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Fast-track benefits : fact or fiction

University of British Columbia

The objective of this thesis is to develop a methodology that can account for changes to a construction project's basic variables caused by fast-tracking strategies, specifically, overlapping the design and construction phases and controlling resource levels. This methodology is applied to an example to investigate the effects on the premiums of fast-tracking a construction project. The method is developed by calculating equations for two of project’s performance variables, namely net present value (NPV) and duration till operating (T₀). Equations for three variables used to determine NPV and T₀, namely design duration (TD), construction duration (TC), and construction costs (C₀) are further developed. The variables used to determine TD, TC, and C₀ are scaled by the amount of overlap of the project's design and construction phases according to anecdotal evidence. Deriving the moments of the truncated Taylor's series expansion of NPV and T₀ (as well as TD, TC, and C₀) is performed to determine probabilistic information about these variables. The probabilistic set of solutions is compared to the deterministic solutions. Results of the application of the methodology to an example showed that the benefits of fast-tracking were very sensitive to productivity losses. Though some deficiencies were discovered, the methodology exhibited many of the effects cited in the literature.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2008-09-05

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/1677

Civil Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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