Constructability

For other uses, see Constructibility.

Constructability (or buildability) is a concept that denotes ease of construction. It can be central to project management techniques to review construction processes from start to finish during pre-construction phase. Buildability assessment is employed to identify obstacles before a project is actually built to reduce or prevent errors, delays, and cost overruns.[1]

CII defines constructability as “the optimal use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, design, procurement, and field operations to achieve overall project objectives”.[2]

The term "constructability" can also define the ease and efficiency with which structures can be built. The more constructible a structure is, the more economical it will be.[3] Constructability is in part a reflection of the quality of the design documents; that is, if the design documents are difficult to understand and interpret, the project will be difficult to build.[4]

The term refers to:

  • the extent to which the design of the building facilitates ease of construction, subject to the overall requirements for the completed building (CIRIA [5] definition).[6]
  • the effective and timely integration of construction knowledge into the conceptual planning, design, construction, and field operations of a project to achieve the overall project objectives in the best possible time and accuracy at the most cost-effective levels (CII definition).[7]
  • the integration of construction knowledge in the project delivery process and balancing the various project and environmental constraints to achieve the project goals and building performance at the optimal level.(CIIA[8] definition).[9]
  1. ^ The Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand Incorporated (IPENZ). Constructability. Archived 2011-10-18 at the Wayback Machine Practice Note 13. April, 2008.
  2. ^ Construction Industry Institute (1986). Constructability: A Primer. Research Summary 3-1.
  3. ^ Schwinger, Clifford W. (March 2011). "Tips for Designing Constructable Steel-Framed Buildings" (PDF). Modern Steel Construction. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  4. ^ Gambatese, John A.; Hinze, Jimmie; Behm, Michael (May 2005). "Investigation of the Viability of Designing for Safety" (PDF). CPWR - The Center to Protect Workers' Rights. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  5. ^ Construction Industry Research and Information Association
  6. ^ McGeorge, Palmer & Kerry London. Construction management: new directions, 2nd ed. Blackwell Science, 2002, p. 54.
  7. ^ Construction Industry Institute (CII), based at The University of Texas at Austin. CII Best Practices: Constructability
  8. ^ Construction Industry Institute, Australia.
  9. ^ Singh, Amarjit (2001). Creative Systems in Structural and Construction Engineering. Balkema. pp. 96, 97. ISBN 9058091619.