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(1 - 9 of 9)
Survey Instruments for Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptions on Construction Sites
Title
Survey Instruments for Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptions on Construction Sites
Creator
Menches, Cindy
Date
2012, 2012
Description
The document is a compilation of the Baseline Assessment, Foreman Survey, and Exit Interview documents for National Science Foundation...
Show moreThe document is a compilation of the Baseline Assessment, Foreman Survey, and Exit Interview documents for National Science Foundation research project, CMMI-1100514, Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptive Events on Construction Sites.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation, CMMI-1100514, Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptive Events on Construction Sites.
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Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files Progress Report June 2011
Title
Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files Progress Report June 2011
Creator
Kleps, Stephen M., Menches, Cindy
Date
2013-09-18, 2011-06
Description
This publication presents an literature review, progress of an environmental scan, and preliminary findings of research for the project...
Show moreThis publication presents an literature review, progress of an environmental scan, and preliminary findings of research for the project entitled Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files.
Sponsorship: Electri International
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Understanding Construction Workers’ Risk Decisions Using Cognitive Continuum Theory
Title
Understanding Construction Workers’ Risk Decisions Using Cognitive Continuum Theory
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Saxena, Jaya
Date
2013-09-19, 2013-09-19
Description
The goal of the research presented in this article was to construct a theory about the influence of decision cues on intuitive and...
Show moreThe goal of the research presented in this article was to construct a theory about the influence of decision cues on intuitive and deliberative decision-making in high-hazard construction environments. Drawing from Cognitive Continuum Theory, the article specifies a framework for understanding why and how construction workers make decisions that lead to taking or avoiding physical risks when they encounter daily hazards. A secondary aim of the research was to construct a set of hypotheses about how specific decision cues influence whether a worker is more likely to engage their intuitive impulses or to use careful deliberation when responding to a hazard. These hypotheses are described in this article, and the efficacy of the hypotheses was evaluated using cross-tabulations and nonparametric measures of association. While most of the associations between decision cues and decision mode (i.e., intuition or deliberation) identified in this data set were generally modest, none of the associations were statistically zero, thus indicating that further research is warranted based on theoretical grounds. A rigorous program of theory testing is the next logical step to the research, and the article thus concludes with numerous suggestions for extending the research and testing the proposed hypotheses.
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Jobsite Characteristics that Influence Improvised Decision-making on Construction Sites
Title
Jobsite Characteristics that Influence Improvised Decision-making on Construction Sites
Creator
Kleps, Stephen M., Menches, Cindy
Date
2013-10-07, 2013-10-07
Description
This article examines the relationship between specific construction project characteristics and the degree and speed that the foremen are...
Show moreThis article examines the relationship between specific construction project characteristics and the degree and speed that the foremen are able to improvise in response to disruptive events on the jobsite. Specifically, characteristics such as the number of crew members working under the supervision of a foreman, the occupancy status of the project (i.e., occupied or unoccupied) during construction, the stage of completion of the project, and the levels of turbulence, time pressure, cooperation, collaboration, and organization, were examined. Using a multilevel regression modeling approach, an analysis of 244 disruptions reported by 50 foremen was conducted to determine whether the construction project characteristics could predict more or less improvisation and faster or slower improvisation by the foreman. The findings indicate that on construction projects that are rated by the foremen as more organized, the foremen can make more modest improvised decisions to resolve a disruption, but that on construction projects that were rated by the foremen as more collaborative (i.e., involved joint decision-making), a greater degree of improvisation was deployed. In addition, it was found that on sites that were rated by the foremen as more cooperative (i.e., involved greater willingness to help each other), the foremen required more time to improvise their decisions.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation
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Emotional reactions to variations in contract language
Title
Emotional reactions to variations in contract language
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Dorn, Lawrence
Date
2012-07-20, 2012-07-25
Description
This article introduces a theory of emotion-driven behavior in construction contracting and provides support for this theory by presenting the...
Show moreThis article introduces a theory of emotion-driven behavior in construction contracting and provides support for this theory by presenting the quantitative results of a study on the emotional reaction of individuals to the language in contract clauses. Four different versions of the standard Delay Clause found in most construction contracts were extracted from four different contracts and were presented to a group of 27 individuals. Participants rank ordered the clause versions from 1 (most negative) to 4 (most positive). Overall, Clause Version 2 was ranked as having the most negative contract language, with nearly 75% of the participants ranking it as most negative. In contrast, Clause Version 4 was ranked as having the most positive contract language, with over 50% of the participants ranking it as most positive. Participants likewise selected negative emotion words to describe their reaction to Clause Version 2 and positive emotion words to describe their reaction to Clause Version 4. The findings suggest that contract clauses that contain negative language do tend to generate negative emotional reactions while positive contract language do tend to generate positive emotional reactions.
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NSF Annual Report 2012 on Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptive Events on Construction Sites
Title
NSF Annual Report 2012 on Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptive Events on Construction Sites
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Chen, Juan
Date
2012-06-29, 2012-06-29
Description
This 2012 annual research report submitted to the National Science Foundation describes: (1) involved people, (2) research activities, (3)...
Show moreThis 2012 annual research report submitted to the National Science Foundation describes: (1) involved people, (2) research activities, (3) research findings, (4) training and development, (5) outreach activities, (6) publications, and (7) contributions for rant number CMMI-1100514, Flexible Decision-making in Response to Disruptive Events on Construction Sites.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation Award Number: CMMI-1100514
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Using ecological momentary assessment to understand a construction worker’s daily disruptions and decisions (Working Paper)
Title
Using ecological momentary assessment to understand a construction worker’s daily disruptions and decisions (Working Paper)
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Chen, Juan
Date
2012-06-01, 2012-06-01
Description
Capturing the momentary decisions and actions made by construction workers in response to workflow disruptions is challenging because, until...
Show moreCapturing the momentary decisions and actions made by construction workers in response to workflow disruptions is challenging because, until now, there has not been a minimally-disruptive data collection method that allows workers to identify their decision process “in the moment.” However, an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) method – designed to capture momentary work experiences in natural settings – can provide researchers with detailed information about the daily challenges experienced by workers during the course of performing their tasks. An explanation of the method is provided, along with examples of the types of research questions that can be addressed and appropriate analysis techniques. The EMA method is being used on a federally-funded research program in the United States that is investigating how construction workers adapt to workflow disruptions by improvising their decisions and actions. Consequently, this article demonstrates the use of the method by presenting an idiographic study of William, an electrical construction worker. The evaluation of William’s disruptions, decisions, and actions elucidated an important relationship: every one of William’s disruptions required an improvisational action in order to continue working. The EMA method opens the door to the development of new theories about rapid decisions and subsequent actions on construction sites.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation
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Selecting a Compensation Strategy to Control Project Duration: Empirical Comparison of Lump Sum and Reimbursable Strategies (Working Paper)
Title
Selecting a Compensation Strategy to Control Project Duration: Empirical Comparison of Lump Sum and Reimbursable Strategies (Working Paper)
Creator
Chen, Juan, Menches, Cindy L.
Date
2012-05-01, 2012-05-01
Description
Reducing project duration is a significant concern for many industries in the speed-to-market era. Numerous studies have examined the effects...
Show moreReducing project duration is a significant concern for many industries in the speed-to-market era. Numerous studies have examined the effects of project delivery methods on speeding up the process of construction. However, no study has quantitatively compared the effect of using different compensation strategies on schedule duration and schedule reduction. Using the data obtained from 175 international construction projects, this paper focuses on examining the influence of compensation strategy (lump sum versus reimbursable) on project duration while specifically taking into account the industry sector (heavy industrial versus light industrial). The results of the study provide empirical evidence that using a reimbursable compensation strategy can potentially shorten the procurement duration, construction duration, and overall project duration of heavy industrial projects. However, reimbursable contracting did not appear to reduce the project duration on light industrial projects.
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Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files
Title
Innovative Uses of Native CAD Files
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Kleps, Stephen M.
Date
2012-08-31, 2011-08-31
Description
This technical report describes the outcomes resulting from conducting interviews with professional estimators within the electrical...
Show moreThis technical report describes the outcomes resulting from conducting interviews with professional estimators within the electrical construction industry. The purpose of the interviews was to identify whether native files are shared, why sharing does not occur more frequently, how file sharing might benefit the estimating process, and barriers to sharing native CAD files for the purpose of estimating from CAD drawings.
Sponsorship: Electri International
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