P ASOS EN UNA SELECCIÓN

Even before design and construction processes begin, there is a stage of "pre-project planning" that can be critical for project success. In this process, the project scope is established. Since construction and design professionals are often not involved in this project scope stage, the terminology of describing this as a "pre-project" process has arisen. From the owner's perspective, defining the project scope is just another phase in the process of acquiring a constructed facility.

The definition of a project scope typically involves developing project alternatives at a conceptual level, analyzing project risks and economic payoff, developing a

financial plan, making a decision to proceed (or not), and deciding upon the project organization and control plan. The next few chapters will examine these different problems at some length.

The danger of poor project definition comes from escalating costs (as new items are added) or, in the extreme, project failure. A good definition of scope allows all the parties in the project to understand what is needed and to work towards meeting those needs.

Example 3-14: The Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI) for Building Projects The Construction Industry Institute has developed rating indexes for different types of projects to assess the adequacy of project scope definitions.[20] These are intended to reflect best practices in the building industry and provides a checklist for

recommended activities and milestones to define a project scope. The rating index is a weighted sum of scores received for a variety of items on the scope definition

checklist. Each item in the checklist is rated as "not applicable" (0), "complete

definition" (1), "minor deficiencies" (2), "some deficiencies" (3), "major deficiencies"

(4) or "incomplete or poor definition" (5). Lower scores in these categories are preferable. Some items in the checklist include:

• Business Strategy for building use, justification, plan, economic analysis, facility requirements, expansion/alteration consideration, site selection issues and project objectives.

• Owner Philosophy with regard to reliability, maintenance, operation and design.

• Project Requirements for value engineering, design, existing facility, scope of work review, schedule and budget.

• Site Information including applicable regulatory reporting and permits requirements.

• Building Programming including room by room definitions for use, finishes, interior requirements and hvac (heating, ventilating and air conditioning).

• Design Parameters including all components and a constructability analysis.

• Equipment including inventory, locations and utility requirements.

3.14 References

1. Au, T. and P. Christiano, Structural Analysis, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1987.

2. Building Research Advisory Board, Exploratory Study on Responsibility, Liability and Accountability for Risks in Construction, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1978.

3. Drucker, P.F., Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles, Harper and Row, New York, 1985.

4. Gaylord, E., and C. Gaylord (Editors), Structural Engineering Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1979.

5. Levitt, R.E., R.D. Logcher and N.H. Quaddumi, "Impact of Owner-Engineer Risk Sharing on Design Conservatism," ASCE Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering, Vol. 110, 1984, pp. 157-167.

6. Simon, H.A., The Science of the Artificial, Second Edition, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1981.

7. Tatum, C.B., "Innovation on the Construction Project: A Process View,"

Project Management Journal, Vol. 18, No. 5, 1987, pp. 57-67.

8. Pre-Project Planning Research Team, Pre-Project Planning Handbook Construction Industry Institute, Publication 39-2, April 1995.

3.15 Footnotes

1. See "ASCE Unveils Quality Manual", ENR, November 5, 1987, p. 14) Back

2. See V. Fairweather, "Milan's Model Metro", Civil Engineering, December 1987, pp. 40-43.Back

3. See T.Y. Lin and B.G. Gerwick, Jr. "Design of Long Span Concrete Bridges with Special References to Prestressing, Precasting, Structural Behavior and Economics," ACI Publication SP-23, First International Symposium, 1969, pp.

693-704 Back

4. See Linnhoff, B., D.W. Townsend, D. Boland, G.F. Hewitt, B.E.A. Thomas, A.R. Guy, and R.H. Marsland, User Guide on Process Integration for the Efficient Use of Energy, Institution of Chemical Engineers, Rugby, Warks., England, 1982. Back

5. "More Construction for the Money," Summary Report of the Construction Industry Cost Effectiveness Project, The Business Roundtable, New York, 1983, pg. 30. Back

6. See "The Quiet Revolution in Skyscraper Design, " Civil Engineering, May 1983, pp. 54-59. Back

7. See J. Landis, "Why Homebuilders Don't Innovate," Built Environment, Vol.

8, No. 1, 1982, pp. 46-53. Back

8. See P.J. Cassimates, Economics of the Construction Industry, National Industry Conference Board (SBE No. 111), 1969. Back

9. See F. Moavenzadeh, "Construction's High Technology Revolution,"

Technology Review, October, 1985, pp. 32-39. Back

10. For more information on Green Buildings see the LEED website:

http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/LEED_main.asp Back

11. See R.W. Jensen and C.C. Tonies (Editors), Software Engineering, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979, p. 22. Back

12. See S.J. Fenves, "Computer Applications," in Structural Engineering Handbook, (Gaylord, E. and C. Gaylord, Editors), McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, NY, 1979. Back

13. See T. Au, E.W. Parti and A.K.C. Wong, "Computer Applications for Health Care Facility Design," Computers in Biology and Medicine, Vol. 1, No. 4, 1971, pp. 299-316. Back

14. The authors are indebted to E. D'Appolonia for suggesting this example. Back 15. See E. D'Appolonia, R. Alperstein and D.J. D'Appolonia, "Behavior of

Colluvial Slope", ASCE Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, Vol. 93, No. SM4, 1967, pp. 447-473. Back

16. The material in this example is adapted from A.L. Tolman, A. P. Ballestero, W.W. Beck, G.H. Emrich, "Guidance Manual for Minimizing Pollution from Waste Disposal Sites," Report to the Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA-600/2-78-142, August 1978. Back

17. For discussions of industrialized building, see Bender, Richard, A Crack in the Rear View Mirror - A View of Industrialized Building, Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1983; Nutt-Powell, Thomas, E., Manufactured Homes: Making Sense of a Housing Opportunity, Auburn House, 1982; or Warzawski, A., M. Avraham, and D. Carmel, "Utilization of Precast Concrete Elements in Building," ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 110, No. CO4, 1984, pp. 476-485. Back

18. See C.G. Field and S.R. Rivkin, The Building Code Burden, Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Co., Lexington, MA, 1975. Back

19. See Rehak, Daniel R. and L.A. Lopez, Computer Aided Engineering Problems and Prospects, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Illinois, 1981. Back 20. See PDRI for Building Projects Research Team, PDRI: Project Definition

Rating Index for Building Projects, Construction Industry Institute, Resource 155-2, July 1999.Back

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