This research explores a higher order of fast tracking, called Flash Tracking, in response to increasing calls for faster, more reliable project deliveries. Flash Tracking is defined as a time-driven project, which by necessity requires a heightened degree of concurrency between engineering, procurement, and construction. In contrast to fast tracking, which entails a level of concurrency between engineering, procurement, and construction that has become a staple of the construction industry, Flash Tracking extends the envelope by requiring a series of innovative practices across the project delivery spectrum. The specific research questions pursued include: 1) identifying which innovative improvements in project delivery methodology could be made to compress project durations, while maintaining safety, quality, and risk tolerance, and 2) addressing how project teams can best overcome barriers to delivering shorter project durations. A multi-method research project was undertaken to address these questions, which entailed an extensive review of the literature, structured case study interviews, and multiple group decision-making exercises. The literature review focused on the construction industry, as well as manufacturing, shipbuilding, and software development, to identify practices and techniques potentially relevant to Flash Tracking that could be extended to the construction industry. Group decision-making exercises included a modified Delphi method study, an Analytic Hierarchy Process, and a series of research charrettes or focus groups. These studies produced a prioritized, two-tiered listing of 47 essential Flash Track practices, providing practitioners with both a measure to assess their readiness for undertaking a Flash Track project and strategies for increasing their readiness. A subsequent study--a semantic network analysis--refined and buttressed the research team’s earlier findings. This two-year study, conducted in concert with industry experts, led to a re-engineered engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model which embraces relational contract strategies, improved communications, and the early engagement of key stakeholders.

Accelerated Bridge Construction, also known as ABC, is a methodology that seeks to improve project development of bridges by reducing the overall project schedule and the impact on the traveling public by implementing innovative technologies and strategies in any phase of project development. However, ABC may incur additional direct costs for the project and some risks are associated because of the accelerated constraints implied in this methodology. On the positive side, the opportunity costs and reductions of traffic disruptions costs may overcome the additional costs associated with ABC. Decision-making methodologies for assessment of ABC as an alternative to traditional construction are of great interest for project developers. The topics of research about ABC are diverse but focus mainly on the means and methods, technical aspects, applications, innovations, and decision-making of ABC. Decision-making is of great concern for project developers, especially government organizations, to sustain project goals of serviceability and to validate the additional expenditures in a project. In addition, project developers improve their decisions and project outcomes by reviewing success and failure cases for completed projects in the past. This study seeks to improve the decision-making processes in ABC by finding a more direct correlation of projects to compare by means of a categorization of these ABC projects. Smaller groups in this categorization will help narrow the scope of the characteristics of the projects to consider and to find more relevant lessons learned from the smaller groups of the categorization. To develop the categorization in this study, the data source used is the completed ABC projects database from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The statistical categorization methodology for this study is the Agglomerate Hierarchy Clustering which developed a determined number of cluster based on the closeness among data parameters with "n" number of dimensions of analysis. The number of dimensions for the analysis in this study was established as 13 parameters collected from the database and these were considered critical decision-making parameters and consequential parameters to reflect project decisions and consequences of those decisions. The results of this study rendered 3 categories, and into these categories, 5 sub-categories were distributed according to the same analysis developed. The sub-categories show similarities between the projects according to the parameters established, so the sub-categories help narrow the scope of projects for project developers. As a complement to the categorization, a project matching tool for external projects was also developed to help decision-makers to test their projects according to the analysis in this study and also help developers narrow their review of cases in search for lessons learned. Uses of this study include the prediction of information of parameters according to the variables and ranges in this categorization, and the narrowing of study cases to review. Stakeholders interested can be government organizations seeking to establish the viability of an ABC project, or to improve their project outcomes at any stage of development. Other stakeholders can be designers and contractors that also need to improve their projects at any stage of development. / Master of Science / Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) reduces construction time and diminishes traffic disruption by applying strategies and innovations to the way bridges are designed and constructed. However, it implies additional initial costs that need to be justified. Project developers need to evaluate their projects to make decisions to assure the best execution and outcomes. The review of lessons learned from previous bridge projects has been one of the sources that developers have found to find strategies and tips to implement best practices or to avoid mistakes during planning and construction of new bridge projects. This study relies on the lessons learned compiled on the completed ABC project database from the federal transportation authority, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in order to help developers, narrow the scope of projects to be reviewed and find more relevant cases to compare their projects. This scope includes the development of a categorization or a structured hierarchy of completed ABC projects with the FHWA database by applying a statistical analysis and a validation procedure. The results of this study rendered a categorization with 3 categories and 5 subcategories, each with its definition of parameters, which highlight the similarities among projects in the same groups and the differences among different categories. In addition, a framework was developed to match external projects with the categorization in this study to help project developers narrow the projects to review, or even predict missing information according to the parameters in this study. These results may help decision-makers better inform their decisions and support the research in the field of study.