Purpose The research presented in this paper aims to investigate highway construction/maintenance professionals' perceptions of the effects of night‐time construction conditions on worker visibility and of issues associated with safety vests in night‐time activities. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted by administering a questionnaire survey to Illinois Department of Transportation operations personnel, resident engineers, contractors, and construction/maintenance professionals involved in night‐time construction in the Departments of Transportation of states other than Illinois. Findings It was found that most accidents in night‐time construction work areas are caused by the condition of the vehicle operator, that accidents are caused by through‐traffic and construction equipment operating inside the work area, and that the poor visibility of the workers plays an important role in accidents. Research limitations/implications A national survey (rather than mostly Illinois personnel) would certainly increase the sample size and therefore allow researchers to validate the findings of this study and to conduct extensive statistical analyses. Practical implications Night‐time construction/maintenance operations on highways may be hazardous for both drivers and construction personnel because of poor visibility at night. It is recommended that the design of safety vests adhere to existing standards issued by the American National Standards Institute and the International Safety Equipment Association. It is particularly important to ensure adequate performance in wet weather conditions. Originality/value If safety vests are perceived by workers to be effective, the frequency and severity of night‐time accidents can be reduced and labor productivity can be enhanced.
The design-build (D/B) project delivery system has gained increased market share in the last few years. It is superior to traditional systems in some respects but some claim that it does not lend itself to effective quality assurance and control. D/B construction owners who are in the process of selecting a D/B firm for a project should therefore be well informed about the quality performance of potential D/B firms in their bidding list. Total quality consists of the corporate quality culture, the quality of the project service, and the quality of the constructed facility. This paper describes a tool that was developed to measure the corporate service quality of a D/B firm using quality function deployment (QFD). The service quality factors are ranked relative to construction owners' needs and expectations by means of a survey administered to construction owners. The components of quality management systems in place in D/B firms are ranked by D/B executives in a survey administered to senior D/B firms. The relationships between service quality factors and quality system requirements are established by a professional quality system assessor and all these attributes are integrated into one system called the Corporate Service a'House of Quality.' The tool developed can be used by construction owners to rank D/B firms relative to corporate service quality as well as by D/B firms to benchmark themselves against their competitors.
Purpose The personalities of the design team members constitute one of the factors that influence team effectiveness. In this study, 223 members of the “American Institute of Architects” who are employed by the largest architectural design firms in the United States of America were categorized according to their personality types by using “The Enneagram Personality Type Model.” Also, the respondents’ opinions about eight team effectiveness outcomes were recorded in order to explore the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The information was collected by a questionnaire where the first part included 144 pairs of statements that were used to identify respondents’ personality types. The second part sought designers’ opinions about the importance of eight team effectiveness outcomes rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. The results were assessed by performing the Kruskal–Wallis test first and Dunn’s post-hoc test with Bonferroni adjustment subsequently. Findings The findings highlight the significance of personality types in effective design teams. While Type 6 (loyalist and skeptic) and Type 3 (achiever and performer) architects prioritize team effectiveness the most, Type 7 architects (enthusiasts and epicureans) assign the lowest importance. However, the presence of Type 1 (reformist and perfectionist) and Type 8 (challenger and protector) architects within the same design team may involve challenges or conflicts. Originality/value The primary contribution of this study is that it is the first study in the construction management literature that utilizes The Enneagram of Personality Test to understand the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes. This study is of direct relevance to practitioners and could be utilized in design team-building activities.
Developments in technology such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) have recently created serious competitive pressures on architectural design firms and building construction companies. Design firms and construction companies need to adopt these new technologies to survive and thrive in this environment. Despite the advantages of BIM in building design, its adoption by architectural design firms has been slow due to obstacles such as lack of familiarity with BIM, lack of training in BIM, and lack of supporting resources such as hardware and software. The problems faced in adopting BIM were investigated by only few researchers who focused on the acceptance or penetration of BIM into construction firms. The objective of this research is to develop an integrated model to understand the adoption of BIM in architectural design firms. The model involves (1) the fit between the tasks to be performed by design professionals and the technology provided by BIM, (2) the fit between the organizational competency in the design firm and the capabilities offered by BIM, and (3) the fit between the designers’ knowledge/skills in BIM and the sophistication of the BIM product. After a thorough review and synthesis of technology adoption models and theories, this paper proposes an integrated model to understand the adoption of BIM by architectural design firms. The model argues that using BIM depends on BIM’s properties as well as the tasks at hand, the organizational competency of the company, and the perceived ease of use.
The construction project is subject to several risks, one of the most important of which is contractor default because contractor default may increase the final project cost considerably. In the US construction industry, owners commonly shield themselves from the risk of contractor default by transferring this risk to the contractor, who in turn transfers this risk to a surety company. On the other hand, the General Directorate of Military Works (GDMW) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia retains the risk of contractor default rather than transferring it to a third party. An artificial neural network (ANN) and a genetic algorithm (GA) are used in this study to predict the risk of contractor default in construction projects undertaken for the Saudi armed forces. Based on this prediction, the Saudi GDMW can make a decision to engage or not to engage the services of a contractor. In case the models are not able to generate reliable predictions (or generate contradictory outcomes), the GDMW will have to augment its budget with contingency funds to be used in the event of contractor default. The outcome of this study is of particular relevance to construction owners because it proposes an approach that can allow them to replace an indiscriminate blanket policy by a policy that is rational, effective, prudent and economical.
Abstract: This paper concentrates on the three main stages of expert system development: knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation (which includes the treatment of uncertainties), and verification and validation. The findings of a survey of expert system applications in the construction management domain are reported. A model is presented that regulates the process of creating an expert system and that eliminates the shortcomings of existing techniques used with knowledge of subjective nature. This model is based on the Delphi method, a tool used for collecting data and information to solve nonanalytical problems. It is proposed that the use of the Delphi method in the knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, and validation stages of expert system development will improve user confidence in the final product.
The just-in-time (JIT) approach to materials management appears to be superior to a just-in-case (JIC) approach in terms of reducing cost and improving productivity under most circumstances encountered in industrialized countries. However, is it truly more advantageous than the more commonly used approaches in developing countries? Contractors in developing countries may be compelled to keep excessive inventory under some circumstances to help manage uncertainty in the supply chain and production process, high inflation rates, available discounts on prices of large amounts of materials, and price cuts in case of early purchasing. This study presents a comparison of the JIT and JIC materials management systems in terms of total cost of inventory by means of a simulation model that makes use of actual data obtained from an ongoing trade centre project in Istanbul, Turkey. The study suggests that had the JIT system been used in the project in Istanbul the total cost of inventory would have been 4.4% higher than the total cost of inventory in the JIC system currently used.
A dynamic scheduling system that links digital movies of construction activities, a CPM schedule, and progress control of construction has been developed. A time-lapse technique has been used in such a way that months of construction performance can be watched in minutes. A method to produce a digital movie has been developed allowing thousands of pictures to be stored in, and managed by, microcomputers under a Windows environment. A recording system has been introduced enabling the user to specify the day-by-day progress achieved in activities undertaken, allowing the program to link the playback movie with the progress observed on the construction field. A CPM engine has been developed to produce a Gantt chart. A procedure to build a histogram of expected cumulative percentage of progress is presented. An animation engine has been built in order to generate new bars reflecting the progress reported on the bar chart and the histogram, working in synchrony with the playback movie.
Building construction is a major industry that uses a considerable amount of energy and causes extensive atmospheric pollution. Around 30-40% of energy consumption as well as 15% of greenhouse gas emissions originate from construction activities. As a result, sustainability is of special importance, from the extraction of construction materials to building operation and maintenance. Given the increasing demand for energy worldwide, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources have special importance for a sustainable future. Green building certification systems, with their increasing importance and popularity in developing and developed countries, pursue higher goals for energy efficiency and pollution prevention. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the preferred rating system in the world. LEED assigns 32% of the available rating points to the energy and atmosphere category. The subject country of this study, Turkey, is developing local certification systems based on the characteristics of the Turkish construction industry. The leading study, Turkish National Green Building Certification-Homes (TNGBC-H), has not been introduced yet as it is still being developed. This study focuses on the codes and standards that will possibly be used in these certification systems, such as the Code for Building Energy Performance prepared by the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, and the Turkish standards related to energy and atmosphere. This paper compares the standards and regulations referred to by LEED and TNGBC-H and makes suggestions for a coherent and efficient future certification system in Turkey.
The contextual factors of a company, particularly age and size, are commonly argued to have important implications on its survival chances. The research presented in this paper explores these implications in the context of the construction industry by analyzing the age distribution of failed construction companies and computing age-specific failure probabilities over a 10-year period (1985–1994). The research findings support the liability of adolescence rather than the liability of newness concept. Computed age-specific failure probabilities reveal a pattern of failure in the U.S. construction industry where the risk of failure increases initially with increasing age, reaches a peak point and decreases thereafter as companies grow older. Youngness of a construction company, which implies lack of organizational learning and lack of legitimacy, coupled with smallness, appears to be the main factor explaining this pattern. The paper finally addresses the strategic implications of increasing turbulence in the construction industry on the survival or failure of construction firms.
The volume of international work undertaken by U.S. contractors has declined considerably in the last few years. The share of the international market held by U.S. companies also declined in the same period. The paper reports the findings of a study conducted to explain the performance of U.S. contractors in international markets. Performance indexes were developed that can be calculated by making use of publicly available company information. A questionnaire survey was administered to U.S. contractors that have been active in overseas markets in the last five years. Statistical analyses were performed to explain international performance in terms of commitment, presence, and growth. Findings indicate that the type of construction, the type of contract, financing sources, the geographical location of projects, sources of information, and research and development activity tend to affect U.S. contractors' international performance.
Linear Scheduling Methods are best suited to projects that display repetitive characteristics, but their use in the construction industry is limited. Line‐of‐Balance (LOB) is a Linear Scheduling Method that also makes use of network technology. Its benefits and shortcomings are investigated in a high‐way surface treatment project where LOB has been used experimentally. It was determined that LOB is extremely sensitive to errors in man hour, crew size, and activity duration estimates. There are also problems of a visual nature with the presentation of the diagram. On the other hand, LOB allows a better grasp of the project than any other scheduling technique because it is possible to adjust activities' rates of production. It provides a smooth and efficient flow of resources and requires less time and effort to produce than network schedules. Research to make Linear Scheduling Methods more attractive is recommended.
ABSTRACT Construction according to green principles rather than traditional methods poses a new set of risks to project participants. These risks should be appropriately identified and managed in order to prevent cost overruns. This study aims to identify construction risks and their cost impacts in LEED-certified projects. For this purpose, thirteen risks were identified based on a literature survey and were categorized under four groups of issues: (i) consultant, contractor and subcontractor, (ii) material, product and process, (iii) legal, regulatory and contractual, and (iv) financial and economic. A survey was then administered to green building design and construction practitioners in the U.S. to assess the likelihood of occurrence of these risks and their respective impacts on project cost. According to the survey results, the risks associated with consultant, contractor and subcontractor issues have the highest expected impact on costs. The top five risk factors were determined as (1) contractors and subcontractors agreeing to standards that are not within their expertise and competence, (2) high cost of certification, (3) lack of expertise in new products/technologies, (4) doubts about the long-term viability and performance of new and untested products, materials and technologies, and (5) inadequate definition of project parties' contractual roles and responsibilities. Mitigating the cost impact of risks is of great value to owners and designers and contractors. Recognizing the risks associated with LEED-certified projects and their cost impacts can be of benefit to all practitioners.
The purpose of owner‐directed acceleration is to reach a certain milestone, maybe the completion of the project, before a certain deadline. What activities have to be accelerated and what the terms of payment to the contractor will be is the subject of this paper. If acceleration is ordered in the remaining portion of a project that has been delayed by owner‐ and contractor‐caused events, the apportioning of extra acceleration costs between the parties is not simple. The various alternatives that are available for resolving this problem are reviewed in this paper, and a method is proposed to reach a fair and reasonable solution. The method is based on the premise that acceleration of the remaining portion of a project is typically ordered to compensate for the delays that occurred in the completed portion of the project and that acceleration conducted in the most economical way should follow accountability lines chronologically defined in previous delay impact analysis. This way, any replanning to suit the new conditions can be made amply clear by the party concerned. This will help the parties in reaching an agreement before inauguration of the change.
Current State of Automation and Robotics in Construction Shankar Sundareswaran, David Arditi Pages 175-184 (1988 Proceedings of the 5th ISARC, Tokyo, Japan, ISSN 2413-5844) Abstract: The use of robots is growing in the manufacturing industries. But in field-oriented industries like construction, adaptation to automation technologies has been slower. The most progress to date in automation for construction has been made in the control of temporary on-site plants for batching concrete, bending reinforcement steel, and making pre-cast concrete elements. However in order to automate construction processes more effectively, it will be necessary to develop methods and approaches for design that recognize the characteristics of construction machinery. The objective of this paper is to examine the needs and potential of automation and robotics technologies and review the state-of-the-art in selected automation related areas. Keywords: No keywords DOI: https://doi.org/10.22260/ISARC1988/0024 Download fulltext Download BibTex Download Endnote (RIS) TeX Import to Mendeley
This note describes a model that measures the quality of the project service of a D/B firm using quality function deployment (QFD). This model is an add-on to a model developed previously by the authors to measure the corporate service quality performance of D/B firms. The project service quality performance model makes use of 10 service quality factors and their relative weights (transferred from the corporate service quality performance model), three components of quality management systems in place in D/B projects (ranked by senior managers in D/B firms) and the relationships between service quality factors and quality system requirements (established by a professional quality system assessor). It uses QFD to calculate a quality performance index. The combined corporate and project service quality performance index can be used by D/B firms to benchmark themselves against their competitors or to monitor their own performance. It can also be used by owners to rank D/B firms relative to their service quality performance.
