Residential Building Projects: Building Cost Indicators and Drivers

Time and costs are considered to be substantial success factors of building construction projects. In Germany, early cost estimates are provided by multiplying the cost indicator with the gross floor area. When preparing these estimates, the question arises as to which specific cost indicator has to be selected? The relevant cost drivers provide guidance for this selection. Drivers show which parameters are the determinants for the selection of the project-specific cost indicators. However, currently these drivers are not known for building construction projects in the German-speaking region. The relevant cost drivers for residential properties in Germany are identified by using regression analysis. These drivers are the median floor height, the share of the ancillary area for services, the construction duration, and the compactness of the building. Of the four cost drivers, the median floor height proved to have the greatest explanatory significance. The method proves to be suitable for answering the research question. However, some theoretically relevant drivers were not available for the properties being examined. Therefore, these drivers have to be followed up and examined during future studies. Detailed information should be included especially about materials, the planning and construction process, and specific data about various dimensions of the building.     

基于价值工程的新产品开发项目选择研究

本文根据新产品开发的特点及影响因素,建立新产品开发的评价指标体系,并利用价值工程原理对新产品开发影响因子进行评价,通过仿真对企业新产品开发项目进行排序,在开发资源有限的条件下,给出最佳的新产品开发项目,为企业进行新产品开发决策提供参考依据。     

Cranes for Building Construction Projects

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.     

工程项目中的合同管理

以某公司为例,介绍了强化工程项目管理中合同管理的具体措施,包括：合同管理机制建设、抓好评审环节、监控履行过程、风险管理、变更管理以及建立合同管理信息系统等。事实证明．加强合同管理是提升项目管理水平的必经之路。     

Nature of Engineering Consulting Projects

Engineering consulting firms usually collect data such as cost and man-hour expenditures. Although these data help analyze project profit and productivity, they lack the information on the project nature to examine work and analyze the root causes of performance. This study investigates the nature of engineering consulting projects in terms of uncertainty and equivocality (U&E). A questionnaire was designed to collect project U&E data from 108 project managers. The U&E scores were analyzed, further linked to and tested on a consulting firm’s profit, productivity, project type, phase, duration, and owner data. It is found that project nature does not affect profit or productivity; engineering design work needs more data acquisition and analysis than problem definition and interpretation. Other results show insightful patterns about engineering projects that can be useful references to the engineering services industry.     

Optimal Planning and Scheduling for Repetitive Construction Projects

This paper presents a multiobjective optimization model for the planning and scheduling of repetitive construction projects. The model enables construction planners to generate and evaluate optimal construction plans that minimize project duration and maximize crew work continuity, simultaneously. The computations in the present model are organized in three major modules: scheduling, optimization, and ranking modules. First, the scheduling module uses a resource-driven scheduling algorithm to develop practical schedules for repetitive construction projects. Second, the optimization module utilizes multiobjective genetic algorithms to search for and identify feasible construction plans that establish optimal tradeoffs between project duration and crew work continuity. Third, the ranking module uses multiattribute utility theory to rank the generated plans in order to facilitate the selection and execution of the best overall plan for the project being considered. An application example is analyzed to illustrate the use of the model demonstrate its new capabilities in optimizing the planning and scheduling of repetitive construction projects.     

Procurement Routes in Public Building and Construction Projects

This paper deals with procurement routes in public building and construction projects in Norway. Seen from a practical point of view, as well as from a theoretical one, it is important to improve methods for selection of procurement procedure, contract model, and compensation formats. The paper objective is to find out if public owners select a procurement route according to recommended practice. The sources are literature, support material for two software tools for selection of the procurement route, and documentation from 22 public building and construction projects in Norway. According to the literature and the support material for the two software tools, the answer to what is the proper procurement route will depend on the characteristics of each project. The documentation study implies that public owners continue to select the same procurement route as they are in the habit of. They do not consider what procurement route suits each single project, and therefore they do not select the route according to recommended practice. The paper calls for innovation and better supported selection of the procurement route in public building and construction projects.     

Dynamic Planning for Fast-Tracking Building Construction Projects

The fast-tracking delivery method has received considerable attention over the last decade, and its time saving feature has placed it as a possible alternative to the traditional more sequential method. Along with its benefits, however, fast-tracking also has greater potential to impact the project development process than the traditional method. In the literature, this is usually attributed to the increased level of uncertainty and research on fast-tracking has mainly focused on uncertainty reduction but without explicit study of the feedback processes involved in fast-tracking. However, closer observations of the project development process suggest that to effectively handle uncertainty and minimize the negative impact of fast-tracking, the feedback processes involved in fast-tracking need to be identified, and the dynamic behavior of construction resulting from those feedback processes needs to be dealt with in a systematic manner. As an effort to meet these needs, this paper presents the Dynamic Planning Methodology, a planning methodology based on system dynamics. Focusing on the dynamic behavior of fast-tracking construction, the Dynamic Planning Methodology aims to improve the planning and management of fast-tracking building construction projects by providing overlapping strategies, workforce control policies, and schedule adjustments that will minimize the negative impact of fast-tracking.     

Perceptions of Process Quality in Building Projects

A Delphi process and a questionnaire survey are conducted to investigate the differences in the perceptions of entry-level professionals and long-time practitioners with regard to process quality in building projects. The factors that affect process quality in the three phases (design, construction, and operation) of a building project's life cycle are identified and ranked by the respondents' perceived degree of importance. The findings indicate that the perceptions of entry-level professionals and long-time practitioners are in agreement for most (74%) of the factors. Given the differences in the respondents' background, expectations, and experience, differences in perceptions are to be expected in the remaining 26% of the factors. Analyzing these differences helps in revising and improving existing training courses and academic programs. It is recommended that college programs include courses that treat the administrative aspects involved in the building project in great detail and that continuing education programs cover quality training and life cycle cost analysis.     

Coordination Issues in Chinese Large Building Projects

After the year of 1990, many large-scale building projects mushroomed in China due to the increase of construction investments. From that time, many designers from the Western countries stepped into this new market to find new opportunities. Their appearance stimulated some positive changes of the local community, but also raised many concerns. The writer made a survey of seven projects in China designed by foreign design firms. Using the information from the survey, this paper evaluates the positive and negative effects of the foreign design on the Chinese construction market and the local community. According to the survey, one of the most conspicuous negative effects is the coordination issue between the foreign designers and the local project participants. This paper analyzes the different backgrounds of the Chinese and the Western construction industries as well as other factors that contribute to the coordination issue. It also evaluates and proposes some measures trying to solve this problem.     

Optimal Lighting Arrangements for Nighttime Highway Construction Projects

This paper presents a decision support system for optimizing temporary lighting arrangements in nighttime highway construction projects. The system is developed as a multiobjective genetic algorithm that is capable of: (1) maximizing average illuminance on construction sites; (2) maximizing lighting uniformity in the work zone; (3) minimizing glare to workers and road users; and (4) minimizing lighting costs. The system is designed to support decision makers in their search for practical lighting arrangements that provide various tradeoffs among these four conflicting objectives. Five decision variables are optimized in the present system, namely: number of lighting equipment, equipment positioning, mounting height, aiming angle, and rotation angle. The system is also designed to consider and satisfy all practical constraints that can be encountered in this lighting design problem. An application example is analyzed to illustrate the use of the system and demonstrate its capabilities in generating near optimal and practical lighting arrangements for nighttime highway construction projects.     

Information Classification for Civil Engineering Projects by Uniclass

Since a well-established construction information classification system (CICS) can be an information center through the life cycle of a project, it is important to use a proper CICS for managing construction information. Construction Index∕Samarbetskommitten for Byggnadsfragor (CI∕SfB) has been used in various countries as one of the best among the earlier CICSs as well as Masterformat in North America. CI∕SfB, however, cannot represent many new construction technologies introduced during the 20 years that have passed since the last revision. Therefore, ISO developed a new CICS framework. Subsequently, the Construction Project Information Committee, including the Institution of Civil Engineers, developed the Uniclass system based on the ISO framework. Considering that Uniclass is intended to substitute for CI∕SfB and that each country needs international exchange of information by the ISO standard, it is necessary to analyze the organization of Uniclass. This study analyzed the practical adaptability of Uniclass compared to CI∕SfB and then suggested applicable illustrations with appropriate methodologies to improve the adaptability for civil engineering works. As a result, items classified in Uniclass gained a significant improvement for civil engineering projects compared to the existing CICSs, which have focused on architectural projects. The proposed methodologies will make the applicability of the CICS better by the improved scheme and by being consistent.     

工程项目施工现场的定额化管理

针对项目施工现场实施定额化管理问题,介绍了在工程项目现场实施定额化管理的方式,分析了具体的操作程序．提出了注意事项。     

Construction Delays in Hong Kong Civil Engineering Projects

Construction delays are common in civil engineering projects in Hong Kong, inevitably resulting in contractual claims and increased project cost. This study was aimed, first, at gathering the perceptions of civil construction practitioners on how significant are the causes of delay; and, second, investigating whether the suggestions as stated in the report of the Construction Industry Review Committee (the Committee comprises members with good standing and knowledge in the construction and related fields as well as those from other professions who are responsible for examining the current state of the construction industry in terms of its output quantity, the quality of work, its environmental friendliness, site safety, its workforce and the system of supervision) are applicable to and effective at mitigating the corresponding delays with reference to a ranking order established using the mean score method. The extent of the differences in perception among the different respondent groups on these two issues was also examined using the rank agreement factor (RAF), percentage agreement (PA), and percentage disagreement (PD). The differences in the perceptions of the respondents on the significance of delays and the actual causes of delays for the six projects studied were also examined. The results of the study showed that the respondents tended to admit their own faults as shown in the top ten significant causes of delay. A strong consensus was found between the client and consultant groups on the significance of the various causes of delay (PA = 74%) and the effectiveness of mitigation measures (PA = 67%) compared with the other pairs of groups. The consultant and contractor groups held extremely different perceptions regarding the significance of various delay causes (RAF = 4.9 and PD = 32%) and the effectiveness of corresponding mitigation measures (RAF = 6.2 and PD = 47%). It is believed that the findings can provide much more insight for the construction practitioners as well as the researchers and thus help to improve the productivity and overall performance of civil construction projects in Hong Kong.     

电力工程施工管理存在问题及对策

电能质量优劣对钢铁企业稳定运行具有重要意义。而电力工程施工质量的好坏,直接影响着电力系统的稳定可靠运行。本文从柳钢实际出发,对电力工程施工管理现状及存在问题进行分析,提出提高施工管理效果的相应对策。     

Reasons for Cost and Schedule Increase for Engineering Design Projects

Cost and schedule increases are common in engineering design projects. Some research has studied factors associated with better design performance, but the reasons for cost and schedule increases are not formally investigated. This paper identifies the reasons bottom up from four case project documents and further quantifies their contributions to cost and schedule increases. These reasons are complete and can be used to analyze the cause-effect relationship, trace responsibility, and improve performance for engineering design projects.     

Economic Value of Building Faster

Owners, developers, and engineers are often challenged with determining the value of accelerating the construction of a project. There is a cost for accelerating the construction of a project to reduce the time required to transfer a facility into the operational phase. Determining the cost of acceleration is a difficult challenge with the limited information typically available early in the project development phase. Many unknowns exist (e.g., future revenue, costs, etc.) and the owner, developer, or engineer often make best guesses to justify if building faster is worthwhile. A simple methodology is needed to assess the value of building faster. This paper derives a set of equations that will allow owners, developers, and/or engineers to estimate the percent increase of the baseline project costs to reduce the time to completion of a construction project. The equations were derived such that variables that are easily known or can easily and reliably be determined are required. After the value of accelerating a project is determined (as a percentage of the original baseline budget), owner, developers, and/or engineers can use this information to determine if a project should be accelerated.     

Causes of Delay in Building Construction Projects in Egypt

Delay in construction projects is considered one of the most common problems causing a multitude of negative effects on the project and its participating parties. This paper aims to identify the main causes of delay in construction projects in Egypt from the point of view of contractors, consultants, and owners. A literature review was conducted to compile a list of delay causes that was purged based on appropriateness to Egypt in seven semistructured interviews. The resulting list of delay causes was subjected to a questionnaire survey for quantitative confirmation and identification of the most important causes of delay. The overall results indicated that the most important causes are: financing by contractor during construction, delays in contractor’s payment by owner, design changes by owner or his agent during construction, partial payments during construction, and nonutilization of professional construction/contractual management. The contractor and owner were found to have opposing views, mostly blaming one another for delays, while the consultant was seen as having a more intermediate view. Results’ analyses suggest that in order to significantly reduce delay a joint effort based on teamwork is required. Furthermore, causes of project delay were discussed based on the type and size of the project.     

Computer-Integrated System for Estimating the Costs of Building Projects

The cost estimate is considered one of the most important and critical phases of a construction project. Preparing reliable and accurate estimates to help decision makers is the most challenging assignment that cost engineers and estimators face. For decades, practitioners in the construction industry focused only on estimating the initial cost of a facility, neglecting costs associated with operating and maintaining it. Today, more interest lies in investigating the economics of facility management, which include the cost of owning and operating a building over its useful life. This paper presents a methodology that can be used for an integrated conceptual cost estimating and life-cycle cost analysis for construction projects during their initial phase. The methodology describes the development and implementation of a system that automates the preparation of parametric cost estimates and forecasts future running costs of building projects. The system integrates relational databases, a parametric cost estimate module, an AutoCAD module, a global module, a cost estimate forecasting and decision support system module, and a life cycle costing and sensitivity analysis module. The system will automatically generate a new parametric estimate upon any modification in building design. Once the capital costs are identified, the system forecasts the cost of running and maintaining the new building throughout its expected service life. After assigning the range of deviation, a sensitivity analysis is conducted, which identifies the most sensitive parameters for further consideration and analysis. Designing the system in a user-friendly environment allows owners and decision makers to envision the feasibility of new building projects within their anticipated life cycles. Moreover, it assists architects and cost engineers in generating parametric cost estimates in a dynamic environment. A numerical case example is presented to illustrate the usefulness and capabilities of the developed system.     

Statistical Analysis on the Cost and Duration of Public Building Projects

A probabilistic model is proposed to predict the risk effects on time and cost of public building projects. The research goal is to utilize a real history data in estimating project cost and duration. The model results can be used to adjust floats and budgets of the planning schedule before project commencement. Statistical regression models and sample tests are developed using real data of 113 public projects. The model outputs can be used by project managers in the planning phase to validate the schedule critical path time and project budget. The comparison of means analysis for project cost and time performance indicated that the sample projects tend to finish over budget and almost on schedule. Regression models were developed to model project cost and time. The regression analysis showed that the project budgeted cost and planned project duration provide a good basis for estimating the cost and duration. The regression model results were validated by estimating the prediction error in percent and through conducting out-of-sample tests. In conclusion, the models were validated at a probability of 95%, at which the proposed models predict the project cost and duration at an error margin of ±0.035% of the actual cost and time.