findings indicate that bar code use in construction can improve the speed and accuracy of computer data entry, and produce tangible cost savings similar to those that have been documented in other industries.

The speed with which the Construction Management (CM) system has entered the daily practices of the construction industry has caught educators in a lag. The management of construction and construction management were considered synonymous until construction management became a formal contracting system. Educators designed construction education programs around the needs of the general contractor and the requirements of the general contracting system. As CM became popular, educators began teaching the CM process but have not yet totally modified instructional programs to accommodate the unique requirements of construction managers. This paper establishes the differences between the educational requirements of a contracting‐oriented program and a construction management‐oriented program with respect to the management tools and the philosophy of those using the tools.

Large building construction projects in Canada were studied to assess the degree that policies and practices of a company or project influence worker safety, as measured in terms of injury frequency. Results showed that company‐level practices influence safety performance. Safety performances were better on projects of companies that employed a full‐time company safety officer; those which exhibited stronger top‐management support for safety; those which conducted safety meetings for supervisors; and those which monitored the safety performances of their supervisors. Lower injury rates were also noted on projects that employed a project safety officer; those on which specific job site safety tours were conducted; and those which included safety issues in regularly held coordination meetings. Better safety performances occurred on projects which employed more sophisticated scheduling methods. It was also noted that better safety results occurred when the owner or the owner's representative was included in coordination meetings. Job pressures, particularly those imposed by budgetary constraints, were found to adversely affect safety performance.

Managers have tried several project‐specific methods to improve declining construction productivity with mixed results. Most solutions have focused on supporting craftsmen in the field. This paper presents a conceptual model of the construction process, defining goals for management and control systems to support the craftsman's needs in the field. This model comprises four generic flow charts with rules that govern them. The first defines the needs of the craftsman. The second specifies the support functions required from a site organization, while the third defines all of the other major site‐related functions. Finally, the limits of site management control are specified. Craft support is the acid test of a functioning system; thus validation of the model focused on the first two flow charts. Analysis of five groups of similar projects showed that the closer a site organization is to the conceptual model, the better its performance. Site evaluation tools are presented.