Managing Performance in Construction

Leonhard E. Bernold, Ph.D., Raleigh, North Carolina Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, North Carolina State University. Director of the Construction Automation and Robotics Laboratory, North Carolina State University. Simaan M. AbouRizk, PE, PhD, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; NSERC/Alberta Construction Industry Research Professor, University of Alberta. Executive Board member, Construction Research Institute of Canada.

• Preface xiiiChapter 1 Indicators of an Industry in Transition 11.1 Breaking Interoperability Barriers 11.2 Construction Becomes Sustainable 21.3 E-Construction Management 31.4 Linking Up to Smart Construction Equipment 51.5 Highly Successful Engineering Managers 5Chapter Review 8Bibliography 9Chapter 2 Productivity in the Spotlight 132.1 Measuring National Productivity 132.2 Basic Relationships Affecting Productivity 152.3 Factors Related to Process Productivity 172.3.1 Necessary Work Resources 172.3.2 Job Fitness 192.3.3 Where the Rubber Meets the Road: The Process 192.3.4 Value-Added and No-Value-Added Outputs 242.3.5 Control Mechanisms for Keeping Processes on Target 262.4 Taxonomy of Work Time 322.5 Gauging Construction Process Efficiency 372.5.1 Scientific Measurements of Individuals at Work 382.5.2 Measuring Value-Added Work 412.5.3 The Continuous Time Study 432.5.4 Work Sampling 472.5.5 Sensor-Based Work Measurement 512.6 Identifying Critical Impact Factors 532.6.1 Understanding the Cause of Inefficiency 532.6.2 Functions for Corrective Interventions 572.6.3 Critical Success Factors 582.6.4 Bipolar Success Factor Analysis 62Summary 62Chapter Review 66Bibliography 70Chapter 3 Cornerstones of Efficient Site Operation 753.1 Return of the Master-Builder 753.1.1 Separating Design from Construction Expertise 763.1.2 The Rise of Constructability Expertise 773.1.3 The Emergence of Intelligent Building Data Models 793.2 Planning the Supply, and Resupply, of the Construction Process 793.2.1 Modeling the Construction Input Supply Chain 803.3 Top-Down Frameworks for Managing Projects 833.3.1 Organizational Structures That Facilitate Integration 843.3.2 Sequencing the Plan, Start to Finish 863.4 Bottom-Up Quantitative Planning 873.4.1 Defining the Process Model 883.4.2 Computing Process Production 883.4.3 Optimizing the Process 973.5 Process Synchronization in the Supply Chain 1013.5.1 Costly Two-Way Ripples in the Supply Chain 1013.5.2 Just-in-Sequence Material Supply 103Chapter Review 114Bibliography 117Chapter 4 Introduction to Simulation and Its Use in Modeling Production Systems 1214.1 Building Simulation Models 127Chapter Review 139Chapter 5 A Case Study: Applying Simulation to Tunnel Construction 1435.1 Project Background 1435.2 Preparation Work: Understanding the Construction Process 1455.2.1 Shaft Construction 1465.2.2 Tunnel Construction 1475.3 Developing the Simulation Model 1535.3.1 Assumptions and Input 1535.3.2 Simulation Model 1565.4 Running the Model and Deriving Results 1645.5 Analyzing the Operation 165Chapter Review 168Chapter 6 Competencies That Drive the Company 1736.1 Generic Work Competencies for the Twenty-First Century 1746.2 Managerial Competencies of Productive Organizations 1756.2.1 Hierarchical Structure of Construction Companies 1756.2.2 Diverse Expectations of a Precast Plant Manager 1786.2.3 Core Competencies of a Precast Plant Manager 1826.3 Gaining Competency through Learning and Training 1876.3.1 The Learning Organization (LO) 1886.3.2 Taxonomies for Learning and Training 1896.3.3 Teaching and Learning around the Circle 1946.3.4 The Learning Curve 1966.3.5 The Relearning Curve 2006.4 Job-Oriented Training and Competency Development 2046.4.1 Personal Learning Strengths Dictate Progress 2046.4.2 Designing a Confidence-Building Process 2066.5 Becoming a Learning Organization (LO) 209Chapter Review 214Bibliography 216Chapter 7 Productivity in a Healthy and Safe Work Environment 2237.1 Two Health Stresses that Affect Productivity 2237.2 The Engine That Drives—and Limits—Human Work 2257.2.1 A Look Into the ‘‘Boiler Room’’ 2257.2.2 Calculating Sustainable Energy Use 2277.3 Ergonomics in Construction 2307.3.1 Biomechanics 2317.3.2 The Endangered Human Spine 2337.3.3 Hand-Arm and Whole-Body Vibrations 2367.3.4 Factors Leading to Hearing Loss 2397.3.5 Impact of Heat and Cold Stress on Productivity 2437.4 A Modern Debilitating Disease: Job Stress 2477.4.1 Modeling Stressors 2487.4.2 The Coping Mechanism 2497.5 The Silent Epidemic: Workplace Harassment 2507.5.1 What Are Mobbing and Bullying? 2507.5.2 The Common Pattern of Mobbing 2517.5.3 What Should Employers Do—and Not Do? 2537.5.4 Sexual Harassment 254Chapter Review 256Bibliography 258Chapter 8 The Complexity of Human Motivation 2638.1 Background 2638.2 Behavioral Aspects of the Human Mind 2648.3 Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Motivation 2668.4 Maslow's Needs-Based Motivators 2668.5 Vroom's Expectancy Theory 2678.6 Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory 2748.7 Measuring Job Satisfaction 2768.8 Job Enrichment 2788.8.1 Enrichment Schemes 2808.8.2 Designing a Job Enrichment Program 281Chapter Review 282Bibliography 283Chapter 9 Performance Factors of Leaders and Teams 2859.1 Is a Manager Also a Leader? 2869.2 Theories about Effective Leadership 2909.2.1 The Managerial Grid Model 2909.2.2 Theory X and Theory Y 2919.2.3 Fiedler's Contingency Model 2929.2.4 Burns's Transactional and Transformational Leadership Models 2959.2.5 Hersey-Blanchard Situational Theory 2969.2.6 Managers with Emotional Intelligence 2989.3 Power and Problems of Teamwork 3029.3.1 Team Dynamics 3029.3.2 Important Team Characteristics 3049.3.3 Life Cycle of a Working Team 3059.3.4 Group Dynamics 3089.3.5 Team Building 3119.3.6 Planning an Effective Team 3139.3.7 Launching the Team 3179.3.8 Tools Used by High-Performance Teams 3199.4 Basics about Creativity 3269.4.1 Convergent Thinking 3269.4.2 Divergent Thinking 3279.4.3 Left-Brain/Right-Brain Collaboration 3289.4.4 Attributes of a Creative Individual 3299.4.5 Exercises to Break-Down Blockers of Creative Thinking 330Chapter Review 331Bibliography 334Chapter 10 Communication: The Nerve System of Construction 33910.1 Engineering Drawings: The Ancient Communications Medium 34010.1.1 The Evolution of Models and Blueprints 34010.1.2 Will It Work? 34510.1.3 The Internet Revolution 34710.1.4 Costly Gaps in Electronic Communications 34810.1.5 On the Communication Trail 35110.2 Communication Strategies Employed by Organizations 35610.2.1 Main Functions of Communication 35610.2.2 Communication as the Enabler of Managerial Functions 35610.2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses of Various Communication Media 35910.2.4 The Effect of Distance on Media Selection 36110.2.5 Matching Media to Meeting Objectives 36110.2.6 Local Communication Patterns 36510.3 Logistics of Project Information 36910.3.1 Interorganizational Information Flow 37010.3.2 Information Flow on the Project Net 37310.3.3 Traditional Communication Patterns 37410.3.4 Agent-Based, Ubiquitous On-Site Communications 37710.3.5 Improvements in and Opportunities for Wireless Communication 381Chapter Review 386Bibliography 388Chapter 11 Performance Management 39511.1 Historical Recap of Key Management Concepts 39511.2 From Measuring to Managing Performance 39811.3 A Corporation's Balanced Scorecard 40011.4 Performance Management of the Supply Chain 40711.4.1 Defining Appropriate Performance Measures 40811.4.2 Framework for Managing Supply Performance 41211.5 Performance Management at the Task Level 41411.5.1 Improvement through Motion Studies 41411.5.2 Improvement through Intervention Ergonomics 420Chapter Review 423Bibliography 425Appendix 427Glossary 463Index 483