Premraj, P (2017) Assessment of project controls for shutdowns/turnarounds/outages. PhD thesis, University of Alabama, USA.
Abstract
Shutdown/Turnaround/Outages (STOs) are unique construction projects required to meet demands such as maintenance needs, increased market demand, and changes in technology. Shutdown, Turnarounds, and Outages projects (STOs) are maintenance projects subject to compressed schedules, and hence require a time efficient cost control system with robust monitoring, reporting, and mitigating to ensure the success of the project. The purpose of this research was to address the significant lack of literature about project controls for STOs by identifying current project control tools used by industry practitioners. Relevant data was collected using the Delphi methodology. The Delphi process, an approach particularly effective in exploring areas of research where there is little or no information available, was applied to the collected data to allow for anonymity, interactivity, and feedback in the survey process. The data collection process involved three rounds of surveys: (1) Survey Round 1 was conducted using questionnaire, (2) Survey Round 2 through conducting semi-structured interviews, and (3) Survey Round 3 using questionnaire. The questionnaires used in Survey round 1 and Survey round 2 had two parts—Part A and Part B. Part A was designed to collect demographic data and Part B had three main sections. The first section was to prove that STOs vary significantly from traditional construction projects; the second section to obtain information on current practices, and section three to analyze barriers to implementation of optimum project controls. The research contributes to the body of knowledge through addressing the significant lack in literature on STOs and project controls for STOs. Additionally, the paper informs less experienced professionals about information required for effective planning and risk management processes by providing a list of risk factors. The research results will be fundamental to improving project controls processes for STOs and may also benefit traditional projects and provide significant information on the cost and schedule controls for STOs.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Vereen, S C |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | control system; market; construction project; cost control; feedback; monitoring; project control; risk management; professional; interview |
| Index terms: | traditional construction, monitoring, risk factor, risk management, implementation, project control, interview, shutdown, survey, methodology, construction project, cost control, control system, practitioner, schedule control, questionnaire, body of knowledge |
| Subjects: | project controls, occupational health and safety management, monitoring and control, financial and cost management, control systems, data collection methods, risk assessment, environmental hazards, heritage and conservation, production management, research methods, knowledge management, contractual arrangements, practitioner |
| Topics: | Procurement, Sustainability, Risk Management, Project Management, Health and Safety, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Information Management, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Site Management, Time Control, Design Practice |
| 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