Integration of the Construction Knowledge and Expertise in Front End Planning
AbstractTraditionally, construction input is integrated after the completion of the design stage of the projects. Inadequate construction input at the predesign stage and during the front end planning (FEP) process results in fragility of plans in terms of constructability. This paper reports on a research to investigate construction input during the FEP process. The research is based on three questionnaire surveys as well as complementary case studies. Questionnaires1 and 2 were developed to assess the status of the FEP process and select areas that require construction input, respectively. Case studies were then selected from a pool of projects and collected data were analyzed to investigate barriers to construction input. Results of the surveys and case studies suggested that lack of well established interorganizational frameworks within project organizations, as a loosely coupled network, hinders effective construction input. Based on the results, a user friendly decision aid, a construction input ass.