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Although the construction industry is a major player in the global economy, it is dealing with problems such as declining productivity, workplace safety, and work disputes. The human element--construction project managers in particular--is key to solving many of these persisting problems. A thorough understanding of construction project managers' performance is important to identifying training needs, and enables executives to better match competent construction project managers with the appropriate projects. This paper examined competencies required for construction project managers and competency identification tools and techniques. Potentially relevant references were searched using appropriate search terms, topics, and publication dates in the ASCE Library. The process resulted in 2,102 references. Titles, abstracts, and contents of the references were examined further to select the most relevant references from the list; 31 of the initial 2,102 references were selected for content analysis. A systematic review and detailed content analysis of the 31 selected references from the ASCE Library published over the last 3 decades was conducted. Results of content analysis revealed that to identify competencies, two information gathering techniques predominantly were used in the selected sources, whereas three techniques seldom were used. A total of 39 competency categories required for construction project managers were identified. The most frequently identified competency categories were technical, leadership, communication, managing, organizing, and planning, teaming/teamwork, and determination. Findings of this study can assist the construction industry in directing its efforts toward key competency development areas and catering training and professional development to the real needs of the workforce.

As the construction industry advances technologically, it becomes imperative to introduce the respective information technology tools to present-day curriculum. This research study was conducted to identify any significant differences in student performance contributed by using an information technology tool, specifically the Apple® iPad® tablet. iPad tablets were used to electronically present construction drawings to a treatment group, and a control group was given traditional paper drawings. Following an instructional lecture, students were given a test based on the provided construction drawings. The test results indicate that there was no significant difference in performance between students who used the information technology tool to complete the test and those who used traditional paper drawings to complete the same test. The treatment group also answered a usability survey, which helped to comprehend how students perceive the tablet's usability. Students indicated that they would like to use the tool in the future.

The architectural profession in the United States is seeing a growing divide between practitioners and their clients, potentially affecting designers' ability to shape the built environment as part of design and construction teams. Likely due to designers' lack in understanding of client priorities, and clients' misunderstanding of design processes and services, client valuations of architectural design services may differ from those of architects. As part of an effort to discover the differences in architectural design service valuations between these parties, this study uses descriptive and inferential analysis to explore how American architects rank established design services in order of importance, and how they believe their clients rank design services. The design services in this study were extracted from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Documents B101 and B132, standard project agreement forms for owners and architects that include Basic and Supplemental services. Participants were also asked to identify architectural services they believed should be added to the list of services currently included in the AIA documents, and what design services should be excluded. A total of 435 architects responded to the survey, with 85 licensed architects completing the survey. Results show that architects believe their prioritized design services differ slightly from their clients' probable rankings. Most services mentioned by participants as being qualified to be added to the lists of AIA documents services were related to management and design, while participants tended to recommend services related to telecommunications and data design be excluded. More in-depth research may be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]