James T. O'Connor

Performance Comparison of Large Design-Build and Design-Bid-Build Highway Projects

This study compares and analyzes the relationship of design-build (DB) and design-bid-build (DBB) project delivery methods with performance metrics of large highway projects (>

Achieving integration on capital projects with enterprise resource planning systems

50 million). Project performance is measured in cost, schedule, and change orders on these two types of highway projects. This study also investigates associations between project characteristics (input variables) and project performance (output variables) of large highway projects. The performance comparison methodology used here is derived from work done on a Texas Department of Transportation study of the State Highway 130 Project. The study results show that the construction speed and project delivery speed per lane mile (or lane kilometer) of DB projects were significantly faster than that of DBB projects for this sample. The study also showed that out of 21 inputs analyzed, 14 inputs have statistically significant associations with one or more outputs of these projects.

A Heavy Lift Planning System for Crane Lifts

Owner manufacturers have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in large numbers and expect facility planners and operators to further exploit the work process integration tool as well. This development has significant implications on the engineering and construction industry and its work processes. This paper provides a detailed assessment of technical areas of concern to those attempting to execute capital projects with ERP systems.

Quantity-Based Approach to Preliminary Cost Estimates for Highway Projects

This paper presents the work done toward developing a computerized heavy lift planning system (HELPS) for planning crane lifts. Initially, a survey of the industry was carried out to define the heavy lift planning process and identify the developments necessary to improve the process. This survey identified eight tasks in the lift planning process. Based on these tasks, a logicalframework representing the planning process was developed. The scope of the current work was limited to developing a tool for planning three of these tasks. A visualization environment-Walkthru-was selected to implement the heavy lift planning system. Although Walkthru provided many of the features required for the system, critical functions had to be added. The developmental work for this study focused on (1) developing a shell that could control the visualization environment and related files to provide seamless access to the library of cranes and (2) providing features to perform critical lift planning functions. The resulting prototype system was tested on sample lifts, and all the functions worked as designed.

Changing Project Delivery Strategy: An Implementation Framework

The preliminary cost estimate heavily influences the fate of a transportation project, yet it can be up to an order of magnitude off the final bid amount. Poor prediction of costs in state departments of transportation can lead to less-than-optimal project selection at the front end and delays later when funding is not adequate to cover planned projects. A demonstration is made of the potential to separate quantity uncertainty from price uncertainty. If item quantities can be predicted early, then readily available unit prices can be applied to create a semidetailed preliminary estimate. Compared with the typical practice of applying a gross cost per lane mile, the proposed approach provides a more detailed basis for tracking the effects of changes during project development. This methodology is being tested for implementation by the Texas Department of Transportation.

Benchmarking of Large Design-Build Highway Projects: One-to-One Comparison and Comparison with Design-Bid-Build Projects

For organizations such as departments of transportation, other public agencies, and private companies, adopting a new approach to procure services for delivery of construction projects requires significant organizational changes; modifications to both their work processes and existing organizational structures may be needed. Building on findings from a study of public owner organizations that have implemented the design-build method for delivering highway projects, the have developed a conceptual framework for helping owner organizations implement a change in their project delivery strategy. They further refined this framework by comparatively studying four transportation projects in the United States. In addition, many experts in the implementation of the design-build method for transportation projects participated in a Delphi study to validate the developed framework. In this article, the authors present findings from these studies, including application to the construction industry and to other industries.

Site layout of construction temporary facilities using an enhanced-geographic information system (GIS)

For generations, highway projects in the United States have been delivered with the traditional design–bid–build (DBB) project delivery method. In 1990, FHWA introduced Special Experimental Project Number 14 (SEP-14) to encourage state agencies to use more efficient alternative methods for delivering projects. As of 2002, approximately 140 SEP-14 projects have been built according to the design–build (DB) delivery method. Although the use of the DB method for transportation projects has increased noticeably in the past decade, attempts to measure project performance under DB as against DBB have been limited to small projects. To fill this research gap, an input-versus-output benchmarking approach was used to assess the performance of large DB highway projects. By means of this approach, factors that could affect performance of highway projects were identified, and a comprehensive methodology for benchmarking was developed. A sample of four DB projects (with contract amounts ranging from

Preliminary cost estimates using probabilistic simulation for highway bridge replacement projects

126 million to

Decision Support System for Combined Transportation and Utility Construction Strategy

1.4 billion) was analyzed to determine how project characteristics and DB practices (inputs) affect project performance in terms of cost and schedule (outputs). Project cost and schedule performance show clear trends against 15 input factors. More data points are needed to determine correlations between these inputs and outputs. In addition, 11 DBB projects (with contract amounts ranging from

Measuring Automation and Integration in the Construction Industry

50 million to