Matching Items (898)
Description
Alternative Project Delivery Methods (APDMs), namely Design Build (DB) and Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR), grew out of the need to find a more efficient project delivery approach than the traditional Design Bid Build (DBB) form of delivery. After decades of extensive APDM use, there have been many studies focused on the use of APDMs and project outcomes. Few of these studies have reached a level of statistical significance to make conclusive observations about APDMs. This research effort completes a comprehensive study for use in the horizontal transportation construction market, providing a better basis for decisions on project delivery method selection, improving understanding of best practices for APDM use, and reporting outcomes from the largest collection of APDM project data to date. The study is the result of an online survey of project owners and design teams from 17 states representing 83 projects nationally. Project data collected represents almost six billion US dollars. The study performs an analysis of the transportation APDM market and answers questions dealing with national APDM usage, motivators for APDM selection, the relation of APDM to pre-construction services, and the use of industry best practices. Top motivators for delivery method selection: the project schedule or the urgency of the project, the ability to predict and control cost, and finding the best method to allocate risk, as well as other factors were identified and analyzed. Analysis of project data was used to compare to commonly held assumptions about the project delivery methods, confirming some assumptions and refuting others. Project data showed that APDM projects had the lowest overall cost growth. DB projects had higher schedule growth. CMAR projects had low design schedule growth but high construction schedule growth. DBB showed very little schedule growth and the highest cost growth of the delivery methods studied. Best practices in project delivery were studied: team alignment, front end planning, and risk assessment were identified as practices most critical to project success. The study contributes and improves on existing research on APDM project selection and outcomes and fills many of the gaps in research identified by previous research efforts and industry leaders.
ContributorsBingham, Evan Dale (Author) / Gibson Jr., G. Edward (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Bearup, Wylie (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
Description
Over the last two decades, Alternative Project Delivery Methods (APDM), such as Design-Build (DB), have become more popular in the construction industry, specifically in the U.S., and the competition for APDM projects has risen among construction companies. The Engineering News Record (ENR) magazine analyzes DB firms and publishes the list of the top 100 every year. According to ENR articles and many scientific papers, the implementation of DB method has grown drastically over the last decade, however, information about growth trends depending on firm size and segment is lacking. Also missing is knowledge the future market trends over the next five years. Furthermore, public agencies and DB firms may be worried that DB projects do not distribute wealth equally among DB firms. Using the top 100 firms deemed representative of the DB market, the author has divided the market into volumes based on rankings to analyze the total DB market revenue growth. A comparison between international and domestic revenues indicated that the top five DB firms have 64% more involvement in the international market compared to the domestic market. Furthermore, while the research shows increasing market share only for the top five firms, the author has found that (1) a large portion of their market share is due to a large growth in their international market, and (2) revenues for all volumes of the DB market have increased. Moreover, regression and time series analyses allow for the forecasting of the DB market growth, which the author anticipate to move from about $100B to about $150B in 2020.
ContributorsVashani, Hossein (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Ernzen, James (Committee member) / Bearup, Wylie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
ContributorsBritten, Benjamin, 1913-1976 (Composer)
Description
Given the importance of buildings as major consumers of resources worldwide, several organizations are working avidly to ensure the negative impacts of buildings are minimized. The U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is one such effort to recognize buildings that are designed to achieve a superior performance in several areas including energy consumption and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The primary objectives of this study are to investigate the performance of LEED certified facilities in terms of energy consumption and occupant satisfaction with IEQ, and introduce a framework to assess the performance of LEED certified buildings.
This thesis attempts to achieve the research objectives by examining the LEED certified buildings on the Arizona State University (ASU) campus in Tempe, AZ, from two complementary perspectives: the Macro-level and the Micro-level. Heating, cooling, and electricity data were collected from the LEED-certified buildings on campus, and their energy use intensity was calculated in order to investigate the buildings' actual energy performance. Additionally, IEQ occupant satisfaction surveys were used to investigate users' satisfaction with the space layout, space furniture, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting level, acoustic quality, water efficiency, cleanliness and maintenance of the facilities they occupy.
From a Macro-level perspective, the results suggest ASU LEED buildings consume less energy than regional counterparts, and exhibit higher occupant satisfaction than national counterparts. The occupant satisfaction results are in line with the literature on LEED buildings, whereas the energy results contribute to the inconclusive body of knowledge on energy performance improvements linked to LEED certification. From a Micro-level perspective, data analysis suggest an inconsistency between the LEED points earned for the Energy & Atmosphere and IEQ categories, on one hand, and the respective levels of energy consumption and occupant satisfaction on the other hand. Accordingly, this study showcases the variation in the performance results when approached from different perspectives. This contribution highlights the need to consider the Macro-level and Micro-level assessments in tandem, and assess LEED building performance from these two distinct but complementary perspectives in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the actual building performance.
This thesis attempts to achieve the research objectives by examining the LEED certified buildings on the Arizona State University (ASU) campus in Tempe, AZ, from two complementary perspectives: the Macro-level and the Micro-level. Heating, cooling, and electricity data were collected from the LEED-certified buildings on campus, and their energy use intensity was calculated in order to investigate the buildings' actual energy performance. Additionally, IEQ occupant satisfaction surveys were used to investigate users' satisfaction with the space layout, space furniture, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting level, acoustic quality, water efficiency, cleanliness and maintenance of the facilities they occupy.
From a Macro-level perspective, the results suggest ASU LEED buildings consume less energy than regional counterparts, and exhibit higher occupant satisfaction than national counterparts. The occupant satisfaction results are in line with the literature on LEED buildings, whereas the energy results contribute to the inconclusive body of knowledge on energy performance improvements linked to LEED certification. From a Micro-level perspective, data analysis suggest an inconsistency between the LEED points earned for the Energy & Atmosphere and IEQ categories, on one hand, and the respective levels of energy consumption and occupant satisfaction on the other hand. Accordingly, this study showcases the variation in the performance results when approached from different perspectives. This contribution highlights the need to consider the Macro-level and Micro-level assessments in tandem, and assess LEED building performance from these two distinct but complementary perspectives in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the actual building performance.
ContributorsChokor, Abbas (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
In today's era a lot of the construction projects suffer from time delay, cost overrun and quality defect. Incentive provisions are found to be a contracting strategy to address this potential problem. During last decade incentive mechanisms have gained importance, and they are starting to become adopted in the construction projects. Most of the previous research done in this area was purely qualitative, with a few quantitative studies. This study aims to quantify the performance of incentives in construction by collecting the data from more than 30 projects in United States through a questionnaire survey. First, literature review addresses the previous research work related to incentive types, incentives in construction industry, incentives in other industry and benefits of incentives. Second, the collected data is analyzed with statistical methods to test the significance of observed changes between two data sets i.e. incentive projects and non-incentive projects. Finally, the analysis results provide evidence for the significant impact of having incentives; reduced the cost and schedule growth in construction projects in United States.
ContributorsPaladugu, Bala Sai Krishna (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Ernzen, James (Committee member) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The water and wastewater industry in the United States is in dire need of renovation due to dwindling infrastructure and requires substantial reinvestment. Design-bid-build (DBB) is the traditional method of project delivery most widely applied in this industry. However, alternative project delivery methods (APDM) are on the rise and touting the benefits of reduced project schedule and cost. The main purpose of this study is to conduct a qualitative and quantitative performance evaluation to assess the current impact of APDM in the water and wastewater industry. A national survey was conducted targeting completed water and wastewater treatment plant projects. Responses were obtained from 75 utilities and constructors that either completed their projects using DBB, construction manager at risk (CMAR), or design-build (DB). Data analysis revealed that CMAR and DB statistically outperformed DBB in terms of project speed and intensity. Performance metrics such as cost growth, schedule growth, unit cost, factors influencing project delivery method selection, scope changes, warranty and latent defects, and several others are also evaluated. The main contribution of this study was that it was able to show that for the same project cost, water and wastewater treatment plants could be delivered under a faster schedule and with higher quality through the utilization of APDM.
ContributorsFeghaly, Jeffrey (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Ariaratnam, Samuel (Thesis advisor) / Bearup, Wylie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Buildings continue to take up a significant portion of the global energy consumption, meaning there are significant research opportunities in reducing the energy consumption of the building sector. One widely studied area is waste heat recovery. The purpose of this research is to test a prototype thermogalvanic cell in the form factor of a UK metric brick sized at 215 mm × 102.5 mm × 65 mm for the experimental power output using a copper/copper(II) (Cu/Cu2+) based aqueous electrode. In this study the thermogalvanic brick uses a 0.7 M CuSO4 + 0.1 M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte with copper electrodes as two of the walls. The other walls of the thermogalvanic brick are made of 5.588 mm (0.22 in) thick acrylic sheet. Internal to the brick, a 0.2 volume fraction minimal surface Schwartz diamond (Schwartz D) structure made of ABS, Polycarbonate-ABS (PCABS), and Polycarbonate-Carbon Fiber (PCCF) was tested to see the effects on the power output of the thermogalvanic brick. By changing the size of the thermogalvanic cell into that of a brick will allow this thermogalvanic cell to become the literal building blocks of green buildings. The thermogalvanic brick was tested by applying a constant power to the strip heater attached to the hot side of the brick, resulting in various ∆T values between 8◦C and 15◦C depending on the material of Schwartz D inside. From this, it was found that a single Cu/Cu2+ thermogalvanic brick containing the PCCF or PCABS Schwartz D performed equivalently well at a 163.8% or 164.9%, respectively, higher normalized power density output than the control brick containing only electrolyte solution.
ContributorsLee, William J. (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Milcarek, Ryan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The demand for new highway infrastructure, the need to repair aging infrastructure, and the drive to optimize public expenditures on infrastructure have led transportation agencies toward alternative contracting methods (ACMs) such as design-build (DB) and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC). U.S. transportation agencies have substantial experience with traditional design-bid-build delivery. To promote ACMs, the Federal Highway Administration and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCRHP) have published ACM guidance documents. However, the published material and research tend to focus on pre-award activities. The need for guidance on ACM post-award activities is confirmed in NCHRP’s request for a guidebook focusing on ACM contract administration (NCHRP 2016).
This dissertation fills the crucial knowledge gap in contract administration functions and tools for DB and CM/GC highway project delivery. First, this research identifies and models contract administration functions in DBB, CM/GC, and DB using integrated definition modeling (IDEF0). Second, this research identifies and analyzes DB and CM/GC tools for contract administration by conducting 30 ACM project case studies involving over 90 ACM practitioners. Recommendations on appropriate use regarding project phase, complexity, and size were gathered from 16 ACM practitioners. Third, the alternative technical concepts tool was studied. Data from 30 DB projects was analyzed to explore the timing of DB procurement and DB initial award performance in relation to the project influence curve. Types of innovations derived from ATCs are discussed. Considerable industry input at multiple stages grounds this research in professional practice.
Results indicate that the involvement of the contractor during the design phase for both DB and CM/GC delivery creates unique contract administration functions that need unique tools. Thirty-six DB and CM/GC tools for contract administration are identified with recommendations for effective implementation. While strong initial award performance is achievable in DB projects, initial award performance in this sample of projects is only loosely tied to the level of percent base design at procurement. Cost savings typically come from multiple ATCs, and innovations tend to be incremental rather than systemic, disruptive, or radical. Opportunity for innovation on DB highway projects is influenced by project characteristics and engaging the DB entity after pre-project planning.
This dissertation fills the crucial knowledge gap in contract administration functions and tools for DB and CM/GC highway project delivery. First, this research identifies and models contract administration functions in DBB, CM/GC, and DB using integrated definition modeling (IDEF0). Second, this research identifies and analyzes DB and CM/GC tools for contract administration by conducting 30 ACM project case studies involving over 90 ACM practitioners. Recommendations on appropriate use regarding project phase, complexity, and size were gathered from 16 ACM practitioners. Third, the alternative technical concepts tool was studied. Data from 30 DB projects was analyzed to explore the timing of DB procurement and DB initial award performance in relation to the project influence curve. Types of innovations derived from ATCs are discussed. Considerable industry input at multiple stages grounds this research in professional practice.
Results indicate that the involvement of the contractor during the design phase for both DB and CM/GC delivery creates unique contract administration functions that need unique tools. Thirty-six DB and CM/GC tools for contract administration are identified with recommendations for effective implementation. While strong initial award performance is achievable in DB projects, initial award performance in this sample of projects is only loosely tied to the level of percent base design at procurement. Cost savings typically come from multiple ATCs, and innovations tend to be incremental rather than systemic, disruptive, or radical. Opportunity for innovation on DB highway projects is influenced by project characteristics and engaging the DB entity after pre-project planning.
ContributorsPapajohn, Dean (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Gibson, G. Edward (Committee member) / Bearup, Wylie (Committee member) / Molenaar, Keith R. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The built environment is responsible for a significant portion of global waste generation.
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste requires significant landfill areas and costs
billions of dollars. New business models that reduce this waste may prove to be financially
beneficial and generally more sustainable. One such model is referred to as the “Circular
Economy” (CE), which promotes the efficient use of materials to minimize waste
generation and raw material consumption. CE is achieved by maximizing the life of
materials and components and by reclaiming the typically wasted value at the end of their
life. This thesis identifies the potential opportunities for using CE in the built environment.
It first calculates the magnitude of C&D waste and its main streams, highlights the top
C&D materials based on weight and value using data from various regions, identifies the
top C&D materials’ current recycling and reuse rates, and finally estimates a potential
financial benefit of $3.7 billion from redirecting C&D waste using the CE concept in the
United States.
ContributorsAldaaja, Mohammad (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019