WP137: A Study of Input and Output Field Quantification in Heavy Civil Construction

In this thesis, I convey the methods of measuring the status of a construction project. In the case of this thesis, I focus on heavy construction projects though the methods are general to other construction such as buildings. The difference of two project status points is the project progress.

The progress is a fundamental metric of project success that is as old as the construction profession. Without knowing the progress of construction activities it is not possible to predict the expected sequence and duration of future activities. This means it is not possible to assemble workspace, labor, material, and equipment to converge at the right time and place to achieve a safe activity that has a low risk of damaging the environment nor impacting the surrounding community.

The methodology I used to study the methods of measuring status is based in a mixed approach. At the core, I used an ethnography to form my understanding. I then compared my first hand knowledge with publications to fill gaps in y knowledge due to the small observation sample I am limited. After crossing my ethnography observations with the published knowledge I had remaining observations that were not in the publications and published knowledge that I did not observe. To resolve these I then used a questionnaire survey and interviews of experts to understand the relation of these outliers.

I found that activity progress status if formed by two components – these are the status and the context of the activity. The two are inseparable. Within those two topics, I found numerous approaches of estimating and measuring status and context. Further, I found sources of errors in the status and context measurements.

The significance of my findings is rooted in first the lack of an existing unified source of this knowledge and second I provide a complete knowledge within the domain of heavy construction, particularly for the vertically integrated project organization.