Deshpande, A S (2009) Best practices for the management of design in fast track industrial projects. PhD thesis, University of Cincinnati, USA.
Abstract
The fast track project delivery strategy is designed to leverage the ability to execute design, procurement and construction phases simultaneously to substantially reduce the project schedule. The design phase assumes increased importance in fast track projects because design and construction are executed almost simultaneously with very little or no lag between design and construction. The design of industrial projects involves the design of complex and interconnected systems in which design teams from various disciplines need to continuously interact and use data from each other to ensure accurate and safe design. The performance of the design phase is dependent on smooth and timely flow of accurate information from a variety of stakeholders from different organizations that come together to execute the project. The successful execution of design process in fast track projects is especially challenging because the compressed schedule interferes with the inherently iterative nature of design, resulting in suboptimal design. The typical lack of time for pre-project planning in fast track projects results in inadequate development of project and design scope, causing costly changes during project execution which result in project cost overruns and schedule slippages and deterioration of quality of the final product. The fast track project delivery strategy is being used ever more aggressively in industrial projects to reduce the time to the market, making the study of best practices for management of design in fast track industrial projects more cogent. The conclusions presented in this research are based on a comprehensive review of research literature, quantitative and qualitative analysis of the performance of design phase in thirty one fast track industrial projects, expert opinion and case studies. The quantitative analysis of performance of design involved the identification of correlation between the cost and schedule performance of design phase in fast track projects and use of practices identified from the review of literature. In this research, it was hypothesized that there is a correlation between the use of practices such as pre-project planning, constructability, alignment, change management, design effectiveness, partnering, design for maintainability, team building, design for safety, modularization and preassembly, and the performance of design in fast track projects. The quantitative analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation between the schedule performance of design phase in fast track projects and pre-project planning, alignment, constructability, and change management. The results of quantitative analysis are supported by the qualitative analysis of information, expert opinion and case studies. In addition to these practices, other innovative techniques and tools such as lean design, and the use of intelligent 3D models were found to improve the performance of design in fast track projects. These have been discussed in detail with case studies.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Salem, O |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | best practice; change management; constructability; construction phase; deterioration; partnering; performance; project cost; project planning; safety; stakeholders; effectiveness; market; case studies; qualitative analysis; quantitative analysis |
| Index terms: | design for maintainability, 3D model, team building, partnering, case study, constructability, construction phase, project delivery, modularization, best practice, effectiveness, design and construction, design phase, strategy, design team, change management, overrun, project cost, deterioration, design process, schedule performance, quantitative analysis, project planning, design for safety, qualitative analysis |
| Subjects: | health safety and environment, management, design practice, construction integration, economics, performance management, partnership management, project controls, building construction, design methods, control systems, computational design, data collection methods, business, research design and methodology, professional practice, data analysis and analytics, contractual arrangements, project delivery, material degradation and durability |
| Topics: | Procurement, Project Management, Health and Safety, Quality Management, Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Construction Materials, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Organizational Design, Time Control, Design Practice, Digital Applications |
| 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