Systematic Evaluation of Construction Equipment Alternatives: Case Study

Selecting the right equipment for the project is inherently a multifaceted cost and benefit evaluation process that is further compounded by the complexity of today’s building projects and the lack of systematic tools for the consideration of soft factors. This paper presents a detailed application example of a model based on an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach. This model was developed to address the difficulties experienced during the multifaceted process. The example illustrates how an AHP-based model helps address the multitude of qualitative, intangible factors, both among the factors themselves and then vis-à-vis costs, by means of a systematic and traceable process. The method enables project managers and their equipment selection teams to exercise their knowledge, intuition, and professional judgment, and at the same time to address the context and specifics of the particular projects under examination. The example should be helpful for construction practitioners dealing with similar equipment selection issues. Researchers may find interest in the implementation of a multiattribute-decision-making method for a typical construction management problem.     

Lessons Learned from Rigid Conflict Resolution in an Organization: Construction Conflict Case Study

Success in construction projects mainly depends on how well project managers handle conflicts. There are in general five conflict resolution approaches: withdrawal, compromise, forcing, smoothing, and problem solving. Conflict results are very relevant to the interaction of the approaches. Improperly managed, the interaction often generates psychological residue such as anger that ruins the project. The main objective of this research is, through a case study, to enhance the comprehension of the approaches, their interactions, and the psychological changeovers involved. Although conflict resolution among the contractual parties with privity has been studied widely, the conflicts among the parties either in an owner or in a contractor organization have been rarely researched, although they frequently cause destructive claims to the contractual parties. This research identifies a real construction conflict as the case study that occurred between two functional entities of a local Korean government. The case illustrates that a badly managed conflict in an owner organization causes undesirable claims between contractual parties. Based on the previous research regarding the five approaches and psychological transitions in a conflict resolution process, the case is analyzed to recognize the approaches and psychological changeovers absorbed. Useful lessons from the case are identified through a graduate class discussion.     

End-User Attitudes toward EDM Use in Construction Project Work: Case Study

This paper reports on a cross-sectional case study of a large construction project in which electronic document management (EDM) was used. Attitudes toward EDM from the perspective of individual end-users were investigated. Responses from a survey were combined with data from system usage log files to obtain an overview of attitudes prevalent in different user segments of the total population of 334 users. The survey was followed by semistructured interviews with representative users. A strong majority of users from all segments of the project group considered EDM as a valuable aid in their work processes, despite certain functional limitations of the system used and the complexity of the information mass. Based on the study a model describing the key factors affecting end-user EDM adoption is proposed. The model draws on insight from earlier studies of EDM enabled projects and theoretical frameworks on technology acceptance and success of information systems, as well as the insights gained from the case study.     

Using Gaussian and Hyperbolic Distributions for Quality Improvement in Construction: Case Study Approach

The Gaussian distribution and the 6σ principle have been widely used in the field of construction quality management with great success. This paper proposes a theoretical study on a new hyperbolic distribution using the 6σ principle to improve quality in construction management. The hyperbolic and Gaussian distributions are then numerically compared by estimating their important statistical properties, such as population in range, number of defects, yield percentage, and defects per million opportunities. The impacts of these factors are briefly discussed to give guidance to organizations in the construction industry on how to lower cost and improve project quality by prevention. A case study showing the cost data of a construction consultant company is presented. The data’s population in range and defects per million opportunities are estimated using Gaussian and hyperbolic distributions. In this particular case study, the hyperbolic distribution is shown to be more effective in quality improvement by prevention than the Gaussian distribution. This also validates the hyperbolic distribution as a suitable distribution for construction quality management.     

Arbitral Tribunal Proceedings Case Study: Egyptian Large-Scale Construction Project

This paper investigates how arbitration is used as a dispute resolution mechanism in Egyptian large scale construction projects and what are the types of issues that construction professionals should address when they encounter claims in the Egyptian construction market. To meet the goals and objectives of this study, a research project was conducted to study the arbitration process for a dispute that was in excess of $31 million, which arose out as a result of the proceeds of a large-scale project with an original contact price of $85 million that was constructed in Cairo, Egypt. This research project analytically investigated the background of the conflicts, the arbitral proceedings, and the award issued by the arbitral tribunal. Based on such thorough study, it was concluded that arbitration did not provide a timely and cost-effective resolution for the said dispute. Moreover, the same study has raised questions in relation to the overall management of megaconstruction projects in Egypt namely: (1) the impartiality of project managers; (2) the magnitude of change orders and consequent delays; (3) the magnitude of claimed amounts; and (4) the level of management and administration of claims and disputes. It is perceived that this paper would trigger professionals to think of other suitable dispute resolution mechanisms, such as dispute review boards, for settlement of claims arising from Egyptian large scale construction projects. Furthermore, this study would be of value for contractors and owners who intend to work in the Egyptian construction market.     

Potential of Total Cycle Time Compression in Construction: Focus on Program Development and Design

Time compression is a widely accepted approach to improving customer service levels while minimizing total costs. However, few applications within the construction sector exist, especially in relation to the early stages of program development and design. These stages are of paramount importance because of the resultant ramifications on the total cycle time of the entire construction project, in the form of changes, rework, waste, and risk. Most applications of time compression focus on quantifying and removing nonvalue adding time from business processes. This is difficult for program development and the design stages of construction because most information sources are qualitative. As a result, a methodology has been developed to identify the key areas of potential improvement during these early stages. Collection of opinion data via semistructured interviews, questionnaires, and a workshop with a cross section of supply chain members has made it possible to quantify the potential improvements. The action research findings have been summarized into a time-compression model for the program development stages in the format of two interlinked cause and effect diagrams. These further emphasize the need for effective program development to minimize the risks of project overrun.     

Design/Build for Water/Wastewater Facilities: State of the Industry Survey and Three Case Studies

Documented successes of innovative delivery methods and recent changes in procurement laws are enabling water and wastewater utility owners to use alternative delivery methods for the construction of new facilities and the expansion of existing facilities. This shift toward alternative project delivery systems, such as design/build, has resulted in demand for additional guidance for owners and practitioners. This paper provides the results of an industrywide survey and three in-depth case studies. The survey results indicate large-scale growth in the use of design/build project delivery for water and wastewater facilities throughout the United States. The findings from the case studies indicate that common practices exist with regard to selecting a delivery system, contracting, allocating risk, evaluating proposals, determining the level of design in the request for proposals, using consultants, establishing trust, identifying key players, and permitting. These results serve as best practices for owners and practitioners using design/build delivery for the first time.     

Cost and Schedule Monitoring of Industrial Building Projects: Case Study

Performance measurement is a helpful tool for taking corrective actions and controlling a project as far as this enables accurate time and cost forecasts during the first stages of the construction effort when the management team still has opportunities to make adjustments. This paper overcomes the dilemma of practicability and predictability of traditional estimates at completion based on early progress measurement by presenting the empirical results from the construction project of an industrial facility. The case may be a reference practice for assessing time and cost performance measurement of any building, whose layout can be reasonably partitioned into repeatable portions. In such circumstances, an effectively-managed traditional earned value method and appropriate metrics for computing performance provide project managers with accurate forecasts as useful tools for successful project management and control.     

Factors Affecting Construction Project Outcomes: Case Study of Vietnam

Due to the demand for built products from foreign investors and the growing economy, Vietnam’s construction industry experiences strong growth. While some of the construction projects are successfully executed, others faced difficulties. The aim of this study is to examine the factors that lead to successful outcomes in construction projects in Vietnam. Using the case study research design, three successful projects and another three unsuccessful projects were investigated. Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with several project participants in each project and archival data. The results show that major enablers that lead to project success are foreign experts’ involvement in the project, government officials inspecting the project, and very close supervision when new construction techniques are employed. A factor which leads to poor performance is the lack of accurate data on soil, weather, and traffic conditions. The findings may be useful to construction professionals operating in Vietnam to put in place factors that can lead to good project performance. For foreign practitioners entering Vietnam’s market, the study may assist them in focusing on the more important factors to achieve good project outcomes.     

Downside Risks in Construction Projects Developed by the Civil Service: The Case of Spain

The purpose of the work summarized here was to improve the efficiency of the construction project management processes performed by the Spanish civil service, identifying and analyzing the main risks in these kinds of projects, and also establishing potential risk responses. The scope of this effort included a list of 96 risk events, categorized and prioritized first by impact, then by frequency. The most relevant ones are related to issues such as an inadequate prequalification system, insufficient training of public servants, or political considerations prevailing over real needs, among others. A total of 117 potential risk responses were identified, categorized, and prioritized by potential efficiency and difficulty of implementation. Each risk event was associated to a set of potential responses. The paper includes the top 15 risk events with its main potential responses, including qualitative assessments. A survey was carried out among Spanish public servants working in construction projects, to validate risk identification and to obtain a qualitative assessment. Moreover, a Delphi analysis was developed to validate the risk response identification and obtain a qualitative assessment. One of the conclusions is that small and medium-sized Spanish civil service agencies should work toward increasing their maturity in managing projects and, mainly, project risks.     

Case Study of Organizational Changes

This paper documents a case study of the organizational evolution, over a ten‐year period, of a U.S. electric utility company in support of the construction of a two‐unit nuclear generation facility. A number of principles for designing an organization are summarized, and it is suggested that these be used in the organizational planning process. Seven major reorganizations are described, and these changes are compared to the organizational planning principles. The project was half complete before all key engineering and planning functions were consolidated under a single manager. It was approximately 80% complete before the authority of the project director was commensurate with his responsibilities. It is shown how the project authority structure emerged as functional but was later changed to a projectized one. After several realinements, a matrix organization was tried. A strong project structure replaced the matrix structure when the resources of the entire organization were committed to completing the project.     

Safety Climate in Construction Industry: A Case Study in Hong Kong

Because of the characteristics of decentralization and mobility in the construction industry, safety culture is crucially important. A comprehensive safety climate questionnaire survey was conducted with all sites and employees of a leading construction company and its subcontractors in Hong Kong. In total, 4,719 records were returned from 54 sites. By means of factor analysis, a 15-factor structure that defines the dimensions of the safety climate has been extracted. Compared with previous research studies, the roles and influences of fellow workers, and safety resources on the safety climate are emphasized. The results also confirm the feasibility of exploring common factors of the safety climate in the construction industry. Through further analysis, logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between the safety climate and personal characteristics. Statistically significant relationships were found between safety climate and personal characteristics, including gender, marital status, education level, number of family members to support, safety knowledge, drinking habits, direct employer, and individual safety behavior. This research is a case study and the results are derived from the data of one company, but the methodology of this research may be useful as a model for further research, and the findings may provide useful information for construction managers and safety practitioners in the construction industry to improve their safety culture.     

Project Management in the Chinese Construction Industry: Six-Case Study

Originating from the West, project management was introduced into China after the country’s economic reforms in the 1980’s and has since spread quickly throughout the whole country, particularly in the construction industry. However, despite the wide adoption of project management practices by construction organizations and the growing recognition of the importance of project management as an enabler of organizational success, empirical studies on project management in the context of the Chinese construction industry have been inadequate. This paper presents the results of an empirical study of six Chinese construction organizations in order to come to a more comprehensive and sophisticated understanding of project management practices in the Chinese construction industry. The findings revealed: (1) a good appreciation of the role of projects and project management and satisfaction with current project management practices; (2) 11 key aspects of project management implementation; (3) 12 resultant value and benefits; and (4) five aspects of the main challenges facing the organizations. Meanwhile, variations in project management practices and the resultant organizational value were identified, first between the three owner- and the three contractor-case study organizations, then between the two construction contractor organizations and the one design contractor organization.     

Performance Evaluating Model for Construction Companies: Egyptian Case Study

The dynamic nature of today’s construction industry compels construction partners to seek strategies in order to improve performance. Current research introduces a performance evaluation model for construction companies in order to provide a proper tool for a company’s managers, owners, shareholders, and funding agencies to evaluate the performance of construction companies. The model developed helps a company’s management to make the right decisions. Financial, economical, and industrial data are collected from Egyptian construction companies for nine consecutive years (1992–2000). Five indices (models) are developed: company performance score, economy performance score, industry performance score, performance index, and performance grade. The models developed consider companies in four construction sectors: general building, heavy, special trade, and real estate. These models accommodate the effect of macroeconomic and industry related factors and company size on the performance evaluation. The final outcome of current research is a performance grade, which provides the performance of a construction company. The developed model is validated, which shows robust results.     

Improving Employees’ Work-Life Balance in the Construction Industry: Project Alliance Case Study

Work-life conflict has a damaging effect on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, productivity turnover, and absenteeism. On an individual level, work-life conflict is associated with employee burnout, mental health issues, substance abuse, and diminished family functioning. Thus, work-life balance is an important issue to the construction industry, in terms of both organizational effectiveness and occupational health. Long and inflexible work hours are the most consistent predictor of work-life conflict among construction employees, particularly those working on-site or in a project office. There is considerable resistance to the adoption of new ways of scheduling work within the industry. This paper describes the post hoc evaluation of a compressed work week (reducing the length of the working week, but increasing the length of the working day) in a case study project alliance in Queensland, Australia. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented to demonstrate the beneficial impact of the initiative on employees’ work-life balance. The evaluation provides prima facie evidence that alternative work schedules can improve construction employees’ work-life balance, creating benefits for construction employees and organizations. The paper concludes that project alliances provide an ideal environment in which work-life balance initiatives can help to create high-performance work systems in the construction sector.     

Integrated Project Delivery Case Study: Guidelines for Drafting Partnering Contract

This paper presents a case study through which a multinational contracting firm aimed to introduce integrated project delivery through strategic partnering into its industry operations. The study reports on a research carried out by the author on behalf of the firm to set out series of principles and guidelines to consider when drafting a standard partnering contract whereby the owner, contractor, suppliers, and manufacturers collaboratively work together under the same terms and conditions. A partnering contract would never, on its own, change the culture and environment of the construction process and thus, strategic partnering should be promoted not only at project specific activities but at all organizational activities. Based on this project, the paper presents a list of ten managerial and contractual issues to promote strategic partnering. The author hopes that the results of this case study would foster legal professionals toward drafting a modern partnering contract, which should help in developing a more effective and efficient contracting environment.     

Classroom Assessment and Redesign of an Undergraduate Steel Design Course: A Case Study

The objective of this paper is to share experience gained in classroom assessment and subsequent redesign of an undergraduate, practice-oriented steel design course. A term project involving the design of a low-rise structural steel building was used to provide a summative evaluation of student learning. The essence of the project was for students to demonstrate their ability to apply the course material in a realistic activity, similar to structural engineering practice. Critical reflection on student performance, student feedback on course evaluation forms, the author’s observations as course instructor, and the educational literature motivated redesign of the course. Adaptation of an assignment-centered or project-based approach to course planning guided course redesign. Comparison of student performance and course evaluation data suggests that the redesigned course better meets the goal of developing the students’ abilities to apply the subject knowledge and skills to realistic problems or scenarios.     

Delivering Best Value in Highways Major Maintenance Schemes: Case Study

The Construction Management Framework (CMF) is a contract established by the Highways Agency in the United Kingdom, where collaborative working is used within a framework setting to deliver the best value in highways major renewals and improvements schemes. This research aims to establish the effectiveness of the CMF in achieving this aim. It aims to define best value as it is understood collectively by the participants in the framework, and evaluate the performance measurement used in terms of its relevance and suitability to deliver the best value. The research also looks at perceptions of the performance of the CMF by those companies included in the framework, and the benefits and disadvantages of using this type of arrangement in highway work. Data collected from the client were compared to that given by the contractors, supply chain, and construction managers of the CMF; results showed a perception by those involved in the framework that construction management is suited to the type of work it is currently used for, and there is potential for similar CMFs to be used elsewhere in the construction industry. However, the research also found that there is a need to improve the performance measures so that value is properly reflected in the goals of the CMF; and the presentation of evidence that demonstrates the benefits that can be gained using this procurement route.     

Design and Construction Performance: Smaller Projects

Distress and failure in smaller construction projects are rarely newsworthy, but distress and failures do occur very frequently. Smaller construction projects are much more numerous than larger projects. They also experience cumulatively many more performance problems than larger projects. Causative factors involved in these performance problems, along with four example projects where minor design or construction defects resulted in failure of the projects, are presented.     

Case Study on the Evaluation of Equipment Flow at a Construction Site

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of traffic flow of construction equipment. A large construction project requires large quantities of construction equipment. This volume can result in traffic congestion in the flow of construction equipment, which also lowers the overall efficiency of construction operations. In particular, this effect can be serious in the area where traffic bottlenecks are most likely. This study applies a multiagent-based simulation modeling approach to a real project. Through a case study, this study evaluates how traffic flow of construction equipment influences the efficiency of that equipment in construction operations and, moreover, the schedule of a project.