State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in the U.S. have an increasing amount of digital data from various sources. One such set of data is structured unit price data collected from bid lettings. Such data contain unit prices of thousands of bid items from hundreds of projects every year. While state DOTs have such data from over a decade-long period, utilizing such data has been challenging because of the lack of automated analytical and visualization methodologies and tools to generate meaningful and actionable insights. This study develops an automated methodology to quickly and accurately generate color-coded visualization maps representing unit price variation across a geographical region. It uses Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) technique that is based on the Tobler’s First Law of Geography. The law states that points closer together in space are more likely to have a similar value than points that are farther away. The methodology is automated using ArcPy site package in ArcGIS. It imports unit price data from preformatted spreadsheets and boundary maps from existing ArcGIS shape files to generate unit price maps. The tool and the visualizations are expected to aid state DOTs in generating and communicating meaningful insights for making data-driven decisions. It can be used to investigate areas with higher unit prices for various items which can aid state DOTs in identifying potential causes of higher unit prices such as lack of competition and lack of sources of materials (e.g. quarry) in nearby locations.

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Structural Health monitoring is to determine the condition of a bridge based on instrument measurements. The C-846 Bridge in Salt Lake City has such instrumentation. The bridge is located in Salt Lake City at about 2100 South and Interstate 15. This bridge has two kinds of instruments on it: accelerometers and thermocouples. The accelerometers measure the vibrations of the bridge. The accelerometers have been recording data on the bridge since 2001. The thermocouples, which measure temperature, were added as part of this thesis in April 2016. In light of recent research, damage may be detected from measuring the change in the natural frequency of a bridge, which can be obtained by manipulating the accelerometer data. However, the natural frequencies of a bridge change due to environmental effects, especially temperature. Temperature effects must be accounted for in order to better understand the damage. The purpose of this research is not to detect damage. The bridge that is being monitored does not have any damage. The purpose of this study is to show how the dynamic properties of the C-846 Bridge in South Salt Lake City correlate with temperature. Additionally, several frequencies including the fundamental frequency of the bridge are identified. It was found that the natural frequencies of the bridge increase with a decrease in temperature, and that the fundamental frequency of the bridge is 1.15 Hz.

The horizontal shear strength of the interface between prestressed concrete hollow core slabs and cast-in-place concrete topping slabs was evaluated through a set of 24 push-off experiments. The push-off test specimens featured segments of dry-mix and wet-mix hollow core slabs with a variety of surface treatments including machine finished, sandblasted, broom roughened, rake roughened and grouted. A cast-in-place slab was poured on top of the hollow core specimens to form a 15 inch by 15 inch interface between the two materials. Results indicate the average horizontal shear strength of the push-off specimens was 227 psi. Higher shear strength and slip capacity was observed in specimens that were broom roughened in the direction transverse to the applied shear force and in grouted dry-mix specimens. Specimens with machine finished surfaces had lower average horizontal shear strength than those with intentionally roughened surfaces, but still exceeded the shear strength of 80 psi specified in the ACI 318-08 code. A method to comparatively quantify the surface roughness of the hollow core slabs with different surface treatments was adapted from an existing ASTM standard for pavements. This standard specifies the procedure to determine mean texture depth that can be correlated to horizontal shear strength of the push-off specimens. Analytical studies were also performed to estimate the maximum horizontal shear stresses that can be expected in composite hollow core slabs under normal construction conditions. A finite element model was developed to observe the behavior of the horizontal shear failure mode for composite hollow core slabs.

In an effort to free up valuable storage space, an obsolete dual tube furnace facility was repurposed to process legacy and newly generated reaction by-products for reuse and/or evaluation. These materials consist of magnesium oxide and unreacted chemicals including small amounts of uranium. They will be converted to their safest form. The repurposing of the facility was not a simple undertaking as all of the utilities with the exception of electricity were disconnected from the facility and the furnaces were more than 50 years old. A 2-part project consisting of a construction phase and transition to operations phase was initiated to accomplish the task. Because funding was done in a piecemeal fashion, the dynamics of restarting the facility was accomplished using creative project management. Lessons learned will provide invaluable information for future sustainability endeavors that require the renovation of an out-service facility to meet current and future needs.

This thesis presents a framework to conduct a quantity take-off (QTO) and cost estimate within the Building Information Modeling (BIM) Environment. The product of this framework is a model-based cost estimating tool. The framework addresses the cost uncertainty associated with the detailed information defining BIM model element properties. This cost uncertainty is due to the lack of available tools that address detailed QTO and cost estimation using solely a BIM platform. In addition, cost estimators have little experience in leveraging and managing information within semantic-rich BIM models. Unmanaged BIM element parameters are considered a source of uncertainty in a model-based cost estimate, therefore they should be managed and quantified as work items. A model-based system, which assists the estimators to conduct a QTO and cost estimate within the BIM environment, is developed. This system harnesses BIM element parameters to drive work items associated with the parameter’s host element. The system also captures the cost of scope not modeled in the design team’s BIM models. The system consists of four modules 1) establishing estimate requirements, 2) planning and structuring the estimate, 3) quantification and costing, and 4) model-based historical cost data collection. The complete system can produce a project cost estimate based on the 3D BIM Model. This framework is supported by a computation engine built within an existing virtual design and construction (VDC) model review software. The computation engine supports BIM authoring and reviewing BIM data. The Framework’s quantification and costing module was compared to existing methods in a case study. The outcomes of the model-based system demonstrated improved cost estimate accuracy in comparison to the BIM QTO method and improved speed compared to the traditional methods. The framework provides a systematic workflow for conducting a detailed cost estimate leveraging the parameters stored in the BIM models.

Various industries are using personality profile assessments as tools to help reduce employee turnover. Employee turnover is a continuing challenge in the construction industry that has negative effects on construction companies. Research found that it was difficult to know if companies in the construction industry are using personality profile assessments as a tool to help reduce employee turnover. After understanding that other industries were using personality profile assessments in their hiring, promoting, team building and leadership development to reduce turnover, it was desired to understand if the construction industry was doing the same. This research performed a survey among the top construction companies to understand if construction companies were using assessments, and if it had any effect on the turnover of those companies. The survey results provided information on the amount of companies using personality profile assessments, as well as additional insights and attitudes among these companies, whether they used assessments or not. The results of this survey and research have provided strong indicators that personality profile assessments are tools that will help construction companies reduce employee turnover.

IEEE 802.11 wireless networking equipment has made it possible to bridge the last mile for new broadband internet service providers. Inexpensive wireless networking equipment and high gain antennas enable high speed internet delivery at a fraction of the cost of installing or upgrading land lines for cable or DSL services. Based on this research, a guide of general practices and procedures is proposed for designing, installing, and maintaining a reliable wireless community area network. Included tests have provided performance results for several types of wireless antennas (including wire grid parabolic dishes, Yagi and Vagi styles, and echo backfire), wireless bridges, and other factors which influence overall signal strength and throughput. Two separate configurations are recommended. The first configuration is based on high reliability, longer distances, and low error rates. The second recommendation is based on lower overall cost, ease of installation, and shorter link distances.

The purpose of this research was to use the Transvalor S.A. product, Forge3, to develop a finite element simulation of the friction stir welding process that improves the predictability of temperature evolution and material flow within the plunge portion of the process. Previous modeling created more heating within the billet than experimental results, probably due to the simplification of the simulation with adiabatic boundary conditions. More realistic tooling temperatures were included in this model as these affect heat evolution which is a determining factor in microcrystalline growth. These results were validated by experimental efforts using a billet and tooling instrumented with thermocouples used to evaluate the temperatures at specific locations over time. Simulation results were compared with previous experiments to validate the predicted material flow.

The main topic in the licensing debate is whether licensing affects construction quality. Available literature and previous studies indicate that it does not. The real question is not whether licensing improves quality, but whether the improving quality is the actual purpose of licensing. There is little information available on the purpose of licensing as defined by state licensing departments as well as a general lack of information on how states evaluate whether licensing is fulfilling the intended purpose. In order to effectively resolve some of the issues surrounding the construction licensing debate, the true purpose of licensing and the methods used to evaluate licensing must be defined by state licensing departments, not the industry. The sharing of such information could lead to better construction regulations, improved evaluation techniques, further research, and ultimately, a resolution of the licensing debate. State licensing departments indicated the purpose of licensing as well as methods of evaluating licensing currently used by state licensing departments. Contrary to popular thought, the true purpose of residential general contractor licensing (as defined by state licensing departments) is not to improve construction quality but to protect the consumer's health and life. The license debate will continue as long as there exists a discrepancy between what the industry thinks is the purpose of licensing (improve quality) and what the purpose truly is (protect the consumer). If the main purpose of licensing is, as the states expressed, to protect the consumer, then policy must reflect that idea. Protecting the consumer can be accomplished through mandatory building code inspections without a barrier to entry such as licensing. The information gained from the study provides a foundation for further research on licensing issues that will benefit the construction industry, the economy, and society alike.