Causes of construction delay: traditional contracts

Building Information Modeling (BIM) partnering framework for public construction projects

This article studies scoring auctions, a procedure commonly used to buy differentiated products. suppliers submit offers on all dimensions of the good (price, level ofnonmonetary attributes), and these are evaluated using a scoring rule. We provide a systematic analysis of equilibrium behavior in scoring auctions when suppliers 'private information is multidimensional (characterization of equilibrium behavior and expected utility equivalence). In addition, we show that scoring auctions dominate several other commonly used procedures for buying differentiated products, including menu auctions, beauty contests, and price-only auctions with minimum quality thresholds.

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Properties of scoring auctions

This paper is concerned with identifying universal criteria for prequalification and bid evaluation, and the means by which different emphases can be accommodated to suit the requirements of clients and projects. The information, assessment and evaluation strategies currently used by procurers for screening contractors are considered, and the results are reported of an extensive literature review and a Delphic interview study with a small select sample of construction professionals with extensive experience in prequalification and bid evaluation processes. The findings indicate that the most common criteria considered by procurers during the prequalification and bid process are those pertaining to financial soundness, technical ability, management capability, and the health and safety performance of contractors.

Criteria for contractor selection

Many departments of transportation have recently started to utilize innovative contracting methods that provide new incentives for improving construction quality. These emerging contracts place an increasing pressure on decision makers in the construction industry to search for an optimal resource utilization plan that minimizes construction cost and time while maximizing its quality. This paper presents a multiobjective optimization model that supports decision makers in performing this challenging task. The model is designed to transform the traditional two-dimensional time-cost tradeoff analysis to an advanced three-dimensional time-cost-quality trade-off analysis. The model is developed as a multiobjective genetic algorithm to provide the capability of quantifying and considering quality in construction optimization. An application example is analyzed to illustrate the use of the model and demonstrate its capabilities in generating and visualizing optimal tradeoffs among construction time, cost, and quality.

Time-Cost-Quality Trade-Off Analysis for Highway Construction

In today's highway construction industry, the focus has shifted from building new transportation facilities to resurfacing, rehabilitating and restoring (3R's) those already in existence. These types of projects create a serious disruption in the normal flow of traffic resulting in a major inconvenience to the traveling public. Reducing construction time, thereby mitigating this inconvenience, has become a major emphasis for state highway agencies throughout the United States. In the past few years, several innovative contracting methods have been introduced into the highway construction industry. The basic concept of these innovative techniques is the motivation they provide encouraging the contractor to work faster, schedule accurately, and manage the construction process better. Results from the research conducted by the writers indicate that recent transportation projects constructed utilizing these innovative contracting methods have been very successful in reducing construction time, while only increasing overall construction costs minimally, if at all. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of these methods analyzing data obtained from various case studies throughout the United States and abroad.

Closure of "Time is Money: Innovative Contracting Methods in Highway Construction"

Time Is Money: Innovative Contracting Methods in Highway Construction

The vast majority of construction contracts are procured using the lowbid system. In the low bid system price is the sole basis for determining the successful bidder. This traditional approach has ...

Multiparameter bidding system - innovation in contract administration

In the last decade, many departments of transportation around the United States have experimented with using the A+B bidding method. In this method contractors bid on the cost (part A) and on the time (part B), and the lowest combined bidder (A+B) is awarded the project. This paper analyzes 101 projects that have been awarded using this method and compares the results to the cost and the time of similar projects that were bid using conventional methods (cost only). The conclusions from the research show that substantial savings in construction time have been achieved when using the A+B method with almost no addition in cost. This was achieved by better planning and management of motivated contractors that were using the time element as part of their bidding strategy. The paper includes details on several case studies that demonstrate these results.

A+b bidding method--hidden success story for highway construction

In recent years the public has faced a substantial increase in the number of transportation projects that are being constructed in urban areas under heavy traffic. This type of construction is causing the public major inconvenience, is increasing the number of accidents, and is causing substantial losses to the business community in the affected areas. Because of a perception that contractors focus only on their obligations of meeting budget and schedule considerations under conventional contracting methods and that they do not consider the inconvenience to the public caused by construction work, new contracting methods have been developed that specifically address this problem. This paper describes a method that has been used in the United Kingdom called lane rental. The lane rental method combines the cost to the using public for the closing of urban traffic routes with the traditional costs of construction. Under this system, contractors are required to consider, and include, both of these costs in the...

Zohar J. Herbsman

Papers

Closure of "Time is Money: Innovative Contracting Methods in Highway Construction"

Time Is Money: Innovative Contracting Methods in Highway Construction

Multiparameter bidding system - innovation in contract administration

A+b bidding method--hidden success story for highway construction

Lane rental--innovative way to reduce road construction time