Quality Magazine

February 2016 Issue-14

Husam Hazboun (Corporate Quality Director)

Ajai Srivastava (Corporate Quality Assurance Manager)
Hussein ElKersh (Senior Quality Assurance Engineer)
Olivia Osama (Quality Assurance Engineer)
Ragaee Azmy (Document Controller)
Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 4
2. Constructability Objectives ................................................................................... 4
3. Constructability Implementation ........................................................................... 5
4. Barriers to Implement Constructability Programs ............................................. 11
5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 13

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1. Introduction

Construction projects are unique in terms of their goals and values. Defining
projects major elements such as overall project plan, planning and
design, construction schedule, cost estimate, and major construction methods is a
normal procedure applied by any construction company. The integration and
optimization of such project
major elements enhance project
objectives for achieving owners
expectations in terms of
schedule, cost and quality of the
final product, and normally it is
done by including expert
knowledge in the project.

Implementing constructability
concepts is one way to achieve
maximum inclusion of
construction expert knowledge in
any construction project.

The readers understanding of the term Constructability is essential before

discussing this concept in details. Constructability has several definitions, it can
be defined as:

- The optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning,

design, procurement, and field operations to achieve overall project
objectives
- The integration of construction knowledge,
resources, technology, and experience into
the engineering and design of a project

- A process that utilizes construction

personnel with extensive construction
knowledge early in the design stages of
projects to ensure that the projects are
buildable, while also being cost-effective,
biddable and maintainable
- A measure of the ease or expediency with which a facility can be constructed

2. Constructability Objectives

The following list summarizes the objectives of Constructability:

Enhance early scoping
Minimize scope changes

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 Proper review of the contract vs. scope
Help reduce design related change orders
Minimize the need for redesigns during construction
Enhance quality of final product
Optimize construction staging
Promote construction safety
Reduce conflicts/ disputes

3. Constructability Implementation

Constructability implementation is a great challenge. In order to

successfully implement a constructability program, the following
questions need to be addressed:

- What type of constructability program will be adopted?

- When a constructability review process should be started
in the project life-cycle?
- What should be the main focus of the constructability
program?
- Who should be part of the constructability team?
- What tools are available for implementing
constructability programs?

What type of constructability program to be adopted?

There are two main types of constructability programs: Corporate Level and Project Level
Program.

Corporate Level Program: Large corporates that realize the benefits of a high level of
constructability and possess sufficient resources may choose to implement a corporate level
constructability program. In order to develop a successful corporate level program, a
company should consider the following steps: self-assessment, corporate policy, executive
sponsor, constructability database, training and appraisal.

Project Level Program: Project level programs can be a result of two situations. One, a
company that has an in-place corporate program and will address constructability on each
of its projects. The other case would be a contractor who doesnt have a corporate program,
but is required by the owner to have a project level program as part of the contract.

When a constructability review process should be started in the project life-cycle?

A constructability program is not just reviewing and making comments on the plans and
specifications after the design is finished. Actually once the plans and specifications are sent
out for review, changes are usually difficult to make. Constructability considerations have
to be started at the same time that the initial project planning starts. The maximum benefits

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will result when the people with construction
knowledge and experience become involved at
the very beginning of a project. The
constructability program should continue
during the entire life of the project.
The cost-influence curve illustrates how
constructability efforts can result in the largest
payoff during the early stages of a project. The
timing of total expenditures on a project is
represented by a typical S-curve that shows a
relatively low level of expenditures in the
planning and design stages, with the majority of
expenditures occurring in the construction
stage. However, the activities and decisions
made early in a projects planning and design
stages are increasingly recognized as having a
dominant influence on a projects cost, as well
as on its quality, safety, and delivery schedule.

What should be the main focus of a constructability program?

There are different factors in each phase of the project that need to be focused on as part of
the constructability as shown in the following Figure. Also the Figure shows the
constructability staffing for a typical complex project during a project period of 36 months.

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The following is a summary of the factors to be considered in a constructability program:

Project delivery system

Contracting strategy
Risk management
Work package breakdown
Labor plan
Access to site: size of equipment; weather restraints; and urban restrictions
Site layout
Access to install and replace large equipment within the structure
Sequence of construction
Rigging plan
Availability and procurement of long lead time equipment and materials
Prefabrication
Preassembly
Modularization
Construction management organization plan.
Quality management
Materials management
Site facilities (offices, temporary power, water, sewer, security, roads, parking, etc.)
Safety
Operability
Maintainability

Who should be part of a constructability team ?

1) Champion: A constructability program needs a champion to oversee its

implementation. It is recommended that the champion be from senior
management and that part of their job be to ensure good cooperation and that
communication flows freely both vertically and horizontally. The champion
should also have the authority to approve plans and specification revisions when
a constructability review uncovers a significant problem.

2) Teams and their composition: Due to their

multidisciplinary nature, its not effective for just
one person to perform a constructability review of
a project. Instead, teams of individuals from
different organizations and backgrounds are
needed to not only identify problems but also
propose solutions as well. Its important to keep
the team as small as possible, but at the same time
provide the required expertise. The team should
be composed of:

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 Construction Professionals
Internal Construction Staff (Including Quality Personnel)
Consultants (i.e. designers) who may be retained on either a project-by-project
basis, or on an on-call basis for multiple assignments. Also we should keep in
mind that its recommended for the consultants not to review their own designs
Regulatory representative
Material Suppliers especially in projects where non-standard materials are to be
used
Maintenance representative

What are the available tools for implementing constructability programs?

1) Operations and Maintenance Questionnaire & Input Checklists

Operations and maintenance personnel are the ones who inherit the
finished product of the construction process. They benefit the most
from well thought out designs and well-constructed structures and
they also suffer the greatest from the short failings of design and
construction. Therefore, its necessary to design for ease of
Operation and Maintenance (O&M). The O&M personnel should
be involved in the earliest stages of design and have the ability to
review the design prior to the beginning of construction in order to
eliminate future maintenance or operational problems. One
possible approach toward soliciting O&M data would be through
the use of questionnaires and input checklists and including an
O&M representative in the construability team.

2) Suggestion Forms

Suggestion forms are a way for constructability ideas to be collected throughout the
project process. The following is an example of a constructability suggestion form.

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3) Cost/Benefit Forms

The cost/benefit analysis for the implementation of any constructability idea is

essential. Value Engineering (VE)/ Value Analysis, which is another cost/benefit
technique, overlaps with constructability. Its purpose is similar, that is, to achieve
the essential functions at the lowest total cost. VE, however, mainly focuses on
functions/performance whereas constructability reviews focus on how well the
construction documents convey designs to facilitate construction, in other words,
delivery. Constructability suggestion cost/benefit form can be used for this purpose.

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4) Technology-Based Tools

Technology-based tools include Computer Aided Design CAD programs and other
graphical applications such as Geographical Information Systems GIS. Also non-
graphical programs such as databases and planning and analytical tools can be used
in the constructability program.

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How does Constructability differ from the traditional way?

Point of Traditional Constructability

Comparison
Teams Fragmented Integrated

Process Silos of knowledge Information shared

Risk Individually managed Collectively managed

Compensation Individually pursued Team success

Communications Formal, paper based Open discussion

Agreements Unilateral effort, allocate Encourage and promote multi-level

and transfer risk, no sharing open sharing and collaboration; risk
sharing

4. Barriers to Implement Constructability Programs

Constructability programs aim to improve construction companies performance; however,

implementing them usually encounters many barriers. General barriers include:

Complacency with status quo

"This is just another program"
"Right people" are not available
Discontinuity of key project team personnel
No documentation/database of the lessons learned
from previous constructability programs
Difficulty to apply such programs in fast track
projects and piecemeal design projects
Failure to search out problems and opportunities

Other specific barriers with owner, designer and contactor sides are summarized in the
following table.

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 Owner Barriers
- Lack of awareness of the
benefits
- Perception that "we do it"
- Perception that there are
no proven benefits
-Perception that
constructability programs
delay projects schedule
-Reluctance to invest
additional money and/or
effort in early project
stages
Designer Barriers Contractor Barriers
- Perception that "we do it" - Reluctance of field
personnel to offer
- Lack of effective preconstruction advice
communication between
designers and constructors -Poor communication skills
-Perception of increased - Lack of awareness of the
designer liability benefits, concepts,..etc
-Construction input is
requested too late to be of
value
- Lack of awareness of the
benefits, concepts,..etc

-Lack of genuine
commitment

The following steps can be applied in order to mitigate these barriers:

Designate a strong program champion

Report constructability program benefits
regularly and create a database of the
lessons learned
Make constructability the responsibility
of younger, more energetic individuals,
who more frequently confront the status
quo
Establish programs that promote
creativity and intelligent risk-taking
Establish monetary awards for
rewarding innovation and intelligent
risk-taking
Conduct training programs in shifting
paradigms, promoting creativity, and
promoting critical thinking
Screen out personnel who regularly support the status quo

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 5. Conclusion

The maximum benefits in achieving project objectives will result when a constructability
program is started at the earliest stages of a project and includes knowledgeable,
experienced construction personnel who will participate in a disciplined, systematic
optimization of major project elements. Several tools are available that can be useful when
implementing constructability programs. Also various solutions can be applied to mitigate
the barriers that are usually encountered when corporates try to implement constructability
programs.

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