Menches, C L and Hanna, A S (2006) Conceptual planning process for electrical construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 132(12), pp. 1306-1313. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The competitive nature of the construction industry has motivated many specialty contractors to search for ways to improve efficiency by increasing their quality and decreasing their costs in order to strengthen their market share. As a result, contractors are turning to "better planning" as a method for improving their efficiency and, consequently, increasing their profitability. In fact, a consensus exists in the construction industry that more formalized preconstruction planning is necessary to remain successful in an increasingly competitive industry. This paper presents a model electrical preconstruction planning process that was crafted from outstanding processes used on several successful electrical projects. Furthermore, a method to evaluate the effectiveness of planning, by comparing actual planning to the model process, is briefly introduced. From this assessment, "effective planning" was correlated to project outcome, and evidence is provided that better planning is, indeed, related to successful performance.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction management; contractors; electrical systems; performance characteristics; planning |
| Index terms: | effectiveness, profitability, construction industry, efficiency, market share, planning process, project outcome, specialty contractor, evidence |
| Subjects: | project completion, evaluation and assessment methods, economic analysis, professional practice, performance management, industry analysis, market analysis, project controls |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Time Control, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here