Matching Items (7)
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- All Subjects: Construction Management
- All Subjects: BIM
- Creators: Wiezel, Avi
- Status: Published
Description
Semiconductor manufacturing facilities are very complex and capital intensive in nature. During the lifecycle of these facilities various disciplines come together, generate and use a tremendous amount of building and process information to support various decisions that enable them to successfully design, build and sustain these advanced facilities. However, a majority of the information generated and processes taking place are neither integrated nor interoperable and result in a high degree of redundancy. The objective of this thesis is to build an interoperable Building Information Model (BIM) for the Base-Build and Tool Installation in a semiconductor manufacturing facility. It examines existing processes and data exchange standards available to facilitate the implementation of BIM and provides a framework for the development of processes and standards that can help in building an intelligent information model for a semiconductor manufacturing facility. To understand the nature of the flow of information between the various stakeholders the flow of information between the facility designer, process tool manufacturer and tool layout designer is examined. An information model for the base build and process tool is built and the industry standards SEMI E6 and SEMI E51 are used as a basis to model the information. It is found that applications used to create information models support interoperable industry standard formats such as the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and ISO 15926 in a limited manner. A gap analysis has revealed that interoperability standards applicable to the semiconductor manufacturing industry such as the IFC and ISO15926 need to be expanded to support information transfers unique to the industry. Information modeling for a semiconductor manufacturing facility is unique in that it is a process model (Process Tool Information Model) within a building model (Building Information Model), each of them supported more robustly by different interoperability standards. Applications support interoperability data standards specific to the domain or industry they serve but information transfers need to occur between the various domains. To facilitate flow of information between the different domains it is recommended that a mapping of the industry standards be undertaken and translators between them be developed for business use.
ContributorsPindukuri, Shruthi (Author) / Chasey, Allan D (Thesis advisor) / Wiezel, Avi (Committee member) / Mamlouk, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The wood-framing trade has not sufficiently been investigated to understand the work task sequencing and coordination among crew members. A new mental framework for a performing crew was developed and tested through four case studies. This framework ensured similar team performance as the one provided by task micro-scheduling in planning software. It also allowed evaluation of the effect of individual coordination within the crew on the crew's productivity. Using design information, a list of micro-activities/tasks and their predecessors was automatically generated for each piece of lumber in the four wood frames. The task precedence was generated by applying elementary geometrical and technological reasoning to each frame. Then, the duration of each task was determined based on observations from videotaped activities. Primavera's (P6) resource leveling rules were used to calculate the sequencing of tasks and the minimum duration of the whole activity for various crew sizes. The results showed quick convergence towards the minimum production time and allowed to use information from Building Information Models (BIM) to automatically establish the optimal crew sizes for frames. Late Start (LS) leveling priority rule gave the shortest duration in every case. However, the logic of LS tasks rule is too complex to be conveyed to the framing crew. Therefore, the new mental framework of a well performing framer was developed and tested to ensure high coordination. This mental framework, based on five simple rules, can be easily taught to the crew and ensures a crew productivity congruent with the one provided by the LS logic. The case studies indicate that once the worst framer in the crew surpasses the limit of 11% deviation from applying the said five rules, every additional percent of deviation reduces the productivity of the whole crew by about 4%.
ContributorsMaghiar, Marcel M (Author) / Wiezel, Avi (Thesis advisor) / Mitropoulos, Panagiotis (Committee member) / Cooke, Nancy J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The goal of this research study was to identify the competencies the Project Manager (PM) will need to respond to the challenges the construction industry faces in 2022 and beyond. The study revealed twenty-one emerging challenges for construction PMs grouped into four primary disruptive forces: workforce demographics, globalization, rapidly evolving technology, and changing organizational structures. The future PM will respond to these emerging challenges using a combination of fourteen competencies. The competencies are grouped into four categories: technical (multi-disciplined, practical understanding of technology), management (keen business insight, understanding of project management, knowledge network building, continuous risk monitoring), cognitive (complex decisions making, emotional maturity, effective communication), and leadership (leveraging diverse thinking, building relationships, engaging others, mentoring, building trust). Popular data collection methods used in project management research, such as surveys and interviews, have received criticism about the differences between stated responses to questions, what respondents say they will do, and revealed preferences, what they actually practice in the workplace. Rather than relying on surveys, this research study utilized information generated from games and exercises bundled into one-day training seminars conducted by Construction Industry Institute (CII) companies for current and upcoming generations of PMs. Educational games and exercises provide participants with the opportunity to apply classroom learning and workplace experience to resolve issues presented in real-world scenarios, providing responses that are more closely aligned with the actual decisions and activities occurring on projects. The future competencies were identified by combining results of the literature review with information from the games and exercises through an iterative cycle of data mining, analysis, and consolidation review sessions with CII members. This competency forecast will be used as a basis for company recruiting and to create tools for professional development programs and project management education at the university level. In addition to the competency forecast, the research identified simulation games and exercises as components of a project management development program in a classroom setting. An instrument that links the emerging challenges with the fourteen competencies and learning tools that facilitate the mastering of these competencies has also been developed.
ContributorsKing, Cynthia Joyce (Author) / Wiezel, Avi (Thesis advisor) / Badger, William (Committee member) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The construction industry faces important performance problems such as low productivity, poor quality of work, and work-related accidents and injuries. Creating a high reliability work system that is simultaneously highly productive and exceptionally safe has become a challenge for construction practitioners and scholars. The main goal of this dissertation was to create an understanding of high reliability construction work systems based on lessons from the production practices of high performance work crews. High performance work crews are defined as the work crews that constantly reach and maintain a high level of productivity and exceptional safety record while delivering high quality of work. This study was conceptualized on findings from High Reliability Organizations and with a primary focus on lean construction, human factors, safety, and error management. Toward the research objective, this dissertation answered two major questions. First, it explored the task factors and project attributes that shape and increase workers' task demands and consequently affect workers' safety, production, and quality performance. Second, it explored and investigated the production practices of construction field supervisors (foremen) to understand how successful supervisors regulate task and project demands to create a highly reliable work process. Employing case study methodology, this study explored and analyzed the work practices of six work crews and crew supervisors in different trades including concrete, masonry, and hot asphalt roofing construction. The case studies included one exceptional and one average performing crew from each trade. Four major factors were considered in the selection of exceptional crew supervisors: (1) safety performance, (2) production performance, (3) quality performance, and (4) the level of project difficulty they supervised. The data collection was carried out in three phases including: (1) interview with field supervisors to understand their production practices, (2) survey and interview with workers to understand their perception and to identify the major sources of task demands, and (3) several close field observations. Each trade's specific findings including task demands, project attributes, and production practices used by crew supervisors are presented in a separate chapter. At the end the production practices that converged to create high reliability work systems are summarized and presented in nine major categories.
ContributorsMemarian, Babak (Author) / Bashford, Howard (Thesis advisor) / Boren, Rebecca (Committee member) / Wiezel, Avi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The discipline of continuing professional development (CPD) is well defined and established within a variety of industries, such as medical, legal, and financial. The built environment is a less defined and mature industry with respect to educational pathways and professional education, with no uniform structure. Occupational licensing, such as registered nurses, certified professional accountants, and others are well known within both their industries and the public. Additionally, occupational core-competencies are well established. Planning is a core skill set within the built environment and construction management. Definitions of the term “planning” vary quite broadly across the built environment, but generally includes activities such as risk identification, scope identification, and scheduling. Understanding how professionals in the built environment learn to plan is critical to meeting CPD needs for planning skills and the ability of a professional to “plan” effectively. Many planning tools and software have been developed, but often rely on an individual professional’s personal experiences and abilities. Limited literature in the field of professional education in the built environment has left a gap on the topic of how to train professionals in planning competencies. Survey results indicate that current training is not meeting the expectations of professionals, as only 16 percent of professionals are trained how to plan using their preferred method of learning. While on-the-job training is the primary format, the most preferred format is internal company training, but only 54 percent of companies provide this format. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were conducted and revealed that organizations with internal training programs have higher employee satisfaction with their organization’s planning process. Further, organizations with internal training programs are seen as having a more formal internal planning process. Research is needed to develop CPD within construction management and provide the foundation upon which a professional education structure can be created. An andragogically-centered schema for a heuristic approach to construction CPD is developed and tested on a seminar for pre-project planning. The full instructional design of the seminar using the model is disclosed and seminar results showed positive results and participants achieved high levels of learning.
ContributorsHurtado, Kristen (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Wiezel, Avi (Committee member) / Badger, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Owner organizations in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry are presented with a wide variety of project delivery approaches. Implementation of these approaches, while enticing due to their potential to save money, reduce schedule delays, or improve quality, is extremely difficult to accomplish and requires a concerted change management effort. Research in the field of organizational behavior cautions that perhaps more than half of all organizational change efforts fail to accomplish their intended objectives. This study utilizes an action research approach to analyze change message delivery within owner organizations, model owner project team readiness and adoption of change, and identify the most frequently encountered types of resistance from lead project members. The analysis methodology included Spearman's rank order correlation, variable selection testing via three methods of hierarchical linear regression, relative weight analysis, and one-way ANOVA. Key findings from this study include recommendations for communicating the change message within owner organizations, empirical validation of critical predictors for change readiness and change adoption among project teams, and identification of the most frequently encountered resistive behaviors within change implementation in the AEC industry. A key contribution of this research is the recommendation of change management strategies for use by change practitioners.
ContributorsLines, Brian (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Wiezel, Avi (Committee member) / Badger, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The current paradigm to addressing the marginal increases in productivity and quality in the construction industry is to embrace new technologies and new programs designed to increase productivity. While both pursuits are justifiable and worthwhile they overlook a crucial element, the human element. If the individuals and teams operating the new technologies or executing the new programs lack all of the necessary skills the efforts are still doomed for, at best, mediocrity. But over the past two decades researchers and practitioners have been exploring and experimenting with a softer set of skills that are producing hard figures showing real improvements in performance.
ContributorsMischung, Joshua (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth T. (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Wiezel, Avi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014