American Society of Civil Engineers

The construction industry is dynamic in nature. The concept of project success has remained ambiguously defined in the construction industry. Project success is almost the ultimate goal for every project. However, it means different things to different people. While some writers consider time, cost and quality as predominant criteria, others suggest that success is something more complex. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring success of construction projects. In this paper, a set of key performance indicators (KPIs), measured both objectively and subjectively are developed through a comprehensive literature review. The validity of the proposed KPIs is also tested by three case studies. Then, the limitations of the suggested KPIs are discussed. With the development of KPIs, a benchmark for measuring the performance of a construction project can be set. It also provides significant insights into developing a general and comprehensive base for further research.

Key performance indicators for measuring construction success

Different researchers have tried to determine the factors for a successful project for a long time. Lists of variables have been abounded in the literature, however, no general agreement can be made. The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework on critical success factors (CSFs). Seven major journals in the construction field are chosen to review the previous works on project success. Five major groups of independent variables, namely project-related factors, project procedures, project management actions, human-related factors, and external environment are identified as crucial to project success. Further study on the key performance indicators (KPIs) is needed to identify the causal relationships between CSFs and KPIs. The causal relationships, once identified, will be a useful piece of information to implement a project successfully.

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Factors Affecting the Success of a Construction Project

This paper discusses empirical research aimed at examining the relationship between the safety climate and safe work behavior in construction site environments. A literature review has identified a number of independent constructs with the potential to affect the safety climate. A research model was developed based on the hypothesis that safe work behaviors are consequences of the existing safety climate, which, in turn, is determined by the identified independent constructs. A questionnaire survey was used in order to facilitate the collection of information from construction sites. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. The paper presents the results of testing the research model. The results corroborate the importance of the role of management commitment, communication, workers’ involvement, attitudes, competence, as well as supportive and supervisory environments, in achieving a positive safety climate.

Safety climate in construction site environments

Construction management at risk, design/build and design/bid/build are three principal project delivery systems used in the United States today. This paper empirically compares cost, schedule, and quality performance of these three project delivery systems, using project-specific data collected from 351 U.S. building projects. The study included collecting, checking, and validating industry data, significance testing of univariate comparisons and the statistical development of multivariate linear regression models for predicting average project performance. A nonresponse study verified statistically that collected data were appropriate for analysis and representative of the industry from which they were drawn. Significance testing and multivariate comparisons used nearly 100 explanatory and interacting variables to explain project cost, schedule, and quality performance. Specific comparisons between project delivery systems, performance metrics, and six facility classes are discussed. Results and the level of confidence that surround each finding are presented.

Comparison of U.S. Project Delivery Systems

The use of design-build project procurement is rapidly increasing in the public sector. Documented design-build success and imminent changes in federal procurement law are indicators of continued large-scale growth in the public sector. Rapid growth, combined with a lack of long-term experience among many public agencies, necessitates continued investigation of the underlying principles of design-build. Understanding which project characteristics are critical for success is fundamental for improved public agency implementation. To this end, a comprehensive research study was conducted on public-sector selection of design-build. This paper discusses results from a survey of 88 public-sector design-build personnel and structured interviews of federal agency representatives. Five primary project characteristics are discussed: well-defined scope, shared understanding of scope, owner construction sophistication, adequate owner staffing, and established budget. These suggest selection of design-build as an appropriate delivery strategy for successful project completion. Additionally, this paper addresses public-sector criteria of success; these include: staying on budget, conforming to user's expectations, and staying on schedule.

Project characteristics for successful public-sector design-build

This paper presents the results of a structural equation model (SEM) for describing and quantifying the fundamental factors that affect contract disputes between owners and contractors in the construction industry. Through this example, the potential impact of SEM analysis in construction engineering and management research is illustrated. The purpose of the specific model developed in this research is to explain how and why contract related construction problems occur. This study builds upon earlier work, which developed a disputes potential index, and the likelihood of construction disputes was modeled using logistic regression. In this earlier study, questionnaires were completed on 159 construction projects, which measured both qualitative and quantitative aspects of contract disputes, management ability, financial planning, risk allocation, and project scope definition for both owners and contractors. The SEM approach offers several advantages over the previously employed logistic regression methodology. The final set of structural equations provides insight into the interaction of the variables that was not apparent in the original logistic regression modeling methodology.

Structural Equation Model of Construction Contract Dispute Potential

Public sector owners are rapidly identifying new construction procurement methods. Changing procurement laws and documented project success are encouraging owners to attempt the design-build method of project procurement. Design-build is a radical departure from the traditional design-bid-build method. This paper reports on the analysis of 122 case studies and the resulting automated tool for public sector design-build project selection. Prediction models are developed for five performance criteria that correlate specific project characteristics to success. Performance criteria and associated models include budget variance, schedule variance, conformance to expectations, administrative burden, and overall user satisfaction. Project characteristics are categorized as project, owner, market, and relationship variables. Statistically significant correlations with success include scope definition, schedule definition, budget definition, project complexity, agency experience, agency staffing, owner design input, design-build market, design-builder prequalification, and method of selection.

Model for public sector design-build project selection

Designbuild project delivery is experiencing expansive growth in both the private and the public sectors. Owners are driving the change away from the traditional designbidbuild method. This change ...

Public-sector design/build evolution and performance

Construction projects, private and public alike, have a long history of cost escalation. Transportation projects, which typically have long lead times between planning and construction, are historically underestimated, as shown through a review of the cost growth experienced with the Holland Tunnel. Approximately 50% of the active large transportation projects in the United States have overrun their initial budgets. A large number of studies and research projects have identified individual factors that lead to increased project cost. Although the factors identified can influence privately funded projects the effects are particularly detrimental to publicly funded projects. The public funds available for a pool of projects are limited and there is a backlog of critical infrastructure needs. Therefore, if any project exceeds its budget other projects are dropped from the program or the scope is reduced to provide the funds necessary to cover the cost growth. Such actions exacerbate the deterioration of a state's transportation infrastructure. This study is an anthology and categorization of individual cost increase factors that were identified through an in-depth literature review. This categorization of 18 primary factors which impact the cost of all types of construction projects was verified by interviews with over 20 state highway agencies. These factors represent documented causes behind cost escalation problems. Engineers who address these escalation factors when assessing future project cost and who seek to mitigate the influence of these factors can improve the accuracy of their cost estimates and program budgets.

Keith R. Molenaar

Papers

Project characteristics for successful public-sector design-build

Structural Equation Model of Construction Contract Dispute Potential

Model for public sector design-build project selection

Public-sector design/build evolution and performance

Construction Project Cost Escalation Factors