Nestled in a former airplane hangar in the sprawling former Navy base at Magnuson Park, construction and engineering students from the University of Washington stress-test recipes for concrete—one of the world’s most used substances. Made with a combination of cement, water and aggregates, some type of concrete has been produced by every civilization since the Babylonians. Now, university students are joining in the centuries-long quest to refine and perfect this essential material at the University of Washington Center for Education…
Category: Research
Prof. Chris Lee on Public/Private Partnerships: Charging toward a zero-emission transit fleet
Conversion of bus base facilities, the heart of transit operations, for electric vehicle charging is a large-scale project with many players and complex needs. One option for transit agencies working to shift to a zero-emission fleet is a public-private partnership model (P3), which defers upfront capital construction costs and has the potential to help agencies meet long-term sustainability and resiliency goals. New research out of the Mobility Innovation Center at the University of Washington (UW), led by professor Hyun Woo “Chris” Lee and senior research…
CM Welcomes Dr. Amos Darko
In pursuit of our vision for a more just and beautiful world, the College of Built Environments continues to implement an important part of our strategic framework: growing our capacity for collaborative interdisciplinary work with the goal of advancing climate solutions. We are excited to announce that Dr. Amos Darko has joined the Construction Management faculty as part of our interdisciplinary faculty cohort. Dr. Darko brings with him a wealth of expertise and experience in sustainability, sustainable built environment, sustainable…
Emergent Subcontracting Models in the US Construction Industry
Abstract: Prime contracting models for engineering and construction projects are described extensively in the literature, but models between prime contractors and subcontractors are less well known. This study examined the established and evolving subcontracting models in the US construction industry to not only document their utilization but also investigate their advantages and disadvantages when employed. There search followed a two-phase/two-step approach. During Phase 1, the authors completed a regionally based study to identify subcontracting practices in the Pacific Northwest. As…
Prevention though Design (PtD) for MEP Worker Safety
The Prevention through Design (PtD) concept will improve worker safety, as applicable to Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing (MEP) design and construction.
ACT2: Time–Cost Tradeoffs from Alternative Contracting Methods
ACT2: Time–Cost Tradeoffs from Alternative Contracting Methods Incentive/disincentive (I/D) and cost-plus-time (A+B) are two of the most widely used alternative contracting methods (ACMs) for accelerating the construction of highway infrastructure improvement projects. However, little is known about the effects of trade-offs in terms of project schedule and cost performance. This study addresses this problem by creating and testing a stochastic decision support model called accelerated alternative contracting cost-time trade-off (ACT2). This model was developed by a second-order polynomial regression analysis…
Technical Paper: Structural Equation Modeling …
Structural Equation Modeling for the Determinants of International Infrastructure Investment: Evidence from Chinese Contractors International infrastructure investment can effectively accelerate infrastructure development in developing countries and thus support their social and economic progress. However, little is known of the factors that may determine the flow of international infrastructure investment to those countries. This study aims to bridge that knowledge gap, first by identifying the determinants of international infrastructure investment, and then by developing a structural equation model to reveal their…
Safety is a marathon, not a sprint!
Using Four-Wheel Carts in The Roofing Trade This animation is based on the real-life story of a roofing apprentice who left the industry after getting injured while overcoming a poorly-setup ramp with a material cart. Three scientific, evidence-based solutions are provided to inform supervisors how a similar incident can be prevented through ergonomic workplace layout and task pre-planning. The moral of the Tortoise and the Hare is embedded in the animation to encourage supervisors to become thoughtful leaders, creating a…
Slow and steady wins the safety race!
Using Four-Wheel Carts in the Roofing Trade: This animation recreates the real-life story of a roofer who ruptured his Achilles tendon while maneuvering a heavily loaded cart. Three solutions are recommended with embedded scientific evidence showing that even a simple solution like team pulling could have prevented this injury. The moral of the Tortoise and the Hare is embedded in the animation to remind audiences to pay attention to the danger of ergonomic hazards.
Dynamic production scheduling model under due date uncertainty in precast concrete construction.
Journal of Cleaner Production 257, 120527 Abstract: Precast concrete structures (PCs) are widely used in the construction industry to reduce project delivery times and improve quality. On-time delivery of PCs is critical for successful project completion because the processes involving precast concrete are the critical paths in most cases. However, existing models for scheduling PC production are not adequate for use in dynamic environments where construction projects have uncertain construction schedules because of various reasons such as poor labor productivity,…