Overview
Our curriculum is divided into two "functional cores" that deal with two different philosophies. One is business/management/financial core and it consists of courses taught by both DEWSC and the College of Business faculty. The second core is the technical/ design/engineering courses and it consists of courses taught by DEWSC and Civil Engineering faculty.
We see construction engineering management (CEM) as one of the most promising fields in which CEAS and ASU can achieve uncontested academic excellence. There is a formula at work that makes DEWSC unique among all construction programs and promotes our unlimited potential. Our metropolitan location, engineering endorsement, industry support, economic environment, good leadership, established tradition, concerned Alumni, and dedicated faculty all play a role in the success formula. Research is also a key element in the formula that maintains the Del E. Webb School of Construction’s leadership position as a nationally recognized construction management program. The School seeks alliances in international construction, development of long-term research liaisons with other academic institutions, and increased visibility by making it a major WWW focus in the area of construction research.
Among many DEWSC research topics are: Cemented Soils: excavation and deep foundations, effect of wetting; Green Building; Geotechnical Construction: compaction and demolition; Computer Aided Constructability; Construction equipment productivity; Neural network applications to construction; Women in construction; and the Use of GIS/GPS in concert with construction.
The centers of construction research within the Del E. Webb School of Construction are:
Construction Research Education Advanced Technology Environments
The school, under the leadership of Dr. Allan Chasey, is establishing an industry/university cooperative research center for the study of improving the construction delivery process of advanced technology facilities, facilities that utilize clean rooms or clean zones. Examples of such facilities are contamination free manufacturing plants (semiconductors), research labs, pharmaceutical facilities, and hospitals. The focus of the Center will be the development and implementation of a complete research program that covers the entire life-cycle of the construction process, from programming, design, construction, and startup of the production facilities to the start of manufacturing. The concept is to identify those factors that impact project management, schedule, and/or that cost the most, and to develop an overall value analysis to reduce the time of facility delivery, from inception to operation. The Advanced Technology Facility Construction (Cleanroom) Task Force, a task force developed by the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University in conjunction with industry representatives, identified the need for this center. The objectives of the proposed Center research program are in line with the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (NTRS) and developments in the international arena.
The growing need for advanced technology facilities is most notable in the microelectronics manufacturing industry. The steady increase in facilities over the past few years can be seen by the number of new and remodeled manufacturing plants for semiconductor devices around the world. It has been estimated that 160 new clean manufacturing facilities will be needed by the year 2000 to keep up with product demands. At least 80 new Fabs have been announced or have started construction in the past few months (SI, July 96). However, the increasing cost of these facilities is presenting the industry with a difficult challenge of how to provide manufacturing space at a reasonable cost. The cost of a new Fab today is over $1B and is estimated to be $10B by the year 2005 (1997 NTRS) due to the increasing tool cost and the complexity of the factory. Even though the largest contributor to the cost of the Fab is the equipment, tool installation and building costs represent two of the next three largest cost items after capital equipment (1997 NTRS).
Housing Research Institute (HRI)
The Housing Research Institute (HRI) consolidates all the residential construction research within the Del E. Webb School of Construction. The focus is to facilitate building residential homes of higher quality: more energy efficient, durable, sustainable and safer, while still being affordable. The mission of HRI is to promote research and development in the Arizona homebuilding industry and provide leadership in the southwest area housing industry through research, learning and innovative practices. HRI accomplishes this through in-depth investigation of industry practices, development of relevant performance measurement criteria, identification of problem areas and implementation of solutions.
Performance Based Studies Research Group (PBSRG)
The Performance Based Procurement System was developed by Dean T. Kashiwagi to assist facility owners in buying the best performing contractor services/facility systems in a competitive bid environment using all the concepts of "Information Measurement Theory" (IMT). It allows a facility owner to correct facility problems with the best solutions, buy performing systems, and select the best performing contractors at the "best" competitive price. The system is self documenting, contains it’s own justifications, and the information generated by the system resolves protests and disputes. It minimizes liability and transfers that liability to the performing contractors through the use of performance information.
The Performance Based Procurement System (PBPS) is a competitive bid, comparing cost and all other performance criteria at the same time. It uses logical and time saving performance requirements to allow performing contractors to do quality work in a competitive environment. It is a method to purchase a level of service on a competitive bid basis (continuous improvement / partnering / true competitive bid). There is no prequalification (allows all bidders/no detailed specifications). PBPS reduces delivery time, delivery cost, and increases performance; reduces specifications and gives designer more information; reduces guesswork by designer and replaces function with "best available" options information; and allows budgeting based on information (budgeting).
The following areas of facilities services have been tested using the PBPS: Roofing, Janitorial, Landscaping, Copy Machine Service, General contracting, Waterproofing, Interior/Exterior renovation, Roads/Grounds, Painting, and Electrical and Mechanical contracting. New areas of data research are environmental engineering and consulting, abatement contractors, and demolition contractors.