Overview
of Research by Bob Tatum
Industry Experience and Research Motivation
Experience on two large power plant projects included involvement with
design-construction integration and innovative designs and construction
methods. My construction engineering activities on a power plant project
in Colorado included an active interface with the design engineers to
analyze and plan innovative construction methods, interpret the plans
and specifications, and resolve field problems. Before relocating to
the site for the project in Washington State, I spent two years in pre-construction
planning and working with the design team at the home office. A major
activity during this significant career opportunity was to jointly,
with the project design team, study innovative designs and construction
methods. I also provided construction input to the design in multiple
disciplines. My responsibilities as Resident Engineer and later Construction
Superintendent at the project included implementing many of the innovative
designs and construction methods that we jointly developed during pre-construction
planning. See industry experience.
My service in the US Army Corps included responsibility for a highway
upgrading project in the Republic of Viet Nam. This required geometric
design for the upgraded cross section and alignment, earthwork operations,
bridge construction, and drainage structure work. We integrated and
completed all of these activities at the remote site. Designing in the
evening and constructing the following day provided complete integration
between these two activities.
Both parts of this background provided a major motivation for my research
concerning integration and innovation in construction. These two complimentary
areas have increased understanding of context within a firm and on a
project and the activities to integrate design and construction, develop
innovative designs and construction methods when they are beneficial
for the project, and better satisfy project objectives. Both of the
power plant projects I worked on involved large and dynamic project
organizations, which motivated me to complete doctoral research concerning
decision making in organizational structuring.
The following paragraphs summarize my research in these three areas
of integration, innovation, and organization. See publications
for a listing divided into categories related to each area follow the
three descriptions, along with teaching.
Design-Construction Integration
The integration work involves methods of construcibility improvement
and formalizing and transferring construction knowledge to increase
design-construction integration and improve construction methods. Completed
projects related to integration include constructibility improvement
during conceptual planning, use of modularization and pre-assembly,
transferring knowledge from construction experience, and comparing integration
in manufacturing and construction. Two other integration projects focused
on formalizing and representing construction knowledge for use during
design of reinforced concrete structures and the design of mechanical
and electrical systems. In these projects, we identified characteristics
of construction knowledge that is useful in design and methods to represent
this knowledge as a part of computer models. My integration research
involved four doctoral students and projects sponsored by NSF, CII,
and CIFE. Research methods for this work included case studies and symbolic
modeling of facility designs and construction knowledge. See publications
related to design-construction integration.
Product and Process Innovation in Construction
The innovation portion of my research concerns mechanisms and strategies
for product and process innovation in construction. This research began
with case studies of new facility design features, new construction
methods, and their interdependent development. Subsequent parts of the
investigation included organizational characteristics fostering innovation
in design and construction firms, processes of innovation in these organizations,
and strategies to develop new product and process technology and use
it for competitive advantage. This work increased the visibility and
understanding of innovation in design and construction. My integration
research involved seven doctoral students and projects sponsored by
NSF, CII, and CIFE. See publications related to innovation.
Decision Making in Organizing Large Projects
My doctoral research, supervised by Professor Ray Levitt, focused on
increasing understanding how managers decide in organizing large projects.
This included analyzing case studies of large projects using models
of decisions making and selecting the model that best fit the actual
process. See publications related to organization.
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