Focus Area / Working Group: Processes & ICT

Uniques

The construction industry is not dealing with the uncertainty of prognoses concerning costs and completion dates in general. Its cause is seen in the uniqueness of every individual project and the imponderability related with it. Especially the specific surrounding of every project, such as location and environment, logistics, the various parties involved in the project, geological and technical framework etc. are seen as a reason for unstable project processes.

In addition the operative complexity of construction projects as well as the technical level and the deadline constraints have increased enormously. Because of that reason and due to the multiplicity of crafts the participants in the project have to be coordinated inside the company as well as beyond the company's boundaries. The absolute optimality of a planning in respect of these interdependencies is close related to the sensitivity of the progress against variation or in other words interferences.
 

Forecast Ability

In addition the operative complexity of construction projects as well as the technical level and the deadline constraints have increased enormously. Because of that reason and due to the multiplicity of crafts the participants in the project have to be coordinated inside the company as well as beyond the company's boundaries. The absolute optimality of a planning in respect of these interdependencies is close related to the sensitivity of the progress against variation or in other words interferences.

It is at hand that the lack of forecast ability of costs and completion dates is to ascribe to the only "loose" coaction of the involved.

Not only from the lack of forecast ability itself but also especially from the resulting inevitable buffers and idle times as well as from the failed arrangements with its need for abolishment enormous direct costs evolve which in addition to the loss of time put the profitability of the project in question for the investor and the company.

Process Orientation

Now that the elemental unique character of investment projects is not to question a way has to be found to create extraordinary detailed planning with comparatively low effort - measured at the saving potential - and well defined, quantifiable reaction mechanisms to interferences. Of course this can not happen on an ordinary basis of calculation and process planning but has to be done on a more abstract level.

Methods of process orientation have to be established in the construction industry that allow a standardisation of processes on a highly detailed level and still adopt immediately to any project one can think of. Thereby not a unification of productive procedures is of interest but the focus is on processes which are able to convert and control the creation of value from an input into an output under the use of abstract and concrete resources with the aim to be able to calculate and plan them.

Objective

This proceeding is not focussed on the product directly but rather on the quality of the product by a securing of the quality of the production process as well as the related control mechanisms. In that way not only the process of planning will be simplified, quality assured and standardised inherently but also the mechanisms of controlling that follow the planning - to the point of delivery free of defect and guarantee handling - can operate on a secured basis and are able to bring the project with a significantly higher forecast ability to an end.

For further information please contact the chairman of the working group Processes & ICT, Prof. Dr. Josef Zimmermann.