Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

Construction engineering and management (CEM) research over the past 50 years has focused on extending and applying management and computer science approaches to minimize cost during the implementation phase of construction projects. Three emerging trends suggest the need to broaden the frame of future CEM research in several ways: (1) more integrated delivery of design, planning, construction, and operation of buildings and infrastructure requires us to broaden the focus of construction engineering and management research across the entire facility lifecycle; (2) rapid globalization of the construction industry requires new governance structures for projects that can bridge across the gaps in values, beliefs, norms, work practices, and laws between participants from different countries; and (3) heightened global awareness of, and demands for, enhanced sustainability requires new approaches, methods, and tools to incorporate sustainability issues in the early phases of the facility development process. Building on ASCE’s 2006 Vision for the Future of Civil Engineering. This paper elaborates each of these three trends and draws implications for refocusing and redirecting construction engineering and management research, education, and civic leadership in the next 50 years.

The Journal of Construction Engineering and Management came into being by the effort of a small group of engineers. It was a struggle, but just as they succeeded in building impressive project, they succeeded in establishing the Journal on a firm foundation.

In the mid-1970s the Construction Journal had fallen on hard times but the dedication of a group of professors at the University of Michigan soon had things organized again. The profession owes a debt of gratitude to the Michigan team for establishing the procedures that allow the processing of papers to run smoothly.

This paper provides insight into how and why construction has developed as a research based discipline over the past 50 years. The writer presents anecdotal information about certain critical events which played a role in shaping the thrust of construction research in the United States. The acceptance of construction engineering and management as a university level program and discipline is strongly tied to research and the publication of scholarly work.

The Construction Industry Institute has provided research opportunities to many and helped to establish the idea that construction research can have a real impact on the industry. Built on the Business Roundtable’s Construction Industry Cost Effectiveness Project, it has proven the effectiveness of industry–university cooperation in solving real problems.

At Penn State, the credit for broadening the Civil Engineering Department’s longstanding academic focus on analysis and design to include the construction phase must go to Dr. Harmer A. Weeden and his longtime associate Dr. Thomas D. Larson. Jack H. Willenbrock joined the Department as an Instructor in June 1968 and grew the construction program so that today about a fourth to a third of the civil undergraduates obtain employment in the construction industry. The program has awarded about 250 postbaccalaureate degrees.

This paper describes initial research on a project designed to understand the experiences of past generations of constructors and make that knowledge accessible to future generations of engineering students and construction practitioners. Much in the same way as medical students can trace their lineage back to Hippocrates, this project aims to provide architecture, engineering, and construction students, and professionals alike, a sense of their professional history. The project was developed around five time epochs, four geographic regions, and three different project types. We investigated issues such as the flow of money, training of workers, sharing of design knowledge, and nature of contracts and agreements. The central question posed by this work is how should knowledge of the history and evolution of construction practices be incorporated in the dialog that educators have with students and with the larger professional community? This research has led to multifaceted results. On the one hand, the message to students should be pride in their professional heritage because throughout time constructors and designers have used knowledge, perseverance, and innovation to accomplish remarkable projects. On the other hand, we have shown that much of what is considered new in the industry (alternative project delivery methods, worker safety programs, public private partnerships, and globalization) have historical antecedents and are not new at all.

Construction continues to be a significant part of the global economy and shapes the built environment and quality of life for people around the world. In the United States, construction is a multibillion dollar annual enterprise, employing nearly 10 million people. However, it appears that the fragmented nature of the industry continues to hamper productivity and hoped-for gains in efficiency. Issues involve an array of regulatory and legal constructs that: (1) redistribute risk; (2) present only low barriers to entry (making company startup somewhat easy); and (3) fail to provide the quality and quantity of labor necessary. These factors continue to produce overall inefficiencies throughout the construction industry, and ill prepare the industry for the formidable challenges of globalization, sustainability, population growth, and wise use of resources. The purpose of this paper is to review the past and present of construction engineering within the context of civil engineering, and to prescribe practical change to revitalize construction engineering education to meet future demands.

Professional engineering licensure is important in the career development of engineers who undertake work critical to protecting public health, safety, and welfare. The knowledge and experience of construction engineers has not previously been well represented in professional engineering licensure evaluation. The ASCE-CI Construction Engineering Education Committee identified recognition of construction engineering in the professional engineering licensure process as one of its missions when it was organized in 1995. With the support of the states and the receptiveness of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), improvements were gradually achieved in recognition of construction engineering experience by changes in NCEES Model Rules. In 2003, the NCEES Board decided to evaluate modification of the Civil Engineering PE exam to include a Construction Engineering module. The evaluation included a Professional Activities and Knowledge Study (PAKS) of the skills appropriate for construction engineers. Following approval of the NCEES Board in 2005, exam development has been underway with implementation planned for April 2008. An additional benefit of the PAKS is the improved understanding of knowledge needed by construction engineers in completing their work activities. These results should be valuable to construction engineering education and industry in identifying critical subject matter for inclusion in courses, curriculums, and continuing education.

Understanding the history of the construction engineering and management discipline in Canada can perhaps shed light on where the future of the discipline may lay and on external perceptions of the discipline. In its current state, the discipline in Canada is a unique model. Examining its positive and negative attributes will help inform strategic planning for construction research and education programs in Canada and in other countries as they adapt to rapid changes in their environments. The objective of this paper is to present sufficient information to make that examination possible. Its scope is limited to the last 200 years. Early pioneers in the discipline are described. Their careers are reflected in the developments that are summarized in the following discussion of the emergence of professional societies, and the educational and research infrastructure of the discipline in Canada. Recent developments in education and research are examined in more detail. Some final observations are then made based on this brief history.

Housing deficit, which can be defined as the shortage of housing units, is a major problem in developing nations. In Latin American countries it affects a large proportion of the population. A number of factors hinder the ability of Colombia and other countries to overcome the challenge of providing housing units. These factors include the lack of adequate resources, a shortage of urban land, and financing risks. In Latin America the “academic sector” must go beyond its traditional role and become a facilitator for improvements in the housing production chain. It must be an innovator proposing better construction alternatives. The utilization of recycled polymers offers a housing solution with expected impact on waste reduction and on competitive housing materials.

Cranes have come to symbolize building construction itself. They perform indispensable services in moving materials and components vertically and horizontally. Used since antiquity, their history is interrelated with the development of new power sources that replaced man and mule, first steam and later internal combustion, diesel, and electric engines. Mobile cranes can be rapidly deployed to lift heavy loads. New models with telescoping booms and all-terrain travel capability, compact urban machines, and even hybrids with tower cranes are beginning to replace the familiar lattice boom truck cranes. Mobile cranes have dominated the North American market, but a cultural change appears to be taking place toward tower cranes for building projects. Tower cranes, common in Europe for decades, are globally gaining in popularity with surging real estate developments. Ideal for dense urban environments and coming with a small footprint, they are available in a growing diversity of sizes and configurations. Sophisticated electronic controls and operator assistance devices are enhancing their safe and productive operation. While cranes occupy a central role on midrise and high-rise building projects, they operate in conjunction with other types of supporting equipment that are an essential part of the overall equipment array on today’s industrialized construction sites.

A lack of skilled workers has become a global problem that is impacting the construction industry. To address the issue, the industry—working in partnership with government agencies—has developed programs to attract new workers for high-skill positions in construction. These workers include women and minorities. However, attracting women into a career field that is dominated by conflict and aggression is problematic. Consequently, the industry is making a significant effort to change their image and culture, and these efforts are being supported by professional associations, labor unions, and universities. This paper highlights the current status of women in construction trades, management, education, and research positions. The paper also identifies many of the challenges women face in the construction industry and the many opportunities and support networks that are available to help them succeed.

University promotion and tenure committees use sponsored research to judge a faculty member’s contribution to a discipline’s body of knowledge. Sponsored research is usually a crucial indicator in making promotion and tenure decisions.

This paper explains and discusses the development of a strategic plan for the management of research in building in a planning horizon of 8–10 years. The plan has three major elements: (1) a knowledge base with ranked long range research needs in each discipline; (2) a second base which defines the main objectives of the building sector and the major interdisciplinary problems that must be solved in order to attain them; and (3) the procedures to be followed in order to initiate and carry out an annual research program in view of the strategic plan and the current information maintained in the two bases. This paper dwells first on the special features of research as a knowledge building and problem solving tool, and then describes the process of the actual development of the strategic plan for building research in Israel, including the construction of the knowledge bases and the generation of the annual research programs. Special attention is given to the objectivity and accountability of the process.