Award Date

5-2011

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Construction Management

Department

Construction Management

First Committee Member

Pramen P. Shrestha, Chair

Second Committee Member

David R. Shields

Third Committee Member

Neil D. Opfer

Graduate Faculty Representative

Nancy N. Menzel

Number of Pages

244

Abstract

The majority of public projects in the United States are procured and constructed by state or local governments using the design-bid-build (DBB) project delivery method. In the DBB method, the detailed design is completed by a design firm, then, a contractor builds the project according to the plans and specifications prepared by the design firm. Some studies show that a project's performance depends upon the quality of the design. If the errors in a design are minimized, the construction cost and schedule growth of the project also will be minimized.

This study analyzed data from Clark County, Nevada public works projects to determine the impact of design cost on construction cost and schedule growth. The sample included projects completed between 1992 and 2007 and over $ 803 million in construction value, converted to 2010 base cost. The correlation among design cost with other parameters, such as construction cost growth, construction schedule growth, total cost growth, and contract award cost growth, were determined. The correlation between basic design cost and total cost growth for Clark County road projects was found to be 0.29, which was statistically significant at alpha level 0.05. The correlation was negative. This investigation revealed that the higher the cost expended in the design, the lower the total cost growth. A regression model was developed to predict the final construction cost of the projects using the design cost as an input variable. The R-square value of Clark County road projects' model was found to be 62.30%.

Keywords

Building – Costs; Construction cost growth; Construction industry — Costs; Construction schedule growth; Contract award cost growth; Design bid build; Design cost; Letting of contracts; Nevada – Clark County; Public buildings – Design and construction; Public buildings – Design and construction – Costs; Scheduling; Total cost growth

Disciplines

Civil Engineering | Construction Engineering and Management

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Download


Share

COinS