Research Reports by Giovanni Migliaccio
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Peer Reviewed Journal Articles by Giovanni Migliaccio
For generations, highway projects in the United States have been delivered with the traditional d... more For generations, highway projects in the United States have been delivered with the traditional design–bid–build (DBB) project delivery method. In 1990, FHWA introduced Special Experimental Project Number 14 (SEP-14) to encourage state agencies to use more efficient alternative methods for delivering projects. As of 2002, approximately 140 SEP-14 projects have been built according to the design–build (DB) delivery method. Although the use of the DB method for transportation projects has increased noticeably in the past decade, attempts to measure project performance under DB as against DBB have been limited to small projects. To fill this research gap, an input-versus-output benchmarking approach was used to assess the performance of large DB highway projects. By means of this approach, factors that could affect performance of highway projects were identified, and a comprehensive methodology for benchmarking was developed. A sample of four DB projects (with contract amounts ranging from $126 million to $1.4 billion) was analyzed to determine how project characteristics and DB practices (inputs) affect project performance in terms of cost and schedule (outputs). Project cost and schedule performance show clear trends against 15 input factors. More data points are needed to determine correlations between these inputs and outputs. In addition, 11 DBB projects (with contract amounts ranging from $50 million to $100 million) were selected for a statistical comparison with DB projects.
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For organizations such as departments of transportation, other public agencies, and private compa... more For organizations such as departments of transportation, other public agencies, and private companies, adopting a new approach to procure services for delivery of construction projects requires significant organizational changes; modifications to both their work processes and existing organizational structures may be needed. Building on findings from a study of public owner organizations that have implemented the design-build method for delivering highway projects, the have developed a conceptual framework for helping owner organizations implement a change in their project delivery strategy. They further refined this framework by comparatively studying four transportation projects in the United States. In addition, many experts in the implementation of the design-build method for transportation projects participated in a Delphi study to validate the developed framework. In this article, the authors present findings from these studies, including application to the construction industry and to other industries.
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In the United States, public agencies are adopting the design-build (DB) delivery method for deli... more In the United States, public agencies are adopting the design-build (DB) delivery method for delivering highway projects after having used the traditional design-bid-build method for generations. In the 2002 design-build contracting final rule, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) strongly encourages the use of two-phase selection procedures for DB procurement. This paper takes a case study approach to investigating the use of a two-phase process for selecting providers of highway design-build services. Using two DB projects in central Texas as case studies, the writers have analyzed project documentation and performed interviews with 37 project participants involved in procurement, including owner representatives and legal consultants. For the first case, the writers selected the $1.3 billion SH-130 tolled expressway project in central Texas. Procurement of the SH-130 DB contract was performed before the FHWA rule on DB contracting was released. In addition, the writers examined procurement activities for the $154 million DB contract for the SH-45 SE tolled expressway, which was procured by the same owner in 2004 following procedures identified in the FHWA rule. As a result, a process was developed that included activities to be performed between the delivery method decision and the contract execution. This process model tracks the differences between the SH-130 and the SH-45 SE processes that are attributable to the latter’s adoption of the FHWA Rule.
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This study compares the performance of design/bid/build and design/build to see if one project de... more This study compares the performance of design/bid/build and design/build to see if one project delivery method is superior in regards to time and cost. Similar military buildings were used to identify two samples of projects delivered with each of the two delivery methods. These projects provide a meaningful comparison because they include buildings of the same typology (i.e., U.S. Navy Bachelor Enlisted Quarters) delivered using similar design models. Project duration, project duration per bed, project time growth, cost growth and cost per bed were statistically compared. Upon completion of the analysis, the hypothesis that design/build projects are superior to design/bid/build projects in regards to time and cost was tested. Design/build projects were proven superior in performance in almost every measure. Other findings, including recommendations to practitioners and researchers, will be provided as well.
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As traffic volumes increase across the nation, transportation projects also increase. With that i... more As traffic volumes increase across the nation, transportation projects also increase. With that increase comes the responsibility of expanding the current roadway system while protecting the social and cultural values of each community affected by such expansion. One of the greatest concerns in social and cultural preservation comes from tribal entities. The necessity of advancing the transportation network while ensuring agreement with tribal governments on transportation projects has proved difficult, as recurring issues can lead to difficulty in project execution. However, several transportation agencies have overcome geographical, political, institutional, and cultural barriers to provide transportation networks crossing tribal lands. Across the transportation sector, steps have been taken to alleviate common issues on such projects in the form of programs for the establishment of government-to-government relationships and the implementation of projects. Government-to-government relationships are crucial for the success of transportation improvements, whether state or tribal. Cooperation on transportation issues is affected by complex issues such as tribal sovereignty, intergovernmental agreements, jurisdiction, regional planning efforts, right-of-way acquisition, funding, and maintenance. Similarly, planning, design, and implementation of transportation projects require collaboration among tribal, federal, and state agencies. This paper identifies and categorizes issues surrounding transportation projects affected by—or of interest to—tribal communities, and initiatives taken to alleviate issues. It also defines steps for future research in order to refine issues as they are identified in the paper and context-specific strategies implemented to alleviate each issue.
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Assessment of the conditions of current assets is a task of major relevance in a transportation a... more Assessment of the conditions of current assets is a task of major relevance in a transportation agency asset management program. It not only provides information on the current condition of the asset but also helps the agency make decisions on future maintenance and rehabilitation activities. Although low-volume roadways represent a large proportion of the total road network in the United States, little research on the management of these assets has been done. Two major data collection techniques are used for roadway condition assessment: manual and automated. Although automated techniques have been found to be safer and quicker, manual condition surveys have been proven to offer preciseness and cost-effectiveness. In the case of low-volume roadway assessment, for which the funds available to asset managers are limited, manual condition surveys are often preferred. Nevertheless, manual condition surveys must address the potential subjectivity of the results. Therefore, agencies could benefit from a system for ensuring quality on manual condition surveys. This paper proposes a framework for assessment of data quality and presents a case study of its implementation in the Northern New Mexico Pavement Evaluation Program. The proposed framework is easily implementable and able to identify potential and actual data collection issues. The framework can be used as part of an asset management program and could be particularly beneficial in the case of low-volume roads.
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Transportation agencies are increasingly interested in new strategies for integrated project deli... more Transportation agencies are increasingly interested in new strategies for integrated project delivery, such as design-build. When making a decision between a traditional design-bid-build delivery and an integrated project delivery such as design-build, the agency should consider potential cost savings, time savings, and quality improvements. To maximize the success of design-build projects, transportation agencies need to pay attention to several aspects of this system, including initial steps like contract procurement. Agencies should prepare for the procurement phase carefully on the basis of project size, complexity, timing, selection methods, and so on. This is especially important for design-build projects in which participating firms invest significant effort during the contract procurement phase while planning design and construction and assessing risks. To assist in improving the success of design-build projects, a study was conducted to analyze the relationship between duration of the contract procurement phase and project performance. Schedule growth, cost growth, and total project time growth were used to measure project performance in the study. Linear regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between procurement duration and each of the three project performance factors. The results show a strong linear correlation between procurement duration and schedule growth. Longer procurement duration correlates less with schedule growth as a percentage of the total project schedule. There is no evidence to indicate that longer procurement duration will reduce cost growth. This research strongly suggests that providing additional time to contractors during procurement allows them to improve schedule performance.
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Previous research and applications in construction resource optimization have focused on tracking... more Previous research and applications in construction resource optimization have focused on tracking the location of material and equipment. There is a lack of studies on remote monitoring for improving safety and health of the construction workforce. This paper presents a new approach for monitoring ergonomically safe and unsafe behavior of construction workers. The study relies on a methodology that utilizes fusion of data from continuous remote monitoring of construction workers’ location and physiological status. To monitor construction workers activities, the authors deployed nonintrusive real-time worker location sensing (RTLS) and physiological status monitoring (PSM) technology. This paper presents the background and need for a data fusion approach, the framework, the test bed environment, and results to some case studies that were used to automatically identify unhealthy work behavior. Results of this study suggest a new approach for automating remote monitoring of construction workers safety performance by fusing data on their location and physical strain.
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Previous research and applications in construction resource optimization have focused on tracking... more Previous research and applications in construction resource optimization have focused on tracking the location of material and equipment. There is a lack of studies on remote monitoring for improving safety and health of the construction workforce. This paper presents a new approach for monitoring ergonomically safe and unsafe behavior of construction workers. The study relies on a methodology that utilizes fusion of data from continuous remote monitoring of construction workers’ location and physiological status. To monitor construction workers activities, the authors deployed nonintrusive real-time worker location sensing (RTLS) and physiological status monitoring (PSM) technology. This paper presents the background and need for a data fusion approach, the framework, the test bed environment, and results to some case studies that were used to automatically identify unhealthy work behavior. Results of this study suggest a new approach for automating remote monitoring of construction workers safety performance by fusing data on their location and physical strain.
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Knowledge of workforce productivity and activity is crucial for determining whether a constructio... more Knowledge of workforce productivity and activity is crucial for determining whether a construction project can be accomplished on time and within budget. As a result, significant work has been done on improving and assessing productivity and activity at task, project, and industry levels. Task level productivity and activity analysis are used extensively within the construction industry for various purposes, including cost estimating, claim evaluation, and day-to-day project management. Nevertheless, assessment of task level productivity and activity analyses are mostly performed through visual observations and "after the fact" even though studies have been performed to automatically translate the construction operations data into productivity information and to provide spatial information of construction resources for specific construction operations. This paper presents an original approach to automatically assess construction labor activity. Using data fusion of spatiotemporal and workers' thoracic posture data, the authors have developed a novel framework for identifying and understanding the worker's activity type over time automatically. This information is used to perform automatic work sampling that is expected to facilitate real-time productivity assessment.
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Sustainability is often described in terms of the triple bottom line, which refers to its environ... more Sustainability is often described in terms of the triple bottom line, which refers to its environmental, economic, and social dimensions. However, the economic and environmental impacts of decisions have been easier to determine than have been the social impacts. One area of social sustainability that is particularly applicable to construction projects is that of construction workforce safety and well-being. This is a critical part of sustainability, and a socially sustainable construction industry needs to consider the safety and well-being of construction workers. However, construction activities are generally physically demanding and performed in harsh environments. Monitoring workers’ physical strain may be an important step toward enhancing the social sustainability of construction. Recently introduced physiological status monitors (PSMs) have overcome the past limitations, allowing physical strain to be monitored without hindering workers’ activities. Three commercially available PSMs have been selected and tested to assess their reliability in monitoring a construction workforce during dynamic activities. The results show that two of the PSMs are suitable candidates for monitoring the physiological conditions of construction workers. A survey was also conducted among industry practitioners to gain insight into industry needs and challenges for physical strain monitoring.
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In the feasibility stage of a project, location cost-adjustment factors (LCAFs) are commonly used... more In the feasibility stage of a project, location cost-adjustment factors (LCAFs) are commonly used to perform quick order-of-magnitude estimates. Nowadays, numerous LCAF data sets are available in North America, but they do not include all locations. Hence, LCAFs for unsampled locations need to be inferred through spatial interpolation or prediction methods. Using a commonly used set of LCAFs, this paper aims to test the accuracy of various spatial prediction methods and spatial interpolation methods in estimating LCAF values for unsampled locations. Between the two regression-based prediction models selected for the study, geographically weighted regression analysis (GWR) resulted the most appropriate way to model the city cost index as a function of multiple covariates. As a direct consequence of its spatial nonstationarity, the influence of each single covariate differed from state to state. In addition, this paper includes a first attempt to determine if the observed variability in cost index values could be at least partially explained by independent socioeconomic variables.
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Previous studies on building, industrial, and transportation projects found that projects deliver... more Previous studies on building, industrial, and transportation projects found that projects delivered using design-build tend to perform better than projects delivered with the traditional design-bid-build method. However, performance of design-build projects is affected by various factors, with procurement-related factors being among the most influential. Whereas other aspects of procurement have been largely investigated, the effect of procurement duration on project performance has been studied only for design-build transportation projects. In addition, few studies have focused specifically on the delivery of water/wastewater projects. This paper includes the results of a study on the relationship between procurement duration and performance of water/wastewater design-build projects. The study methodology was based on regression analysis of data from a sample of water/wastewater design-build projects. The results show that unlike the transportation sector, procurement duration has little effect on either schedule or cost performance in the water/wastewater sector. Likely reasons for this difference were then explored through a content analysis of procurement documents.
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Transportation infrastructure assets are among the largest investments made by governmental agenc... more Transportation infrastructure assets are among the largest investments made by governmental agencies. These agencies use data on asset conditions to make decisions regarding the timing of maintenance activities, the type of treatment, and the resources to employ. To collect and record these data, agencies often utilize trained evaluators who assess the asset either onsite or by analyzing photos and/or videos. These visual assessments are widely used to evaluate conditions of various assets, including pavement surface distresses. This paper describes a Data Quality Assessment & Improvement Framework (DQAIF) to measure and improve the performance of multiple evaluators of pavement distresses by controlling for subjective judgment by the individual evaluators. The DQAIF is based on a Continuous Quality Improvement cyclic process that is based on the following main components: a) assessment of the consistency over time — performed using linear regression analysis, b) assessment of the agreement between evaluators — performed using inter‐rater agreement analysis, and c) implementation of management practices to improve the results shown by the assessments. A large and comprehensive case study was employed to describe, refine and validate the framework. When the DQAIF is applied to pavement distress data collected onsite by different evaluators, the results show that it is an effective method for quickly identifying and solving data collection issues. The benefit of this framework is that the analyses employed produce performance measures during the data collection process, thus minimizing the risk of subjectivity and suggesting timely corrective actions. The DQAIF can be used as part of an asset management program, or in any engineering program where the data collected are subjected to the judgment of the individuals performing the evaluation. The process could also be adapted for assessing performance of automated distress data acquisition systems.
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Location factors are used to adjust conceptual cost estimates by project location. Presently, the... more Location factors are used to adjust conceptual cost estimates by project location. Presently, the construction industry has adopted a simple, proximity-based interpolation method to estimate location factors for missing locations. Although this approach is widely accepted, its validity has not been statistically substantiated. This study assessed the current method of adjusting conceptual cost estimates by project location and compared its performance against two alternative spatial interpolation methods. A Moran's I test was used to confirm the presence of strong spatial autocorrelation, which supports the use of proximity-based methods. Additional statistical evaluations of current and alternative methods were also conducted. Results provided statistical justification for the current method. However, an alternative method was proven to outperform the current method. Moreover, several opportunities for future research were identified as a result of this exploratory study.
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The increasing use of the design-build project delivery method has resulted in it now being one o... more The increasing use of the design-build project delivery method has resulted in it now being one of the most popular non-traditional methods for delivering road, bridge, mass transit, and rail projects in the United States. However, although the use of design-build is widespread, there remains a substantial lack of information about how to effectively plan and implement design management procedures for design-build transportation projects. In particular, transportation agencies lack information about how to shape appropriate design management roles for various contractual parties and to manage design activities for design-build mega-projects. To fill this gap, this article presents a case study of the SR 99 Bored Tunnel project in Seattle, Washington. It provides detailed information on how the owner, the Washington State Department of Transportation, incorporated design management procedures into its requirements and how the design-builder, Seattle Tunnel Partners, implemented them within its project management processes.
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The monitoring of construction workforce physical strain can be a valuable management strategy in... more The monitoring of construction workforce physical strain can be a valuable management strategy in improving workforce productivity, safety, health, and quality of work. Nevertheless, clear relationships between workforce performance and physical strain have yet to be established. An exploratory investigation of the relationship between task level productivity and physical strain was conducted. Nine participants individually performed a four-hour simulated construction task while a wearable physiological status monitor continuously assessed their physiological condition. Heart rate, relative heart rate, and breathing rate were utilized as predictors of physical strain, and task level–single factor productivity was used as an index of productivity. Numerous regression models were generated using the collected data. This investigation initially unsuccessfully attempted to establish a relationship between physiological condition and productivity at the individual worker level. However, an analysis of the regression models showed that there is a relationship between productivity and either heart rate or relative heart rate at the group level, and that this relationship is parabolic. Breathing rate was proved to not be a significant predictor of productivity. Research results significantly improve understanding of the relationship between work physiology and task productivity. Researchers and practitioners may use the tested monitoring devices, analysis methods, and results to design further applied studies and to improve workforce productivity.
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Papers by Giovanni Migliaccio
Proceedings -- The 27th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction
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Research Reports by Giovanni Migliaccio
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles by Giovanni Migliaccio
Papers by Giovanni Migliaccio