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VOLUME XXVI JANUARY - MARCH 2011 NUMBER I

CONTENTS

RESEARCH ARTICLES

Shrinkage And Creep Behaviour Of Pazhani K. C. 5

Slag Cement Concrete Chandru N.

Project Scheduling Analysis And Quantifying K. R. Suresh 16Risk In Construction Delays Using Kishore R.

Bayesian Belief Networks

Analysis Of Contract Clauses Affecting Syed Tabish 34

The Schedule Performance Of A S. A. H. Pandian

Construction Project K. N. Jha

Project Duration Controlling Methods: Jyoti Trivedi 52

An Earned Value Analysis Approach Varun Shah

Study On Factors Affecting Labour Productivity S. Kamal 66

In The Construction Industry C. Umarani

T. Anbu Selvaraj

COMMUNICATION

Literature Review Of Field Data Based S. P. Mishra 79

Mathematical Simulation Of D. K. ParbatComplex Construction Activities J. P. Modak

Ambiguities In Construction Contracts M. Sridhar 90

NICMAR

JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

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Shrinkage And Creep Behaviour OfSlag Cement Concrete

Pazhani K. C. and Chandru N.

Abstract : Large scale investments are witnessed recently in the infrastructure projects

such as highways, road and railway bridges, airports etc. Most of the

spending on these projects has been attributed to the cost of bulk

materials like cement, steel and concrete. Any small breakthrough in the

research and development in concrete will be cost effective as far as the

materials are concerned. Cement production is one of vast potential

damages of environment. Hence, it is necessary to replace cement with

some alternates. Creep and shrinkage of concrete are known to have

significant effects at early age of concrete. The strength and durability

of concrete mainly depend on the shrinkage and creep of concrete. To

predict the behavior in terms of strength and durability, it is essentialto know the behavior of shrinkage and creep of the concrete at various

ages. So, the current paper is aimed to study the behavior of creep and

shrinkage of concrete at various ages with replacement to cement by slag

and fly ash with different replacement levels.

Keywords : Shrinkage, Creep, Slag Cement Concrete

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Project Scheduling Analysis And QuantifyingRisk In Construction Delays

Using Bayesian Belief Networks

K. R. Suresh. and Kishore R.

Abstract : Project management techniques are widely used to plan, execute, control,

and deliver construction projects. The goals of a successful project management

endeavor are to finish on time, within budget and according to the

specifications and quality standards. The ultimate benefit of implementing

project management techniques is a satisfied customer. With higher

requirements of quality, increasing demand for shorter project completion

times and more efficient use of available budgets, project management

professionals are facing the necessity of using analytical and quantitative

tools that are more sophisticated than traditional qualitative approaches.

Management of risks and uncertainties in construction projects is only

possible if risks have been identified and the potential impacts have been

analysed. Principles of probability theory offer the mathematical basis

for modelling risks and uncertainty and the analysis of its effect. Construction

schedules are affected by uncertainties in weather, productivity, design,

scope, site conditions, soil properties, material delivery time, equipment

efficiency, etc,.[18]. All risks in a construction project might be schedule

risks because they are related to the schedule directly or indirectly.

Moreover, all activities can be critical due to uncertainties, even those

that are not critical according to deterministic Critical Path Method

(CPM). Capturing uncertainty in projects 'needs to go beyond variability

and available data'. It needs to address ambiguity and incorporate structure

and knowledge. In order to measure and analyse uncertainty properly,

one needs to model relations between trigger (source), risk and impacts

(consequences). The duration of a task is uncertain because there is no

similar experience before, so the data is incomplete and suffers from

imprecision and inaccuracy. Estimation of this sort of uncertainty is

mostly subjective and based on estimator judgment. Any estimation is

conditionally dependent on some assumptions and conditions even if they

are not mentioned explicitly. These assumptions and conditions are major

sources of uncertainty and need to be addressed and handled explicitly.

The most well established approach to handling uncertainty in thesecircumstances is Bayesian approach [9][12]. The present work is an attempt

to identify the uncertainties in the construction project activity duration

estimates of a construction project in Indian context and quantifying the

risk involved in construction delays using Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN's).

Keywords : Project Scheduling, Risk in Construction delays, Bayesian Belief Networks

(BBN's)

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Analysis Of Contract Clauses Affecting TheSchedule Performance Of

A Construction ProjectSyed Tabish, S. A. H. Pandian and K. N. Jha

Abstract : About one third of Indian Construction Projects are facing time over

run ranging from 1 to 195 months. The delay in a project could be on

account of several factors including poorly drafted contract clauses.

Although a number of studies have been conducted to identify the

factors causing time overrun very few studies have been conducted to

identify and evaluate the contract clauses in general affecting the schedule

performance of a construction project. As a case study, General Conditionsof Contract (GCC) 2005 Form Central Public Works Department (CPWD)

7/8 is used for the study as most of the projects in India are being

executed using this form. Through a two-stage questionnaire survey 16

clauses were found to have significant impact on schedule performance

of a project. The factor analysis indicates 'determination of contract'

clause as an important clause affecting the schedule performance of a

project frequently besides payment and advances, deviations measures,

schedule performance, and reimbursement of taxes related contract

clauses. The results could help the professionals in focusing on key

clauses affecting schedule per formance of a project and modifying them

to help projects achieve schedule and possibly budget goals.

Keywords : Contract Conditions, Contract Drafting, India, Delay, Factor Analysis,

Contract Clauses

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Project Duration Controlling Methods: AnEarned Value Analysis Approach

Jyoti Trivedi and Varun Shah

Abstract : Earned value project management is a well-known management system

that integrates cost, schedule and technical performance. It allows the

calculation of cost and schedule variances and performance indices and

forecasts of project cost and schedule duration. The earned value method

provides early indications of project performance to highlight the need

for eventual corrective action. Earned value management was originally

developed for cost management and has not widely been used for forecasting

project duration. However, recent research trends show an increase of

interest to use performance indicators for predicting total project duration.Project management and its related processes are the keys to staying

organized and focused, and to accomplishing the solutions a community

needs after being hit by a disaster. Reconstruction project management

is about solving problems and delivering intended results through an

organized, structured methodology. During execution of reconstruction

projects many a time project management methods and tools like earned

value (cost loaded schedule with focus on cost to complete) is missed

out or not taken into consideration thus, the study focuses on traditional

EVM methods compared with different methods to be used for predicting

project duration. It is very significant to complete any task or project

within planned time duration and cost. Schedule variance is an importantconcept in EVM to monitor & control actual work, but there are some

criticisms associated with it. So substitute methods have to be found

out to control the project duration, which can be effectively applied

during execution of project and will give us accurate result. The purpose

of this paper is to compare the classic earned value performance indicators

SV and SPI with the newly developed earned schedule performance

indicators SV(t) and SPI(t). Next objective is, to present a generic

schedule forecasting formula applicable in different project situations

and compare the three methods from literature to forecast total project

duration. Finally, application of the use of each method on a simplereal-life project data is presented.

Keywords : Earned Value Analysis, Project Performance Indicators, Earned Schedule,

Project Duration Forecasting

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Study On Factors Affecting LabourProductivity In The Construction Industry

S. Kamal, C. Umarani and T. Anbu Selvaraj

Abstract : Productivity is one of the most impor tant factors af fecting the overall

performance of any organization. At the micro-level, improved productivity

decreases unit costs and serves as an indicator of the project performance.

At the macro-level, improved productivity is a vita l tool in countering

inflationary effects and determining wage policies. The efficiency and

availability of materials along with the effective labour productivity

result in the best performance. The productivity of individual workers

or firms or industries differs widely due to many numbers of factors

which initiates a thorough study of these factors both in terms ofpositive or negative aspects. If all factors influencing the labour productivity

are known, it will be easier to forecast the productivity accordingly and

take necessary steps. This paper reports an empirical study which applies

the Delphi survey technique to formulate a model to assess the productivity

index. The survey is conducted and the factors are ranked and out of

these top six factors are chosen.

A formula for calculating the Labour Productivity Index (LPI) is derived

which can be used to find the productivity of a project. LPI also

broadens the existing knowledge of both academics and practitioners

in the construction industry because the research method can be replicatedin other geographical locations to create similar indices for better understanding

about various factors affecting labour productivity at the global level.

Keywords : Labour Productivity, Productivity Index, Construction Industry

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Literature Review Of Field Data Based

Mathematical Simulation Of ComplexConstruction Activities

S. P. Mishra, D. K. Parbat and T. and J. P. Modak

Abstract : The present article gives the detailed review of the research papers

published in the area of mathematical simulation of construction process

by various researchers by adopting different approaches. They include

all modern aspects in construction, but with respect to Indian scenario

where majority of total construction works are still executed manually

and consume a lot of human energy they need to be focused and developa mathematical relation which can simulate the real input and output

data directly from the construction field where the work is actually

being executed. Here, the advantages and limitations of the applied

mathematical models are identified and the models are classified in

terms of application range and goals. The findings indicate that the

topic under study is of great importance as no such approach of field

data based mathematical simulation is adopted where human energy is

related to productivity of construction process.

Keywords : Simulation, Construction Process, Ergonomics, Method Study, HumanFactor, Work Station, Optimization, Anthropometry

COMMUNICATION - I

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Ambiguities In Construction ContractsM. Sridhar

Abstract : Most of the disputes in construct ion contracts ari se due to persisting

ambiguities. This gives rise to uncertainty in the correct interpretation

of the concerned terms of the contract. Due to such ambiguities, the

parties to the contract attempt to derive a meaning and interpretation

which will suit them.

The potential causes giving rise to such ambiguities are presented in

this paper. The ambiguities in deviation, variation terms, price variation

conditions, and other contractual terms having financial implications

are presented here, with few case studies. Remedies to avoid them and

steps for avoidance of litigations are presented with appropriate conclusions

drawn.

Keywords : Ambiguity, Construction contract, Deviation, Price variation, Dispute

Resolution

COMMUNICATION - II