Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

Alternative project delivery systems such as construction management at risk (CMR) are increasingly used in public school construction in the United States. CMR is expected to benefit owners with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP), decreased change order cost, and increased cost “certainty.” This paper empirically compares cost growth performance of the CMR and design-bid-build (DBB) methods in Pacific Northwest public school projects. Data were collected from state records and previous studies on 297 completed schools in Oregon and Washington. The analysis of the data shows no statistically significant difference between CMR and DBB in construction change order costs, school project costs exceeding the GMP in 75% of the cases, and a statistically significant difference in cost growth between CMR and DBB projects during buy out, making CMR projects less efficient at controlling cost growth at buy out. These results counter some of the traditional expectations of the CMR delivery method.

Unanticipated market conditions as well as project-related risks can easily lead to cost overruns in international construction projects. For a contractor to be financially successful in international projects, a careful examination of the project is a prerequisite to understanding the cost variance characteristics. Based on the reasonably accurate characterization of the cost performance, the markup or contingency amount is determined to ensure both a decent level of profit and a good chance of winning the contract. This paper presents a classification model to categorize international construction projects, particularly faced by Korean contractors, into five cost-variation classes: extreme cost overrun, moderate cost overrun, neutral, moderate cost saving, and extreme cost saving. The model is able to characterize an international project for its cost performance prediction in comparison to the contractor’s initial cost estimate. A linear discriminant analysis is utilized to develop the predictive classification model with the support of the bootstrap method. Tests show that the proposed model is able to help cost estimators determine a proper level of cost contingency before bidding on an international project.

A typical highway project generally takes 5 years or more from planning phase to construction stage, particularly in wooded and difficult terrain using traditional topographic terrain mapping methods. This paper presents an application of airborne laser terrain mapping technology for a $9\mathrm{km}$ $\left(5.9\mathrm{mi.}\right)$ long highway project in a difficult densely wooded terrain with steep slopes and ravines. Elevation data accuracy, efficiency, and cost effectiveness were compared with the traditional aerial photogrammetry and ground based total station survey methods. The elevations of centerline and 15 different cross sections were compared with groundtruthing data from the total station survey. Using appropriate flight mission parameters, the airborne laser technology permits elevation accuracy of $0.13\mathrm{m}$ $\left(5\mathrm{in}\right)$ . There are less operating constraints which adversely affect the productivity of traditional methods, such as cloud and vegetation cover, time of day, and intrusion into private properties. It is recommended to combine the low-altitude airborne laser technology with centerline staking by total station survey and aerial photography. The recommended combined approach saves 33% of the budget and 35% of time.

Complex construction projects are vulnerable to tipping points. Tipping points are conditions that, when crossed, cause system behaviors to radically change performance. Previous research identified tipping point dynamics as capable of explaining the failure of some nuclear power plant construction projects. These dynamics can also threaten the success of other large, complex construction projects. The current work uses a dynamic project model to test policies for managing tipping point dynamics. The Limerick Unit 2 nuclear power plant project is used to test model usefulness. Sensitivity analysis reveals the rework fraction, strength of subsystem interdependence, and sensitivity of the project to schedule pressure as potential high-leverage points for policy design. The model is used to test policies for managing tipping points that were used to complete the Limerick Unit 2 nuclear power plant after a tipping point threatened project completion. Implications for construction project design and management and research opportunities are discussed.

The severity of interface issues and the necessity of interface management (IM) have not received adequate recognition from both industry and academia. The understanding of interface issues is still insufficient and the proposed or employed measures are unilateral, which result in unsatisfactory IM performance in construction projects. After establishing IM’s importance in the construction industry, this paper presents a multiperspective approach that systematically explores comprehensive cause factors for various interface issues. From six interrelated perspectives, namely people/participants, methods/processes, resources, documentation, project management, and environment, hierarchical cause factors are identified and presented in a structured way. These cause factors are further converted into a series of interface management and control elements that allow for the development of an object data model and a systematic model-based IM strategy dealing with all interface issues. The multiperspective approach outperforms other research methods that analyze selected interface issues in a loose and isolated way. The findings contribute a holistic view of what causes interface issues as well as provide a solid theoretical basis for practitioners and researchers to seek all-around IM solutions.

This paper examines the statistical distributions of interarrival and response times for construction-site correspondence. Data from a number of construction projects are analyzed and hypotheses are proposed and tested to link the probability distribution to the type of correspondence. Although the commonly assumed exponential distribution of interarrival times is found to be accurate for all types of correspondence, the response times for different types of correspondence follow different distributions depending on the type of correspondence. In particular, a power law relationship is observed between incidence frequency and response time for requests for information. Knowing the statistical distributions for a class of events helps managers forecast future work and manage risk. Simulation models used by practitioners and researchers for various project management goals are also improved by incorporating appropriate statistical distributions for generating various events.

This study presents the results of a questionnaire survey that was conducted among a selected sample of large-size contractors operating in Egypt, as well as a comparison of the safety approaches in both the United States and Egypt. The results revealed that safety programs applied by large-size contractors in Egypt were less formal than those applied by their American counterparts. Only a few companies out of the surveyed sample had accident records broken down by projects and provided workers with formal safety orientation. Finally, the study recommended that reforms in the way of the employer’s contribution to social insurance were necessary; thereby linking accident insurance costs to the contractor’s safety performance. This is meant to serve as a strong incentive for safety management.