Jergeas, G F (1989) Detailed design and constructability. PhD thesis, Loughborough University, UK.
Abstract
The British Construction Industry has been criticised for many years. Comparisons have shown that construction in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and Australia is cheaper and quicker than present practice in the UK. In the UK the traditional system of construction, separates the two main disciplines of design and construction. The design is carried out by a consultant and the construction is carried out by a contractor. As a result of this the construction industry is suffering from many problems such as design complexity, increasing costs and longer construction duration. This thesis addresses the detail design stage of the design process. Detail design decisions have a significant impact on cost and time. The UK contractors have no important influence at the design stage, because designers do not take adequate and accurate account of construction methods, actual costs and the value of time. The traditional system prevents this involvement. To overcome this problem, constructability was cited as being capable of improving project performance. There is, however, no clear understanding of why or how to formally incorporate construction knowledge as part of the process of design. The designer could reduce problems for the contractor by being more aware of the construction process and the potential delays and inefficiencies which are often introduced during design. Similarly, the contractor could aid the design by contributing his knowledge of site practices to the designer and improving communications during the construction process. The thesis focuses on integrating construction expertise with the design process at the detail design phase. It explores both the designer’s and the constructor’s view points, and presents a design process model.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | buildability; constructability; contractor; design process model; designer; interview; productivity; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | design decision, complexity, Germany, questionnaire, design stage, construction process, construction method, survey, actual cost, buildability, design process, United States, France, interview, construction industry, duration, constructability, design and construction, design phase, project performance, designer, Australia, Canada, productivity |
| Subjects: | project management theory and practice, Geography, construction integration, design practice, management, systems engineering, industry analysis, design efficiency, building construction, project controls, design methods, profession, data collection methods, financial and cost management, contractual arrangements, professional practice |
| Topics: | Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Roles and Professions, Procurement, Design Practice, Time Control, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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