Where are the critical relationships within an engineering-construction project?
High Performance – Operating at a level that is measurably superior to existing processes and exceed the expectations of the participants.
The ability to deliver high performance projects is a fundamental requirement for long-term business success. The need to significantly improve project delivery performance has been undervalued within the construction industry. The engineering-construction industry is noticeably lagging behind industries such as aerospace and manufacturing in terms of investment in, adoption of, and development of innovative practices and technologies that lead to high performance. Given that the industry is undergoing significant changes as it addresses issues such as the introduction of advanced field and office technologies, the aging of the construction workforce, globalization, and integrated project delivery, the need for high performance is an industry imperative. Although individual exceptions exist, study of the design-construction industry has demonstrated there are significant economic, organization, and industry barriers within construction businesses of all sizes.
The concept of high performance projects is an established topic within the engineering research domain although it is not established terminology. The development of design-build as a viable delivery option is a direct result of establishing the link between performance enhancement and strong relationships that exist between the architecture and construction constituents. Additionally, the focus on lean construction is a direct result of focusing on improvements in field performance. The current research effort is designed to build on these advancements by focusing on the pre-project elements that can significantly enhance project delivery performance.
Areas where this performance improvement will be addressed include both organizational and project focal points. At the organizational level, key issues such as culture, innovation, industry structure, and global relationships are factors that impact project delivery performance. At the project level, issues including contract type, delivery options, safety and quality planning, and operation design are each elements that impact performance. When these organization and project levels are each aligned with innovative solutions, the potential for achieving high performance is significantly increased.
To learn more about CEM’s current research projects, please contact: Paul Chinowsky or Keith Molenaar.
