Mehmet E. Ozbek

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.

Sampling Procedure for Performance-Based Road Maintenance Evaluations:

Maintaining the road infrastructure at a high level of condition with generally limited amounts of available funding is a challenge for many transportation agencies. To address this challenge, many road administrators worldwide have implemented performance-based maintenance contracts. In performance-based maintenance contracts, road administrators define performance measures (e.g., performance-based specifications) that specify the minimum condition at which the asset items are to be maintained. To ensure that contractors maintain the asset items according to these measures, road administrators must design and implement a comprehensive and reliable performance monitoring process. One of the most important areas within the performance monitoring process is inspection conducted in the field. Defining a procedure that guarantees the success of field inspections is a challenge. When defining such a procedure, road administrators must consider budget and time limitations, among others. Since performance-based road maintenance contracts are relatively new, the availability of guidelines for such issues (with focus on performance-based contracts) is limited. That need is addressed by presentation of a three-stage and seven-step statistical sampling procedure developed to ensure that findings from field inspections will be reliable and representative with high confidence of the actual condition of asset items in the entire population. Also presented are three alternative approaches for sampling for the cases in which sampling needs to be performed not just once but multiple times over the duration of a performance-based road maintenance contract.

Bridge Information Modeling for Inspection and Evaluation

AbstractThis paper presents a method and prototype implementation for tracking and assessing the structural condition of bridges. The method uses building information modeling (BIM) software to link and analyze data related to the inspection, evaluation, and management of bridges. In the proposed method, an inspector uses a custom software add-in, developed by the authors, to capture information on damage type, amount, severity, and location gathered during bridge inspection. Next, a custom tool in Microsoft Excel evaluates the structural performance and provides load ratings of the inspected bridge. The proposed method was validated through field testing on a case study bridge. Findings from this study suggest that BIM can effectively facilitate the inspection and evaluation of bridges, which may, in the future, enable transportation agencies to more efficiently manage bridge inventories and lead to a more automated practice.

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.

Service-Learning Assessment: Sustainability Competencies in Construction Education

AbstractUnder the umbrella of a departmental initiative termed CM Cares, faculty from Colorado State University have developed a service-learning course to teach and implement concepts related to sustainability in construction education. The course has met with significant success and received recognition from community partners, elementary to graduate students, faculty members, and department and university administration. Beyond the positive response to experiential learning and community action, this paper uses data from the second course offering to assess the course’s effectiveness for teaching sustainability competencies. The writers implemented multiple techniques to collect data and assess perceived learning with regard to sustainability competencies. Techniques included surveys, reflection essays, and concept maps. Overall findings were mixed but suggest that significant learning about sustainability can occur using service-learning as a teaching technique in construction education despite (and p...

Implementation of Level-of-Service Component for Performance-Based Road Maintenance Contracts

In the performance-based road maintenance setting, the contractor is given the responsibility and flexibility to maintain the roadway systems assets using innovative approaches. Increased control of the contractor and innovative techniques implemented by the contractor should yield a product with a predefined quality. This can be ensured by implementing a systematic performance measurement system composed of performance criteria, performance targets, and protocols for taking the measurements necessary to determine whether the contractor meets such criteria and targets. This performance measurement system should produce appropriate and user-friendly reports that can effectively communicate the results to stakeholders, such as the transportation agency, the contractor, and the traveling public. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been using a systematic and comprehensive framework to measure the performance of its performance-based road maintenance contractors and to communicate the results effectively to stakeholders. The steps for implementation of the level-of-service effectiveness component of such a framework are presented to illustrate to transportation agencies how the framework works. Although the framework was developed and implemented for VDOT, it can be adopted by any other transportation agency and adapted to meet that agencys own needs.

Implementing BIM on Infrastructure: Comparison of Two Bridge Construction Projects

AbstractThis research provides comparative analysis of the impacts and benefits associated with using building information modeling (BIM) on accelerated bridge construction in the Denver metropolitan area. To date, BIM remains a relatively underutilized tool in horizontal construction. BIM has the potential, however, to significantly increase efficiencies, minimize waste, and increase sustainability across infrastructure projects throughout their life cycles. This research studies the impacts of the first implementation of BIM processes on one of two structurally similar concurrent bridge construction projects by comparing metrics related to substructure costs, requests for information, change orders, rework, and schedule. Findings suggest that negative cost impacts of approximately 70% may be associated with the first implementation of BIM during construction. However, additional findings suggest that the use of BIM may facilitate otherwise infeasible complex projects and reduce requests for information ...

Uncertainty in Common NDE Techniques for Use in Risk-Based Bridge Inspection Planning: Existing Data

AbstractIn 2009, a joint American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Engineering Institute and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ad hoc group was created to study how current bridge practices could be improved for the future. Among their recommendations was the wider use of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. Risk-based planning to determine the appropriate inspection frequency, scope, intensity, and methodology would help make the increased time and costs associated with NDE inspections feasible for management budgets. However, a rigorous risk-based approach requires that the accuracy and reliability be quantified for each test. This paper serves as a starting point for quantifying these important variables and identifies the type of information that is still needed. Common NDE techniques were identified, and existing studies were reviewed to identify what data relevant to accuracy and reliability are currently available for these techniques. This review indica...

Case Study of Work-based Learning Involving BIM for Infrastructure in Support of Graduate Construction Research

Internships are a critical and valuable element in construction education. They provide work-based learning through real-world project experience. Yet, the United States lags behind Europe and other countries in the exploration of research opportunities during work-based learning experiences. Within construction education in the United States, goals and focus of graduate and undergraduate internships differ, and little research exists documenting best practices for graduate internships. This article presents a case study of a successful three-way partnership between industry, faculty, and students that highlights the benefits and opportunities of Masters level graduate internships to generate valuable, applied research. While undergraduate construction internships focus primarily on professional training, graduate construction internships present a unique multi-faceted opportunity to deliver meaningful industry-supported research, increasing the value of the graduate-level educational experience for multiple stakeholders. Industry benefits from cost effective, high quality and objective analysis and feedback. Faculty benefit from timely research questions, access to data, and financial partnering. Finally, graduate students benefit from greater professional exposure and mentorship, unique work-based research, and higher confidence that their research will be relevant and applicable. The documented case study generates a framework where graduate-internships enhance master level construction education in the United States and beyond.

Comparison of Environmental Responsibility of Construction Management Students Based on Exposure to Sustainability in Curricula and on Campus

Universities around the world are focusing more on sustainability, not only in their academic education but also in the overall administration of their campuses. Sustainability is becoming more important for both students and the employers hiring them upon graduation. Specifically in programs such as architecture, engineering, and construction management (CM), the focus on environmental responsibility is increasing faster due to increased regulations, codes of ethics, and increasing opportunities for practicing green building knowledge upon graduation. While the efforts both at the curriculum level and at the whole campus level to promote sustainability have been increasing, it is not yet fully determined how effective these approaches are in advancing the environmental responsibility of students. This study presents the results of a survey to measure the environmental responsibility of subjects from three different groups of students studying CM at two different universities with different records of sustainability initiatives. The results of this study reveal that CM programs can significantly strengthen students’ environmental responsibility by adding sustainability course(s) into higher education curricula. This study was unable to identify a positive and linear relationship between a university’s sustainability record and its students’ environmental responsibility.