Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

The build‐operate‐transfer (BOT) concept represents a step forward in meeting the needs of developing countries for more capital investments in infrastructure and industrial construction. However, for a private‐sector consortium bidding for a BOT concession, the road to winning a major BOT contract is not easy. The consortium must be willing to take calculated risks and at the same time be adaptable to changing demands and circumstances in the host country. This paper describes the importance and characteristics of six critical success factors (CSF) that are vital for project sponsors in their endeavors to win lucrative BOT contracts. These factors are: entrepreneurship, picking the right project, a strong team of stakeholders, an imaginative technical solution, a competitive financial proposal, and the inclusion of special features in the bid.

When international construction expanded in the 1960s and 1970s, owners in countries in the Middle East demanded guarantees that they could draw on like cash. Contractors often had no choice but to comply. While this compliance is often a requirement and is sometimes an aid in obtaining contracts, it also exposes contractors to several types of dangers and risks, such as unfair calling of guarantees, the extend‐or‐call threat, and drain on their financial resources. These risks can be reduced if contractors would negotiate with the owners on the terms and conditions of the guarantees without touching the on‐demand principle. For example, the guarantee should be drafted so that it cannot become effective until the construction contract is in full force and effect and the owner has carried out his obligations. A clause to reduce the guarantee amount in relation to the progress of the work will limit the contractor's liability. If a contractor must face an unfair call, the contractor can attempt legal action to prevent the issuing bank in its country from honoring an unfair call on the guarantee.

The proper placement of reinforcing steel for concrete construction requires a high degree of craftsmanship and is traditionally done by hand on the job site. Many recommendations have been published by the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) and related institutes to highlight crucial guidelines for the successful use of reinforcing bars in concrete. However, the traditional sequence for placement of steel reinforcement is the cause of many errors, omissions, and unproductive labor and equipment hours. This paper presents the results of a study that evaluates the use of welded‐steel mesh (WSM), referred to as welded‐wire fabric (WWF) by the American Concrete Institute (ACI), for bridge decks. Several different placement scenarios are discussed together with the potential improvements in productivity. Also addressed are the effects on quality and overall cost when using WWF instead of traditional steel reinforcing bars.

In this paper the impact of correlation among cost components on the total cost variance of a construction project is analyzed. The Monte Carlo simulation approach for project risk analysis is reviewed and the problems with implementing this technique is described. Specifically, issues related to the type of the underlying cost distributions and existing correlations between cost items are explored. One suggested methodology for generating correlated random numbers in a simulation environment is reviewed. A multivariate lognormal distribution is used to generate correlated random numbers for various construction cost components. A large, real‐life data set is used to show the implementation of the suggested method and the results of the analysis are analyzed. It is shown that the proposed method is capable of predicting the variance of the total cost with good accuracy. Some guidelines for future research in this area are presented.

A new method of construction for multispan cable‐stayed bridges is described. This method is one of several options developed for construction of the 13‐km‐long fixed link across the Northumberland Strait connecting Prince Edward Island with New Brunswick in eastern Canada. A 250‐m‐long cable‐stayed span is constructed by launching a 525‐m‐long steel truss underneath the bridge deck. The special feature of the method is the casting of the concrete deck slab of the 250‐m span in one operation in an elevated position (approximately 0.5 m above the final position). While the reinforcing and prestressing steel for the deck is placed, the stay cables are installed and temporarily anchored to the top chords of the steel truss. Because of the elevated deck position, the cables near the pylon are slack, and those further away are stressed much lower than the final level. By lowering the truss supporting the hardened deck by about 1 m, all the stay cables are stressed fully and the deck is suspended at the desired level. The truss is then launched to the next casting position. To support the truss during launching, flotation tanks are submerged from the ends of the truss into the water, exerting a constant uplift force of approximately 3 MN.

A method is evaluated for constructing pipes by injecting grout between an inner tube that can be inflated and an outer tube comprising a reinforcing mat in a fabric envelope. The mat is open‐textured to allow easy impregnation by the grout and is sufficiently rigid to govern the wall thickness of the hardened pipe. The fabric envelope is permeable to water but impermeable to cement. Excess water is forced through the fabric by inflating the inner tube, carrying with it the grout, which lodges in the mat to harden, after which pressure is removed. Cyclic pressure is applied to simultaneously prestress the fabric and densify the grout. Fabric properties and the impregnation mechanism are described. Pipe ring stiffnesses are measured by the three‐edge bearing test as a function of grout composition and pressure processing parameters. Potential applications include trenched and submarine pipes and tunnels, culverts, rock tunnel liners, and underground tanks.

With the cost of construction to replace deteriorated facilities estimated in the billions of dollars, the Department of Defense is seeking ways of reducing both the time and money spent to provide the high‐quality structures needed to support the military mission. Design/build procurement approaches have been proposed as alternatives to the traditional design/bid/build method. The successful selection process for choosing a design/build proposal is based on a high degree of technical factors and a low construction cost. However, the objectives of maximizing the degree of technical factors and minimizing the cost are in conflict, and the evaluation of the technical factors and cost is associated with the uncertainty. In this study, a multicriterion decision‐making methodology using a fuzzy‐logic system is provided to assist decision makers in selecting the winning design/build proposal that best satisfies the requirement of technical factors and the cost reduction. An example application of the proposed evaluation methodology to an actual project is provided.

Proper earth‐moving equipment selection is a major factor when trying to satisfy a project's budget and schedule requirements. The selection of the equipment is best performed by personnel with experience in earth‐moving operations. In this research project, a rule‐based expert system (i.e., VP‐Expert) was used to develop a system for selecting earth‐moving equipment. The system, with 930 rules, interprets information concerning a particular project's soil conditions, operator performance, and required earth‐moving operations. The knowledge for the development of the expert system was obtained from several experts working for two contractors, an equipment rental company, equipment manufacturers' sales representatives (e.g., Caterpillar, Case) and several geotechnical engineers. The system was tested, using the requirements for an actual project, by three contractors. The contractors' selections compared favorably with the developed expert system with regard to the size and type of equipment needed to perform the various tasks.

A construction foreman's inability to supervise his workers properly is thought to be a cause of the declining cost‐effectiveness of the construction industry. It may be, however, that there are characteristics about carpenters and their work environment, described as substitutes for leadership, that negate the ability of the foreman to influence satisfaction and performance. This paper identifies 11 potential substitutes in the construction work environment. Leader behaviors, satisfactions, performance, and role ambiguity and conflict items are also identified and adapted for use in a questionnaire. The subject population is the membership of a carpenters' district council for a major Midwestern metropolitan area. Many statistical relationships were found, indicating the existence of substitutes for leadership in the unionized carpentry environment. The two most powerful substitutes for leadership in construction carpentry were: (1) ability, experience, training, and knowledge; and (2) closely knit cohesive work crews. Areas of future research for leadership in construction are identified and discussed.

Business failure in the construction industry is an important research issue for forecasting the financial status of a company. The construction industry in the United States has several unique characteristics that sharply distinguish it from other sectors of the economy. These characteristics contribute in many ways to the high rate of business failure in the industry. Analysis of major financial ratios to predict performance of a company is one method of failure analysis. Models developed for the manufacturing industry are not appropriate for the construction industry. This paper presents a quantitative model based on financial ratios to assess the financial performance and grade of a construction company, and its chances of business survival. The following financial ratios are used for developing the model: Current ratio, total liabilities to net worth, total assets to revenues, revenues to net working capital, return on total assets, and return on net worth. The model also considers characteristics of various trades in the construction industry and the impact of the company size. The model is developed for the following six groups: general contractors, operative builders, heavy construction, plumbing, heating and air‐conditioning, electrical works, and other specialty trades.

This paper describes the planning, layout, and implementation of the Singapore Metro mass‐transit system, emphasizing the criticality of the 22.4 km of bored tunneling required in the central area of the city. The original nine‐year construction schedule and the subsequent seven‐year accelerated program that was adopted are discussed, as are the extent of the tunneling works and the limited construction period of 3‐1/3 years. The contractual arrangements for carrying out the works are outlined. The opportunity afforded by this concentration of soft‐ground tunneling activity to compare performance in 38 tunnel drives, all of which excavated almost simultaneously in widely varying geological conditions, is considered unique. Factual details are provided covering the geological conditions along the tunnel drives, the contract packages, the tunnel profile, the tunneling methods, compressed‐air equipment and procedures, spoil‐handling equipment, temporary and permanent support, and water‐sealing techniques. Settlements are reviewed, and tunneling performance for each drive is detailed. Some general conclusions are drawn from the owner's viewpoint to assist in ensuring the timely and efficient completion of tunneled works in a complex transportation project.

Several progressive engineering and construction firms are now working to overcome the well‐recognized problems of disintegration. One critical problem is the adverse consequences for technological advancement. Familiar and new forms of contracts, such as design‐build and partnerships, are one way to increase integration. Organizational and information integration offer other alternatives to improve coordination and efficiency. Based on investigations of several recent construction innovations, this paper describes four noncontractual means of integration on construction projects: (1) Owner's leadership; (2) the long‐term relationship; (3) employing integration champions; and (4) the professionalism of project participants. Providing real‐world examples of construction innovations, the paper describes how each method helps overcome disintegration. The conclusions and practical applications highlight the need for new forms of integration, the feasibility of using noncontractual means, and the significant benefits of these means. The applications include actions by government agencies, owners, contractors, and educational institutions to increase the frequency and benefits of noncontractual integration.

Disputes and claims occur frequently in the construction process. The resulting litigation wastefully consumes important resources like time, money, and especially project‐engineering talent. Many contract disputes could be avoided if the disputing parties took fast action and were better informed. This paper reports on an ongoing research project to develop an expert system to educate and advise inexperienced site engineers about the legal consequences of construction disputes. The part of the system described in this paper is called SuperChange. It evaluates the validity of claims brought under the Changes clause found in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). SuperChange supports decisions made by site engineers in several important ways. First, SuperChange guides the user through the analysis by controlling the direction of the analysis based on previous user responses. By doing so, the system does not allow the site engineer to forget a crucial part of the analysis and at the same time trains the site engineer in the proper components of an analysis. The second way in which SuperChange supports the site engineer is by providing a comprehensive, hyper‐text based, context‐sensitive help system. The help system can provide explanation, court citations, examples, and quotations all related to the particular question at hand. The final way the system supports analysis is by providing a report‐writing capability that can be used by the site engineer's superiors to review judgments and conclusions.