Construction Engineering and Management
Operations Analysis, Site Layout and Productivity Improvements
The art of construction engineering and management has at its core the need/ability to design and analyze construction operations and processes, with an emphasis on productivity enhancement. Researchers at EUPALINOS take an integrated approach to planning, modeling, analysis, and design of construction operations, with a blend of mathematical and simulation models, stirred with other analytical tools.
A construction process is defined as a unique collection of work tasks related to each other through a technologic structure and sequence.
Daniel W. Halpin, Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations (1992)
We have taken an interest in understanding the basic concepts associated with the productivity of construction operations and in using discrete-event simulation for modeling them, in designing productivity improvement programs and, furthermore, in applying our gained knowledge to several case studies, such as the University of Cyprus's campus.
Project Controls
Project (time or cost) controls are primarily intended to identify deviations from the project plan rather than to suggest possible areas for savings. Thus, during the execution of a project, such controls become indispensable tools to construction managers, especially in serving as an indication of the progress and problems associated with a project.
If there is a 50% chance of something going wrong, then 9 out 10 times it will.
Unknown Author
We, at EUPALINOS, have made project controls another centerpiece of our construction engineering and management research activities. Furthermore, we regularly apply such controls in everything we do at the lab. Be it the management of construction projects, the management of research projects, ... or simply the management of our personal lives. Everything is scheduled, budgetteted for, and monitored during the execution phase.
EUPALINOS researchers, during their tenure at the lab, have worked on several construction projects in Cyprus applying their knowledge in project controls, while Dr. Christodoulou had also brought international experience to the team having worked on projects such as the Newark Airport Monorail Project (NJ, US), the Gowanus and Prospect Expressways (NY, USA), Columbia University's Capital Construction Program (NY, USA), the JFK International Airport (NY, USA) and the reconstruction of New York City's 34th Street Subway station (NY, USA).
Further to quantity takeoffs and bills of materials, we help develop resource-loaded and cost-loaded construction schedules, project-controls databases and procedures, and help in evaluating construction claims. Most of the work done is computer-based and in many cases it utilizes software custom-developed software.
Decision Support Systems
A Decision Support System (DSS) is a computer-based information system that supports decision-making activities. DSS include knowledge-based systems and serve the management, operations, and planning operations of an organization and help to make decisions.
At the heart of every large project, there is a small project trying to get out.
Unknown Author
We have developed DSS for a variety of applications and projects, and have utilized them on real-life case studies. For example, in the past Dr. Christodoulou developed DSS used in the consrtuction and management of the Newark Automated People Mover (monorail) System (NJ, USA), the construction of the American Airlines Terminal at JFK (NY, USA), the Columbia University Capital Construction Program (NY, USA), the construction of the Lemesou-Makariou Avenue (Latsia, Cyprus), and the management of water distribution networks for the Water Boards of Lemesos, Larnaca and Lefkosia (Cyprus). Furthermore, the DSS for the Newark monorail system was awarded an international research award (Engineering Technics Press, 1992).
