Construction Industry Institute Research Articles

Development of Conceptual Sustainable Project Planning Model (SPPM) for Indian Roads

Objective: This research aims to develop the conceptual sustainable project planning model for Indian roads using Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) applicable to roads, Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI), Multi-Unit Selective Inventory Control- 3- Dimensional (MUSIC-3D) Approach, Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), Three Point Cost Estimation & Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) for achieving Sustainability in Indian Roads.
 
 Theorotical Framework: The study is based on international scientific studies, articles, and publications. Additionally, actual materials relevant to the study subject were utilized for a more thorough and objective presentation of the issue at hand.
 
 Method: For development of Conceptual Sustainable Project Planning Model (SPPM) various research tools such as PDRI, MUSIC-3D, PERT & 3- Point Costing as well as LCCA were used incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals applicable to roads.
 
 Results & Conclusion: The development of a sustainable project planning model (SPPM) using tools like the Construction Industry Institute's Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI), the Multi Unit Selective Inventory Control- 3-Dimensional (MUSIC-3D) analysis, the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) by IS 13147 (Part-2):1984, PERT, and Three Point Cost Estimation using MSP can help Indian roads become more sustainable.
 
 Originality/ Value: The sustainable project planning model can benefit the road infrastructure in several ways. By incorporating sustainable design principles, environmental assessment, and social impact assessment, the model ensures that construction projects are environmentally responsible and socially inclusive. This helps road infrastructure to minimize its negative impact on the environment and society. The model also emphasizes the importance of resource efficiency and waste reduction. By efficiently managing project resources, including materials, the model promotes sustainable procurement practices and minimizes harmful impacts on environment. This can lead to cost savings for the construction industry by reducing waste and optimizing resource utilization.

Digital advanced work packaging – a case study in construction-led delivery

Advanced Work Packaging (AWP), a Project Management methodology, has been adopted to deliver the Viva Energy Gas Terminal Project. AWP is a recognised industry best practice, which aligns Engineering, Supply Chain Management and Construction towards an optimised execution sequence, driven by Construction and Commissioning. AWP accomplishes this through standardised project planning and effective information and data flow for the duration of the project under a unified plan. Worley has developed a unique framework and digital delivery method for AWP based on the Construction Industry Institute standard. The underlying strategy that enables AWP to succeed is defining the execution sequence early and collaboratively, as well as, committing to a unified plan between Engineering, Supply Chain, Fabrication, Construction, Completions and Start-Up. Construction-led delivery using digital AWP enables the sequencing of engineering deliverables based on Construction and Commissioning sequences, allowing the right people to work on the right issues at the right time. Through application of an AWP compliant Level III Schedule that provides visibility across Engineering, Procurement and Construction, we have been able to determine the impact of delays and mitigate to facilitate successful execution. Based on the application of AWP on projects using the Construction Industry Institute standard, significant improvements in overall project delivery outcomes have been achieved; with productivity improvements of up to 25%, improved schedule outcomes with 80% of projects either on time or ahead of schedule and Total Installed Cost savings of 3–10%.

Defining the Success Status of Construction Projects Based on Quantitative Performance Metrics Thresholds

Despite the high spending and high employment, the construction industry struggles to agree how to go about project performance assessment and what constitutes a successful project. This does not allow stakeholders to address the issues in and drawbacks of their respective projects. Hence, this research outlines performance metrics upper limits, which can be used in defining a successful project. Data were collected from Construction Industry Institute (CII) members and multiple construction firms through University of Wisconsin–Madison active research projects. Two classification and regression tree (CART) models were developed using 4-fold randomized cross-validation to provide the metrics thresholds of success with a classification accuracy of 81% and 85%, respectively. CART models revealed that a successful project can be defined as having construction schedule growth less than 10.4%, construction cost growth less than 9.8%, requests for information (RFIs) per $million less than or equal to 8.6, and RFI processing time less than or equal to 7 days. Additional thresholds showed that a high-performing successful project would have a change orders per $million of less than 0.39 and rework of less than 1.5%. These thresholds can serve as a step toward a quantitative definition of success by translating qualitative success status into quantitative success status. Additionally, the established thresholds can be used as benchmarks for acceptable construction performance, which can then be adopted as risk thresholds or tolerances during project planning.

Benchmarking of construction projects performance for comparative assessment and performance improvement: a statistical quantitative approach

PurposeThe exact process of construction projects performance assessment and benchmarking still remains subjective relying on qualitative techniques, which does not allow stakeholders to address the issues and the drawbacks of their respective projects as effectively as possible for performance improvement purposes. Hence, this research aims to establish a unified project performance score (PPS) for assessing and comparing projects performance.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from Construction Industry Institute (CII) members and through University of Wisconsin active research projects. Exploratory data analysis was done to investigate the calculated performance metrics and the collected data characteristics. Data were converted into six performance metrics which were used as the independent variables in creating the PPS model. Logistic regression model was developed to generate the unified PPS equation in order to explain the variables that significantly affect construction projects successful post-completion performance. The PPS model was then applied on the collected dataset to benchmark projects in terms of project delivery systems, compensation types and project types in order to showcase the PPS capabilities and possible applications.FindingsThe model revealed that construction cost and schedule growth are the most important metrics in assessing projects performance, while RFIs’ processing time and change orders per million dollars were the features with the least effect on the PPS value. The authors found that integrated project delivery (IPD) and target value (TV) projects outperformed all other project delivery and compensation types. While, industrial projects showed the worst performance, as compared to commercial or institutional projects.Originality/valueThe PPS model can be used to assess the performance of any pool of executed projects, and introducing a novel addition to the field of construction business analytics which is a supplementary tool to successful decision making and performance improvement. Additionally, the bidding selection system can be revolutionized from a cost-based to a performance based one using the PPS model to improve the outcomes of the buyout process.

Determining the Accuracy of the Triangular and PERT Distributions

The Triangular and PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) distribution probability density functions are commonly used in decision and risk analyses. These distributions are popular because they are each specified by only three points (two support bounds and the mode) that are believed to be easy to assess from experts or data. In this paper, we carefully analyze how close the Triangular and PERT distributions are to other distributions sharing the same support and mode and show that the errors induced by the Triangular and PERT distributions are significant. We further show that distributions that are characterized by the median tend to provide a better fit than do those that are characterized by the mode. Funding: This research was supported by the Equinor Fellows Program and the Operating System 2.0 research program developed by the Construction Industry Institute.

Constructability: Owners, Designers, and Contractors Practices in Industrial Projects

Abstract The constructability theory is built on the premise that designated experts review and analyse a plan collectively to iron out obstacles that may cause failure to the plan and make the execution efficient and cost-effective. This paper aims to reveal constructability practices among stakeholders (owners, designers, and contractors) who are executing industrial projects in Saudi Arabia. The research commenced with an intensive review of related literature. The literature review enabled the researchers to develop a questionnaire (data collection tool) which was distributed among the stakeholders via E-mail. The received data were analysed using simple statistical tools such as means, frequency, etc. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to measure the level of benefits from the constructability implementation. The stakeholders were found to implement constructability at the project and, to some extent, at corporate levels. Besides, they use many Construction Industry Institute (CII) concepts emerging from well-constructability CII principles in industrial projects. They form teams consisting of personnel from their organizations and facilitators either from their organization or from constructability consulting organizations. They use effective constructability review techniques such as the log/file, brainstorming, and the design review checklist. The constructability implementation yields considerable benefits, including “Reduce engineering cost,” “Reduce construction cost,” “Reduce the amount of rework,” “Improve project safety,” “Reduce schedule duration,” and several others. The study contributes to the book of knowledge and provides practitioners with guidance in implementing constructability. Designers and contractors are advised to implement constructability at the corporate level.

How Design Standardization CSFs Can Impact Project Performance of Capital Projects

AbstractStandardization is a commonplace idea today; however, capital projects have not been able to achieve high levels of facility design standardization. The Construction Industry Institute (CII...

Leading Indicators—A Conceptual IoT-Based Framework to Produce Active Leading Indicators for Construction Safety

Active leading indicators (ALIs) have the potential to identify safety hazards and prompt immediate actions to prevent incidents. Currently, there is a major gap in research that incorporates a fully automated ALI system because implementation has been hindered by a lack of established industry thresholds of measurable performance that would trigger an actionable response. Therefore, this paper addresses this gap by presenting a new method that utilizes the Internet of Things (IoT) to collect quantifiable data which can trigger an actionable response in real time based on established thresholds. This novel method integrates the Construction Industry Institute (CII) active leading indicator framework with a prototype IoT-based system. Significantly, the ALI provides the physical–virtual feedback loop, which is an essential aspect of the IoT system because it provides real-time feedback to both the users and systems. This paper also identifies potential inputs to the ALI framework from emerging IoT-enabled systems. A case study was presented to initially validate the IoT-based ALI framework. Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitors were issued to workers in a hazardous and critical mining construction site. The ALIs that were recorded included heart rate and body temperature. Thresholds were established that alerted the monitoring safety staff when a worker exhibited potentially unsafe conditions. The results of the study demonstrated the feasibility of the system. Additionally, other results included worker resistance; non-disclosing of medical conditions, and limitations for IoT connectivity.

A framework to assess the costs and benefits of advanced work packaging in industrial construction

The term advanced work packaging (AWP), coined by the Construction Industry Institute (CII), refers to a disciplined process for project planning and execution; it was developed to address challenges such as cost and schedule overruns in the industrial construction sector. Case studies conducted on AWP report a number of benefits in the areas of productivity, cost, safety, and schedule. However, since there is no clear method to assess the costs and benefits of AWP implementation, a significant challenge in AWP adoption is the lack of quantitative evidence to support these reported benefits. This paper presents a structured framework to assess multiple aspects of AWP implementation, which will enable the quantification of both its costs and benefits. The framework will enable the future comparison of AWP and non-AWP projects. This paper contributes to the industrial construction sector by providing a framework to assess AWP implementation in practice.

Delphi Approach to Identifying Best Practices for Succession Planning within Construction Firms.

ABSTRACT Succession planning serves to develop and retain workers at all levels of employment. Retaining high performers is critical to a contractor’s success. The nature of the construction industry creates unique difficulties for retaining employees internally. High turnover is common within construction companies, noticeably with high performers. Currently, the industry is experiencing a significant workforce shortage and it is becoming increasingly harder to find qualified workers. To help reduce contractor’s risk of high turnover, the Construction Industry Institute (CII) appointed a research panel to identify best practices for succession planning in the construction industry. CII identified 10 Human Resource (HR) executives from large North American construction companies to participate in the research panel. With the aim of identifying best practices in succession planning, the researcher conducted a three-round Delphi study with the research panel. The panel came to a consensus on 15 practices that have the highest value for succession planning in the construction industry. During the three rounds, the panel ordered the 15 practices in perceived value by using their 212 years of combined HR experience in the construction industry. Construction companies can incorporate the practices during the five common stages of succession planning.

BIM-based benchmarking system for healthcare projects: Feasibility study and functional requirements

Abstract While project benchmarking based on key performance indicators is regarded as a crucial technique for mature project delivery in the construction industry, incorporating it into an organization's routine is a cumbersome and time-consuming endeavor as it entails considerable time and human efforts for collecting and providing project information, and validating the quality of collected data. To overcome this challenge, this paper introduces an approach that leverages Building Information Modeling (BIM), which allows for a more streamlined benchmarking process. The approach presented in this paper focuses on healthcare projects which have been benchmarked using a comprehensive set of cost, schedule, dimension, and planning performance metrics through a mature sector-specific benchmarking program at Construction Industry Institute (CII). As an initial step in the formulation of such a tool, this paper investigates the potential of leveraging BIM for benchmarking through close scrutiny of contents embedded in real-world models collected from six healthcare projects. Functional requirements were, then, established to realize a BIM-based benchmarking tool for healthcare projects by developing conceptual process flow, use cases, and data flow diagrams. The requirements are further illustrated in mock-ups of a prototype system.

Retrospective look on front-end planning in the construction industry: Aliterature review of 30 years of research

Academics and practitioners have paid close attention to front-end planning research, especially in the construction industry. It is known with many acronyms including pre-project planning and front-end loading. Since 1994, Construction Industry Institute (CII) has set front-end planning as one of themain research topicareas in their knowledge structure. A lot of research related to front-end planning and project scope definition has been conductedsince then. However, there lacks a comprehensive review of the currentstudies on the topic. Thus, the objective of this research was to undertake a comprehensive literature review of papers related to front-end planning. Reviewing 83 selected papers, this research raises several important issues regarding front-end planning such as the position of front-end planning in project life cycle, the differentiation between front-end planning and project planning, the significance of front-end planning, the front-end planning organization management, the front-end planning phases, the challenges in front-end planning implementation, and the identification of research gaps in front-end planning. The findings of this research contribute to furtherunderstanding of front-end planning andwould be useful for practitioners and academics to conduct further empirical studies on the subject matter.

A New Graduate Course on Modular Construction: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Modular construction has been highlighted as one of the key technologies which can significantly improve the construction industry by major professional conferences (i.e., 2017 CII (Construction Industry Institute) Annual Conference, Autodesk University (Las Vegas 2017), CONEXP- CON/AGG) held in 2017. It is now evident that practitioners in the construction industry recognize and pay more attention to the value of modular construction, and consider implementing it. One of the enablers that can accelerate higher levels of modularization across the industry is changing project stakeholdersäó» stick-build paradigm to modularization. However, as most of the engineering schools in the U.S. teach courses based on the stick-build approach, students do not have an opportunity to learn the modular approach. Due to this reason, when they become owners, designer, and contractors, they are captured by the stick-build paradigm and more likely become reluctant to expand their modularization äóěcomfort zones.äóť To accelerate higher levels of modularization and meet the need of students and the industry, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, led by Dr. Jin Ouk Choi, recently created a new graduate-level course on Modular Construction in 2017 which covers an overall understanding of modular construction concepts including, advantages, disadvantages, impediments, industry status, business case process, execution plans, critical success factors, and standardization strategies of modularization. This paper will introduce the course in terms of its vision, learning objectives, development procedure, structure, contents, and studentsäó» feedback who took the course in Spring 2017.

Mapping the Influence of Project Management on Project Cost

This paper develops a framework to map the influence of Project Management (PM) attributes on project cost and then tests these relationships between PM attributes and project cost on industrial construction projects. PM attributes are identified and classified into five areas: Human Resource Management (HRM), function of PM, partnering and supply chain, design efficiency, and quality. The framework model is tested on survey data from member companies of the Construction Industry Institute (CII) using the Structural Equation Modeling method. The results reveal that quality, function of PM, and HRM can have a significant positive impact on project cost. Quality is found to have the most direct and greatest impact on project cost efficiency among PM attributes. The goal of this statistical study is to demonstrate the paths and strengths of the effects of PM attributes on project cost.

The Theory of Zero Incident Safety Management

Despite the dramatic improvements in construction safety made over the past few decades, the construction industry as a whole is still nowhere near reaching the Zero Injury goal, let alone the Zero Incident goal. The purpose of this paper is to provide an approach to continue improvements of safety performance in order to reach the Zero Incident goal. Since the concept of "Zero Injury" emerged in the 1990s, increasing numbers of owners and contractors have achieved the Zero Injury goal on construction projects. The key to these achievements is the Nine Zero Injury Principles established by Construction Industry Institute (CII). However, the research on which the Nine Zero Injury Principles relied is questionnaire survey rather than theoretical analysis. Without theoretical analysis supporting the research, the conclusions are often challenged, making the concept of Zero Injury difficult to promote throughout the industry. Thus, there exists the need to develop the theory of Zero Incident Safety Management (ZISM) and re-define the concept of "Zero Incident" to provide theoretical insight into the practical application of ZISM techniques and make Zero Incident more acceptable. Drawing on previous theories of construction accident causation and prevention, a new update accident causation theory was developed. This research then identified the management factors that can eliminate the corresponding accident causation factors. Developing the theory of ZISM can not only helps construction leaders deeply understand and accept the concept of Zero Incident, but also guide how to make Zero Incident come true. To facilitate the most rapid implementation of the Nine Principles, a ZISM standard benchmark tool with leading metrics was created. This tool can be easily used to assess the extent of implementation of safety program in construction projects.

Effects of Front-End Planning under Fast-Tracked Project Delivery Systems for Industrial Projects

ABSTRACTFront-end planning (FEP) may be a key element in project success because it helps project participants more efficiently mitigate risk and define project objectives in the preplanning phase. However, very little is known about the effect of FEP for industrial project performance under different project delivery systems. To this end, this study investigated the impact of FEP on project performance by focusing on two widely used fast-track delivery methods: design-build (DB) and construction manager at risk (CMR), compared to the benchmarking conventional design-bid-build (DBB). The Spearman’s correlation analysis and Kruskal-Wallis test were performed on a real-world dataset, obtained from the Construction Industry Institute (CII), which comprised 438 industrial projects built between 1990 and 2010 in the US. The correlation analysis results revealed that better FEP resource allocation could help more design packages be completed efficiently and accurately to accelerate the fast-track process. The pair-wise comparison analysis results confirmed that there is no significant evidence to examine particular difference of schedule performance between CMR and DB. On the other hand, the results highlighted that project cost performance under DB were better than CMR. The results and findings of this study will help decision-makers choose appropriate project delivery methods for given project priorities.

Proactive Approach to Engineering and Design Deliverables Quality Enhancement

AbstractThis paper presents research findings by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) Research Team (RT) 320, Definition and Measurement of Engineering/Design Deliverable Quality, to manage th...

Empirical Study on Causes of Project Delays

Renowned offshore organizations are drifting towards collaborative exertion to win and implement international projects for business gains. However, devoid of financial constraints, with the availability of skilled professionals, and despite improved project management practices through state-of-the-art tools and techniques, project delays have become a norm these days. This situation calls for exploring the factor(s) affecting the bonding between project management performance and project success. In the context of the well-known 3M’s of project management (that is, manpower, machinery, and materials), machinery and materials are dependent upon manpower. Because the body of knowledge inveterate on the influence of national culture on men, hence, the realization of the impact on the link between project management performance and project success need to be investigated in detail to arrive at the possible cause(s) of project delays. This research initiative was, therefore, undertaken to fill the research gap. The unit of analysis for the proposed research excretion was the individuals who had worked on skyscraper construction projects. In reverent studies, project management is best described using construction examples. It is due to this reason that the project oriented city of Dubai was chosen to reconnoiter on causes of project delays. A structured questionnaire survey was disseminated online with the courtesy of the Project Management Institute local chapter to carry out the cross-sectional study. The Construction Industry Institute, Austin, of the United States of America along with 23 high-rise builders in Dubai were also contacted by email requesting for their contribution to the study and providing them with the online link to the survey questionnaire. The reliability of the instrument was warranted using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.70. The appropriateness of sampling adequacy and homogeneity in variance was ensured by keeping Kaiser–Meyer– Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity in the range ≥ 0.60 and < 0.05, respectively. Factor analysis was used to verify construct validity. During exploratory factor analysis, all items were loaded using a threshold of 0.4. Four hundred and seventeen respondents, including members from top management, project managers, and project staff, contributed to the study. The link between project management performance and project success was significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed), and 0.05 level (2-tailed) for Pearson’s correlation. Before initiating the moderator analysis test for linearity, multicollinearity, outliers, leverage points and influential cases, test for homoscedasticity and normality were carried out which are prerequisites for conducting moderator review. The moderator analysis, using a macro named PROCESS, was performed to verify the hypothesis that national culture has an influence on the said link. The empirical findings, when compared with Hofstede's results, showed high power distance as the cause of construction project delays in Dubai. The research outcome calls for the project sponsors and top management to reshape their project management strategy and allow for low power distance between management and project personnel for timely completion of projects.

Defining and Understanding “Small Projects” in the Industrial Construction Sector

To date, little research has been performed regarding the planning and management of “small” projects – those projects typically differentiated from “large” projects due to having lower costs. In 2013, The Construction Industry Institute (CII) set out to develop a front end planning tool that will provide practitioners with a standardized process for planning small projects in the industrial sector. The research team determined that data should be sought from industry regarding small industrial projects to ensure applicability, effectiveness and validity of the new tool. The team developed and administered a survey to determine (1) the prevalence of small projects, (2) the planning processes currently in use for small projects, and (3) current metrics used by industry to differentiate between small and large projects. The survey data showed that small projects make up a majority of projects completed in the industrial sector, planning of these projects varies greatly across the industry, and the metrics posed in the survey were mostly not appropriate for use in differentiating between small and large projects. This study contributes to knowledge through adding to the limited research surrounding small projects, and suggesting future research regarding using measures of project complexity to differentiate between small and large projects.

INVESTIGATING MICROSTRUCTURES AND HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERPLASTICITY BEHAVIOR OF MG-5(MASS%) SN ALLOY BY USING EQUAL CHANNEL ANGULAR EXTRUSION

Performance analyses of consultancy firms usually include man-hour analyses, schedule analyses and budget analyses. During the project management process, the project scope change makes it difficult for the management to control the project and predict the future trends. This research has developed a project performance measurement model based on the concepts of CAPP (Continuous Assessment of Project Performance) and PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), created by the Construction Industry Institute and PMI (Project Management Institute). Through data collection, analysis, and summary, this study establishes a historical database, reviews existing records, and selects major and significant performance evaluation indicators from the project data, as well as building of relevant models. Through an established Web-based project performance measurement system to identify the project implementation performance trend, it allows participants in various stages of the construction engineering life cycle to exchange and share engineering performance information and experience.