Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

Construction is a labor‐intensive industry and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. One of the key areas in the project manager's strategic and tactical management of a construction project is managing people. This paper starts by reviewing some of the classic theories on human group behavior, and relates them to construction project management. It further argues that group dynamics has significant impact on project performance. Overall effectiveness and efficiency of the project depend on the coordinated efforts of individuals working together on‐ and off‐site in groups within the whole project‐management system. Communication is presented as the basis of construction project group dynamics, allowing the interactions that are necessary in carrying out project activities. Two‐way communication, feedback, and “checking for meaning” are means of facilitating mutual understanding between project team members, and between various groups. The paper concludes by looking at the purpose of project groups or teams, and accomplishment of the same.

Automated daily site reporting coupled with computerized data interpretation as an integral part of a project management system has the potential to be the missing link for effective construction project monitoring and control. This paper describes a schema to perform the automated interpretation of daily site records, to identify activities experiencing difficulties, to identify the source(s) of these difficulties, to identify the types of problems resulting, to find corroborating information from the daily site records, to validate the causes of these problems, and to suggest likely corrective actions. A framework is presented wherein each component of the analysis schema is defined. This framework includes a set of user‐assigned activity‐interpretation attributes, a set of problem sources, and a set of corrective actions. Expert rules are used to link these components, and fuzzy logic is used to define the imprecise relationships that exist between them. A prototype system has been developed to implement and test the schema (to be presented in a companion paper).

This is a summary of the quality performance efforts on project 12, a heavy industrial project with a total installed cost in excess of $100,000,000. Quality performance efforts are tracked using the quality performance management system (QPMS). QPMS tracks labor costs in three main categories: normal work, quality management work (prevention and appraisal), and rework (deviation correction). The cost of quality is the sum of quality management and rework. The system is implemented by all parties (the owner, the two designers, and the constructor) at the beginning of the design phase and continued through construction phase to mechanical completion. The overall cost of quality, less owner changes of 0.2%, for project 12 is 11.2% of the total labor expenditures, design plus construction. Quality management totals 8.1% and rework is 3.1%. QPMS is found to promote awareness and improve the understanding of the quality process, facilitate communication, focus management on where quality improvements could be made, and reduce the overall cost of quality. Data are generated to benchmark quality performance on future projects.

Unanticipated conditions on a construction project sometimes result in a significant loss of productivity. The conditions that may affect productivity—adverse weather, scheduled overtime, and material shortages, to name a few examples—have received considerable attention in the literature. However, both experience and a detailed examination of this literature reveal that these conditions do not necessarily lead to a loss of productivity. Furthermore, when such losses are observed, their extent varies from project to project, from activity to activity, and from crew to crew. Other factors and processes must therefore be involved. The action‐response model of productivity loss in construction identifies these factors and processes. The model graphically depicts how a variety of factors may interact to cause a loss of productivity; how a crew is influenced by these factors; and how the management of crews can mitigate, eliminate, initiate, or exacerbate any particular loss of productivity. By applying the model to three case studies, a new approach to evaluating loss of productivity is illustrated.

Trenchless technology is a rapidly growing sector of the construction market in the United States. Trenchless technology includes all methods of installing, rehabilitating, and repairing underground utilities without utilizing an open‐cut trench. Trenchless applications require proper equipment, materials, and experience to achieve the desired results. The desired results mean a usable hole, on target, with a minimum of effort. This necessitates the use of effective instrumentation to monitor the progress of the installation at various stages. This paper describes in brief the most common methods to track and steer a pipe as it is being installed in the ground using trenchless methods. It also identifies the applicability of the methods to be used in conjunction with the different trenchless techniques.

An integrated computerized system is described that can be used as a dispute‐resolution tool for managing owner‐directed acceleration. It can also be used as an aid for helping owners and contractors foresee the implications of accelerating a project in terms of cost and liabilities involved. The system is composed of an analysis module written in LISP as its backbone, and a knowledge base limited to related aspects in major contract forms. After obtaining the initial information from the user, the system triggers the analysis module. The analysis module generates several schedules to perform time‐impact analysis. Then, the system uses the knowledge base to assign liabilities to the parties for past events, including delayed, accelerated, added, and canceled (DAAC) activities that were not foreseen in the original schedule. It does this by means of a set of if‐then rules and certainty indices based on the responses obtained from the user. The system then incorporates this information chronologically into a compression analysis carried out again by the analysis module. The system can make a human mediator's job more effective and economical, and can also considerably reduce the occurrence of acceleration‐related disputes.

Multistory buildings are in a category of projects, termed linear or repetitive projects, that involve considerable repetitive activities performed consecutively by the same crew. Current available network techniques and linear scheduling methods mainly consider technological constraints and resource requirements in the generation of schedules for repetitive work. Such techniques and methods ignore requirements of activities for work space necessary for material storage and movement of manpower and equipment. Ignoring such requirements will increase conflicts among the different trades, decrease productivity, impact safety, and may lengthen project durations. To acknowledge work‐space constraints in the scheduling process, one first needs to identify and evaluate the different parameters that characterize work space. Once these parameters are defined, scheduling decisions can be formulated to generate a work sequence based on these parameters. This paper describes a model to define and quantify work‐space demand and availability parameters for repetitive floors in multistory buildings. A scheduling procedure to implement these parameters for sequencing repetitive work is discussed. Work continuity issues and variable crew‐productivity rates associated with scheduling this type of construction are also considered.

This paper presents a strategy or overall approach to the integration of the design and construction of facilities. This strategy relies on the use of computers to support the members of the design and construction team in the development and communication of project information throughout the project's life cycle. We propose the use of a shared object‐oriented project model as the basis for integration. Networking technology then provides the communication links between project participants and individual applications. The technologies suggested in this paper do not represent radical departures from those employed in other engineering disciplines (e.g., mechanical design); rather, the technologies are presented in a framework that is appropriate for the facility development process. Some of these suggestions have been developed and tested at the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) at Stanford University over the past four years.

The paper presents an economic analysis of robotized execution of interior building tasks. Four tasks—painting, plastering, tiling, and masonry—have been examined in full‐scale with “TAMIR”—Technion Autonomous Multipurpose Interior Robot. This experimental preprototype building robot has six degrees of freedom, an average reach of 1.70 m, and is mounted on an automatically guided mobile three‐wheeled carriage. The robotized mode of execution of these four tasks is described, along with time and cost data, and logistical considerations. The labor input and cost of these activities in robotized versus manual performance are quantitatively analyzed under different site and employment conditions. Suggestions for improvements in the robotized system, give rise to make the robotized option more attractive in the future. Conclusions with respect to managerial and economic implications of robotized construction are also presented.

The adverse effects of void mortar joints on the performance of masonry are enumerated. Unfilled mortar joints in brick masonry weaken walls, increase leakage, breach a contract, violate the law, and break tradition. The bricklayers union, masonry contractors, architectural and engineering professionals, and materials researchers all agree that unfilled mortar joints should not be permitted. At least since 1890 the literature on masonry has been replete with admonitions on the necessity for filling mortar joints. Masonry may turn out unintentionally bad, but it will never be accidentally good. Inspection of masonry under construction is now required by building codes and specifications promulgated by The Masonry Society, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Concrete Institute (“Specifications” 1988). A method for measuring void joints is described. The unaided human eye is a satisfactory instrument for judging mortar joint solidity. Photographs of typical unfilled joints are shown. The pervasive lack of concern for poor masonry workmanship can lead to undesirable legal consequences.

This paper presents a new method to estimate the duration of construction activities. A model, Activity Duration Decision Support System (ADDSS), was developed. This model employs the fuzzy modus ponens deduction (FMPD) technique to evaluate the impact of different factors on activity duration. The linguistic values of these factors are represented by angular fuzzy set models. The technique described in this paper allows a scheduler to partially match an evidence with a rule. The use of angular models demonstrates the use of a single and relatively simple fuzzy logic formula. The technique we developed does not require the scheduler to understand the underlying concept of fuzzy logic. In fact, one needs only to input an assessment of factors that may affect the completion of an activity. At this stage, ADDSS interfaces with the CA‐SuperProject scheduling package. ADDSS was also developed to export and import data to and from the CA‐SuperProject. Both the logic operations and angular models of ADDSS are elaborated. A step‐by‐step procedure using ADDSS is presented, followed by case studies demonstrating the implementation of ADDSS in hypothetical and real construction projects. These cases show the practicality and applicability of ADDSS.

Recent research has identified different approaches owners use to implement constructability. This paper provides a comparative analysis of three such approaches studied in four case studies. The three approaches are: using a construction management firm during preconstruction (referred to as constructability services), specialized‐formal programming, and comprehensive tracking. To conduct the comparison, six attributes are used: initiation of constructability input, documented benefit/cost data, extent of owner participation, formalized procedures, methods to track lessons learned, and designated constructability coordinator(s). For each approach, the quantitative and qualitative benefits and costs are presented and compared. Each approach is presented to assist project managers in understanding implementation of constructability. This understanding can provide project managers with answers to the following questions: Considering owner organization and project characteristics, what approach is most suitable? What are the benefits and costs associated with each approach? What action can the owner take to facilitate constructability input?

This paper examines the compatibility of various construction contracting methods with certain types of owners and projects. Contracting methods, as defined in this paper, consist of four parts: scope, organization, contract, and award. An owner must create an appropriate contracting method for each project. It was determined that there are six main organizations around which the contracting variations are created: general contractor, construction manager, multiple primes, design‐build, turnkey, and build‐operate‐transfer. The most common method is the traditional system of an independent designer, a general contractor, and a competitively bid, lump‐sum price. This method is efficient in many cases; however, in some situations, alternative methods are more appropriate and should be explored. Choosing certain methods can decrease the project duration, provide flexibility for changes, reduce adversarial relationships, allow for contractor participation in design, provide cost savings incentives to the contractor, and provide alternative financing methods. Guidelines are established to help the owner choose the organization, contract type, and award method most applicable for their project and themselves.

Site investigation is an important step in estimating and planning new construction projects. Surface and subsurface conditions influence construction methods and choice of equipment, which, in turn, affect the cost and scheduling of projects. Therefore it is important that site conditions be properly assessed. This paper explains a database for the storage of descriptive soil data, a geographic information system (GIS) to relate this data to a display of corresponding locations of boreholes, and a graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate the input, query, and output of data, in addition to drawing bore logs. A GIS can relate descriptive project information to graphical displays showing geographic locations on digital maps on a computer screen. GISs currently available concentrate on planar/surface applications. However, there is a need to show soil variation as a function of depth. This paper is particularly useful for design‐build organizations, which could benefit from a single database for foundations analysis and design, and construction planning, and resulting design‐construction integration.

In January of 1987 work began on one of the most challenging construction projects in recent time. The Kansai International Airport Co. is responsible for reclaiming 1,263 acres (511 ha) of land in Osaka Bay. The resulting man‐made island will be the foundation for Japan's first 24‐hr airport. This paper focuses on the various stages involved in the reclamation process. To accommodate the settlement that accompanies most reclamation work, the consolidation of the seafloor was accelerated using three methods: sand drains, sand compaction piles, and deep cement‐mixing. The seafloor improvement also enhances the stability of the island's seawall, which surrounds it entirely. The construction of this seawall is presented. Furthermore, an enormous amount of fill was used to reclaim the land that now forms the island, and the procedure for placing this fill is described. Also, some of the problems encountered during the construction phase of the project are explored.

This paper uses data from 22 masonry projects to compare two approaches for forecasting labor productivity. The first approach is to divide the current work‐hour total by the percent complete (PC) of the activity. The second method uses the factor model to develop a predicted labor‐productivity curve. Actual deviations from this curve are reflected in the labor‐productivity forecast at completion. The paper details how the predicted curve and the forecast are made. Absolute and relative errors are the basis of comparison. On average, the factor‐model forecasts are within ±5% when only 5% of the work is completed. The range based on the standard deviation is ±25%. The PC approach is equally as accurate when considering the average of the 22 projects. However, the range of error is consistently about 50% larger. It is concluded that the factor model is a more reliable method of forecasting labor productivity.