ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: Civil Engineering
- All Subjects: Business
- Creators: Sullivan, Kenneth
Description
ABSTRACT Facility managers have an important job in today's competitive business world by caring for the backbone of the corporation's capital. Maintaining assets and the support efforts cause facility managers to fight an uphill battle to prove the worth of their organizations. This thesis will discuss the important and flexible use of measurement and leadership reports and the benefits of justifying the work required to maintain or upgrade a facility. The task is streamlined by invoking accountability to subject experts. The facility manager must trust in the ability of his or her work force to get the job done. However, with accountability comes increased risk. Even though accountability may not alleviate total control or cease reactionary actions, facility managers can develop key leadership based reports to reassign accountability and measure subject matter experts while simultaneously reducing reactionary actions leading to increased cost. Identifying and reassigning risk that are not controlled to subject matter experts is imperative for effective facility management leadership and allows facility managers to create an accurate and solid facility management plan, supports the organization's succession plan, and allows the organization to focus on key competencies.
ContributorsTellefsen, Thor (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Committee member) / Badger, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Current information on successful leadership and management practices is contradictory and inconsistent, which makes difficult to understand what successful business practices are and what are not. The purpose of this study is to identify a simple process that quickly and logically identifies consistent and inconsistent leadership and management criteria. The hypothesis proposed is that Information Measurement Theory (IMT) along with the Kashiwagi Solution Model (KSM) is a methodology than can differentiate between accurate and inaccurate principles the initial part of the study about authors in these areas show how information is conflictive, and also served to establish an initial baseline of recommended practices aligned with IMT. The one author that excels in comparison to the rest suits the "Initial Baseline Matrix from Deming" which composes the first model. The second model is denominated the "Full Extended KSM-Matrix" composed of all the LS characteristics found among all authors and IMT. Both models were tested-out for accuracy. The second part of the study was directed to evaluate the perception of individuals on these principles. Two different groups were evaluated, one group of people that had prior training and knowledge of IMT; another group of people without any knowledge of IMT. The results of the survey showed more confusion in the group of people without knowledge to IMT and improved consistency and less variation in the group of people with knowledge in IMT. The third part of the study, the analysis of case studies of success and failure, identified principles as contributors, and categorized them into LS/type "A" characteristics and RS/type "C" characteristics, by applying the KSM. The results validated the initial proposal and led to the conclusion that practices that fall into the LS side of the KSM will lead to success, while practices that fall into the RS of the KSM will lead to failure. The comparison and testing of both models indicated a dominant support of the IMT concepts as contributors to success; while the KSM model has a higher accuracy of prediction.
ContributorsReynolds, Harry (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis advisor) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Badger, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
In a world where everything is drifting away from the intellectual into materialistic, and where everyone is rushing on the daily basis to provide their basic needs, everything is getting more expensive except the human life’s worth. Construction sites can be some of the clearer examples that show how the technical work, the communication skills, team work and management relate to one another. However, lately, the safety of the labor is neither being prioritized nor considered an important aspect to even consider at sites. Lebanon is, unfortunately, one of the countries where most construction sites are aimed to increase production and decrease cost as much as possible, on behalf of labor safety measurements. The high occurrence of such cases are the result of the lack of government control and accountability, as well as other reasonings.
Similar to the majority of countries, falls are the number one cause of fatalities and serious injuries on construction sites, especially building sites, where working on higher elevations is a must.
This thesis focuses on the topic of “Techniques and technologies for reducing fall hazards in use on Lebanese building construction projects”. The main goal behind it is to shed light on whether there are any traditional, technical or modern mechanisms used for safety on the Lebanese construction sites, however statistically few they might be. On the other hand, Casting the deficiencies, weaknesses and flaws are also discussed by indicating some solutions and pointers on possible methods to improve. Hence, this thesis would demonstrate the high importance of this topic and consequently help construction managers and workers realize that safety should become a priority on all sites in the country.
Researches done and interviews conducted show that fall hazards prevention/protection techniques are only implemented by large scale companies, and totally ignored by other companies which constitute the highest percentage of the active companies in the market now. Several causes are behind this and the result is one: More lives are put in danger due to lack of education, absence of audits and sanctions, and insufficient budgets
ContributorsMdawar, Hikmat (Author) / Gibson, George Edward (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The Request for Proposal (RFP) is a fundamental document frequently employed by construction owners for procuring services, with a focus on criteria beyond cost alone. Particularly prevalent in alternative project delivery methods like design-build, construction manager at risk, and integrated project delivery, the RFP solicitation plays a pivotal role. This study delves into the landscape of RFP standardization efforts within the construction industry, conducting a comprehensive review, analysis, and evaluation of 215 sample RFPs drawn from across all states in the United States. The culmination of this research effort is the development of a standardized RFP template, equipped with a comprehensive framework adaptable to various construction project delivery methods. This study marks the inaugural exploration of this subject, making a substantive contribution to the existing body of literature on this vital topic.
ContributorsSavicky, John (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Hurtado, Kristen (Committee member) / Standage, Rich (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Design is widely accepted as a factor that affects construction work. Although knowledge about this effect will contribute to the improvement of construction practice, this is very limited. No study has been focused on establishing how the effect of design on construction work can be evaluated. The primary objective of this research was to formulate an approach enabling the assessment of the effect of building design on construction work. To achieve this, a quantitative index based on field data, termed the 'index of difficulty,' was established. Given a construction activity, this index relates the effective work effort per unit of output expended in completing a construction part under two distinct designs: one under evaluation and the other designated as the base design for common comparison. The greater the index of difficulty associated with a design, the higher the required work effort, consequently resulting in a greater affect of the design on construction work.
Multiple ways of utilizing the index of difficulty to assess the effect of building design on construction activities are suggested. Additionally, application cases are exhibited to illustrate the implementation of the proposed approach and the required computations.
ContributorsChang, Luis Gerardo (Author) / Wiezel, Avi (Thesis advisor) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Ayer, Steven (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Many public agencies and/or private owners have no standards that help them to select the most suitable delivery method for their capital projects; hence, in some cases, this results in selecting the inappropriate project delivery method. This adversely impacts the project performance and leads to many negative consequences; starting with schedule growth, cost overrun, and may end up in an epic failure of the project. This research mainly focuses on developing a guideline to help owners make the decision on selecting the most appropriate delivery method for their capital projects. This research goes through three stages: Stage 1 - An extensive literature review of past research is conducted to conclude the selection factors considered in the decision-making process and the decision analysis technique and the project delivery methods; Stage 2 - This stage includes building up the selection model and setting out its guidelines; Stage 3 - This is the final stage of the research thread and includes the validation of the selection model through applying this model on some case study projects by industry practitioners, then evaluating the final results. The owner’s guideline for project delivery method selection, developed within this research, is designed to help owners increase the project success likelihood by selecting the suitable project delivery methods during the pre-construction phase (planning phase of the project life cycle).
ContributorsSallam, Omar Mohamed (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Hurtado, Kristen (Committee member) / Kutz, Barry (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The construction industry is the backbone of any country’s economy. It is a primary source of foreign investments, creates new jobs, and maintains the economy flowing in various trades. Accurate cost estimation is a critical aspect for the construction industry, directly impacting project success and profitability. This master's thesis focuses on comprehensively identifying the key factors that influence cost estimation and provides valuable recommendations for constructing an optimized Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. Through an extensive research methodology encompassing literature review, surveys, and interviews with industry professionals, this study uncovers significant factors that exert a substantial impact on cost estimation practices. The findings emphasize the importance of seamlessly integrating project delivery systems, meticulously considering project duration, and incorporating diverse perspectives from global regions. By incorporating these insights, stakeholders can make informed decisions, enhance project planning, and elevate overall project performance. This study successfully bridges the gap between theory and practice, presenting invaluable insights for stakeholders within the construction industry. Keywords: cost estimation, construction industry, Artificial Neural Network, factors, project delivery systems, project duration, global perspectives, informed decision-making, project planning, project performance
ContributorsAL Saber, Salem Samer (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Hurtado, Kristian (Committee member) / Standage, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The United States building sector was the most significant carbon emission contributor (over 40%). The United States government is trying to decrease carbon emissions by enacting policies, but emissions increased by approximately 7 percent in the U.S. between 1990 and 2013. To reduce emissions, investigating the factors affecting carbon emissions should be a priority. Therefore, in this dissertation, this research examine the relationship between carbon emissions and the factors affecting them from macro and micro perspectives. From a macroscopic perspective, the relationship between carbon dioxide, energy resource consumption, energy prices, GDP (gross domestic product), waste generation, and recycling waste generation in the building and waste sectors has been verified. From a microscopic perspective, the impact of non-permanent electric appliances and stationary and non-stationary occupancy has been investigated. To verify the relationships, various kinds of statistical and data mining techniques were applied, such as the Granger causality test, linear and logarithmic correlation, and regression method. The results show that natural gas and electricity prices are higher than others, as coal impacts their consumption, and electricity and coal consumption were found to cause significant carbon emissions. Also, waste generation and recycling significantly increase and decrease emissions from the waste sector, respectively. Moreover, non-permanent appliances such as desktop computers and monitors consume a lot of electricity, and significant energy saving potential has been shown. Lastly, a linear relationship exists between buildings’ electricity use and total occupancy, but no significant relationship exists between occupancy and thermal loads, such as cooling and heating loads. These findings will potentially provide policymakers with a better understanding of and insights into carbon emission manipulation in the building sector.
ContributorsLee, Seungtaek (Author) / Chong, Oswald (Thesis advisor) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Tang, Pingbo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Deformation during hydration of concrete includes curling at joints and terminations. Previous research has explored mix designs, chemical additives, and other material factors to minimize slab distortion due to curling. This research study explores the development and use of externally applied silicone-based compounds after both the placing and cutting of joints. This exploratory study presents the results of controlled testing and a field study results that include distortion of contraction joints as measured with a Spectra LL300N under existing environmental conditions. Specifically, the study presents the results of a side-by-side test of two slabs, a base case, and a silicone-altered case, as well as field measures of two large commercial buildings using the developed methods. The results of the study show reduced distortion due to curling as compared to standard comparative slabs and warrant the continued exploration and testing of the concept.
ContributorsStandage, Richard Mc Rae (Author) / Ernzen, James (Thesis advisor) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Knutson, Kraig (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The workforce demographics are changing as a large portion of the population is approaching retirement and thus leaving vacancies in the construction industry. Succession planning is an aspect of talent management which aims to mitigate instability faced by a company when a new successor fills a vacancy. Research shows that in addition to a diminishing pool of available talent, the industry does not have widespread, empirically tested and implemented models that lead to effective successions. The objective of this research was to create a baseline profile for succession planning in the construction industry by identifying currently implemented best practices. The author interviewed six companies of varying sizes and demographics within the construction industry and compared their succession planning methodologies to identify any common challenges and practices. Little consensus between the companies was found. The results of the interviews were then compared to current research literature, but even here, little consensus was found. In addition, companies lacked quantitative performance metrics demonstrating the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of their current succession planning methodologies. The authors recommended that additional research is carried out to focus on empirical evidence and measurement of industry practices surrounding talent identification, development, and transition leading to succession.
ContributorsGunnoe, Jake A (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Wiezel, Avi (Committee member) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015