Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

This study aimed to identify a set of project success factors for design and build (D&B) projects and examine the relative importance of these factors on project outcome. Six project success factors (project team commitment, contractor's competencies, risk and liability assessment, client's competencies, end-users' needs, and constraints imposed by end-users) were extracted from factor analysis of data provided by 53 participants of public-sector D&B projects through a questionnaire survey. Project team commitment, client's competencies, and contractor's competencies were found to be important to bring successful project outcome from the multiple regression findings. Contractor's competencies also contributed to project time performance. Project team members should also recognize that time and cost performance as well as quality of design and workmanship represent the key elements of overall success of D&B projects. Practitioners are advised to focus on teamwork and partnering for successful project completion. More research should be conducted to further explore the relationship between procurement method and project success factors.

This paper focuses on future research and the use of project management software in the construction industry. Data are drawn from an empirical study of project management professionals that yielded 240 replies (35% response rate), 42 of which were from the construction industry. Data were collected on: demographics and work environment, project management software usage patterns, analytical technique usage, data management, and suggestions for future research. The results indicate that construction professionals have different characteristics, needs and preferences, as compared to the overall sample. The study shows that construction professionals are more experienced and educated than the respondents in the overall study, they tend to work on fewer projects with larger numbers of activities, and they are more likely to use Primavera (Primavera, Inc., Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) than Microsoft Project (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash.). Construction respondents are heavy users of critical path analysis for planning and control, resource scheduling for planning, and earned value analysis for control. The number of activities in a typical project and the use of software for all active projects were the key determinants of the usage of specific analytical techniques. These factors are also significant determinants of the types of information entered and updated, although the effect is weaker. Although construction professionals are generally satisfied with the quality of schedules produced by the software, they still expressed a clear interest in future research on resource scheduling/leveling in general and a net present value option in particular. To maximize the impact on practice, development of new planning and control methods should include their integration into project management software.

Shoring towers are the common formwork solution for high-clearance construction, but there are not many documented cases of extremely high towers. This paper reports on a project in which 60-m-(200-ft-) high shoring towers were used for slab formwork. The paper describes the design and construction of the formwork, with a focus on aspects unique to high multitier towers. The various considerations made are presented, and data and information are provided that may assist practitioners facing similar engineering undertakings. Special attention is given to the organization of the work, in light of the scarcity of data pertaining to shoring towers of such heights. Measured assembly and disassembly work inputs are presented and analyzed, and the validity of a model to predict work inputs in multitier tower erection is examined.

Selecting construction methods, scheduling activities, and planning the use of site space are key to constructing a project efficiently. Site layout and activity scheduling have been tackled as independent problems. Their interdependence is often ignored at the planning stage and may be dealt with—if at all—when construction is underway. Problems that may have had easy solutions if dealt with earlier, may then be expensive to remedy. This paper addresses the combined problem termed “space scheduling” and presents an algorithmic time-space trade-off model for adjusting activity durations and start dates to decrease the need for space over congested time periods. The model characterizes resource space requirements over time and establishes a time-space relationship for each activity in the schedule, based on alternative resource levels. An example illustrates the presented algorithm that generates a feasible space schedule.

Heavy rainfall often leads to complete suspension of highway construction due to saturated and unworkable soil conditions. Therefore, quantifying the impact of rainfall on the productivity of highway construction is essential in preparing realistic schedules and cost estimates for the preconstruction stage and in analyzing weather-related claims for the postconstruction stage. This paper presents a decision support system for quantifying the impact of rainfall on productivity and duration of common highway construction operations, namely: earthmoving, construction of base courses, construction of drainage layers, and paving operations. The system incorporates a knowledgebase and a database. The knowledgebase includes if/then type rules, acquired from experts in highway construction operations, and the database contains hourly records of weather parameters from the closest weather station to the construction site. The system, named WEATHER, is a software system that provides user-friendly interface, including menus, dialog boxes, and graphical capabilities to facilitate data input and output.

The decision-making process is a very essential part of any construction operation. Simulation can be used as a tool to assist construction managers in making informed decisions. In this paper, simulation is applied to concrete batching operations to analyze alternative solutions and resource management. Data are collected to define activity durations for the plant. A simulation model is constructed for the plant using the MicroCYCLONE simulation system. Based on sensitivity analysis, management tools are constructed to help the decision maker. These tools are a time-cost-quantity chart, a feasible region analysis, and a contour lines chart. Time-cost-quantity and contour lines charts are used for determining production time, production cost, and resources for a required distance from the plant. The feasible region chart is used for determining the range of alternative solutions that can be taken to minimize production time and cost of the available plant resources, according to the required transportation distance.

To protect a steel bridge from corrosion, periodic painting is needed. Bridge painting operations are dangerous and hazardous to human health. A robotic bridge painting system is being developed to replace the human being. One major problem with robotic bridge painting is how to achieve the specified coating quality, which includes two aspects: (1) the coating thickness; and (2) the coating appearance. To ensure quality of the robotic bridge painting, the writers have investigated: (1) the parameters that affect the coating thickness and appearance; (2) the values of the parameters to achieve the required thickness and appearance for the robotic painting; and (3) the thickness distribution functions of the bridge painting under various conditions. The specified painting quality can be achieved by using the results of this study to set up and control the robotic bridge painting system.

Analysis of the difference between the lowest and second lowest bids, or bid-spread, in a “lowest wins” auction is of possible value in strategic bidding, providing an indication of mistakes in bids, determining a justifiable amount of bid security, and a means of providing some insight into the consequences of nontraditional auction arrangements. Bid-spread analysis, as developed in this paper, provides some explanations concerning the nature of bids and their statistical properties. In particular, it is shown here that, through the analysis of several data sets originating in various parts of the world, the percentage bid-spread is consistent with the assumption that bids are entirely random, being drawn from a lognormal distribution.

BOT (build-operate-transfer) project delivery systems have provided effective routes to mobilize private sector funds, innovative technologies, management skills, and operational efficiencies for public infrastructure development. However, many countries and regions lack BOT expertise and experience. Hong Kong, one of the pioneers in optimizing private sector participation in infrastructure development, has developed five large tunnels on the BOT basis since the late 1960s, the first of which recently completed its franchise period and entered into the posttransfer operation phase. Experience and lessons gained in formulating and managing BOT projects over more than 30 years have enabled the Hong Kong government to develop a well-structured BOT framework. This proven BOT model is useful for countries and regions lacking such expertise and still in need of BOT-based infrastructure. This paper discusses key development aspects of the five BOT tunnels, including feasibility study; tender selection; legal, financial, and land issues; design and construction; operation and maintenance; transfer; and posttransfer management.

The purpose of this paper is to present a work-time model for engineers. Engineers accomplish tasks by using their time when working on engineering or construction projects. Traditional project management records only work hours on tasks charged by engineers, but whether engineers spend time on direct work or communication is usually not tracked. Project tasks entail various degrees of uncertainty and ambiguity that require different work mechanisms and amounts of time. To address this issue, a model of arranging engineers' work mechanisms and time on tasks was developed. The model tested valid on a design project by showing that the fit between planned and actual work hour patterns is associated with better performance. From a system viewpoint, engineers' work mechanisms and time as input variables provide early symptomatic data and prediction about project operations, which provides a guide for the behavior of engineers.