Browsing by Subject "Construction industry--Planning"
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Item Examining the impact of corporate commitment to sustainability(2005) Beheiry, Salwa Mamoun Ahmed; Haas, Carl T.This dissertation presents the culmination of a research study, started at the University of Texas at Austin in August 2003. The main objective of the study was to establish a research mechanism to investigate the impact of corporate commitment to all three pillars of sustainability on capital project planning and capital project performance. The research hypothesis was that a higher balanced commitment to the three pillars of sustainability leads to better capital project planning and ultimately to better cost and schedule performance in large industrial and building projects, by mitigating the risks in project execution. To achieve the objectives of this study, sustainability indicators were condensed into two empirical indices. The first index measured Corporate Commitment to the three pillars of sustainability. It is referred to as the Corporate Sustainability Commitment Index (CSCI). The second index measured the degree of integration of sustainable practices in capital project planning. It is referred to as the Sustainability Component of Project Planning Index (SCPPI). The research study then focused on the two most important project performance measures, cost and schedule predictability. Project success is typically referred to as meeting business objectives, on time, and within budget. Therefore, 38 Fortune 100 multinationals were contacted and data on CSCI, SCPPI and project performance was collected from 20 of these organizations. Seventeen of the 20 organizations were owners and three were top contractors. Owner data was focused on and analyzed to examine the nature of the relationship between sustainable practices and project performance, while contractor data added perspective and helped establish the nucleus for further research comparing the sustainability practices of both owner and contractor companies. The study concludes that the survey instrument and research premise are useful foundations for further examination of the relationship between owner commitment to sustainability and capital project performance. The data collection and analysis, albeit very statistically constrained by the sample size, lay the groundwork for further research. More data collections should lead to more statistically significant relationships and conclusive trends. Finally, this dissertation provides several recommendations to aid in the implementation of the study findings and the learning experience from industry input.Item International project risk assessment(2005) Walewski, John; Gibson, G. Edward (George Edward), 1958-International construction projects are managed most effectively by planning for and addressing the risks that occur to all participants across the project’s entire life cycle. The first step in this process is the identification and assessment of such risks; however, there are few tools that provide such assistance. This research was undertaken to produce a user-friendly, systematic management tool to identify and assess the risks specific to international construction with the ultimate goal of improving project performance. This dissertation presents the development of the International Project Risk Assessment (IPRA) management tool including the methodology to create it, an analysis of its effectiveness in determining the relative importance of the identified risks, and the steps necessary to document, track, and mitigate international project-specific risks. The IPRA tool consists of 82 risk elements that are assessed by likelihood of occurrence and relative impact to identify those elements having the greatest potential impact on the project. Baseline Relative Impact values were developed for each of the 82 based on input from industry experts reporting on recently completed projects. The IPRA tool was tested on projects to verify its completeness and to assess the relationship of test and workshop relative impact values. Project performance data on test projects was collected to identify the relationship between risk and performance. A standardized case-study format was developed to identify which IPRA elements had the most impact on project performance. These results show that the IPRA tool is a sound method to identify and assess the relative impact of international risk issues. Nonetheless, this research also reveals that there is no single blueprint that adequately captures all the risks associated with every international project. Therefore, use of the IPRA tool must be tailored to adjust for country, user, and business sector concerns. Finally, although this research was limited by the paucity of empirical data on risk in international construction projects, the IPRA may provide a framework for the future collection and organization of such data.Item A model for work function characteristics-based prioritization of technologies for captial projects(2002) Won, Seungwon; O'Connor, James ThomasPragmatic construction professionals and the price-competition-oriented market inhibit the construction industry from investing in advanced technologies. The construction industry has taken advantage of new advanced technologies less frequently than other industries. However, owners, designers, and contractors have recently recognized that improving project performance and sustaining greater competitiveness are driving forces behind implementation of advanced technologies. At the same time, they have been questioning where and what they should implement first. An effective prioritization methodology helps the construction industry to increase the chance of successful investments in new technology development. The objective of this study is to build a theoretical model for identifying research and development (R&D) investment opportunities exist with high value potential. The gap between measures of technology supply and demand is used to determine the relative priorities of future technology development. The relative demand for technologies is hypothesized to be closely associated with particular work functions. This dissertation develops and tests a proof model to prove that work function characteristics can serve as an effective model for technology demand. To do so, a comprehensive list of work function characteristics is developed. After proving the value of the work function characteristics, this study applies the work function characteristics in determining the priorities for future technology R&D for capital facility projects.Item Planning for critical construction operations involving large semi-stationary equipment(1995-12) Lin, Kuo-liang, 1968-; Not availableItem Planning for, facilitating, and evaluating design effectiveness(2007-12) Jarrah, Raed Tahsin, 1982-; O'Connor, James ThomasDesign Effectiveness is the degree to which the design effort helps in achieving project value objectives. Because Design Effectiveness largely exists within the context of the design phase, considerations on other project phases, such as front-end development or construction management, have been excluded from this study. Practices that promote Design Effectiveness are called Design Effectiveness Practices (DEPs), and the primary aim of this research was to develop a method for identifying suitable DEPs on a given project. The research consisted of three segments. The first segment of the research consisted of an ANOVA analysis of the CII benchmarking database to analyze the effect of Design on project performance metrics. The second (and main) segment of the research was the development and validation of a Design Effectiveness Practices Selection Tool. The MS Excel[Trademark] based tool determines the priority of application of 30 different DEPs on a project given the project's desired benefits (from 11 Project Value Objectives), design phase, and unique characteristics. All the 30 DEPs were correlated with the three input parameters using Score Matrices with the aid of expert opinion. The Score Matrices produced a score for each of the input parameters, and the three scores were combined to form a Composite Index Score for each DEP. The Selection tool was also validated in a two-step process, and met the validation thresholds set out for it. The third segment of this research involved the development of a Design Effectiveness Evaluation Tool, also based on MS Excel [Trademark]. This dissertation contributes to a growing area of research by providing comprehensive, structured compilation of DEPs and also by developing a selection method to effectively recommend the most suitable DEPs. From the perspective of the industry, the results of this research (and most notably the Selection Tool), facilitate the implementation of the DEPs and should help in maximizing the potential benefits to a particular project.