ConstructionAdvisorToday

Researchers See No Quick-and-Easy Fix for Improving Construction Craft Productivity

There is no quick-and-easy solution for improving construction craft productivity, but a series of steps can make significant headway toward this end, according a 368-page report that the Construction Industry Institute (CII) published earlier this month. The report focuses on the second phase of a six-year research project for finding the best ways to improve construction craft productivity.

76 New Numbers/Titles Added to MasterFormat

The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) have added 76 new numbers/titles to MasterFormat, a master list of numbers and titles classified by work results or construction practices that is used to organize project manuals, detail cost information, and relate drawing notations to specifications. In addition, the organizations have changed 18 existing numbers/titles and deleted three that duplicated other existing numbers titles.

Mixed Legislative Blessings for Design-Build Advocates

There is good news and bad news to report for construction professionals who favor legislation promoting design-build project delivery, with several key developments recently taking place at both the state and federal levels.

Experts Offer Advice on Defending Against ‘Schedule Gamesmanship’ During WPL Publishing Webinar

There are several means and methods available to defend against ‘schedule gamesmanship’ in construction projects, Navigant Construction Forum Executive Director James Zack told a target audience of contractors, public and private owners, subcontractors, construction managers, owners’ representatives, architects, and others during a webinar series that WPL Publishing held last month. During the three-part series, Zack and others from Navigant Consulting Inc. identified more than 15 scheduling games and provided more than 45 suggested defenses. Here are some of the games that they identified and their suggested defenses to those games:

Modularization, Prefabrication Expected to Play a Larger Role in Improving Construction Productivity

Modularization and prefabrication will play an increasingly larger role in improving the productivity of the entire construction value chain -- on par with lean construction techniques, alternative project delivery methodologies, and 3D and 4D modeling, according to a white paper that FMI released earlier this month. However, the report emphasizes that for modularization and prefabrication to maximize their potential to improve industry productivity, construction professionals first need to take several important steps.

Survey Finds that Top Estimating Priorities Do Not Align with Top Estimating Challenges

So what does Software Advice consider the most surprising finding in its recently concluded construction estimating survey? It was the discovery that top estimating priorities do not align with top estimating challenges, representatives for the Austin, Texas-based company told Construction Project Controls and BIM Report (CPC/BIM). While less than 25 percent of companies consider bid accuracy to be a top challenge, 75 percent of them reported that improving accuracy of bids and estimates is a top priority for this year.

Survey Suggests That Handheld Computers Are Proving Their Worth for Real-Time Field Reporting at Construction Sites

Most participants responding to a recent Fiatech survey believe that smart devices either are “valuable” or “very valuable” in construction applications. For each of the six major construction categories -- design and specifications, project controls, quality, safety, material management, and project delivery, at least 60 percent of respondents, representing various construction classifications, indicated that the use of smart devices is beneficial. More than 250 professionals took the survey, which was administered to Fiatech member companies to identify the need for using smart devices during various construction activities.

Expert Offers Plan for Minimizing Construction Inefficiency Problems

A slew of steps can be taken to minimize problems associated with inefficiency in construction projects, Trauner Consulting Services Inc. Director Brian Furniss told professionals attending a webinar that WPL Publishing held last week. During the event, entitled “A Case Study: Documenting and Evaluating Inefficiency,” he offered a target audience of contractors, public and private owners, subcontractors, construction managers, owners’ representatives, architects, and others the following advice for addressing inefficiency:

Total Quality Management Programs Can Fail for Several Reasons, Expert Tells Attendees of WPL Publishing Webinar

There are several reasons why construction companies’ total quality management (TQM) systems fail, Thomas Frisby, who owns a construction consulting firm, told attendees of a webinar that WPL Publishing held earlier this month. TQM, the concept of customer satisfaction through quality processes and continuous improvement, was developed by W. Edwards Deming after World War II and used by the Japanese to become an industrial giant.

FMI Official Comments on Recent Construction Productivity Report, ASTM Standard

On the heels of a report indicating that productivity in the non-residential construction sector continues to improve but at a rate that is slowing, an official with FMI, which released the report and provides management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, has provided additional insight into the survey’s results through an exclusive interview (Construction Advisor Today, Feb. 22, 2012, “Rate of Improvement in Construction Productivity Reportedly Slowing”). The official, research consultant Philip Warner, also commented on the effectiveness of a two-year-old ASTM International standard that was designed to improve construction productivity.