Volume 5 - Number 5 | May 2009

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Editor's Note
This month, we offer a smorgasbord of project controls topics. There has been a recent resurgence among construction publications about lean construction. Concepted by the International Group for Lean Construction in 1993, the theory champions efforts to improve construction processes by adding value, meeting customer needs and lowering costs. More precisely put, it is a "way to design production systems to minimize waste of materials, time, and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount of value"1. Larry True argues that the concept is not new, but has been business as usual for the companies he has worked with over the past 20 years.

John Jurewicz and Northwestern master's student Thomas Sheehan offer an in-the-trenches perspective on Building Information Modeling. Although BIM has the potential to save time and money, if the trades don't know how to model properly, those savings will be eaten up by errors, say Jurewicz and Sheehan. In this month's BIM column, they address the problems that can occur when tolerances are not adequately factored into a model.

How well do you know your project's risks? Doug Findley provides a visual guide for implementing a risk provisioning process for any project, as well as steps to evaluate and mitigate it, if necessary.

And finally, Gordon Aronson has noticed a decline in the use of true CPM scheduling. Is the practice dead? He hopes not. His article lauds the effectiveness of critical path scheduling and issues a call for more CPM training.

1. Koskela, L., Howell, G., Ballard, G., and Tommelein, I. (2002). "The Foundations of Lean Construction." Design and Construction: Building in Value, R. Best, and G. de Valence, eds., Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier, Oxford, UK.

Recent articles

  EDITOR'S NOTE

This month, we offer a smorgasbord of project controls topics. There has been a recent resurgence among construction publications about lean construction. Concepted by the International Group for Lean Construction in 1993, the theory champions efforts to improve construction processes by adding value, meeting customer needs and lowering costs. More precisely put, it is a "way to design production systems to minimize waste of materials, time, and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount of value."1 Larry True argues that the concept is not new, but has been business as usual for the companies he has worked with over the past 20 years.

John Jurewicz and Northwestern master's student Thomas Sheehan offer an in-the-trenches perspective on Building Information Modeling. Although BIM has the potential to save time and money, if the trades don't know how to model properly, those savings will be eaten up by errors, say Jurewicz and Sheehan. In this month's BIM column, they address the problems that can occur when tolerances are not adequately factored into a model.

How well do you know your project's risks? Doug Findley provides a visual guide for implementing a risk provisioning process for any project, as well as steps to evaluate and mitigate it, if necessary.

And finally, Gordon Aronson has noticed a decline in the use of true CPM scheduling. Is the practice dead? He hopes not. His article lauds the effectiveness of critical path scheduling and issues a call for more CPM training.

1. Koskela, L., Howell, G., Ballard, G., and Tommelein, I. (2002). "The Foundations of Lean Construction." Design and Construction: Building in Value, R. Best, and G. de Valence, eds., Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier, Oxford, UK.
  LEAN CONSTRUCTION: A NEW NAME FOR AN OLD CONCEPT?
The hype about "Lean Construction" is really just business as usual, says Larry True. A successful contractor will have the know-how to maintain cost records and the agility to adapt to circumstances as change is needed.
  THE IMPORTANCE OF TOLERANCES IN A BUILDING MODEL
Time and money savings are just some of the benefits of Building Information Modeling. But, if the model doesn't make allowances for spatial tolerances for ductwork, for example, those savings will quickly disappear, say John Jurewicz and Thomas Sheehan.
  FINDING THE RISK: A PRIMER ON THE RISK PROVISIONING PROCESS
How do you identify risk? And once identified, how do you evaluate and mitigate it? Doug Findley has the answers in this primer on the risk provisioning process.
  THE DEMISE OF CPM IN CONSTRUCTION
CPM scheduling is dying, says Gordon Aronson. Unless it gets an injection of real logic and a heavy dose of scheduler training, the critical path method is on the fast track to failure.
  GREEN BUILDING BEST PRACTICES WEBINAR SERIES PROVIDES IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ON SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION AND LEED CERTIFICATION UPDATES
With an injection of stimulus funds jumpstarting the construction industry, green building issues have never been so important. This four-part webinar series on green building best practices will stimulate sustainable construction processes and help businesses pursue green building projects.