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Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Building Construction

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https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72547
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search.filters.applied.f.advisor: Castro-Lacouture, Daniel × End date: 2009 × Start date: 2001 × search.filters.applied.f.isOrgUnitOfPublicationTitle: College of Design ×

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Design build project delivery in the Air Force Reserve Command
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-07-01) Richardson, Kathleen
    Design Build is rapidly becoming one of the most commonly used project delivery methods in the construction industry. The United States Corp of Engineers (USACE) has started implementing its own version of Design Build with the introduction of Military Transformation in April 2005. Per the Department of the Army (2008) Military Transformation is a term employed by the Corps to implement the use of alternate project delivery method as a means of achieving best value. The United States Air Force (AF) and the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) are expected to establish a target of 75% of all future Military Construction Projects (MILCONs) executed when using the Design Build method. The use of this delivery method results in significant changes to the relationships between the various parties associated with facility project delivery compared to the traditional Design Bid Build method. AFRC construction project procedures and requirements must also change.
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    Alternative to low bid selection in Air Force reserve military construction: approach to best value procurement
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-07-01) Garner, Birtice A.
    Best value is becoming one of the most commonly used procurement methods in the facility construction industry. The Federal Government and the Air Force Reserve predominant project delivery approach has been via the low-bid award. This process has not been successful, documented by large numbers of construction modifications, as well as project cost and schedule growth over the past sixteen years. Recently, federal procurement agencies have attempted to move toward construction awards based upon best value principles relative to performance and price. The United States Army Corps of Engineers best value procurement vehicle known as Military Transformation fails to deliver true best value. This pseudo best value delivery process: (1) fails to objectively rate and apply contractor past performance; (2) lacks the means to monetarily quantify contractor proposal risks; and (3) provides no means of transferring control and responsibility for risks and risk minimization to the contractor. Only a true best value project delivery system can provide the urgently required increased efficiency necessary for Air Force Reserve Command to remain a dependable military institution capable of erecting facilities contributory to our nation's defense by perpetually adding value to the project delivery process.
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    Impact to alternative contracting methods using multivariate analysis in the regulatory environment
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-24) Smith, Valerie Rose Riecke
    This research addresses legislative impediments inherent to working in the government construction industry by investigating whether benefits exist when using alternative project delivery methods, and whether legislative limitations allowing the use of alternative project delivery methods impede any such benefits from being realized. The research begins by defining the project delivery method process, and explains in detail the four primary types and how they function. The research then provides a qualitative study that presents the perceived advantages and disadvantages of each method. Then, a second literature review provides an overview of previously published research in project delivery method selection, and examines federal and state legislative trends to establish the growing debate associated with alternative project delivery methods, focusing on the design-build method of project delivery. Finally, a quantitative analysis is presented to test whether federal and state legislative limitations influence the realization of any benefits of alternative project delivery methods, and specifically design-build, for federal projects. Project characteristics from the U.S. General Services Administration Capital Construction Project database are tested. The research suggests that when an alternative project delivery method, specifically design-build, is chosen, there are benefits in time and cost savings, and the ability to use the alternative project delivery method is affected by the removal of federal and state legislative impediments.
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    Optimal Investment Strategy for Energy Performance Improvements in Existing Buildings
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-11-15) Ramkrishnan, Karthik
    Current global efforts for energy conservation and optimization are focused on improvements in energy supply and production systems, and on encouraging the adoption of energy-efficient devices and equipment. However, systematic assessments of economic and technical implications when adopting energy-efficient alternative systems in buildings have not yet been explored thoroughly. The uncertainty about the consequences of investing in alternative energy-efficient systems has led to a prolonged utilization of obsolete building systems (underperforming HVAC systems, inefficient lighting systems, badly maintained and equipment, and so forth). This has led to overall poor energy efficiency, creating considerable burden on the building operation budget. This research discusses the procedure for formulating an investment strategy to improve existing building energy performance. The approach is suitable for large building portfolios where a plethora of potential refurbishment interventions can be considered. This makes our approach especially suited for use on university campuses and most of this report will focus on that particular application utilization protocols especially for use on campuses. This investment model only looks at the energy related savings versus investments; it is well understood that the ultimate selection of the optimal set of improvement options of a portfolio will be determined by additional considerations, such as overall value, occupant satisfaction, productivity improvements, aesthetics, etc. Nevertheless, many campus managers are confronted with the question how much energy they can save with a given investment amount. This is exactly what our approach helps to answer. The investment optimization strategy is implemented in software "InvEnergy," which systematically calculates the costs and benefits of all possible building-technology pairings, taking uncertainties in the saving/investment calculations and estimates into account. This tool empowers decision makers in facility management to make complex investment decisions during continuous building commissioning.
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    Holistic Analysis of Fuel Cells for Residential Application
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-11-06) Ospina Alvarado, Angelica Maria
    The development of an index to compare different sources of energy is presented; the index address the appraisal of the source of energy from its sustainable performance and also using the factors that influence the user's decision making process of adopting an alternative energy. The index is used to compare the fuel cell system and the traditional grid system powered by coal fired power plants, for a typical residential unit located in the rural Appalachian region in Ohio.