Browsing by Subject "Construction"
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Item A Methodology for Estimating Construction Unit Bid Prices(2012-11-28) Erbatur, Osman 1978-The internship company does not have a standard procedure for preparing an engineer?s estimate of probable construction cost document (engineer?s estimate) for municipal projects. Every project manager employs a methodology that is a slightly different variation of the historical data approach. The internship objective was to develop a construction unit price estimation model that provides more accurate results than the company?s existing unit price estimation methodology for the City of Fort Worth construction projects. To accomplish the internship objective several tasks were conducted, including; gathering City of Fort Worth construction projects bid tabulation data (including all bids) for the past three years; developing three construction item unit price databases using the data collected; conducting statistical analyses using the unit price databases;developing tables and graphs showing the construction cost items and their appropriate estimated unit prices to be used by the project managers in their cost estimates; developing an approach to apply construction unit costs which adjusts for unique project characteristics; developing guidelines for using the developed tables and graphs to estimate unit prices for municipal projects; using one recent project to compare the company?s existing unit price estimation methodology and the new developed model with actual unit bid prices; and developing guidelines for updating the unit price database, tables, and graphs. The study made use of both normal and log-normal distributions to model the unit bid price data collected from the City of Fort Worth. The factors that are perceived to influence a contractor?s unit bid price for a given item were identified and given a degree of impact on the project by the project managers. The factor that had the highest impact on the unit bid prices was discovered to be item quantity. The unit price estimating methodology presented in this study generated a better fit than the internship company?s original method for predicting the actual average unit bid prices for the one case study the methodology was applied.Item Advanced Work Packaging from project definition through site execution : driving successful implementation of WorkFace Planning(2013-08) Hamdi, Olfa; Leite, Fernanda; O'Brien, William J.Capital projects use work packaging to divide their projects' scope into manageable portions of work for planning and execution, all to achieve improved productivity and increased predictability. However, currently, no common industry standard for work packaging is widely and uniformly implemented within the North American capital projects industry. As documented by CII RT 272 Phase I (2009-2011), companies have been implementing a number of varied work packaging practices at different stages of the project lifecycle with emphasis on the construction phase. Due to the varied implementation, there is currently little evidence of the benefits of extending work packaging to the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and the Detailed Engineering (DE) phases. To provide the best current evidence, this thesis describes new findings on Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) as an execution practice, with special emphasis on design activities. This research combines data collection methods such as interviews, observations and document review, as well as surveys. The reader will understand the current industry status on Advanced Work Packaging in terms of levels of implementation as well as evidence of benefits and implementation challenges across the project lifecycle. Documented benefits include productivity improvements on the order of 25% in the field, with corresponding reductions of 10% of total installed cost. Other significant benefits include improved safety, improved productivity, less rework, significant reduction in RFIs and increased stakeholder alignment. Documented AWP implementation challenges include lack of process formulization, persons’ resistance to change and lack of buy-in, stakeholders’ conflict of interest and working culture, incompatibility with some contractual scenarios as well as traditional change management practices.Item Building green in Austin : meeting your desired bottom line(2008-12) Bean, David Lawrence; Paterson, Robert G.During the past couple of decades, developing buildings that are actually sensitive to the needs of the environment has started to be a common trend. Today, the green building movement has reached all corners of the United States and even the world. The United States Green Building Council formed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to serve as a guideline for measuring the degree to which a building is considered to be environmentally friendly and “green”. The LEED system outlines a number of requirements necessary to achieve one of four different certification levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Certified. Each of these levels requires a different number of points awarded based on achievement of various credits during the design and construction phases of a building project. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it is to explore the green building movement and discuss the overall benefits of building green. Included in this is a discussion of what it actually means to develop a LEED Certified building, and what a building’s certification status means for both short and long-term costs and benefits toward meeting a developer’s desired bottom line. Secondly, building on that investigation, a determination will be made as to whether or not it is financially viable for a developer to construct a LEED Certified building in Austin, Texas and still achieve his or her desired bottom line as it relates to his or her profit margin.Item Can you hear me now (that I’m in Your Backyard)? A Mesa, Arizona case study on freeway construction and property values(2013-08) Doumakes, Andrew; Von Ende, Terry; Becker, Klaus G.The paper introduces environmental economics, and its role in the study of public goods and externalities. Without definable property rights, other methods must be used in order to value the environment. In particular, this paper considers the value of quiet associated with property values by looking at causes of noise pollution, which is often the dominant effect observed in these studies regarding construction projects; however, it is not the only possible outcome. It introduces a number of environmental valuation techniques, with emphasis on the hedonic approach – which utilizes marketable goods as a proxy for environmental value. The author outlines significant literature that applies the hedonic approach in the study of noise pollution using property values as the marketable good, namely Nelson (2008) and Palmquist (1982). It is important to note that most environmental papers discuss the concept of willingness to pay or willingness to accept. In the following paper, however, a more general microeconomic analysis is presented. That is, we look more explicitly at consumer preferences than prices. A case study of two zipcodes in Mesa, Arizona is performed. One zipcode is directly bisected by a freeway, while the other is not. The two zipcodes are considered to be homogeneous. Arguments and demographics are presented in order to support this key assumption. The first approach uses Maricopa County Assessor’s Office assessed home values. Using a dummy variable in a multiple regression, it is observed that – from the assessor’s point of view – the positive externalities associated with the freeway outweigh the negative externalities. The second approach uses sale prices instead of assessed values, but the same result is observed from the home buyer and seller’s perspective. In these types of studies we typically see a dominant effect by the negative externality, as in the Nelson and Palmquist literature. However, it is the case in this study that a positive externality, likely reduced commute times to work and entertainment, is dominant. These results, along with some deficiencies and possible improvements are discussed in detail.Item Construction project partnering in Texas' public universities(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Francis, PaulPartnering is a tool used in the construction industry to reduce claims and litigations and also to deliver a quality product in a cost efficient and timely manner. This research analyzes the impact of the partnering process on the outcome of construction projects in Texas?????? public universities. For this study project specific data were obtained from 218 buildings built between 1996 and 2006. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were used to measure and explain the project performances of partnered and nonpartnered projects on four different building types in terms of cost overrun, schedule change, change orders and claims. One of the variables that had a significant effect on the outcome of the project performance parameters was the initial cost of the project. It was found that projects that utilized partnering were less likely to have claims that non-partnered projects. Partnered projects also had fewer change orders than non-partnered projects for two of the four building types that were analyzed. The results of this study can be used in the successful planning and execution of construction projects by organizations involved in the construction procurement processes for Texas?????? public universities.Item Development of a method for recording energy costs and uses during the construction process(2009-05-15) Arnold, Althea GayleRising energy costs should be a concern to contractors, designers, and owners. It is difficult to make a quantity takeoff for energy usage because these costs are imbedded in the materials, equipment, or overhead costs. This research examines energy consumption during the construction process, sets forth methods for recording this energy consumption and establishes a program for the recording and analysis of this data. An energy study of electricity, gasoline, and diesel consumption was made for the construction of three buildings to determine what data was available. After available data was evaluated, and the Energy Data Analysis program developed, three other construction sites were visited to determine how readily energy data can be recorded using the program. Four construction energy phases were identified from this research. The four phases are: 1) site clearing and preparation, 2) building structure, 3) interior finishes, and 4) commissioning. The main type of energy consumption during Phase 1 is diesel fuel for earth moving equipment. The energy uses for Phases 2 and 3 varied considerably among the projects studied and were difficult to quantify. However, the energy use during these phases was low compared to other phases and for many projects may not be economical to evaluate. During Phase 4, electrical energy demand was high due to Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) commissioning requirements and power up of all electrical power uses including lighting. These few construction projects are not enough to make definitive conclusions about what percentage of the total project cost is spent on energy. This research found that construction energy costs vary during different phases of the building process and can be a significant part of that phase (as high as 5.7% of the cost). The Visual Basic program developed during this research will facilitate future energy studies on construction sites. When the program is applied to a project, it identifies and quantifies the energy use, and makes predictions as to which project tasks warrant further energy studies.Item Development of a Pilot Study Simulation to Investigate the Impact of Target Costing on Team Dynamics and Design Aesthetics(2011-10-21) Gottipati, Udaya NaiduTarget costing is widely accepted across the automobile manufacturing industries such as the Toyota Corporation followed by other manufacturing companies such as Nissan, Chrysler, Boeing, Sony, etc. However, its use in the construction industry has been limited. The application of target costing in the construction industry has been referred to as Target Value Design (TVD), which forms an important fragment of the whole lean delivery system, Integrated Project Delivery. For the purpose of studying the team dynamics and the impact of cost on aesthetics, this research is split in to the following two parts. 1. Conducting simple experiments /simulations with students, such as designing and building a product to target cost to explore the impact of cost on the design of the product and the team dynamics. 2. Exploring the challenges faced by the teams while working on TVD through literature review and Focus Group Interviews with construction industry professionals with experience in the TVD process. Similar to other lean simulations like the airplane game and the dice game, aimed at demonstrating the impact of lean, this simulation of designing a two feet (2?) tall wine glass holder with materials such as paper, Styrofoam plates, cups etc. is an attempt to understand the challenges of designing to target cost process. The simulation conducted is to mirror the real world TVD process. Results of the experiment conclude that cost does not have a negative influence on the design. There is no correlation between the high costs and better design, that is, the most expensive solutions are not always the best solutions. However, correlation existed between the target cost and the design aesthetics. Indeed, cost as a constraint aided the team in focusing on the design and developing solutions within the project constraints. The results of the experiment are similar to the practice of the TVD in reality as case studies and interviews arrive at similar conclusions. Finally, the experiment depicted that collaborating and working in a team might result in arguments but generates competitive design solutions without affecting the team dynamics. The research is of significance to construction industry professionals and owners to investigate the challenges and implications of implementing target costing in designing to target cost.Item Effectiveness of Infection Control Barriers for Construction in Healthcare(2014-08-12) Huo, JinyunAspergillosis spores enter buildings during renovation or construction. Recent research shows a causal link between new construction in existing healthcare facilities and increased infection rates in at risk patients. Aspergillosis is a dangerous pathogen that can lead to death, especially in immune suppressed patients, who are most at risk. Not all patients have the same risk level of infection, but infection control is an important step in the construction process, as the Aspergillosis spores are transmitted on dust particles, to reduce the risk of fatal infections. Infection control barriers have been largely adopted for new hospital construction at an existing facility to reduce the incidence of infections caused by construction dust borne pathogens. Previous research on construction barriers at TAMU showed that a properly placed plastic sheet barrier stopped all particle movement for a pressure differential of 105 kiloPascals measured over twenty-four hours. It is not possible to maintain a sealed barrier during all construction, although this is the most effective means of stopping dust transmission intra-building, doors are often needed to access the construction site safely. This study extends the work on the sealed barrier to introduce a small door into the sealed barrier. The door area is five percent of the wall area. The purpose of the experiment is to study the rate of particle movement, size range of one to ten microns, through the barrier with a door present under a defined set of standard air flow conditions. The door will be opened and closed at different times during the experimental period. No dust could be observed to have moved through the doorway under the present study conditions. The results show that it is not a sufficient condition to assume that measuring air exchange rates is sufficient to determine the rate of dust movement; it appears to have an air surface velocity dependence that was not studied in this research. Future research is recommended to include the air velocity movement as a variable in the study.Item Enhanced work packaging : design through workface execution(2011-12) Meeks, Sarah Elizabeth; Leite, Fernanda; O'Brien, William J.All projects employ work packaging to divide the project scope into manageable portions of work for planning and execution. Enhanced work packaging, however, provides an organized and structured approach to planning through the project lifecycle in order to provide the construction work face with everything they need to successfully execute their work. This approach leads to increased field productivity and project predictability in terms of cost and schedule. Construction Industry Institute (CII) Research Team (RT) 272 developed a lifecycle execution model that encompasses recommendations for implementing enhanced work packaging throughout the project lifecycle. The model provides work packaging steps and considerations for each project phase from project definition through construction to system turnover. The model was founded upon industry practices as recorded in literature, team experiences, and through case studies and expert interviews. These recommendations were validated in conjunction with the case studies and through expert review. When properly implemented, enhanced work packaging improves field productivity, cost and schedule predictability, safety performance, and reduced rework, amongst other benefits.Item Exploratory Investigation into Influence of Educational Background on Tendency to Collaborate Among Owners, Architects, Engineers, and Contractors(2014-08-12) Ramanath, VishnuThe construction industry is plagued by problems such as lack of collaboration and trust, ineffective communications, and lack of systems thinking, which may lead to an adversarial relationship among project stakeholders. Relatively low levels of productivity are pushing the construction industry to collaborate on a higher scale. With the introduction of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) processes and new technologies, collaboration plays an important role. Research shows that collaboration is affected by many factors. With Maroon-White Game as the simulation tool, this research uses game theory and prisoner?s dilemma concept to verify whether the education background of owners, architects, engineers, and contractors have an influence on tendency to collaborate in the construction industry. It also verifies whether women or personality type measured by Jung/Isabel Briggs Myers Typology have an influence on tendency to collaborate. This research lays the groundwork for additional research into the factors affecting collaboration in the construction industry and the steps that can be taken to improve the same. Although the results from the research show that there is slight variation (insignificant) in the tendency to collaborate among different disciplines, further research is needed to statistically validate the result. Also, the results show that gender and personality type do not influence the tendency to collaborate in the construction industry. However, for statistical power, further research needs to be done.Item Extension of activity analysis methodology to maintenance, shutdown, and turnarounds in petrochemical facilities(2016-08) Shounak, Goodidar Hemmanoor Arjun; Caldas, Carlos H.; Borcherding, John DStudies show that construction productivity has been stagnant for decades. Interestingly, other industries like manufacturing, automobile and agriculture have witnessed a steep increase in productivity, nearly twice, over the same period of time. It has been the norm for many continuous improvement methods, employed by these industries, to claim credit for this trend. While inadequacies in a range of parameters like management practices, organizational behavior, contractual differences, and other planning functions affect poor productivity, the first step towards any improvement program is to measure the existing condition. The importance of measuring and improving productivity has become increasingly critical and significant with raging project capital costs and complexity, especially in the petroleum industry. This research focusses on providing a productivity language for petrochemical owners and contractors. The developed methodology helps them to communicate improvement strategies with each other and within their organization beyond construction leading into maintenance and shutdown turnarounds. Activity Analysis is a productivity assessment and improvement method developed by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) in 2010. This thesis describes the adaptation of activity analysis methodology that was developed to measure productivity indicators at petrochemical facilities on construction, maintenance and shutdown turnaround activities between 2015 and 2016. It also provides an overview on the activity analysis software developed for data collection, which is a byproduct of this research. This study also provides a summary of expected trends and challenges in petrochemical industries, and strategies that could be implemented to enhance the direct work rate in both construction and maintenance environment.Item Fair work Austin : a study of consumer willingness to pay for premier community builders certified construction in Austin, Texas(2013-05) Collins, Haley Brooke; Dooling, SarahThe city of Austin in recent years has undertaken a number of planning initiatives to guide future development in the rapidly-growing urban area. What has emerged is a clear commitment to a broad definition of sustainability that includes environmental, economic, and social sustainability among both policy makers and the public. The city of Austin has made great strides towards its goal of becoming a model city for sustainability, but it still faces many challenges. The long-term sustainability of Texas construction jobs is threatened by declining wages, dangerous working conditions, and few employment-based benefits. To help address these challenges, the Workers Defense Project (WDP), a local community-based organization dedicated to improving working conditions for Austin’s low-wage workers, has partnered with industry and community stakeholders to create the Premier Community Builders (PCB) certification program. Certification programs, which require businesses to meet minimum set of standards in exchange for a seal or trademark that publicizes their commitment to corporate social responsibility, have become a popular tool in recent years for improving conditions in a variety of industries. Implementing a certification program, however, often drives up costs associated with adopting more sustainable practices and is highly dependent upon consumers’ willingness to pay a price premium for the certified product. The purpose of this research is to explore consumer willingness to pay among downtown Austin residents and tourists for PCB certification. This exploratory study utilizes a contingent valuation survey as the primary instrument to determine whether or not downtown Austin consumers are willing to pay more for PCB certified construction and identify any demographic or identity-related factors associated with downtown consumers’ willingness to pay for PCB certification.Item The impact of delivery methods on the profitibility of commercial construction(2011-12) Herndon, Michael Brett; Nichols, Steven Parks, 1950-; McCann, Robert B.According to September 2011 information from the U.S. Census Bureau, the construction industry in the United States is valued at nearly eight hundred billion dollars annually. A 2004 collaborative study by Construction Industry Institute and Lean Construction Institute suggests that as much as fifty seven percent of time, effort, and material investment in construction projects do not add value to the final product. When compared with twenty six percent wastes in the manufacturing industry, it becomes obvious that the construction industry has a problem. Construction projects that come in over budget and behind schedule have become the rule rather than the exception, leading to contentious business relationships and costly litigation. This study will strive to identify and analyze the primary sources of these problems. Research and industry experience point to a lack of communication and cooperation among the various entities required to complete a construction project as the leading causes of waste in the industry. Further analysis suggests that traditional forms of construction contracts encourage adversarial and non-cooperative behavior between parties. Additionally, poor communication between various contributors opens the door for additional wasted cost. Fortunately, the development of tools such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) present new options to construction professionals that are proving to help address some of the challenges the industry faces today. IPD as a project delivery method creates a culture of collaboration and teamwork, where a culture of risk avoidance and conflict once stood, while BIM provides a platform for better communication among parties. When used together, these tools can reduce or eliminate many of the major sources of waste within the industry. This thesis will provide descriptions, analysis, and case studies that demonstrate the use of these tools and the potential they have to make a positive impact on the construction industry.Item Optimal Incentive/Disincentive Determination Between Cost and Benefit(2013-08-08) Sharma, PiyushIn an effort to motivate contractors to complete construction projects early on high-impact highway pavement construction projects, state transportation agencies (STAs) including TxDOT have often used incentive/disincentive (I/D) contracts. However, determining I/D rates is extremely difficult due largely to the lack of systematic methods for helping STAs determine effective I/D rates. The primary goal of this project is to develop a novel framework for determining the most realistic and economical I/D dollar amounts for high-impact highway improvement projects. To achieve its goal, this project proposes an integration analysis including project schedule and the lower and upper bounds of the I/D contract. The lower bound is the contractor?s additional cost of acceleration, and the upper is the total savings to road users and to the agency. The study data were gathered using Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (CA4PRS) software. These data were then grouped by four different types of pavements, namely Joint Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP), Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP), Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), and Milling and Asphalt Concrete Overlay (MACO). With these data, a series of regression analyses were carried out to develop predictive models for the validation of time-cost tradeoff to determine I/D lower bound. Road user cost and agency cost savings were quantified using CA4PRS to develop lookup tables to determine I/D upper bound. Adjustment of contractors? additional cost of acceleration with Level of Service (LOS) and total savings adjustment using Net Present Value (NPV) were incorporated in the research study to calculate point based estimates of I/D for lower and upper bound, respectively. Lastly, case studies on real world projects were conducted to evaluate robustness of the model. The research results reveal that the predictive models give appropriate results for the case studies in determining the I/D dollar amount for the lower and upper bound. This study will provide the research community with the first view and systematic estimation method that STAs can use to determine the most economical and realistic I/D dollar amount for a given project?an optimal value that allows the agency to stay within budget while effectively motivating contractors to complete projects ahead of schedule. It will also significantly reduce the agency?s expenses in the time and effort required for determining I/D dollar amounts.Item Parametric estimating for early electric substation construction cost(2009-12) Wall, Darden Lee; Ambler, Tony; McCann, Robert B.Developing accurate construction estimates is critical for electric utilities to make reliable financial plans for their future. Parametric estimating is just one of several techniques available to help estimate the cost of a construction project. Other estimating methods may have some advantages over parametric estimating in the latter stages of a project but parametric estimating is possibly the most accurate method in the very early stages of a project. This report delves into the analysis and development of a parametric equation for use primarily in the very early stages of a construction project. The result of this research is a functional equation that can be used for estimating future electric substation construction cost with a fair level of confidence.Item Predicting the behavior of horizontally curved I-girders during construction(2010-08) Stith, Jason Clarence; Williamson, Eric B., 1968-; Helwig, Todd Aaron, 1965-; Frank, Karl H.; Engelhardt, Michael D.; Liechti, Kenneth M.The majority of a bridge designer’s time is spent ensuring strength and serviceability limit states are satisfied for the completed structure under various dead and live loads. Anecdotally, the profession has done an admirable job designing safe bridges, but engineering the construction process by which bridges get built plays a lesser role in the design offices. The result of this oversight is the complete collapse of a few large bridges as well as numerous other serviceability failures during construction. According to the available literature there have been only a few attempts to monitor a full-scale bridge in the field during the entire construction process. Another challenge for engineers is the lack of analysis tools available which predict the behavior of the bridge during the intermediate construction phases. During construction, partial bracing is present and the boundary conditions can vary significantly from the final bridge configuration. The challenge is magnified for complex bridge geometries such as curved bridges or bridges with skewed supports. To address some of the concerns facing engineers a three span curved steel I-girder bridge was monitored throughout the entire construction process. Field studies collected data on the girder lifting behavior, partially constructed behavior, and concrete deck placement behavior. Additional analytical studies followed using the field measurements to verify the finite element models. Finally, conclusions drawn from the physical and analytical testing were utilized to derive equations that predicted behavior, and analysis tools were developed to provide engineers with solutions to a wide range of construction related problems. This dissertation describes the development of two design tools, UT Lift and UT Bridge. UT Lift is a macro-enabled Excel spreadsheet that predicts the behavior of curved I-girders during lifting. The derivation of the equations necessary to accomplish these calculations and the implementation are described in this dissertation. UT Bridge is a PC-based, user-friendly, 3-D finite element program for I-girder bridges. The basic design philosophy of UT Bridge aims to allow an engineer to take the information readily available in a set of bridge drawings and easily input the necessary information into the program. A straight or curved I-girder bridge with any number of girders or spans can then be analyzed with a robust finite element analysis for either the erection sequence or the concrete deck placement. The development of UT Bridge as well as the necessary element formulations is provided in this dissertation.Item Safety first? : looking at a non-traditional safety training program for Spanish-speaking construction workers(2012-12) Prochnow, Allison Nicole; Zamora, Emilio; Zamora, Emilio; Stidvent, VeronicaConstruction is a very deadly industry with Texas having the highest rate of deaths of construction workers of any state. Hispanic workers are at an even higher risk than white, non-Hispanic workers for being injured or killed while working on a construction site. However, traditional materials available through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to train workers in job safety cannot effectively reach the Hispanic construction worker population because of language and educational barriers. This study examines a non-traditional safety training program tailored specifically for Spanish monolingual construction workers in order to reach these otherwise hard-to-reach workers, created by Workers Defense Project (WDP) in Austin, Texas, through a Department of Labor grant. Through participatory learning techniques, WDP has had a high rate of success in educating low-literacy, Spanish monolingual construction workers on workplace safety and rights. Through further evaluation of this program, the unique methods utilized in this training can be developed and applied in other areas and industries to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in construction and other hazardous industries.Item Site-level integration of information technologies in construction : an empirical study of information technology adoption(2013-12) Howe, Justin Michael; O'Brien, William J.The availability of information technologies (IT) that can be harnessed to support construction projects at the site-level (e.g. tablets devices) continues to increase substantially. Most computer devices and IT resources today are designed for mobility, providing construction onsite personnel potential access to electronic resources and relevant information while on the construction site or in the construction field office; enabling the possibility of real-time data exchanges amongst various project entities, unrestricted by location. Recent industry literature has highlighted the benefits associated with the use of onsite emerging construction IT and, as a result, construction organizations are showing a strong interest in implementing these technologies to improve and develop more cost effective construction document management and communication processes. Despite the perceived benefits, the construction industry has been slow to adopt IT, particularly in the construction execution phase and, more specifically, at the site-level. This research aims to analyze the industry's current state of construction field and office personnel's use and proficiency related to IT. This study also offers insight into the impacts the adoption of IT has on field personnel's onsite processes, and identifies industry-specific barriers associated with the adoption of IT. To extend the knowledge related to IT usage of project site-level personnel, the results of a survey, follow-up interview, and an IT training and evaluation study were reviewed. These tools helped to investigate and acquire data regarding site managers' and field engineers' technology-related competence, their applications of IT to produce work artefacts, and circumstances in which users and technology hinder the adoption of IT in construction. Collectively, an analysis of the results revealed that the construction industry's current state of IT adoption at the site level is more advanced than previously perceived; particularly with the use of basic technology and software tools. Furthermore, the results offer a foundation for determining "areas of improvement" for increased adoption of IT in an onsite environment. Industry business-related limitations and individual's technology proficiency currently present the prevalent barriers related to the hindrance of adoption. The inadequate effectiveness of IT to support field personnel's daily processes was also found to a be a contributory constraint.Item Stabilizing techniques for curved steel I-girders during construction(2010-05) Petruzzi, Brian James; Helwig, Todd Aaron, 1965-; Engelhardt, Michael D.There are many issues and challenges to deal with when designing a curved I-girder bridge. These challenges primarily deal with the many performance stages that curved I-girder bridges have such as the erection, construction, and in-service stages. When design engineers assess the stability of a bridge system, they typically evaluate the system in its final configuration with all cross frames attached and the hardened concrete deck placed. The evaluation of girder stability during erection and early stages of construction stages is difficult because of the limited presence of bracing in the system. Due to a lack of readily available analytical tools, many contractors do not conduct detailed analytical evaluations of the bridge behavior during early stages of the construction when stability is often critical. Instead, many contractors use rules of thumb and experience to ensure stability during erection. Erection and construction practices typically vary among contractors and consistent erection methods are a rarity. Although some rules of thumb may be quite conservative, others are much less so. Therefore, coming up with design guidelines based on parametric studies rather than rules of thumb are desirable to help allow the contractor and the designer to work together to prevent issues that may occur due to the lack of communication between the two professions. Lastly, many challenges arise due to the complex geometry of curved I-girders. To prevent excessive rotation in erected girders, three points of vertical support are often provided. Two of these points usually consist of permanent supports in the form of bridge piers or abutments. The third point of support may consist of a temporary support in the form of a shore tower or holding crane. Cases where a holding crane may be satisfactory over a shore tower are also not well understood. To improve the understanding of lifting practices and temporary support requirements, parametric studies were conducted using the finite element program ANSYS. Field data consisting of displacement, stress, and girder rotations gathered from two tests were used to validate both the linear and geometric non-linear three-dimensional FEA models. Upon validation, the finite element model was used to conduct linear and geometric non-linear analyses to determine critical factors in curved I-girder bridges during construction. Specifically, serviceability limit states were studied for the lifting of curved girders. For partially constructed states, parametric studies were conducted to determine optimal locations to place temporary supports as well as to investigate stability differences between using a shore tower and a holding crane. Recommendations are presented to provide guidance for the lifting of curved I-girders as well as to maximize stability of partially constructed bridges.Item Study of sustainability opportunities during construction(2014-05) Torres, Neftali; O'Connor, James ThomasConstruction Sustainability involves the processes, decisions, and actions during the construction phase of capital projects that enhance current and future environmental, social, and economic needs while considering project safety, quality, cost, and schedule. Most of the currently available published literature and advances in project level sustainability practices have focused on the early Concept Planning and Design phases of capital projects. Knowledge of sustainability practices during the Construction phase of capital projects is still in the early development stages and is highly fragmented; information regarding the selection, assessment, and implementation of construction sustainability solutions has remained largely unavailable or underdeveloped. Moreover, capital project owners and constructors increasingly seek practical guidance and resources to better integrate and evaluate sustainability decisions and actions within project construction services. The dearth of research on effective sustainability practices during the construction phase suggests that higher levels of sustainability attention and effort are needed in this area, in addition to the creation of support guidance and tools. To fill this gap in knowledge, this research has identified 54 unique actions that project teams can apply during construction to enhance the overall sustainability of their project. These construction phase sustainability actions (CPSAs) have been cataloged, characterized, and evaluated to facilitate their consideration and implementation by project teams. To further support the selection process and implementation of these actions, the research team developed a high-level strategic work process, a spreadsheet-based CPSA Screening Tool, and additional in-depth guidance for three CPSAs. In addition, both input- and output-oriented construction sustainability metrics have been developed and identified. Equipped with the findings from this study, owners and construction contractors will be better prepared to implement sustainability actions during the construction phase of capital projects.