abstract: The delivery of construction projects, particularly with respect to design phase or preconstruction efforts, has changed significantly over the past twenty years. As alternative delivery methods such as Construction-Manager-at-Risk (CMAR) and Design-Build models have become more prominent, general contractors, owners, and designers have had the opportunity to take advantage of the collaborative planning opportunities that exist during the preconstruction portion of the project. While much has been written regarding the benefits of more collaborative approaches and the utilization of various tools and practices during preconstruction to mitigate risk and maximize positive outcomes, what is lesser known is how to teach a coursework that exposes students to various tools and practices that are being utilized today. The objective of this research was to create a testable methodology that can be used to analyze a developed approach that answers the question of how to teach preconstruction tools and practices. A coursework was developed and taught as a graduate level class and data was collected from the actual teaching of that class. In addition, feedback was solicited from the construction industry concerning recommended content applicable to such a class. Data was then analyzed to ascertain student retention of the material and topical content of the course. Through these findings and literature review process the methodology and baseline coursework was shown as an effective means to teach preconstruction tools and practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Construction Management 2019

Project management is today a current and highly discussed area. How projects within the construction industry are managed has not changed significantly during the last decades. The construction market, the number of different actors and the way that projects are procured today has however changed. This has led to a gap between the managerial view on how construction projects should be conducted today and how they actually are executed. This is reason enough to question this conservative industry and look into what possibilities there might be in the future. The Agile project management approach evolved from the software industry where it has grown and developed through empirical progress. It is suited for large complex projects where it is difficult to specify the product in advance. It is today used in different industries but mostly in the software business where the customer detects their needs through means of repeated tests and improvements to a prototype. This thesis has researched what opportunities there might be in implementing the Agile project management approach in the design phase of construction projects. The major advantages found with implementing the Agile approach is an increase in the client’s involvement. The Agile approach almost forces the client to increase their participation in the project compared to the situation today. It can also decrease uncertainty and improve risk management. By the use of time management and specific meetings it will also be beneficial for keeping track of the project’s progression and status.

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Occupational health and safety (H&S) is important to the design, construction, maintenance, refurbishment and demolition of buildings and facilities in all branches of industry, business and commerce. H&S issues have been a major consideration in construction. Far too many people get hurt, injured or die even though the situation has improved over recent years. Accident and fatality rates continue to be significantly higher than other industry sectors. Although all parties involved in the construction industry may address their respective responsibilities, the lack of integration between each organization often results in communication problems which jeopardize H&S. Of particular note is the communication during the design phase. All information pertaining to the project must be readily accessible for all parties, to ensure smooth and hitch-free project execution. This research reviews the challenges in the communication of health and safety information in the design phase of construction projects. It characterizes the various aspects of collaborative communications at this stage and highlights the problem area. The research was conducted in the UK based on a combination of qualitative research methods including literature review, interviews and analysis of focus group interviews data. Observations on documentation and interviews are used to investigate the current industry practice. The literature reviews revealed that communication industry is facing challenges with its communication system due to the nature of industry itself. The construction industry is a fragmented and complex industry with too many parties involved in a project. These parties come from various backgrounds and involved in the project in a temporary duration. The parties who become team members must be able to establish a relationship in such a short period of time and create a communication system that enables all of the parties to collaborate and interact with each other.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2004. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-63). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-110). Also available online.

A lot of companies are investing in new working methods and technical innovations that is developed to improve productivity in the construction industry and to make it more efficient. One of these innovations is a working method called VDC, Virtual Design and Construction. A project called Sörredsmotet is a design-build project with Veidekke Entreprenad AB as a design-build contractor. The client of the project is Trafikverket. One of the ambitions with the project is to use VDC in the design phase of the project. The purpose with this study is to in cooperation with Veidekke examine how the working method is implemented on the project, what conditions are needed to implement VDC and also how VDC affects designers. The research questions are: I. How has the working method VDC been implemented on the project Sörredsmotet? II. What conditions are needed to implement VDC? III. How does the working method affect designers? To answer the research questions three studies have been carried out; a literature study based on earlier research, observations of design meeting and VDC-network meetings and an interview study with 18 respondents. One demarcation for the study is to examine the VDC in design phase only. Conclusion for the first research question is that the project works partially with VDC, but the working method cannot be considered as implemented on the project. One ambition was to carry out the design phase with ICE-sessions, but organization and working method for external organization made it difficult to gather the right people and to make decisions on meetings. The layout was changed to have design meetings inspired by ICE methodology instead of ICEsessions. Part of the design is made in a cloud based 3D-model while other parts of the design is made in 2D. Veidekke has developed a visualization model for the project. It requires both organizational conditions and conditions for individuals to start using the working method. Due to the construction industry’s project -based structure many so-called innovators and early appliers are requ ired. It is necessary to look at the project’s prerequisites and to make plans about the project’s goals, how to achieve the goals, what is needed to achieve them and to make the reason for the change clear. To get as good prerequisites as possible, both for internal and possible external organization, this should be done at an early stage of the projects. Motivation is also important for implementation of the working method. New skills that may be required are mainly concerning models. For designers the working method means that the workflow changes when work is done with BIM, Building Information Model, which is a tool in VDC. More planning and communication is required when working with BIM. To work model-oriented instead of working with 2Ddrawings requires different ways to think. There are a lot of challenges working with BIM, but also many advantages, mainly in projects that requires a lot of coordination.

Project management is today a current and highly discussed area. How projects within the construction industry are managed has not changed significantly during the last decades. The construction market, the amount of different actors and the way that projects are procured today has however changed. This has led to a gap between the managerial view on how construction projects should be conducted today and how they actually are executed. This is reason enough to question this conservative industry and look into what possibilities there might be in the future.   The Agile project management approach is evolved from the software industry where it has grown and developed through empirical progress. It is suited for large complex projects where it is difficult to specify the product in advance. It is today used in different industries but mostly in the software business where the customer detects their needs through means of repeated tests and improvements to a prototype.   This thesis has researched what opportunities there might be in implementing the Agile project management approach in the design phase of construction projects.   The major advantages found with implementing the Agile approach is an increase in the client’s involvement. The Agile approach almost forces the client to increase their participation in the project compared to the situation today. It can also decrease the uncertainty and improve risk management. By the use of time management and specific meetings it will also be beneficial for keeping track of the project’s progression and status. / Projektledning är idag ett högaktuellt ämne diskuteras intensivt. Hur projekt inom byggbranschen styrs och leds har inte förändrats nämnvärt under de senaste decennierna. Byggmarknaden, mängden av olika aktörer och hur att projekten upphandlas dag har dock förändrats. Detta har lett till ett spricka mellan ledarskapssynen på hur byggprojekt skall utföras idag och hur de faktiskt genomförs. Detta är skäl nog att ifrågasätta denna konservativa bransch och titta närmre på vilka möjligheter det kan finnas i framtiden.   Den Agila projektledningsmetoden har utvecklats inom mjukvarubranschen där den har vuxit och förbättrats genom empiriska framsteg. Den är lämpad för stora komplexa projekt där det är svårt att ange och definiera produkten i förväg. Den används idag i olika branscher, men främst i mjukvaruindustrin där kunden upptäcker sina behov med hjälp av upprepade tester och förbättringar av en prototyp.    Denna avhandling har undersökt vilka möjligheter det kan finnas i att använda Agila projektledningsmetoder under projekteringsfasen i byggprojekt.   De största fördelarna som finns med att använda den Agila metoden är en ökning av kundens engagemang och involvering i projekten. Den Agila metoden tvingar nästan kunden att öka deras deltagande i projektet jämfört med hur situationen ser ut idag. Det kan också leda till minskad osäkerhet och förbättrad riskhantering. Genom användning av ”time management” och särskilda möten kommer de Agila metoderna också att vara till nytta för att hålla reda på projektets framåtskridande och status.

About 75% of the total product cost is determined in the early design phase, which means that the possibilities to affect costs are relatively small when the design phase is completed. For companies, it is therefore vital to conduct reliable cost estimates in the early design phase, when selecting between different design choices. When conducting a cost estimate there are many uncertainties. The aim with this study is therefore to explore how uncertainties regarding product cost can be considered when estimating product cost and how expert’s knowledge can be integrated within cost estimation. A case study has been conducted within the aerospace industry at the company GKN Aerospace Sweden (GAS) in Trollhättan, from which a model to estimate product cost has been developed. The model is developed for space turbines, but can with modifications be used for other products. Space turbines are highly advanced products, produced in small batches with complex manufacturing processes and high costs. Because of the heavy capital investment, long lead times and high risks, cost estimates become very important, which made GAS suitable for the case study. The new cost estimation model (NCEM) developed is a combination between intuitive, analogical and analytical cost estimation techniques. Product cost at GAS is built up by the following cost elements; raw material, purchased parts, material surcharge, manufacturing cost, manufacturing surcharge, outsourced operations, method support, delivery cost, warranty and scrap, which are studied more in depth. The material cost is estimated based on historical data and a list of previous purchased alloys is created. The manufacturing cost is determined more in detail where the cost for each operation is estimated, based on operation time, amount of removed material or welding speed. The method support cost is estimated based on a study of an internal prognosis where the amount of time from each discipline needed to support the product is determined. Included in the NCEM is also a risk assessment. The main insights from this study is that transparency is vital when estimating product cost. It is important to state what assumptions that have been made. Breaking down the product cost into smaller units and create awareness about the cost drivers will identify risks and reduce uncertainness. Experts possess a great deal of knowledge about cost drivers and should be integrated when estimating product cost.

Byggbranschen växer i en otrolig fart och på grund av byggbranschens stora framgång växer även konkurrensen mellan företagen vilket leder till att dessa strävar efter en ökad produktivitet. Tidigare undersökningar visar att det finns stor potential till att effektivisera informationsflödet under projekteringsfasen eftersom all information inte passerar genom projektportalen då det fortfarande används mejl och muntliga avtal. Därför är syftet med fallstudien att kartlägga informationsflödet mellan discipliner under bygghandlingsfasen för att analysera och identifiera de problem som finns. Till problemen presenteras verifierade lösningsförslag. För att utföra arbetet besvarades frågorna på hur ser informationsflödet ut i bygghandlingsfasen för sjukhusprojekt, vilka filformat med tillhörande program krävs samt hur kan informationsflödet förbättras? För att samla in informationen till arbetet användes fallstudie, intervjuer och litteraturstudie. Litteraturstudie har använts för att komplettera fallstudien och informationen som gavs av intervjuerna. Intervjuerna genomfördes med discipliner som är aktiva under bygghandlingsfasen. Fallstudien genomfördes genom analysering av en loggbok från en projektportal för sjukhusprojekt.Genom att ta fram och analysera ett generaliserat informationsflöde av sjukhusprojekt har man kommit fram till att discipliner är väldigt beroende av varandras arbete. Vidare orsakar konverteringar till IFC i många fall förluster av information i form av geometrier och areor. Genom att studera informationsflödet mer grundligt kom man fram till att projektportalen används i stor utsträckning till alla filer i sjukhusprojekt. Dock är antalet filer som hanteras väldigt många till antalet vilket gör det svårt för disciplinerna att hantera. Vidare såg man också att BIM-manualen är ett styrande dokument i sjukhusprojekt men läses och följs ändå inte i vissa fall.Sammanfattningsvis kom man fram till att den absolut största orsaken till problem i informationsflödet är människan eftersom många av problemen uppstår när en aktör av misstag gör något fel. / With the construction industry's great success lately, competition between the companies is also growing, which means that these aim at increased productivity. Therefore, one of the most important decisions to make in a construction project is how the information will flow between all involved parties. The purpose of this case study was to analyse and map information flow between disciplines during the design phase. Identified problems were verified and suggestions for improvements were made. A case study was used to understand which files were used in hospital projects. Interviews were performed to get information from individual discipline’s perspectives regarding information flow. In order to use relevant facts in the work, a literature study was carried out. The study concluded that converting a file can result in information losses of geometries, drawing layers and intelligent connections between objects. Most used file formats were IFC, RVT and DWG. Also, the information flow and dependencies between disciplines has been illustrated. This can cause faults with usage of different coordinates. Furthermore, many files are being uploaded to the project portal which in many cases results in difficulties with file management.