The construction industry is one of the most diverse industries that provide the desired foundation for the economic growth. Existing contractual structure that bases the framework for activities within this significant industry discourages coordination between the project players. Each of these attributes can lead to an environment of distrust with unresolved claims, budget overruns and schedule delay. This study presents a formal contractual framework that increases productivity, maximizes efficiency and minimizes wastes thorough utilizing partnering and integrated project delivery (IPD) approach. Partnering is an approach that provides more beneficial construction environment through defining shared goals for all the project stakeholders, while IPD is a PDS that integrates all project participants to deliver the best end product. The aim of this study is to build a collaborative environment that anticipates potential problems, allocates risks properly and as the bottom line, “Best for Project” shapes all the activities within this working relationship.

This research is focused on developing a simulation (game) that will help explain the basic principles of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Target Value Design (TVD). The transfer of knowledge about Lean principles is currently limited and there is a need for teaching materials in this field. The Lean Construction community believes that teaching lean principles through games or simulations is very effective. This study is focused on developing a simulation that explains the basic principles of IPD and TVD. After study of current literature related to IPD, TVD and Lean simulations, this game was developed and then tested on construction professionals and students. Test results from a first run study showed that the simulation helps to explain some principles of IPD and TVD. However further study is needed to ensure that those who engage this simulation confidently understand key principles of IPD and TVD.

Los proyectos de construcción suelen tener relaciones adversarias entre colaboradores, bajos ratios de productividad, alto grado de ineficiencia y re trabajo, frecuentes disputas y poca innovación. Como resultado, se tienen proyectos que son muy costosos y que no cumplen con los plazos especificados. Este panorama puede ser visto desde enfoques diversos de solución, empezando por la mejora de la productividad, la tecnología, entre otros. Sin embargo, es necesario revisar las bases mismas de la relación entre las empresas que forman parte de un proyecto y, a partir de ello, presentar un nuevo modo de trabajo colaborativo: el IPD, un marco de trabajo integrador de resultados fascinantes.

Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Julia A. Keen / The purpose of this report is to provide information on Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) as a construction project delivery method and identify some of the obstacles that are limiting its implementation into the design and construction industry. This report includes a general overview of IPD and a comparison to traditional project delivery methods: Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, and Construction Manager at Risk. The advantages of IPD and its possible positive impact on the industry is introduced followed by the three major obstacles that must be evaluated and resolved before this delivery method can begin to be embraced by the industry. The three major obstacles include: contracts, insurance, and IPD structure for facilitation. Each of these obstacles is explored in detail and solutions being successfully implemented by industry professionals are presented. Finally, conclusions about the future of IPD are presented along with future research that needs to be conducted for a better overall understanding of IPD.

According to September 2011 information from the U.S. Census Bureau, the construction industry in the United States is valued at nearly eight hundred billion dollars annually. A 2004 collaborative study by Construction Industry Institute and Lean Construction Institute suggests that as much as fifty seven percent of time, effort, and material investment in construction projects do not add value to the final product. When compared with twenty six percent wastes in the manufacturing industry, it becomes obvious that the construction industry has a problem. Construction projects that come in over budget and behind schedule have become the rule rather than the exception, leading to contentious business relationships and costly litigation. This study will strive to identify and analyze the primary sources of these problems. Research and industry experience point to a lack of communication and cooperation among the various entities required to complete a construction project as the leading causes of waste in the industry. Further analysis suggests that traditional forms of construction contracts encourage adversarial and non-cooperative behavior between parties. Additionally, poor communication between various contributors opens the door for additional wasted cost. Fortunately, the development of tools such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) present new options to construction professionals that are proving to help address some of the challenges the industry faces today. IPD as a project delivery method creates a culture of collaboration and teamwork, where a culture of risk avoidance and conflict once stood, while BIM provides a platform for better communication among parties. When used together, these tools can reduce or eliminate many of the major sources of waste within the industry. This thesis will provide descriptions, analysis, and case studies that demonstrate the use of these tools and the potential they have to make a positive impact on the construction industry. / text

This exploratory research examined the degree of adoption and impact of the concepts of Building Information Model (BIM), Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Integrated Design Process (IDP) and Building Energy Simulation (BES) on the design processes of advanced architectural firms when executing sustainable design. Six offices identified by the press for a strong commitment to sustainable design and influence in the design of high performance buildings were selected as cases. In semi-standardized interviews, these firms presented their perceptions of the influence of BIM, BES, and IPD/IDP. The results show that a generalization of sustainable design processes is possible. A design process for sustainability (DEPROSU) model was created by collecting best practices from data gathered from the interviews and the critical literature review. Secondary contributions show that BIM, IDP/IPD and BES have a synergistic effect in sustainable design methods, and that the human resource profile from these firms has evolved towards multi-skilled professionals knowledgeable in BES, BIM, parametric design, sustainability and construction processes. This research provides evidence of commonalities found in the design processes of the selected firms. These commonalities, which have been represented in the DEPROSU model, can potentially be validated as protocols or standards for sustainable design, providing architectural design practices with concrete patterns for improvement and or validation of their design methods.

Ingeniero Civil / Las estrategias de ejecución de proyectos corresponden a la forma en el cual el mandante materializa las fases de Ingeniería y Construcción de su proyecto, estableciendo a las diferentes empresas participantes, en qué momento se incorporan éstas al proyecto, cómo se distribuyen las responsabilidades, entre otros aspectos. Todo lo definido en este proceso se establece en los contratos entre el dueño de proyecto y las diferentes empresas de Ingeniería y Construcción. Uno de los principales problemas que evidencian las estrategias tradicionales de ejecución de proyectos, es que en general se desarrollan bajo un ambiente donde cada empresa participante busca obtener los mayores beneficios con el menor esfuerzo posible, en una estructura jerárquica vertical (mandante-diseñadores-constructores) donde cada actor se aboca al desarrollo del trabajo propio involucrándose escasamente con otras especialidades. La estrategia de ejecución de proyectos conocida como Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), presentada en el año 2007, por The American Institute of Architects (AIA) busca dar solución a los principales problemas que generan las estrategias de ejecución comúnmente utilizadas (DB, DBB, EPC, EPCM y CMc). La estrategia IPD se caracteriza por involucrar tempranamente a los principales actores en fases de diseño del proyecto en un ambiente de cooperación, innovación y coordinación enfocándose en optimizar los recursos, procesos y actividades para finalizar en forma eficaz el proyecto. El objetivo principal de esta memoria es analizar la situación actual y tendencias de la estrategia IPD en proyectos. Para contextualizar al lector, se realiza un estudio sobre las estrategias tradicionales de ejecución de proyectos, y en particular sobre la estrategia IPD, para entender su aplicación en cada una de las fases del ciclo de vida del proyecto. Se entrevistan a profesionales expertos en la materia para obtener información acerca de los procesos de definición de las estrategias de ejecución y para saber si la estrategia IPD podría ser aplicable en proyectos que se desarrollan en Chile, en particular, si la cultura de las empresas favorece la implementación de los principios y aspectos contractuales que establece la estrategia IPD. Una de las principales conclusiones obtenidas en esta memoria, es que no existiría una mejor estrategia de ejecución, todas muestran ventajas y desventajas ante ciertos escenarios. La estrategia IPD posee características y principios que aumentan las probabilidades de éxito y de obtención de mejores soluciones tanto de diseño como constructivas. Sin embargo, en relación a su implementación, se debe reconocer que se requiere un importante cambio cultural en las organizaciones para poder establecer contratos acordes con estas características, algo que en el corto plazo parece difícil y que en la actualidad solo algunas empresas y dueños podrían llevar a cabo con éxito.

Integrated project delivery (IPD) method has recently emerged as an alternative to traditional delivery methods. It has the potential to overcome inefficiencies of traditional delivery methods by enhancing collaboration among project participants. Information and communication technology (ICT) facilitates IPD by effective management, processing and communication of information within and among organizations. While the benefits of IPD, and the role of ICT in realizing them, have been generally acknowledged, the US public construction sector is very slow in adopting IPD. The reasons are - lack of experience and inadequate understanding of IPD in public owner as confirmed by the results of the questionnaire survey conducted under this research study. The public construction sector should be aware of the value of IPD and should know the essentials for effective implementation of IPD principles - especially, they should be cognizant of the opportunities offered by advancements in ICT to realize this. In order to address the need an IPD Readiness Assessment Model (IPD-RAM) was developed in this research study. The model was designed with a goal to determine IPD readiness of a public owner organization considering selected IPD principles, and ICT levels, at which project functions were carried out. Subsequent analysis led to identification of possible improvements in ICTs that have the potential to increase IPD readiness scores. Termed as the gap identification, this process was used to formulate improvement strategies. The model had been applied to six Florida International University (FIU) construction projects (case studies). The results showed that the IPD readiness of the organization was considerably low and several project functions can be improved by using higher and/or advanced level ICT tools and methods. Feedbacks from a focus group comprised of FIU officials and an independent group of experts had been received at various stages of this research and had been utilized during development and implementation of the model. Focus group input was also helpful for validation of the model and its results. It was hoped that the model developed would be useful to construction owner organizations in order to assess their IPD readiness and to identify appropriate ICT improvement strategies.

This thesis examines an American form of partnering, Integrated project Delivery (IPD) for the purpose of implementing it in the Swedish construction industry. To do this the current Swedish standard of partnering, Samverkan, is compared to IPD. The cooperating company is In3prenör AB who are interested in IPD and want to establish if profitable elements can be implemented in their current modus operandi. The thesis was carried out in ten weeks. The thesis was limited to the implementation of IPD towards suppliers, sub- and joint contractors and has held a more speculative view towards employers. Methodically a literature study was done to collect data and knowledge about IPD. Through an interview study data was collected from key figures in two partnering projects who all had previous experience with partnering. From this data a status analysis was done for the purpose of comparing IPD and Samverkan. The results showed that the respondents have had positive experiences with partnering. The majority group of respondents feel partnering results in a nicer working environment and a best-for-project mindset. The respondents held the view that Samverkan is "merely nice words" but the results prove otherwise. The thesis concludes that the primary differences lie in IPD's more complete framework and Samverkan's softer values. The relationship between buyer and main contractor needs to be reworked on the contractual level. Based on the interviews, the authors believe that there is much to be gained through long-term relationships. At the start of new project, the desired results can then be advanced rather than re-established.

This research was completed in two phases; phase-one involved a mini-scan study of the highway maintenance industry to identify the current state-of-practice in performance-based maintenance contracting (PBMC). Phase one gathered information on domestic and foreign agencies currently using performance-based maintenance on highways. Phase two used the mini-scan study information to build, compare and analyze agency timelines (i.e., VDOT to others). Timelines included major milestones at each agency; milestones which enabled innovation in the field of performance-based contracting. The purpose of comparing VDOT to other agencies was to provide VDOT with industry best practices as well as recommendations for future contract evolutions. Timelines were constructed for Florida DOT, Main Roads of Western Australia, England\'s Highways Agency and New Zealand Transport Agency. Connection links were made between VDOT and the other four agencies based on similarities in procurement laws and maintenance milestones (i.e., 1st Design-Build project). The timeline linkages and collection of information on benefits associated with PBMC (compared to traditional method-based maintenance) were used to make five recommendations for VDOT\'s future maintenance program. VDOT recommendations were: Use performance-based contracting on secondary roads, use area-wide contracts to cover addition facilities, shift VDOT TAMS focus from lowest-cost to a best-value approach similar to England\'s Managing-Agent Contractor, devise a strategic network of highways to prioritize maintenance, use key performance indicators to align Maintenance Division objectives with overall VDOT organization. Recommendations also considered the current restrictions imposed by Virginia procurement laws. / Master of Science