Jesús M. de la Garza

Data Envelopment Analysis as a Decision-Making Tool for Transportation Professionals

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a mathematical method based on production theory and the principles of linear programming. It enables one to assess how efficiently a firm, organization, agency, or such other unit uses the resources available (inputs) to generate a set of outputs relative to other units in the data set. Recent papers by different writers present different applications of DEA in the transportation engineering domain. All of these papers are published in transportation journals. These papers are mainly aimed at addressing the transportation-related issues and thus do not focus too much on the DEA concept itself. It can be asserted that DEA is very likely to be used more and more in the transportation engineering domain. Given this, there is a need for the transportation professionals to fully understand the DEA concept. It is essential for such a community to identify cases where the application of this innovative and powerful method can be useful to help the decision-making process, to accurately apply DEA in a particular setting, to derive meaningful conclusions from the obtained results, and to acknowledge the limitations of DEA in certain cases so as to approach the results with caution. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate to the civil engineering, more specifically to the transportation engineering community the use of this powerful approach in performing comparative performance measurement. Within this context, this paper will address a transportation-related problem by using the DEA approach. Different from the other papers containing transportation-related DEA applications (as mentioned above), this paper will discuss, in detail, the steps that need to be taken to generate the DEA model and solve it.

Measuring the efficiency of highway maintenance contracting strategies: A bootstrapped non-parametric meta-frontier approach

Highly deteriorated US road infrastructure, major budgetary restrictions and the significant growth in traffic have led to an emerging need for improving performance of highway maintenance practices. Privatizing some portions of road maintenance operations by state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) under the auspices of performance-based contracts has been one of the innovative initiatives in response to such a need. This paper adapts the non-parametric meta-frontier framework to the two-stage bootstrapping technique to develop an analytical approach for evaluating the relative efficiency of two highway maintenance contracting strategies. The first strategy pertains to the 180 miles of Virginia’s Interstate highways maintained by Virginia DOT using traditional maintenance practices. The second strategy pertains to the 250 miles of Virginia’s Interstate highways maintained via a Public Private Partnership using a performance-based maintenance approach. The meta-frontier approach accounts for the heterogeneity that exists among different types of highway maintenance contracts due to different limitations and regulations. The two-stage bootstrapping technique accounts for the large set of uncontrollable factors that affect the highway deterioration processes. The preliminary findings, based on the historical data for the state of Virginia, suggest that road authorities (counties) that have used traditional contracting for transforming the maintenance expenditures into the improvement of the road conditions seem to be more efficient than road authorities that have used the performance-based contracting. This paper recommends that road authorities use hybrid contracting approaches that include best practices of both traditional and performance-based highway maintenance contracting.

Simulation of Highway Renewal Asset Management Strategies

This paper describes the mathematical equations, embedded in a simulation environment, that are needed to simulate the deterioration of pavements as well as the renewal or maintenance strategies. The paper shows how highway maintenance managers can consider the impact of choosing one maintenance policy alternative over another through ”what-if” analysis. Highway maintenance managers (transportation officials at the District or State DOT level) are able to consider such things as the available budget and target goals for the overall condition of the highway network in order to determine the best maintenance policy. Thus, maintenance managers are able to compare strategies based on preventive maintenance versus strategies that wait until pavements have become visibly distressed. Background

An object space framework for design/construction integration

Abstract Design and Construction are two disciplines whose integration can be achieved through software. In this paper, the Skull Object Space framework is presented which allows for such integration to develop. The Skull Object Space is a collection of essential abstraction and part-of hierarchies to which the design objects of an artifact are attached. As the artifacts design objects enter and traverse through the Skull Object Space, they are augmented with implicit design intent otherwise taken for granted by design professionals. The object-oriented and rule-based programming paradigms are employed to derive or to query the designer about design rationale that would remain implicit otherwise. The artifacts design objects leave the Skull Object Space carrying with them geometrical, topological, rationale, and specification knowledge which contractors can then apply in such common construction tasks as Value Engineering proposals, Shop Drawing preparation, and Proprietary Brand Name or Equal Specifications interpretation. The name Skull Object Space was selected to convey the notion of a skeleton that can be fleshed out in many different ways, each corresponding to a specialized application, like Value Engineering.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Virginia Department of Transportation’s Experience with its First Performance-Based Road-Maintenance Contract

The Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) first performance-based road-maintenance contract was concluded in July 2007. This contract required the contractor to maintain all assets and carry out incident management and snow and ice removal services on a total of 250 mi (402 km) of a number of Virginia’s interstate highways. This contract acted as a pilot project for VDOT and other states departments of transportation (DOT). Since performance-based road-maintenance contracting is rather new and yet to be utilized by many state DOTs, there is an emerging need to (1) assess whether its use is viable, and (2) inform the state DOTs of the key issues to consider when using performance-based road-maintenance contracting. The purpose of this paper is to address this need by providing a comprehensive evaluation of VDOT’s overall experience with its pilot performance-based road-maintenance contract. The findings from the analyses over a period of 6 years indicate that while meeting or coming very close to the performance targets most of the time, there have been years in which the contractor was not able to meet performance targets in fence-to-fence asset groups and bridges. As far as the comparison of the level-of-service effectiveness performance of the contractor with that of VDOT utilizing traditional maintenance approaches is concerned, the findings show that the contractor outperformed VDOT in fence-to-fence asset groups. The key issues that a state DOT should consider when using performance-based road-maintenance contracting, as learned from VDOT’s pilot project experience, can be summarized as (1) tying payments to be made to the contractor to actual performance, (2) generating a detailed baseline condition information, (3) using performance targets that increase (as opposed to being constant) over the contract period, (4) establishing a performance target for every single item required to be maintained, (5) having multiple inspections per year, (6) developing a standard rating procedure for all elements, and (7) developing objective, quantifiable, and easily measurable performance criteria.

Comparative Analysis of Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build From the Standpoint of Claims

The traditional project delivery method known as design-bid-build (DBB) has been known to give rise to adversarial relationships amongst and between project participants, and, as a result, litigation amongst and between such parties. It has been suggested that the design/build (DB) project delivery method has reduced the number of claims from the contractor to the owner since the designer is now a member of the contractor’s project team. It is also suggested that the number of claims from the owner to the design-builder has been increased as a result of owner’s dissatisfaction with the actual performance of the project. This research conducts a literature review and interviews with experienced project participants to gather information on DBB and DB with respect to claims. The key categories of claims and the underlying influential factors leading to those claims are identified. Qualitative data analysis is performed to determine how the DB approach has affected the typical influential factors leading to claims under the DBB model. This paper presents the result of the data analysis both in a framework and textual format.

Readiness Assessment for Flash Tracking

AbstractThe pursuit of Faster Fast Track or Flash Track is deemed necessary in today’s industry for reasons such as emergency rebuilds, competitive market advantage, and regulatory compliance. Flash Tracking has been defined as a time-driven project, which by necessity requires a heightened degree of concurrency between engineering, procurement, and construction. This paper reports on Flash Track readiness assessment algorithms that were developed to enable an organization to assess its readiness to execute time-critical or Flash Track projects. The readiness assessment algorithms were developed by defining the relative importance of 47 essential Flash Track practices, grouped into 6 categories using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The weights of the practices and categories were determined by a 15-member industry expert panel, comprised of 15 Construction Industry Institute (CII) member companies representing owners, contractors, and engineering organizations. The algorithms were ultimately integra...

Special Issue on Construction Engineering: Opportunity and Vision for Education, Practice, and Research

Engineering is an applied science. In no other engineering specialization is this more relevant than in construction engineering. A challenge among construction engineering academics (both faculty and students) and industry practitioners is to transfer a method, technology, or practice that can be supported in the theoretical sense, whether in a laboratory or classroom setting, and make it applicable to the rarely ideal industry jobsite. This bridge between engineering in the theoretical sense and practice requires intimate collaboration and continuous communication, which has not always occurred between the university and the jobsite. As described by Dr. Michael C. Vorster, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech and conference keynote speaker, the dilemma from the academic perspective is that “we teach too much and our students learn too little.” A primary focus of the Construction Engineering Conference held at Virginia Tech from September 30 to October 2, 2010, was to bring academics and industry leaders together to share experiences, practices, and ideas. This interaction was intended to strengthen the connection between theory and practice for mutual benefit. The Construction Engineering Conference was a unique opportunity in the sharing of knowledge across aisles. The purpose of this special issue is to archive and disseminate the knowledge for current and future generations of construction engineers. Each conference speaker submitted a manuscript that was peer-reviewed by academic and industry reviewers. In many cases, industry speakers coauthored the manuscript with a construction engineering academic. In all, this special issue includes 28 manuscripts that cover a broad range of construction engineering topics. A debt of gratitude is owed to the authors for their thoughts and efforts in this overall body of work, which makes a significant contribution to the overall body of construction engineering knowledge. Furthermore, the editors are especially grateful to the reviewers, who ensured that the manuscripts maintained the rigorous standards for publication in the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. Finally, the editors are grateful for the support provided by the Construction Engineering Conference committee and the senior editorial boardmembers of the Journal, especially Dr. JesusM. de la Garza. Without their guidance and advice, this special issue would not have been possible.

Sensitivity Analysis of the Cost Benefit Ratio as a Function of the Level of Service Targets in the Highway Maintenance Budget Allocation Process

This paper reports on the sensitivity of the Cost/Benefit (C/B) ratio as a function of the pavement performance targets set by State DOTs. The C/B ratio is in itself a function of the yearly highway maintenance expenditures and the achieved Level of Service Index (LOSI). The LOSI has been modeled using three different functions, namely: step-wise, linear, and quadratic. The sensitivity of the C/B ratio to the performance targets is compared across the different functions used to model the LOSI.

Identifying and Prioritizing Best Practices to Achieve Flash Track Projects

AbstractThis paper presents the initial findings of an ongoing research effort focused on identifying, quantifying, and ranking essential industry practices for the successful delivery of faster fast-track, or Flash Track, projects. The research data collection involves literature search, engineering, procurement, construction industry interviews, and discussions with an industry expert panel. This research has extensively explored and analyzed U.S. and international practices and has deeply explored project execution practices in industries other than construction, including manufacturing, shipbuilding, and software engineering/development. The methodology employed in this research entails deployment of a three-round Delphi process and an Analytic Hierarchy Process to produce a comprehensive list of prioritized recommendations on essential Flash Track practices. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying and ranking 18 industry best practices essential to successfully manage the uniqu...