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This paper explores factors that contribute to claims of changed soil conditions in infrastructure and building projects through a limited review of Canadian legal cases. Forty-one cases, relating to geotechnical problems covering a period of 25 years (1982-2006), were studied. The information obtained was categorized according to the causes for geotechnical claims. The most frequent causes of geotechnical disputes were found to be different soil conditions and recommendations than expected from those given in the geotechnical report, inaccuracies in the design plans and specifications, and the owner's failure to disclose important information. The paper also discusses the special requirements for preparing geotechnical information for construction and suggests precautionary measures to reduce the number of disputes or to arrive at an equitable resolution. These measures require more proactive planning and may require additional funds before the bidding stage to perform a more detailed soil investigation, keep communication clear among all participants, and make a greater effort to provide accurate designs and specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the benefits of constructability on construction projects in Alberta. Barriers restricting constructability benefits; Administration of a survey based on the constructability principles of the Construction Industry Institute; Achievement of significant gains in project cost, schedule, performance and safety.

Focuses on concerns of Mekdam A. Nima, the head of structural department of the Construction Industry Institute (CII), regarding several construction concepts. Concern of Nima regarding grouping of 17 CII construction concepts into seven broad functional themes; Response of mid-to-senior-level executives to barriers to implementation of constructability principles; Need for the constructability concept to be thought as one element in integrated value-management package.

Interface management (IM) is one of the major keys for construction project success. The severity of interface problems for different projects does not only delay the project, but also impacts overall project performance. This paper is an extension of a previous work that defined major IM problems in Alberta's construction projects. This research study intended to investigate, identify, and classify interface problem factors in Alberta's construction projects. The study included four stages. The first stage was a comprehensive literature review, pilot studies and face-to-face interviews in industry. In the second phase, a web-page questionnaire was conducted with participants from industry. Based on that, in the last two phases, a factor analysis and Pearson's correlation matrix were applied on the collected data. The study identified six IM factors, namely: 'management', 'information, bidding and contracting', 'by-law and regulation', 'technical engineering and site issues', and 'other interface problems'. Finally, correlation between IM factors and different construction data was tested. The data analysis results provided a comprehensive view of the main causes behind IM conflicts in Alberta's construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Construction Industry lags behind other industries in its acquisition and use of modern technology. As a result construction workers are dissatisfied with the level and availability of communication systems and channels. Construction managers are not confident to acquire modern technologies to the construction workplace, because of the unavailability of information on worker abilities, available technologies, possible outcomes, related costs and benefits and so on. Technology providers are also lagging in the understanding of the information related to construction industry specific needs. There were no direct studies noted in Canada that were focusing the construction stakeholder views — workers, managers, and technology providers — related to the information technology (IT). This paper presents the views of three different construction industry stakeholders regarding the possibilities and opportunities in using Information Technology in construction project to improve communication and worker satisfaction. The paper ends with a set of recommendations for enhancing the usage of IT tools and systems on construction projects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Measuring projects’ cost and schedule risks in an integrated framework using simulation has several modeling challenges that have yet to be addressed by researchers. This paper presents a multilevel network modeling approach that aims to integrate a combination of different networks in one framework, and presents a computer simulation implementation to the cost and time risk assessment network (CTAN). The CTAN is an integrated network that includes uncertainties in the realization of the schedule logic, in activities durations, in project scope, and in cost. The simulation model is a decision support simulation system (DSSS) that currently consists of three modules: the CTAN, the stochastic decision trees, and the stochastic shortest/longest rout network. The CTAN-DSSS may be used in cost and schedule risk assessment. It completely integrates with other DSSS networks and deals with risks associated with cost, time, and scope at equal importance. The DSSS was verified by conducting several tests and validated by its extensive use for both undergraduate and graduate courses in Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary over the last three years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision trees (DTs) have proven to be valuable tools for decision making. The common approach for using DTs is calculating the expected value (EV) based on single-number estimates, but the single-number EV method has limited the DTs’ real-life applications to a narrow scope of decision problems. This paper introduces the stochastic multilevel decision tree (MLDT) modeling approach, which is useful for analyzing decision problems characterized by uncertainty and complexity. The MLDT’s advantages are shown through a computer simulation program: the Decision Support Simulation System (DSSS). The DSSS allows users to model probabilistic linear graph networks and provides a hierarchical modeling method for modeling decision trees to present uncertainties more accurately. It consists of three modules: tree analysis networks (TANs), the shortest and longest path dynamic programming analysis network, and cost time analysis networks. The paper only discusses the TAN module by presenting the MLDT concept under the TAN of the DSSS computer application. The content of the paper includes the modeling approach, its advantages, and examples that can be used in modeling stochastic trees. The DT-DSSS was verified by conducting several tests and validated by using it extensively for undergraduate courses in civil engineering at the University of Calgary for the last two academic years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interface management (IM) is a main factor in the success of construction projects. The failure to correctly manage interfaces impacts a project's performance measurements, such as scope control and schedule. Using Alberta's data, collected using a web questionnaire from a large group of experienced industry experts, three phases are conducted in this research. The first identifies the top ten interface problems that affect IM. The second phase includes enhancing project performance by developing and applying multiple regression analysis models between the underlying interface problem factors and the project performance indicators. The last phase includes measuring the severity of the impact of each IM problem to develop an IM risk analysis model. The results of the multiple regression models indicate that the interface problems caused by the 'technical engineering and site issues factor', the 'bidding and contracting factor', and the 'information factor' were the strongest influences on the schedule and cost project performance indicators. The results will assist engineers, architects, and others in analyzing and predicting the project performance. This will in turn serve to minimize project delay and cost and reduce conflict among project participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]