Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

It has been estimated that an expenditure of $200 billion per year must be made on the world's infrastructure for the foreseeable future. This will lead to many opportunities for U.S. contractors to work internationally. Much of the work is located in emerging countries that do not have the money available to finance the projects that they need. The subject of this lecture is the Izmir-Aydin Project in Turkey, which began as a fixed-price, finance, design-build job. The project is very interesting, and shows the many problems that may be faced during the execution of an international contract, including lack of payment, ignoring contract provisions, changes in government, and politics in general.

The build-operate-transfer (BOT) model of project development is implemented through the award of a concession to a private sector consortium for the financing, building, and operating of infrastructure projects. Project promoters must, however, realize that the process of winning a major BOT contract in a competitive tender is full of uncertainties and risks. This paper shows that the financial and technical strength of the consortium is regarded as the most important critical success factor in a BOT tender. It also presents the competitive tendering and negotiation model for BOT promoters involved in tendering BOT projects. BOT promoters must give special and continued attention to the model in order to develop a superior proposal that will increase their chances of securing a profitable BOT contract.

In this paper, an interactive critical operations planning environment (COPE) is described for planning critical construction operations involving large semistationary equipment such as cranes, concrete pumps, and manipulators. Careful planning is necessary for the use of semistationary equipment; however, formal planning methods and tools are limited. Planning is typically the responsibility of a small pool of experts whose knowledge is largely undocumented. Automating and formalizing aspects of the planning process can improve the productivity and effectiveness of expert or nonexpert critical operations planners. The proposed planning environment uses computer-aided drafting tools and a set of computerized planning primitives to facilitate a very visual planning process. The planning principles implemented include human-computer interaction, constraint enforcement, and performance measurement. Implementation details and initial research results are presented in this paper, which follows previous work. With the developed planning environment and process, a significant amount of planning time can be saved so that more alternatives can be evaluated. A better plan can be determined through comparison of more alternatives. The structured planning process also allows planners to perform more detailed analyses on planning problems. Better decisions can thus be made based on the analyses.

This paper reports on a study of possible demolition methods for tall concrete chimneys. In particular it discusses a case where the adjoining plant functions had to remain fully operational during the demolition process. Therefore, both operational and cost concerns in relation to demolition methods and procedures are discussed. In fact, operational risk factors can be critical in the selection of demolition methods. It was found that when diamond sawing was chosen as the method for demolishing reinforced-concrete structures, the cutting pattern can have a significant impact on project cost.

The comparison of alternative construction methods is one of the principal reasons for using simulation to model construction processes. The efficiency and effectiveness of such comparisons can be greatly improved by the prudent use of “matched pairs,” a variance reduction technique based on dedicated and fully synchronized random number streams. The basic methodology is illustrated by using the STROBOSCOPE simulation system to compare two alternative construction methods for rock tunneling [Conventional versus the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM)]. For this example the effects are dramatic. The probability of identifying and choosing the cheaper construction method based on a single run increases from 55% to 96%, the variance of the cost difference decreases by two orders of magnitude, and the 95% confidence interval for the true cost difference given by 4,000 independent runs can be obtained by performing only seven replications using matched pairs. Besides this improvement in statistical efficiency, the use of matched pairs is a necessity for this example in order to compare the alternatives on a logical and equitable basis.

The continual development in building components and the significant increase in the proportion of high-rise building lead to an extended use of new methods of exterior cladding. The selection of a cladding system incorporates various aspects, among which the more significant are: physical and visual performance, life span of the cladding, and economic considerations. This paper focuses on the systematic examination and comparison of four different categories of cladding methods based on technological and economic criteria. The categories of claddings are: cementitious stucco, synthetic finish stucco, ceramic, and natural stone. The economic analysis, based on life-cycle cost (LCC) and on life-span estimates was arrived at by an analysis following on-site observations. It is shown that in “noncorrosive” environments, cementitious stucco is preferable to alternatives, particularly in low-rise buildings. In “corrosive” environments, synthetic and ceramic mosaic claddings are preferable to the alternatives examined.

Determining the optimum size and number of haul units for an earthmoving project is a task of critical importance. Past approaches fail to recognize critical characteristics of the loading facility which ultimately impact on the overall system production. Regardless of the size or number of haul units used in an earthmoving project, the hauling system's total production can never exceed the productivity of the loading facility. This paper presents an improved model for optimizing haul unit size and number based on a function of loading facility characteristics as modeled by a load growth curve. The model relies on the derivation of a cost index number (CIN) to determine the optimum size and number of haul units for the given loading facility. Detailed discussions of the impact of rounding off haul unit number are also presented to highlight the importance of this decision. The paper concludes that the use of this model provides a means to design the construction equipment fleet for a wide range of material moving projects.

The need to remain competitive while generating profit requires management to develop innovative cost management strategies that will allow them to distinguish and control early-on factors that might adversely impact the cost of a project. This paper describes a decision support system, COMPASS (Cost Management Planning Support System) for project cost control strategy and planning. Throughout the life cycle of a project, COMPASS methodology assists management in evaluating the potential degree of cost escalation. It also identifies attributes such as management errors, regulatory approval, and error/rework, that might be the cause for project cost escalation. Furthermore, COMPASS assists management in formulating a cost control strategy while utilizing their experience and past project performance data. The attributes identified by the cost control strategy, if controlled, would minimize the expected loss (i.e., project cost escalation).

This paper presents a performance modeling methodology for application to individual projects. The model combines experience captured from experts with assessments from the project team. The methodology consists of a conceptual, qualitative-model structure and a mathematical-model structure. The conceptual-model structure, called the general performance model (GPM), is a simplified model of the variables and interaction that influence project performance. The mathematical model uses concepts of cross-impact analysis and probabilistic inference to capture the uncertainties and interactions among project variables. The GPM allows management to test different combinations of project-execution options and predict expected cost, schedule, and other performance impacts. The methodology provides a systematic and structured process for a project-team discussion on relevant planning issues in a project. Researchers should benefit from the exploratory and analytical capabilities of the methodology, as well as the flexible knowledge structure to update models and data. Computer implementation is also attractive as a means to disseminating research results.

Constructability is defined as the optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, design, procurement, and field operations to achieve overall project objectives. It should ideally be started early in the conceptual design phase of a project. Public sector owners, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have difficulty accessing private construction expertise early in a project life cycle due to Federal Acquisition Regulations. This paper outlines a case study using a contractor symposium to enhance constructability during early detailed design on a project in Texas. It briefly describes the Sargent Beach erosion control project on which the constructability symposium technique was used. It then discusses the symposium process including its applicability, mechanics, and important considerations. The article then discusses the status of the project including actions taken as a result of the symposium. It concludes with a discussion of benefits, problems, and recommendations concerning this innovative technique.

Technically advanced organizations responsible for construction efforts invest up to 15% of the cost of the effort in construction representative manpower and supporting resources. Construction representatives are technically qualified individuals who perform quality actions for customers or buyers of constructed facilities. These actions may include engineering, inspection, materials testing, administration or surveys. This paper discusses a Construction Management Program that schedules manpower and controls costs of construction representatives. This program includes three phases. The planning phase forecasts future construction representative needs for the agencywide effort. The staffing phase schedules and assigns personnel to specific projects after a construction contract has been awarded. The monitoring phase furnishes performance and cost reports that compare actual results with the staffing estimates. The program provides useful information for the improvement of resource utilization and positive control of costs. This construction management program has assisted in a more than 2% reduction in costs of construction representatives for the Arizona Department of Transportation.

This paper presents findings of a pilot study and investigation into construction contracts. The investigation evaluated the effectiveness of written contract language to communicate risk apportionment between contracting parties. This topic is important. Ineffective risk apportionment or the misunderstanding of risk apportionment between contracting parties generally leads to a dispute after the occurrence of a risk event. Contract disputes usually increase project costs and lead to an adversarial contract relationship. A survey was designed to measure perceptions of risk apportionment assigned by construction contract clauses. Perceptions were obtained by asking owners, contractors and consultants to indicate the degree of risk apportionment they perceived as having been assigned between an owner and a contractor by specific contract clauses. Survey results indicated that contracting parties consistently interpret risk apportionment of contract clauses differently. In other words, in terms of how a contract clause assigned risk, the contracting parties seldom interpreted such clauses in the same way.