Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Building Construction

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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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Degree Series

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School of Building Construction

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 46

Facility management during the 2009 recession: a snapshot view

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-11-17) Geierman, Joseph

In 2008 and 2009, the world was shaken by the deepest recession since the Great Depression. This event has forced changes on many industries and professions - including Facility Management. This paper provides a "snapshot view" of how Facility Managers and Facility Management departments are navigating the financial meltdown. Preliminary research focused on previous recessionary periods, and the impact that they had on the development of Facility Management. In the recessions of the eighties, nineties and two thousands, Facility Managers started professional associations and developed professional certifications for themselves. At the same time, more businesses began utilizing the Facility Management function in order to orchestrate an increasingly complicated (and potentially expensive) built environment. At the same time, the same economic pressures led both to an increase in the use of outsourcing, and a backlog of deferred maintenance. Facility Managers had to be both innovative and flexible to survive in the industry - which has seen little growth in the 2000s. The main focus of this paper was a survey answered by 119 Facility Managers. In it, they reported on both how their departments were responding to the recession, and also how they were personally managing their careers during this time. Follow-up questions were also asked of some Facility Managers, to get a more detailed understanding of their answers. The main strategy that the survey found Facility Management departments turning to during the current recession was deferred maintenance, followed by staffing cuts and contract renegotiations. Facility Managers also reported that they are continuing to shift work to outsourcers - although some FMs reported that they have either outsourced all the work they can, or that there is no way to outsource some of the tasks that they do. In those cases, they focused on doing more work in-house. Individual Facility Managers tended to have relatively long careers, with about seventy percent being in their positions for longer than three years. Also, of those FMs who reported being unemployed, the majority had only been out of work for less than six months. Many of the Facility Managers questioned in this survey stated that they believed networking was a key component of their jobs. There were some who disagreed with this, however, believing that technical knowledge has become much more important than a strong social network. About equal numbers of people who had been in their jobs for about a year reported finding those jobs through job-boards as through networking Most of the Facility Managers who responded to the survey are not aware of any initiatives devoted specifically to helping out-of-work FMs. These groups do exist, however, and some were discovered in the course of researching this paper. It's notable that many Facility Managers appeared to have much more negative view of social networking sites than they do of in-person networking. The paper concludes by speculating on what the various results mean. While Facility Management departments appear to be laying professionals off, the long tenures and short periods of unemployment may signal that Facility managers are still in demand - even in times of recession. They may actually be more in demand now than in normal times, because of the need to balance multiple needs during a time of constrained spending on both capital and operating budgets. One red flag on the horizon is the perception of new technologies by respondents to this survey. Facility Managers were originally hired to manage costly new technologies in the workplace - this is something that they must continue to do in the future, and if they are not comfortable with changes that are coming, the profession may be bypassed or become marginalized. This may be a generational issue, which will be solved as younger people enter the industry.
Statistical analysis of residential housing prices in an up and down real estate market: a general framework and study of Cobb County, GA

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-11-17) Corsini, Kenneth Richard

The recent economic recession has had a significant impact on residential real estate both nationally and regionally. Our research is focused specifically on Cobb County, Georgia and the impact that the declining economy has had on home buying and property values in this area. Specifically, this research aims to identify changes in the residential market in terms of significant characteristics of housing and their corresponding effect on home values.
Artificial neural network (ANN) based decision support model for alternative workplace arrangements (AWA): readiness assessment and type selection

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-11-11) Kim, Jun Ha

A growing body of evidence shows that globalization and advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have prompted a revolution in the way work is produced. One of the most notable changes is the establishment of the alternative workplace arrangement (AWA), in which workers have more freedom in their work hours and workplaces. Just as all organizations are not good candidates for AWA adoption, all work types, all employees and all levels of facilities supports are not good candidates for AWA adoption. The main problem is that facility managers have no established tools to assess their readiness for AWA adoption or to select among the possible choices regarding which AWA type is most appropriate considering their organizations' business reasons or objectives of adoption and the current readiness levels. This dissertation resulted in the development of readiness level assessment indicators (RLAI), which measure the initial readiness of high-tech companies for adopting AWAs and the ANN based decision model, which allows facility managers to predict not only an appropriate AWA type, but also an anticipated satisfaction level considering the objectives and the current readiness level. This research has identified significant factors and relative attributes for facility managers to consider when measuring their organization's readiness for AWA adoption. Robust predictive performance of the ANN model shows that the main factors or key determinants have been correctly identified in RLAI and can be used to predict an appropriate AWA type as well as a high-tech company's satisfaction level regarding the AWA adoption.
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.
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.
An analysis regarding energy efficiency in metro Atlanta's private office buildings

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-06-12) Fore, Elizabeth K.

Commercial office building occupants are a significant consumer of electricity, and they subsequently contribute a significant amount of greenhouse gases into the environment in the process. An opportunity exists to improve the energy efficiency in existing buildings, and the Energy Star certification program provides both tools to do so and an independent verification of a building's superior energy efficiency. However, only 16% of metro Atlanta's office space has achieved this certification. The intent of the research was to identify the current state of energy efficiency in buildings, and to identify potential obstacles to obtaining the Energy Star certification. Towards this goal, secondary research was conducted among prominent academic journals, as well as numerous professional and governmental organizations and publications. Primary research was conducted through an online survey of Facility Managers, Property Managers, and Building Engineers of Energy Star office buildings and comparable non-Energy Star office buildings in the metro Atlanta area. The survey was conducted mostly using closed-ended questions using a Likert scale so as to provide a basis for statistical analysis among responses, and open-ended questions were also included to identify the current state of energy efficiency practices. The research identified three areas which hold statistically significant differences between Energy Star and directly comparable buildings. An analysis also determined that building age does seem to play a role in the building representatives' responses. Four conclusions were found regarding characteristics of Energy Star buildings themselves. The research also identified five conclusions regarding the expected result when pursuing the Energy Star certification. These conclusions include the best method to achieve the Energy Star certification, the expected energy savings, the expected time spent to achieve the certification, the expected cost to achieve the certification, and the main reasons to recertify the building. Finally, this research highlights innovative practices in other states and cities, such as financial incentives and legislation which require commercial buildings to obtain a building rating. Such innovative practices are currently not employed in the Atlanta metro area, but would be beneficial to both the Atlanta area and individual buildings.
Comparison of module usage of project management information system and success rate of construction projects: case study

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-04-09) Sweet, Coretta A.

If construction is about delivering a built asset that is of high quality and efficiency, wouldn t most companies use all the tools and processes available at the highest organizational level possible? A major assumption is made that Prolog Manager is an effective Project Management Information System. Saying Company X will benefit from more module use with Prolog Manager system is not the same as saying they will suffer from lack of module usage. If a company has already attained success using manual systems it successes may continue. To be as successful as possible, maximum utilization of all modules of Prolog Manager at the unique project type organizational level is necessary, and correlations can be made between higher module usage and greater project successes with this type of company size and structure.
Employee engagement model for the multi-family rental housing industry

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-03-23) Phillips, Deborah Ann

Employee Engagement Model for the Multi-family Rental Housing Industry Deborah R. Phillips 238 Pages Directed by Roozbeh Kangari The multi-family rental housing industry has faced numerous challenges in the past decade. Increased competition, declining occupancy rates and higher operating expenses have forced management companies to re-examine their organizational strategies, particularly as it applies to its human capital. Employee engagement has become an emerging topic and shows that engaged employees perform better, put in extra effort to help get the job done, show a strong level of commitment to the organization, and are more motivated and optimistic about their work goals. Companies now recognize the value in fostering a climate in which engaged employees drive sales by creating loyal customers. However, despite documented support identifying the link between engaged employees and more impressive business outcomes, little research has concentrated on the special needs and challenges of the multi-family rental housing industry. Further, there are limited tools available to assist owners and managers with the task of identifying the drivers affecting employee engagement. An Employee Engagement Model (EEM) was developed to allow multi-family apartment rental property owners and managers to determine the percentage of satisfied residents for a given average level of engagement score. This research utilized statistical analysis, neural network techniques, and probabilistic modeling to develop the Employee Engagement Model. The Employee Engagement Model (EEM) offers new knowledge in the relationship between employee engagement and resident satisfaction in the multi-family rental housing industry. New knowledge may also be derived in correlations of certain aspects of employee engagement and the likelihood of residents extending their leases or referring others to his/her community, thus improving business performance. It is expected that the Employee Engagement Model (EEM) will provide useful feedback to multi-family professionals in their process of talent management. It is also expected that further discussions toward improvements in measuring employee engagement and its impact on satisfaction will be prompted by this research.
Leadership in project management

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-11-19) Xiong, Riyue

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific one-time task. For example, constructing a building or implementing a new computer system, all need to be well-managed. Projects are conceived and completed by people, who are involved in the whole process of project execution and completion. Thus, project management not only requires an efficient project manager, but also a qualified leader who can lead the team effectively. This research will provide a clearer understanding of the concept of leadership in projects, discussing how and why it works, and the ways to make project teams more dynamic and effective. The results from the study are applied to these leadership concepts, in an effort understand the role of effective leadership in reducing costs across the whole project process and increasing the project value.
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.