abstract: Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is a growing and expanding trenchless method utilized to install pipelines from 2 to 60 inch diameters for lengths over 10,000 foot. To date, there are not many public documents where direct costs and bid prices incurred by HDD installations are available and analyzed. The objective is to provide a better understanding of the factors affecting the bid prices of these projects. The first section of the thesis analyzes how project parameters such as product diameter, bore length and soil conditions affect the bid price of water and wastewater pipeline installations using HDD. Through multiple linear regressions, the effect of project parameters on bid prices of small, medium and large rigs projects is extracted. The results were further investigated to gain a better understanding of bid factors that influence the relationship between total cost and the project parameters. The second section uses unit cost, based on bid prices, to compare the costs incurred by defined categories. Parameters such as community type, product type, soil conditions, and geographical region were used in the analysis. Furthermore, using average unit cost from 2001 to 2009, HDD project cost trends are briefly analyzed against the main variations of the US economy from the same time horizon by using economic indicators. It was determined that project geometric factors influence more the bid price of small rig projects than large rig projects because external factors including market rates and economic situation have an increasing impact on bid prices when rig size increases. It was observed that bid price variation of HDD projects over years followed the same trend as the US economic variation described by economic indicators. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Construction 2010

A challenge in Lean Construction is how to make it applicable when there is a high degree of complexity and uncertainty. In many construction projects there are changing project requirements, unique products and a need for actions that are highly focused on meeting customer/client expectations. Such scenarios require management methods that are characterised by being flexible and able to react to change. The aim of this thesis is to introduce a method that has such characteristics. Project Management, Lean and Agile paradigms are merged through the application of the fission and fusion approach of nuclear physics. This research is facilitated through a sequential explorative method. In the first instance, interviews with 22 practitioners in the fields of construction project management, Lean and Agile have been conducted. Then a quantitative self-administered questionnaire with 213 useful responses has been utilised to validate the transferability of the interview findings. It is concluded that Lean is not ideally suited to dealing with the dynamic nature of construction projects. Agile methods, which were developed to cope with the high levels of uncertainty inherent to IT projects, are more flexible and able to react to change. Hence utilising Agile-based methods might be the key to the successful utilization of Lean in construction. Therefore a management method based on combining Lean and Agile approaches has potential. Such an approach needs creative thinking to develop a solution that is different to that of “Leagile”. Leagile uses Lean and Agile methods in the execution phase sequentially, through using a decoupling point model to separate the two. This thesis introduces a new paradigm in which such a decoupling or separation does not take place. Rather, project management, Lean and Agile have been merged together to develop a new holistic and strategic framework. The paradigm presented in this thesis is termed “AgiLean Project Management”.

The thesis is focused on analysis of business activities in joint venture. Firs part explains theoretical terms related with thesis subject, such as construction project, joint venture, risks and hazards, construction project costs and prices in civil engineering. Second part is case study, which is focused to the topic related to business activities in joint venture and determining final price of construction project.

The diploma thesis deals with the evaluation of the effectiveness and risks of a private construction project. This work is divided into two parts. The first part is a theoretical part, which defines the basic concepts associated with investment as such, but also directly with investment in real estate and construction investment. In the second part, this work deals with risk assessment, determination of their size and finally risk management. The end of the theoretical part is the elaboration of methodology for the practical part. The beginning of the practical part the work is devoted to the description of the construction area and specification of the building itself. In the next part are set investment costs, operating income and expenses. Operating income consists of the lease itself. This was determined on the basis of similar investments in the area. Operating expenses are divided into fixed and variable where only fixed are included in the evaluation. Subsequently, the work establishes the profit and loss statement and therefrom the cash flows. The second part defines the risks associated with the construction of the project. The switching value is then calculated for critical project risks. The end of the practical part is devoted to risk management. The conclusion summarizes the results of individual parts of the thesis and a written recommendation for the investor whether to realize the project or not.

The diploma thesis focuses on the design of the business plan, which will extend the existing company so that it will be started a new company, while three projects will be addressed in the construction field. The thesis is based on the basic theoretical knowledge, followed by an analysis of the market environment and competition. Finally, the entire procedure is developed for the extension of the legal forms of business, including an economic evaluation.

This study dissertation deals with the planning and implementation of construction projects. The theoretical part gives the definition of project management structures, describes the compilation prices of construction work, time models of construction and construction tender documents. In the practical part is the description of the selected building sites, then the description deals with the alternative evalualing application of construction provided by budget program and planning documents. The aim is to evaluate the difference between the actual and alternative progress construction.

Innovative technologies for construction project management are constantly emerging in the construction industry's global landscape, yet the rate of failed projects within the Nigerian construction sector due to poor coordination of construction tasks is on the rise. An unanswered question in the literature remains as to why construction project managers in Nigeria remain slow to adopt new technologies for improving decision-making processes and project success rates. The purpose of this qualitative single case study with embedded units was to understand the perceptions of construction project managers in Nigeria regarding their barriers to technology adoption. This study was framed by 2 conceptual models: Usman and Said's model of factors contributing to information and communication technology adoption in Nigerian construction firms and Waziri, Mustapha, and Idris' model of factors influencing IT adoption in Nigerian construction organizations. Semistructured interviews involving 10 participants, reflective field notes, and archival data provided information regarding the barriers to technology adoption experience of construction project managers in Nigeria. Thematic analysis of the textual data and synthesis produced 5 conceptual categories for 14 identifiable themes from the study. The conceptual categories were (a) adoption of technology, (b) culture, (c) organizational performance, (d) innovative technology, and (e) interorganizational collaborations. The findings from this study may serve as a catalyst for positive social change by challenging existing technology-avoidance behavior in the Nigerian construction industry, and opening new opportunities for improved project delivery in the Nigerian national economy.

De senaste åren har tekniska förutsättningar, ekonomiska behov och ökade miljöproblem lett till en utveckling bort från massbilism i många av OECD-länderna. Allt fler deltar allt oftare i att dela resurser som ett sätt att minska de allt ökande kostnader som det innebär att äga och driva ett privatfordon. Delningstjänster kan ses som ett ökat intresse för vår omvärld men kanske främst som något som förenklar och sänker de kostnader som starkt är kopplade till mobilitet. Allt fler urbana livsstilar gör sig helt enkelt oberoende av att kunna transporteras med bil, till fördel för alternativen.   Sett i skuggan av det utgör bildelning ett alternativ till att äga sitt fordon men ändå ha fortlöpande tillgång till mobilitet när den behövs. Bildelningstjänster eller bilpooler fungerar som ett komplement till de andra transportsätten som innefattas i det multimodala och effektiva transportsystemet, såsom gång, cykel, buss, spårvagn, tunnelbana, hyrbil et cetera. Där alla delar har sina inbyggda styrkor och svagheter. Generellt har forskning skett på makroskala med ett fokus på att ta reda på hur vi får bildelningstjänster att fungera mest effektivt. I och med detta finns relativt goda kunskaper om Vad som behöver göras så är nästa fråga Hur? Var och hur tjänster bör planeras och placeras samt hur vi får fler att använda sig av dessa. Mer kunskap kan fås i området då allt fler tar del av dessa tjänster och de går från att vara en obskyritet till att möjligen ta rollen som norm. Utöver det så kan bildelning som delningsresurs ha inverkan både på parkerings- och platsbehov och en allmänt mer effektiv resursanvändning. Planering påverkar utformningen och därför existerar också ett behov av att systematiskt utvärdera hur bildelning kan understödjas och begränsas av detta.   Målet med detta arbete är att undersöka vilka faktorer som driver på fortsatt utveckling av tjänsterna och i viss mån finna lösningar som kan utvecklas för svenska fall. Framförallt för att ge mer kunskap kring den självklara kopplingen mellan planering och utformningskrav. Genom att basera en komparativ analys från den breda kunskap som finns kring bildelningstjänster kan vi finna generella faktorer som kan hjälpa oss med avvägningar kring en studie av ett faktiskt planeringsproblem. Något som för svenska förhållanden både skiljer sig och liknar de problem som man möter på i andra länder. Ett nyligen färdigställt projekt i Malmö agerar som studium då detta projekt från början implementerade möjligheter att sänka kravet på antalet parkeringsplatser. Bildelning har detta fall systematiskt använts som ett planeringsverktyg. Att fortsatt kunna utveckla en modell för användning för svenska plantekniska förhållanden kan ha stor inverkan på hur effektiv bildelning kan bli och vilken roll det kan spela i ett mer effektivt transportsystem i framtiden. / In recent years, technological conditions, economic needs and increasing environmental problems has led to a trend away from mass motoring in many OECD countries. More and more people participate in sharing resources with each other as a way to reduce the ever increasing costs involved in owning and operating a private vehicle. Sharing services can be seen as an increased interest in the world around us, but perhaps primarily as something that simplifies and reduces the costs that are strongly linked with mobility. Urban lifestyles to a greater extent free themselves of using car based transportation to the advantage of the optional modes.   Carsharing is an alternative to owning your own vehicle while still having continuous access to mobility when needed. Carsharing services operate as a complement to other modes included in the multimodal and efficient transportation system, such as walking, cycling, bus, tram, subway, rental car, et cetera. Each mode has its own strengths and weaknesses. Generally, research has taken place at the macro scale with a focus on finding out how we get carsharing services to work most effectively. As the knowledge about What is a relatively known, we need to answer the question How? Where and how services should be planned and located, and how do we get more people to use them. More knowledge will be available in the research area when more people take part in these services, and the services go from being an obscurity to possibly take the role as the norm. In addition to this carsharing as a resource that can have an impact on both parking and space requirements and a generally more efficient use of resources. Planning affects the design in which carsharing operates, it is therefore interesting to systematically evaluate how carsharing services are supported and held back by this circumstance.   The goal of this work is to investigate the factors driving the continued development of sharing services and how these possibly can be designed for the Swedish market. Above all, this can provide knowledge about the obvious link between planning and design requirements. Basing a comparative analysis on broad knowledge about carsharing provides general factors which can work as considerations for a study of an actual planning problem. The Swedish condition is both similar and different to the problems encountered in other countries. A project recently completed in Malmo acts as the study of the thesis mainly due to the fact that carsharing services were implemented as a prerequisite to lower the number of parking places needed. Hence carsharing was systematically used as a planning tool. To further develop a model for use with the Swedish preconditions and planning procedures can have a major impact on how efficiently carsharing can be and what role it can play in a more efficient transport system in the future.

Abstract The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate of what use the method Visual Planning can be in the construction industry in general and in the design phase of construction projects in particular.   The investigation and empirical part of the thesis has been based on semi-structured interviews with process developers, design managers and designers from Swedish companies where Visual Planning is used. The interviews have been the base for a comparative case study with the aim of providing an overview of how the method is currently used, interpreted, experienced and perceived in the Swedish construction industry and by its professionals. The master thesis has been made in collaboration with the Swedish consultancy firm Tyréns AB in Stockholm.   The results of the interviews differ on an individual level. The majority of the respondents are however positive and believe in the future of the methods. All respondents stress the lacking documentation, however, as the major difficulty. Several respondents have stressed the difficulties of working in a scattered team due to the analogue format as a shortcoming of the method as well. The biggest benefits stated are the easy accessible overview provided and the clarification of commitments, due to the active participation of the design participants, the analogue format, and the way of mapping of the information process.   It has been found that Visual Planning can be of use as a support in the process of construction project management, since it may facilitate the understanding of how to reach objectives and provide an easy accessible overview of the progress and status of a project. It should however be viewed as a complement to the process of construction project management, and not as a replacement. In conclusion it may facilitate earlier problem solving, since commitment is raised, which in the end facilitates the project to stay within budget as well as to meet the deadline. / Sammanfattning Syftet med detta examensarbete är att utreda vilken nytta metoden Visuell Planering kan vara av i byggbranschen i allmänhet och projekteringsfasen av byggprojekt i synnerhet.   Undersökningen har baserats på semi-strukturerade intervjuer med processutvecklare, projekteringsledare och projektörer från företag inom den svenska byggsektorn där Visuell Planering används. Intervjuerna har utgjort grunden för en jämförande fallstudie med avseendet att skapa en överblick och insyn i hur metoden i dagsläget används, tolkas och upplevs i den svenska byggbranschen och av yrkesverksamma i branschen. Examensarbetet har genomförts i samarbete med konsultföretaget Tyréns AB i Stockholm.   Intervjuresultaten varierar på individnivå. Majoriteten av intervjupersonerna är dock positiva och tror på metodens framtid. Alla tillfrågade beskriver den låga mängden dokumentation som det största problemet hos metoden. Flera yrkesverksamma beskriver även metodens tillkortakommanden då arbete bedrivs i spridda team. En följd av metodens analoga format.  Den genererade lättöverskådliga helhetsbilden och förtydliganden av åtagande och engagemang, som följd av projektmedlemmarnas aktiva deltagande, det analoga formatet och sättet som informationsprocessen kartläggs beskrivs som det största vinsterna.   Det har framkommit att Visuell Planering kan vara av användning och fungera som ett stöd i byggprojektledning, då metoden underlättar förståelse för hur mål ska uppnås och skapar en lättuppfattad bild av ett projekts status och framåtskridande. Metoden bör dock ses som ett komplement i processen av byggprojektledning och projekteringsledning, snarare än en ersättning. Visuell Planering kan slutligen främja problemlösningen i tidigare skeden, då känslan av förpliktelse, åtagande och engagemang höjs, vilket i sin tur skapar bättre möjligheter för projektet att hålla sig inom budget så väl som att möta deadline.

Die Rückstände des Uranbergbaus in Sachsen wurden in der Vergangenheit bewusst oder unbewusst als Baumaterial im Straßen- und Wegebau, zum Planumsausgleich für Flächen und beim Hausbau verwendet. Die Broschüre richtet sich an Planungsbüros, Antragsteller sowie Ausführende im Bau- und Straßenbau und liefert umfassende Informationen für eine strahlenschutzgerechte, sichere und kostengünstige Verwertung oder Beseitigung dieser Stoffe. Enthalten sind Hinweise zu Planung, Antragstellung, Voruntersuchung, strahlen-schutzfachlicher Baubegleitung und Dokumentation von Baumaßnahmen, bei denen mit radioaktiven Stoffen zu rechnen ist.