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research news archive
Research Newsletter - Spring 2006
Del E. Webb School of Construction
Feature Stories
Research on Drilling Methods Aids Utility Companies
Trenchless technology or the method for installing and repairing underground pipelines, electrical lines, cables, water and sewage systems without the need for extensive digging above ground, is a rapidly growing sector of the U. S. construction industry.
A horizontal directional drilling rig used for trenchless digging
Dr. Samuel Ariaratnam, an associate professor in the Del E. Webb School of Construction and an expert in trenchless engineering, is providing valuable assistance to municipalities and utility companies in the Phoenix area and around the world in reducing the cost, time and environmental impact of installation and maintenance of underground infrastructure systems.
Information Measurement Theory Facilitates Construction Procurements
The crowning achievement for building project managers is to accomplish a construction project on time, within budget and with desired results. Attaining this, however, would imply an unimpeded process where bids don't go over estimates, subcontractors meet deadlines, and the quality of work exceeds expectations.
According to Dr. Dean Kashiwagi, this rosy scenario can be easily realized provided managers and administrators relinquish traditional mindsets for procuring construction services.
Over the past decade, Kashiwagi, a professor in the Del E. Webb School and Director of the Performance Based Studies Research Group (PBSRG) in the Fulton School, has redefined the conventional construction procurement process by means of a revolutionary concept in the Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS).
Institute's Regional, Global Reach Leads to Improved Housing Construction Practices
Residential construction research has found a focal point in the Housing Research Institute (HRI) in the Del E. Webb School of Construction to promote fundamental and applied research, educational programs, and innovation in materials, processes and quality within the Arizona homebuilding industry.
HRI offers three types of memberships--homebuilder, trade contractors, and supplier members. "Members benefit from their participation by setting the research, education, and outreach agenda of HRI," says Dr. Anil Sawhney, an associate professor in the Del E. Webb School of Engineering, who is the HRI co-director along with Dr. Howard Bashford also an associate professor of construction engineering in the school.
Skills Modeling Study Offers Clues for Matching Jobs to Workers
A superimposed computer (ghost) image is used to measure a brick layer's movements.
Quantifying and matching the skills of laborers to the goals of each construction project is of particular significance because it offers the construction industry a valuable tool to ensure the success rate of the construction endeavor, according to Dr. Avi Wiezel, an associate professor in the Del E. Webb School of Construction.
Wiezel's research in skills modeling focuses on providing a methodology by which construction worker skills can be matched to requirements of a particular job. The goal of this research is to generate computer planning tools that select the best way to build a building given the skills of the available laborers.