Rework in highway projects

Abstract

There is limited systematic knowledge available about the dynamics of rework in highway projects, despite the fact that they frequently exceed budget and schedule by more than 10%. A case study of a Spanish highway project, which experienced a significant cost overrun as a result of rework, is examined and the causal factors that contributed to its occurrence are determined. Through observation and subsequent analysis of interviews and documentation a high degree of interdependency existed between perceived causes of rework. This resulted in the nomenclature of Project, Organization and People to be adopted and used to develop the rework generic systemic model. Scope changes, high complexity, poor skill levels and unexpected underground services were found to be the most significant causes of rework. The developed model provides managers with insights about the interdependencies and behaviour between key influencing variables in highway projects and can be used to stimulate learning and process improvements in future highway projects.

Keywords:

• highway projects
• rework
• system dynamics

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nuria Forcada

Nuria FORCADA is a Lecturer in the Department of Construction Engineering at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC). She is a member of the Group of Construction Research and Innovation (GRIC) that conducts interdisciplinary research to improve the productive processes of the construction sector companies. She received her PhD from the UPC. Her research interests include quality and defect management, collaborative working environment, knowledge management, decision making systems and e-learning.

Gerard Rusiñol

Gerard RUSIÑOL is a Civil Engineer graduated from Civil Engineering School of Barcelona (ETSECCPB) at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) with 3-year work experience in roads and structures, driving project and management duties. He also holds a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering, majoring in Structures and Construction, and minoring in Water Engineering, Hydrology and Hidrodynamics. He worked in the Department of Construction Engineering at UPC determining the causal structure of rework in highway projects as a result of his Master's Final Thesis.

Marcel MacArulla

Marcel MACARULLA is a researcher and Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Construction Engineering at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC). His research interests include construction productivity improvements, predicting methods and environmental impacts of rework and new technologies.

Peter E. D. Love

Peter E. D. LOVE is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor and holds an Endowed Chair in Building Information Modelling at Curtin University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) and recipient of 2010 Scopus Young Australian Researcher of the Year Award (Humanities and Social Science) and a member of the Australian Research Council's Engineering and Environmental Science Panel for the 2010/11 Excellence in Australian Research Exercise. Professor Love has co-authored/edited six books and has authored/co-authored over 500 internationally refereed research papers, which have appeared in leading international journals such as Accident Analysis and Prevention, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of the Operational Research Society, European Journal of Operations Research, European Journal of Information Systems, IEEE Transaction on Engineering Management, and International Journal of Production Economics.