Journal

2017 Research Roadmap Report

by

Foreword: by Dr. Wim Bakens-Secretary General for CIB

The CIB Working Commission W117, “Performance Measurement in Construction,” is one of the more innovative and productive research-based commissions in CIB. It focuses on the utilization of performance metrics in the delivery of construction services. The home for W117 is the Performance Based Studies Research Group (PBSRG) at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona, where W117 and ASU-PBSRG hold their annual Best Value Conference. From its start in 2009, W117 was led by Prof. Dean Kashiwagi (ASU), and his group of innovators (Dr. Kenneth Sullivan, Sylvia Romero, John Savicky and Dr. Jacob Kashiwagi) and co-coordinator, Professor Charles Egbu, (Glasgow Caledonian University). In 2016, W117 was joined by Co-Coordinator Prof. Sicco Santema, (University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands) the visionary who led to the proliferation of the W117 technology in the Netherlands.

W117 aims to change construction procurement and stakeholder organizations worldwide through the use of the information-based Best Value Approach (BVA). As such, it differs from most CIB Commissions that are more science driven, while W117 is more concept and impact driven. It has been one of the most successful CIB Commissions in bridging the gap between the construction industry practice and academic research. It has been prolific in publishing and running research tests with industry partners. W117 and PBSRG have published over 300 papers and generated licensed technology (47 licenses from AZTech, the licensing body of ASU for intellectual property rights). It is the most licensed technology from the most innovative university in the U.S. (as rated by U.S. News and World Report (2016).

W117 is responsible for the development and continuous testing of the following technologies:

  1. Best Value Approach (BVA).
  2. Best Value (BV) technology.
  3. Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS).
  4. Performance Information Risk Management System (PIRMS).
  5. Information Measurement Theory (IMT) and Kashiwagi Solution Model (KSM).
  6. A new project management model based on IMT.
  7. A new risk management model that focuses on the risk that the expert vendor does not control.

The activities of WII7 are responsible for the following unique and dominant impacts on the delivery of construction:

  1. Rijkswaterstaat, the largest user of construction services in the Netherlands, won the 2012 Dutch Sourcing Award (DSA) for the successful completion of a $1B infrastructure project called “fast-track projects” using BV-PIPS.
  2. NEVI, the Dutch procurement professional organization, has licensed the Best Value technology from ASU and has identified the approach as a mainstream approach to the delivery of services, educating and certifying procurement professionals in the delivery of construction and other services.
  3. Dutch visionary and author Sicco Santema, and his protégé Jeroen Van de Rijt, published a Best Value Procurement (BVP) Dutch book, using Dutch test cases to show the BVA technology was compliant with European Tender Law (12,000 books sold). Other books (in Dutch) were also published for the contractor community.
  4. RISNET, a Dutch risk management association, licensed the Best Value Approach in order to increase the use of the risk-based project management in the construction industry.
  5. W117 BVA certification system was developed, which certifies competence of BV professional practitioners.
  6. W117 coordinator, Dr. Kenneth Sullivan, introduced the BVA into Canada, resulting in $3M research grants for the delivery of construction services in 25 different universities and government organizations.
  7. W117/PBSRG Best Value expert John Savicky, signed a sole source agreement with the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) and their subsidiary, the Western States Contracting Association (WSCA), to allow all states to utilize the W117/PBSRG technical expertise by “sole source.” This has led to tests in 33 different states.
  8. Introduction of BV into Malaysia in 2012, into the Project Management Master’s Program, led by Dr. Fah Choy Chia at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).
  9. Introduction of BV into India in 2014 resulting in the noted engineering school, SJCE, adopting the curriculum into their engineering school.
  10. Introduction of BVA into Norway in 2014, through the FIR, the construction engineering association. FIR also translated the Dutch book into Norwegian, going public on June 20, 2016, during a three-day event to include the first certification of Best Value professionals in Norway. The first BVA testing occurred in 2016 [with the award made in 2017], and with a minimum of five additional tests scheduled in 2017. The first large BVA certification testing sponsored by W117, occurred in 2017 in Trondheim, Norway. Earlier individual certifications occurred in 2014 and 2016.
  11. Introduction of BV into Poland with a three-day conference in Krakow in March 2016, with the publication of the translated Dutch Best Value Procurement (BVP) book into Polish. The first W117 sponsored certification training occurred in April 6, 7th 2017 with the licensed Polish BV Foundation. The next BVA CIB sponsored training will be in October 2017.
  12. Introduction activities in Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Germany and Saudi Arabia in 2015 and 2016.

These research efforts have led to the following future research and development opportunities:

  1. Development of the language of metrics in the delivery of construction services.
  2. The development of a new risk management and project management models.
  3. Opportunity to test the sustainability of innovation in traditional environments.
  4. Opportunities to test the innovative concepts in different countries.
  5. Opportunity to identify and test the sustainability of testing new theoretical concepts in the industry without the traditional extensive academic research literature search and investigations.

W117 has successfully utilized the CIB Platform to impact the construction industry performance worldwide with the information based academic research. Its drive to make a difference is to be applauded and this Research Roadmap (for consultation) is one more example of its high quality and high impact deliverables.

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