Advanced work packaging as emerging planning approach to improve project performance : case studies from the industrial construction sector

International Construction Specialty Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (ICSC) (5th : 2015)

Advanced work packaging as emerging planning approach to improve project performance : case studies from the industrial construction sector Ponticelli, Simone; O’Brien, William J.; Leite, Fernanda

Abstract

Despite the progress made in the development of scheduling techniques and tools, the industrial construction sector is frequently characterized by informal and unstructured procedures during initial planning stages. This results in planning deliverables that are scarcely aligned across the different business divisions and poorly structured to support field operations. Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) methodology consists in an enhanced project breakdown structure that prescribes an organized planning approach, aiming at the alignment between construction, engineering, and procurement disciplines since the preliminary planning phase. AWP is an emerging planning approach in the industrial construction sector and the present article is aimed at exploring AWP impact on project performance. Research methodology is based on multiple case studies concerning two industrial construction projects. The case studies involved the construction of projects with identical scope, one with and one without AWP implementation. These case studies were performed at the same time, in neighboring sites, and by the same project participants, thus representing reliable units of analysis to investigate AWP impact. Findings show that AWP implementation is related to improved performance in terms of project cost, schedule, quality, and safety. The present article contributes to the validation of an emerging project planning methodology and highlights the criticality of the early planning phase, which systematic characterization represents a valuable and still under-explored research avenue.

Item Metadata

Title	Advanced work packaging as emerging planning approach to improve project performance : case studies from the industrial construction sector
Alternate Title	Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) as emerging planning approach to improve project performance : case studies from the industrial construction sector
Creator	Ponticelli, Simone; O’Brien, William J.; Leite, Fernanda
Contributor	International Construction Specialty Conference (5th : 2015 : Vancouver, B.C.); Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
Date Issued	2015-06
Description	Despite the progress made in the development of scheduling techniques and tools, the industrial construction sector is frequently characterized by informal and unstructured procedures during initial planning stages. This results in planning deliverables that are scarcely aligned across the different business divisions and poorly structured to support field operations. Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) methodology consists in an enhanced project breakdown structure that prescribes an organized planning approach, aiming at the alignment between construction, engineering, and procurement disciplines since the preliminary planning phase. AWP is an emerging planning approach in the industrial construction sector and the present article is aimed at exploring AWP impact on project performance. Research methodology is based on multiple case studies concerning two industrial construction projects. The case studies involved the construction of projects with identical scope, one with and one without AWP implementation. These case studies were performed at the same time, in neighboring sites, and by the same project participants, thus representing reliable units of analysis to investigate AWP impact. Findings show that AWP implementation is related to improved performance in terms of project cost, schedule, quality, and safety. The present article contributes to the validation of an emerging project planning methodology and highlights the criticality of the early planning phase, which systematic characterization represents a valuable and still under-explored research avenue.
Genre	Conference Paper
Type	Text
Language	eng
Date Available	2015-11-27
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
DOI	10.14288/1.0076409
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/53607
Affiliation	Non UBC
Citation	Froese, T. M., Newton, L., Sadeghpour, F. & Vanier, D. J. (EDs.) (2015). Proceedings of ICSC15: The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 5th International/11th Construction Specialty Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. June 7-10.
Peer Review Status	Unreviewed
Scholarly Level	Faculty; Other
Rights URI	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

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International Construction Specialty Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (ICSC) (5th : 2015)