Industrial Construction Projects Research Articles

A quantitative risk assessment methodology for construction project

It is observed that most of the infrastructure projects fail to meet their cost and time constraints, which will lead to a low return on investment. The paper highlights that the present risk management tools and techniques do not provide an adequate basis for response selection in managing critical risks specific to infrastructure projects. This paper proposes a risk quantification methodology and demonstrates its application for an industrial construction project. A case study is used to present an application of the proposed risk management methodology to help organisations efficiently choose risk response strategy and allocate limited resources. The research adopts an integrated approach to prioritize risks using Group Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (GTOPSIS) and to quantify risks in terms of overall project delays using Judgemental Risk Analysis Process (JRAP), and Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). A comparison between the results of qualitative risk analysis using GTOPSIS and quantitative risk analysis i.e., JRAP and MCS is presented. It is found that JRAP along with MCS could provide some powerful results which could help the management control project risks. The crux of this paper is that the risks are highly dependent on project schedule and the proposed methodology could give a better risk priority list because it considers slackness associated with the project activities. The analysis can help improve the understanding of implications of specific risk factors on project completion time and cost, while it attempts to quantify risks. In turn, this enables the project manager to devise a suitable strategy for risk response and mitigation.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF OPERATING RELIABILITY OF DRIVEN PILES OF A BUILDING IN THE QUAY AREA

Ensuring strength parameters of building elements of residential, domestic and industrial premises, located on the territory of the embankment in continuous operation is a fundamental factor in the sustenance of the population, especially in changing climatic effects of the environment and a massive impact of coastal waves. Maintaining comfortable conditions normalized long stay population in the residential, domestic, and industrial purposes with reduced power consumption and ensuring safe operation, currently carried out in accordance with the implementation of the city's "life support" and is performed in accordance with the adoption of the Federal law of 23 November 2009 "No. 261-FZ. On energy saving and increasing energy efficiency and introducing amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation." All this underlines the relevance of the authors research and proposed recommendations for implementation are protected by patents of the Russian Federation of technical solutions. Such construction elements such as driven piles are the most intensively exposed to destruction because of being in wet soil, which contributes to the corrosive destruction of the material and periodic seismic effects beginning with the waves at the perimeter of the coast promenade. As shown by the analysis of known emergency residential, public and industrial construction projects, the decline in the standard terms of use driven piles leads to premature destruction of buildings and constructions, which consequently increases the danger of finding the population on the territory of the embankment. A feature of the exploitation of construction objects located on the territory of the embankment is the sum of the effect as the seismic loads due to the periodic power strokes of the rolling waves on the ground bordering the perimeter, and the corrosive destruction of the material driven piles due to constant contact with wet soil components. The proposed technical solutions, which are based on theoretical and experimental studies of the Department of teplogazosnabzhenie southwestern state University to ensure the maintenance of normalized operating life of driven piles in terms of destruction in the territory of the embankments, the novelty of which is protected by patents of the Russian Federation.

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.

A simulation-based method for effective workface planning of industrial construction projects

The generation of well-defined and moderately sized field installation work packages for the construction workforce, referred to as workface planning, has been recently employed to plan large-scale industrial construction projects under tight schedules. However, traditional CPM-based scheduling of several thousand work packages (e.g. 5000 activities multiply by 10 work packages per activity on average) is a tedious, error prone process. Defining proper logics and controlling congestion among work packages crossing several work areas, and also effective resource allocation over time are other major challenges in workface planning. This paper presents a novel simulation-based framework to implement workface planning for large-scale industrial construction projects. This framework proposes a time-stepped discrete event simulation-based modelling for dynamic resource allocation based on congestion and other constraints on the job site. The proposed method is demonstrated and tested against traditional CPM-based solutions based on an actual case study.

Waste Management in Industrial Construction: Investigating Contributions from Industrial Ecology

The need for effective construction waste management is growing in importance, due to the increasing generation of construction waste and to its adverse impacts on the environment. However, despite the numerous studies on construction waste management, recovery of construction waste through Industrial Symbiosis and the adoption of other inter-firm practices, comprised within Industrial Ecology field of study, have not been fully explored. The present research aims to investigate Industrial Ecology contributions to waste management in industrial construction. The waste management strategies adopted in two industrial construction projects in Brazil are analyzed. The main waste streams generated are identified, recycling and landfilling diversion rates are presented and waste recovery through Industrial Symbiosis is discussed. A SWOT analysis was carried out. Results demonstrate that 9% of the waste produced in one of the projects was recovered through Industrial Symbiosis, while in the other project, waste recovery through Industrial Symbiosis achieved the rate of 30%. These data reveal Industrial Symbiosis’ potential to reduce landfilling of industrial construction wastes, contributing to waste recovery in construction. In addition, results show that industrial construction projects can benefit from the following synergies common in Industrial Ecology place-based approaches: centralized waste management service, shared waste management infrastructure and administrative simplification.

Benchmarking Sustainability Practices Use throughout Industrial Construction Project Delivery

Despite the efforts for sustainability studies in building and infrastructure construction, the sustainability issues in industrial construction remain understudied. Further, few studies evaluate sustainability and benchmark sustainability issues in industrial construction from a management perspective. This study presents a phase-based benchmarking framework for evaluating sustainability practices use focusing on industrial facilities project. Based on the framework, this study quantifies and assesses sustainability practices use, and further sorts the results by project phase and major project characteristics, including project type, project nature, and project delivery method. The results show that sustainability practices were implemented higher in the construction and startup phases relative to other phases, with a very broad range. An assessment by project type and project nature showed significant differences in sustainability practices use, but no significant difference in practices use by project delivery method. This study contributes to providing a benchmarking method for sustainability practices in industrial facilities projects at the project phase level. This study also discusses and provides an application of phase-based benchmarking for sustainability in industrial construction.

Development of a Project Scope Definition and Assessment Tool for Small Industrial Construction Projects

Development of a Project Scope Definition and Assessment Tool for Small Industrial Construction Projects

A Survey Study on Industrial Construction Project Supply Chain: On Time Performance and Practices of Structural Steel and Pipe Spools

Construction material not available for installation cause delays in the construction project supply chain and pose risks to overall project delays. Many researches have studied the supply chain to find the underlining reasons and influencing factors for project delays. Other investigations of the construction project supply chain identify ways to improve the supply chain. The purpose of this study is to determine the current state of construction project supply chain performance with a focus on material on-time availability. A survey of industrial constructors and their suppliers’ on-time performance and related supply chain practices was conducted. Structural steel and pipe spools are frequently used in industrial construction projects and were selected as the subject of the survey. This survey was used to obtain a general perspective of the issues associated with the delays so that further surveys and simulations could be performed to pin point specific areas of improvement. This survey of experts in the field was used as a qualitative query to obtain opinions and a feel for the state of the practice in industrial construction supply chain management. For this initial review it is found that there are many possible delays, missing and defective parts, overall 22% for structural steel and 18% for pipe spools. New technologies such as RFID would be a possible way to improve the construction project supply chain process at this level.

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF INVESTMENT DESIGN IN INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION

Objectives. The development of a set of practical measures in order to improve the quality of investment design in industrial construction. Methods. The basis of research comprises a project management methodology as well as methods for logical and statistical analysis of decisionmaking in investment activities. Results. A mechanism of inclusion of industrial construction objects into the Federal targeted investment programme is revealed. The sequence of the state expert evaluation of investment projects is determined, which optimises the design solutions aimed at minimising their estimated cost if the investment is made with the involvement of the Federal budget. Qualitative and quantitative criteria are systematised for the integrated assessment of the effectiveness of investment fund usage sent to industrial construction objects. Conclusion. The consistent implementation of the state investment policy is aimed at developing the scientific-technological and scientific-industrial potential of industrial construction by providing favourable conditions for effective innovation activity, selecting rational investment strategies and priority projects aimed at solving urgent problems of improving the competitiveness of construction. Successful implementation of the state investment policy in industrial construction largely depends on the effectiveness of investment design, starting from the accuracy of the formulation of the investment plan (idea), in which the interests of all participants in investment activities are concentrated and taken into account, and to the development of an agreed set of actions to complete the project. A unified register covering the data on the cost and results of investment projects is proposed to be created with the purpose of facilitating decision-making in the process of allocation of the Federal budget funds, planning of state capital investments and approval of project documentation for new industrial construction projects offered for financing.

Two-way integration of 3D visualization and discrete event simulation for modeling mobile crane movement under dynamically changing site layout

Abstract Construction site layout changes dynamically depending on the progress of construction activities in ways that may constrain access routes and paths of mobile resources. Discrete event simulation is a useful tool for modeling time dependent activities and resource interactions but usually cannot depict spatial changes in a natural way. This paper describes a framework for integrating 3D visualization components with discrete event simulations to model the movement of mobile cranes on industrial construction projects and facilitate tempo-spatial planning of site layout. The paper focuses on the integration approach using distributed simulation standards and spatial analysis using a dedicated visualization component with pathfinding algorithm. The A* algorithm is used in conjunction with mesh generation mechanism for developing the proposed framework. The benefits of the proposed framework emerge from taking full advantage of the geometrical and special processing strengths of the visualization component through loose coupling with simulation components. The paper describes the main components of the framework and the two-way communication mechanism between them based on distributed simulation standards. It also presents a case example of a real world project to demonstrate the proposed framework and compare the outcome to a traditional solution that uses a probability distribution to model crane travel times.

PERFORMANCE CHALLENGES OF MEGA PROJECTS

Large (mega) capital projects are experiencing cost overruns and schedule delays that are negatively affecting return on investment. Energy and industrial construction projects face unique challenges in project execution due to geography, climate, labour market characteristics, investment and other factors, both internal and external to the industry. Nonetheless, there is an urgent need for industry to address these challenges in order to improve the long-term success and sustainability of industry. A survey of industry leaders regarding their perception of where industry is at, areas for improvement and challenges they are facing. We asked them their opinion on what practices are good or bad, what needs to be improved and what lessons they may have learned regarding industry planning and execution processes, practices and procedures for large capital projects. The paper will present the findings from this industry survey. We also conducted a literature search of published material of industry practices on large capital projects. We analyzed the published material and survey responses to determine the current industry project performance (where are we at today?), factors that affect performance (what are we doing today?) and how can we improve performance (what can we do tomorrow?). We then present our recommendations. We encourage executives to expand their oversight of projects.

Trust and Interorganizational Interactions for Managing Conflicts in a Blended Team

AbstractA blended team environment may be expected to promote trust and interaction among key team players. The quality of this interaction affects construction project performance. This paper investigates the effectiveness of such teaming from the perspective of trust between two key project participants (the client and the construction management organization) on an industrial construction project. Sixteen senior project members from both project organizations were administered a semistructured questionnaire. Simple inferences from the analyses of their responses provided the basis for this study’s conclusions. The study found that there were difficulties in establishing trust between the two organizations. This affected the flow of information and communication among team members. Consequently, there was an increase in relationship conflicts, and generally more control and supervision of work had to be imposed beyond those expected in blended team environments. Previous working experience and ability t...

Delay factor analysis for hospital projects in Vietnam

In recent years, Vietnam has many diseases such as measles, HFMD, chicken pox, and so on. Although there are many new hospital projects, the central hospitals of government still usually overload. Besides that, similar to other construction projects, the hospital projects in Vietnam always have lengthy delays. This research analyzed the factors that cause delay the time of hospital projects in Vietnam, a type of specialized industrial construction projects. Factor analysis and survey expert were used in this case. The concept of correlation was also applied. The result of this survey shows that the main reason groups of the delay for hospital projects: ability of owner and contractor, ability of consultant and contractor, outside effects, ability of designers, ability of supervisors and other causes. With these groups, thirty-three factors have found and ranked. This result can be used for checking the policy for hospital project management; and will help the practitioners achieve successful hospital projects.

3D Visualization-Based Motion Planning of Mobile Crane Operations in Heavy Industrial Projects

AbstractThe successful completion of modular-based heavy industrial construction projects relies heavily on safe and efficient crane operations, which have a direct impact on project productivity. Corresponding to the design of reliable crane operations, this paper proposes three-dimensional (3D) visualization-based motion planning for mobile cranes that integrates 3D visualization with mathematical algorithms based on “what if” scenarios. This method facilitates the design of collision-free mobile crane operations for a large number of lifts in congested areas. The proposed methodology is established based on two types of interactive analyses: (1) rotation analysis to build 3D visualization for the motions of crane body configurations; and (2) spatial analysis to detect potential collision errors in order to design collision-free crane operations. The rotation analysis accounts for calculating the angles describing the orientations of mechanical elements in the crane system by reading the coordinates of ...

EFFECT OF GROSS FLOOR AREA ON CONSTRUCTION TIME

Studies indicate that there is a relationship between project cost and construction time for different construction markets. The purpose of this study was to validate the time-cost relationship model developed by Bromilow et al. (1980) in the context of commercial, residential, and industrial construction projects in India. The model was extended to include the magnitude of the projects in terms of gross floor area and construction types, to determine whether these variables also have an effect on project duration. Data related to 99 construction projects from all over India were obtained. The SPSS® program and the General Linear Model were used for analysis. The results show a statistically significant relationship between construction time and magnitude of the project, measured by gross floor area, at the level of significance (p-value) of < 0.0001. This variable, when introduced the model, presumably acts as a proxy for actual construction cost. Construction type did not have a statistically significant relationship with construction time. A prediction model of construction time has been developed based on the results of the study. This model will be useful to constructors who work at an international level.

RISK ASSESSMENT THROUGH CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE ANALYSIS FOR PLANT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Although South Korean construction companies have significantly increased their share in the international construction market, the work scope of their projects has been limited to detail design and construction, instead of expanding their market to the earlier phases of project execution. South Korean companies should also expand their capabilities to project management consultancy (PMC), enabling planning and scheduling knowledge to handle various risks associated with each work package. This research involved developing a Unit Activity Sequence Model (USAM) for industrial plant construction projects to minimize project risks. A Standard Sequence Logic Unit was set up to establish the initial scheduling phase of plant projects, and to understand objectively construction flows and the association between construction events, etc. Previous research has a scope that is very limited to specific plants, and it is currently unsatisfactory to understand the flow of overall plant construction. This research is different from other studies busing USAM per work package in the initial planning process, in order to help determine the overall flow. It is based on various references and extensive opinions collected from the schedule management experts as a reason for the lack of case studies. Thus, more research and process-related data collection needs to be added from the experts in various research companies.

Late Deliverables to Construction: How Understanding the Impacts Can Benefit Dispute Prevention and Resolution

AbstractGiven that a construction site is both temporary and unique, the outcome of every construction project is dependent upon having all of the proper resources delivered to the site at the appropriate time. However, the construction industry often considers late deliverables and the disputes and claims arising thereafter all but inevitable. In order to better understand late deliverables and their far-reaching impacts on project performance, the Construction Industry Institute, in collaboration with the Construction Users Roundtable, commissioned Research Team 300 to investigate how various types of late deliverables affect the cost, schedule, quality, safety, and organizational performance of industrial construction projects. This paper, as a part of the larger research project, reviews literature relevant to late deliverables and dispute resolution, investigates specifically how understanding late deliverables and their impacts can benefit the industry through improved dispute prevention, and provid...

Evaluation of the modular method for industrial plant construction projects

Industrial plant construction projects tend to become larger in their physical scale and complexity to incorporate the most advanced technologies from various industries. In order to respond to the rapidly changing industry demands, reducing construction durations has become the key factor to project success. Modular approach has been employed in this industry to mainly reduce construction durations. However, little research has been performed to evaluate the modular method in comparison to the conventional method, i.e., the stick-built method. The aim of this research is to help industry practitioners decide which method to be employed. In this study, the researchers evaluated the efficiency of modular method by performing a comparative analysis. The result of the estimated duration for the mechanical package installation showed that employing the modular method can reduce the construction duration by 2 months approximately. As a result of a validity assessment, the stick-built method scored lower than the modular method and so the modular method was valid to be employed.

IMPACTS OF DIFFERENT OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONS ON RESOURCE LEVELING IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY

A review of the recent literature on the models that focus on resource leveling in Critical Path Method networks shows that different objective functions have been used to optimize resource utilization. The main objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of using different objective functions on resource utilization histograms in Critical Path Method networks. For this purpose, nine different resource leveling objective functions were optimized via a genetic algorithm-based model. The model was developed using actual data obtained from a steel framed industrial building construction project. It was found that each of these objective functions generates different resource utilization histograms. In order to determine the improvement levels achieved by resource leveling using nine different objective functions, the improvement percentage in each parameter and the average improvement percentage for each objective function were calculated. Even though the objective function that involves the minimization of the sum of the square of the deviations in daily resource usage provided the best average improvement percentage in the studied case, another objective function(s) may provide better average improvement percentage in different projects. The contractor should consider all objective functions for resource leveling and select the one(s) that provides the best average improvement percentage.

Strategic Procurement Practices for the Industrial Supply Chain

Early sourcing decisions have a critical impact on the performance of industrial construction projects. However, the industrial construction sector has been relatively understudied, especially the sourcing and supply chain practices typically implemented in early phases of capital projects. This study reports on how engineering-procure-construction (EPC) firms select suppliers in the early stages of the project. Particular focus involves the decisions firms make in sourcing process and the types and roles of supporting information. The paper reports on five case studies with large EPC firms. Data were collected from multiple individuals in each firm with extensive supporting documentation. A cross-case analysis describes similarities and differences between EPCs and helps to compare empirical findings with the broader literature. Findings contradict some areas of the literature, in particular the push for strategic supplier alliances. Other findings confirm the strategic importance of early procurement decisions to project performance and similarity across the types of decision drivers for supplier selection. Practitioners will find the case studies useful examples of current practice to compare with their corporate efforts. Researchers will similarly find details that extend extant literature, proposing new avenues for future research.