Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry (2009) / Chapter Skim
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If implemented throughout the capital facilities sector, these activities could significantly advance construction efficiency and improve the quality, timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of construction projects. Following are the five activities, which are discussed in the section below entitled "Opportunities for Breakthrough Improvements." 1.
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Construction productivity will also affect the outcomes of national efforts to renew existing infrastructure systems; to build new infrastructure for power from renewable resources; to develop high-performance "green" buildings; and to remain competitive in the global market. Changes in building design, construction, and renovation, and in building materials and materials recycling, will be essential to the success of national efforts to minimize environmental impacts, reduce overall energy use, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (NSTC, 2008)
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Each process is typically performed sequentially and each involves different groups of stakeholders, shifting responsibilities, and shifting levels of financial risk, which in turn often leads to adversarial relationships, disputes, and claims; • The image of the industry -- work that is cyclical, low-tech, physically exhausting, and unsafe -- which makes it difficult to attract and retain skilled workers and recent graduates; • The one-of-a-kind, built-on-site nature of most construction projects; • Variation in the standards, processes, materials, skills, and technologies required by different types of construction projects; • Variation in the building codes, permitting processes, and construction-related regulations propagated by states and localities; • The lack of an industry-wide strategy to improve construction efficiency; • The lack of effective performance measures for construction-related tasks, projects, and the industry as a whole; and • The lack of an industry-wide research agenda and levels of funding for research that are inadequate. In an industry of thousands of small establishments, an array of stakeholders, dynamic processes, diverse products, and no overall strategy or research agenda, three major issues arise: 3 Some practitioners would suggest that transportation-related projects be treated as a fifth segment of construction based on the characteristics of these types of projects (Hinze, 2001)
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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFICIENT CAPITAL FACILITIES SECTOR To help determine which activities offer the greatest potential for resulting in breakthrough improvements, the committee first identified the attributes that characterize an efficient capital facilities sector: • Production of quality products that meet owners' and the nation's needs; • Competitiveness in the global marketplace; • Well-integrated processes, supply chains, and work flows; • Promotion of sustainability through the efficient use of time, materials, skills, and dollars; • Attractiveness to a diverse, well-trained, knowledgeable, professional, skilled labor force able to work collaboratively to meet owners' and clients' objectives; • Ability to adapt to new conditions and to deploy new technologies effectively; • Use of best practices to reduce rework and delivery time, and to improve job-site safety and project quality; and • Measurement of performance to enable innovation and improvements in products and processes. OPPORTUNITIES FOR BREAKTHROUGH IMPROVEMENTS From among many suggestions, the committee identified five interrelated activities that could result in breakthrough improvements in the capital facilities sector of the construction industry in the next 2 to 10 years.
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and information technologies (e.g., radio-frequency identification tags for tracking materials, personal digital assistants for capturing field data) , process improvements, and the provision of real-time information for improved management at the job site could significantly cut waste, improve job-site safety, and improve the quality of projects.
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DRIVING CHANGE STRATEGICALLY THROUGH COLLABORATION Implementing the five activities identified above in order to achieve breakthrough improvements in efficiency and competitiveness for capital facilities and infrastructure projects will require a strategic, collaborative, evidence-based approach. The approach needs to be strategic because no single group of stakeholders or individual organization can drive change through the entire capital facilities sector.
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NIST also has sophisticated testing facilities that can be used for evaluating high-cost, high-risk, highimpact innovative technologies, demonstrating their capacity for improving effectiveness and productivity and verifying their readiness for deployment throughout the capital facilities sector. RECOMMENDATIONS The committee identified the five interrelated activities discussed above that it believes have significant potential to advance the competitiveness and efficiency of the capital facilities sector within 2 to 10 years.
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The purpose of the meetings should be to develop a collaborative strategy for fully implementing the five activities identified by the committee that could lead to breakthrough improvements in efficiency and competitiveness for the capital facilities sector of the U.S. construction industry.
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