-
Business Plan for Professional Design Consultant Services
This document is intended as the formal business plan for a professional design consultant to provide architecture, engineering and construction management services to owners, clients and contractors. Greater complexity, increasing costs and current labor shortages throughout the industry require more dedicated and responsible individuals with technical knowledge and relevant experience to meet obligations and ensure…
-
Risk Management in Strategic Planning and Construction Scheduling
Increasing complexing in construction requires greater collaboration between individuals and companies to achieve successful completion of projects at required quality standards within estimated budgets and timelines. This paper explores various techniques to manage risks, evaluate performance and address the multitude of factors affecting planning and scheduling. The first part reviews concepts from a study on…
-
Stakeholder Perspectives on Construction Contracts and Claims
Contract claims result from a wide variety of issues that arise throughout the lifecycle of construction projects. Conflicts and dispute should be resolved expeditiously to avoid additional costs and delays that adversely affect profitability. Contract errors, inaccurate estimates, changing conditions, and stakeholder involvement account for the majority of problems. Claim management procedures address issues with…
-
Contributing Factors Affecting Construction Productivity
Lean construction provides tools for planning projects and prioritizing work flow to improve productivity. Declines in performance and rising costs of materials and labor over the past decades necessitate reconsideration of the drivers of economic growth and means for sustainable development. Various concepts from the related industry of manufacturing offer benefits in measuring, evaluating and…
-
Cost Factors in Construction Estimating
Controlling costs by utilizing various project delivery methods will increase productivity and enhance performance. This is becoming of greater importance due to the current shortage in skilled tradespersons and inflation of material prices. Technologies from a variety of market sectors are being integrated into the construction industry to improve efficiency and reduce waste. These added…
-
Project Planning and Value Creation Utilizing Lean Construction
Project manager must provide proper planning and a wide variety of resources to successfully complete unique and complex construction. Lean principles from the manufacturing sector provide tools and techniques to improve performance at a reduced cost with limited waste. Integrating the critical path method with building information modeling provides a multi-dimensional representation of projects. This…
-
Exploration of Risk Potential in Design-Build Construction
Design-build is emerging as the preferred method of project delivery with lower costs, faster times, and better quality. It combines architectural, engineering and construction tasks under one business entity. Contractors are able to offer a single point of contact for building and facility owners. This reduced the liability and exposure for their clients while providing…
-
Analysis of Legal Responsibilities in Joint Ventures
Joint Ventures combine the expertise and resources of multiple parties to perform construction projects. Contract agreements between owners, architects, engineers, and contractors must clearly define the scope of work along with the roles and contributions of each party. The terms must be negotiated, agreed upon, and enforceable. New technologies and the collective experience provide opportunities…
-
Utilization of Lean Construction in Joint Venture Agreements
Collaboration between design firms and construction organizations through the cooperative work of project team members is key to improving performance, increasing competitiveness, and providing greater capabilities while sharing risks and rewards, reducing overall costs, and enhancing total value. Joint venture agreements bring together multiple parties toward common goals to complete larger and more complex construction…
-
Business Plan for an Architect-Led Design/Build Construction Company
This document was created as a formal summary of plans to diversify an existing architecture & engineering practice into a new construction & management company. By engaging in cooperative collaboration between owners and contractors on design and construction we intend to reduce construction time and production costs while improving project quality, reducing waste and avoiding…
-
An Investigation of the Design-Build Project Delivery Method
Material costs, labor shortages and tight schedules are forcing architects, engineers and contractors to explore alternate project delivery methods. Overlapping design and build operations in varying degrees has the potential to reduce construction time and production costs. Integrated project delivery and multi-party agreements allow project teams to work in collaborative ways not envisioned by traditional…
-
Social, Safety and Economic Concerns Within the Construction Industry
Construction is an essential service and recently began experiencing unprecedented growth. A veil of mystery however shrouds the industry for those not directly involved in its daily operations. Its traditions and complexities take decades to master even by those most prevalent in the industry. Employment organization, ethnic divisions and gender segregation create barriers for individuals…
