Renovation projects exhibit complex characteristics due to the presence of constraints that lead to cost and schedule overruns. Numerous researchers have concluded that the performance of renovation projects is typically lower than that of new construction projects. This paper discusses the initial phases of a research conducted at Michigan State University, which focused on developing a framework for production management of renovation projects. The emphasis of this paper is on the findings from literature review and interviews, pertinent to performance measurement in renovation projects that led to the framework development. However, the framework development and the framework itself have not been discussed. This paper primarily addresses two questions: (1) what are the complexities of renovation projects that lead to underperformance in cost, time, and quality? and (2) what are the limitations of state-of-the-art construction performance measurement systems for managing production in renovation projects? Interviews of 10 construction companies were conducted to identify current practices of production management in renovation projects. This research observed a lack of a formal production management process in renovation projects, with a limited use of performance measurement systems. The research identified essential attributes for avoiding schedule and cost overruns on renovation projects.

is the Program Leader and a Professor of Construction Management, in the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University. He conducts research on construction management, sustainability and energy. Recent research and outreach projects include: construction project closeout process, change orders, vendor performance assessment, Post Occupancy Evaluation, construction management of steel construction, warehouse worker safety, application of LEED R to design and construction, energy codes, and energy assessments.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Safety Training on Warehouse Worker Hazards for Structural Steel Latino Workers: Phase 2 Implementation and AssessmentStructural steel workers are at an increased risk of work related injuries due to the nature of their work. Past research has shown that increasing awareness of warehouse hazards through formal training reduces the risk of workers being involved in accidents that may lead to injuries or fatalities. Latino workers are particularly exposed to workplace hazards because the safety training that they receive is often not delivered in a language and manner that they can understand. In order to address the barriers to adequate training for Latino workers, the research team successfully obtained a training grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop an English and Spanish Warehouse Worker training curricula for use with worker training. The first phase of the project included developing the safety training curriculum which consists of six contact hour worker training that covers potential hazard exposures that result from warehousing and processing tasks. The second phase of the project included administering the training to structural steel workers and assessing the training. The objective of this paper is to assess the Spanish version of the training which includes analyzing the demographic characteristics of participants, the knowledge gained and their perceptions about the quality and usefulness of the training in their workplace. In order to meet the objective, a demographic survey and a knowledge pre-test were administered prior to the training. A knowledge post-test and an exit survey were administered after participants completed the training. The training was completed by 104 structural steel workers in the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico in summer 2015. The results from the demographic survey indicate that 99% of participants were male and 42.2% of participants had less than 5 years working in the structural steel industry. The results from the knowledge pre-test and posttest indicate that while the training significantly increased participants' knowledge about common warehouse hazards (average pre-test score 41.3%; average post-text score 55.2%), the scores are still low. This is a common challenge when training Latino workers that needs to be addressed. The results from the exit survey indicate that 97.9% of participants believe that the training was good or excellen...

The work presented in this report does not represent performance of any product relative to regulated minimum efficiency requirements. The laboratory and/or field sites used for this work are not certified rating test facilities. The conditions and methods under which products were characterized for this work differ from standard rating conditions, as described. Because the methods and conditions differ, the reported results are not comparable to rated product performance and should only be used to estimate performance under the measured conditions. v Contents List of Figures .

The paper presents the results of a collaborative effort between two US universities, The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and a steel fabricating corporation to develop and implement a bilingual (English and Spanish) safety training program on warehouse worker hazards for structural steel fabricating and supply companies. Structural steel fabricators receive structural steel material, fabricate structural elements for steel framed buildings and bridges and then ship fabricated material to projects. Steel service centers purchase material from steel mills and distribute steel to structural steel fabricators.Workers in structural steel fabricating and supply companies are at risk of fatal and non-fatal injuries. In addition to exposure to common warehouse worker hazards in other industries, structural steel warehouse workers are exposed to risks related to the large, heavy and variable nature of the steel material they handle. Furthermore, some warehouse workers employed in structural steel fabricating and supply companies speak Spanish as their native language and have limited English fluency that puts them and their co-workers at an increased risk of fatal and non-fatal injuries.Structural steel warehouse workers face many barriers to receiving adequate safety training that is in a language and manner that workers can understand. The structural steel fabricating and supply industry includes many small companies that are geographically distributed among the United States and may lack the resources to develop and implement adequate training programs for their workers. When training is available, it is often offered in English which limits the Spanish-only worker's ability to understand the training and may increase the risk of injuries due to employers mistakenly believing that workers are trained to safely perform their duties.In order to address the barriers to adequate training, the research team successfully obtained a training grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop an English and Spanish Warehouse Worker training curricula for use with worker training. The training consists of peer to peer activity based learning. The training covers potential hazard exposures that flow from warehousing and processing tasks such as off-loading and loading materials, movement of material by overhead crane, forklift, loaders or by hand, falls from equipment or loads, struck by or caught between accidents, musculoskeletal injuries due to lifting, bending or working overhead, electrical equipment operation and maintenance requiring safe practices and lock-out/tag-out, and chemical processes. Educational materials consist of a six contact hour worker training which includes activity based learning, PowerPoint presentations, demonstration materials, trainee workbooks and a learning outcomes assessment. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by highlighting the results of a partnership between academia, a professional society and a company to develop and implement a sa...

This project was conducted as part of the Building America program that proposed the overall mission to achieve 30-50% reduction in existing building energy use. The purposes of this project were to analyze architectural styles and features named as archetypes of existing homes within the Great Lakes regions that include Michigan and identify the dominant type that would offer significant potential for energy-efficient retrofit. Housing archetypes were analyzed according to vintage, style, and construction characteristics in two target cities within the region. The findings from an intensive case study targeting the City of Ann Arbor established a fundamental framework for characterizing local housing archetypes and determined the dominant housing archetype that needed energy-efficient retrofit. An extended case study then conducted in Grand Rapids additionally refined this framework for the future application. This paper explained the process and data collection method to develop the framework that can be utilized by other researchers to determine the target housing types for energy-retrofit research.