Background:
The Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) process employs a variety of design, material, and management techniques to reduce the impacts of construction to the public, decreasing the time of construction and minimizing traffic disruptions. These projects require a great deal of planning and collaboration among project team members due to their complex nature. To guide the team’s planning and collaboration, Project Management Plans (PMP) are developed that define the roles of the team members and the processes that will be followed. These PMPs are critical tools and are required on major projects (over $500 million) on projects funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). It is critical that these PMPs are developed properly at the outset of the project so that they are a useful reference and guide throughout the project. The FHWA’s SHRP 2 R10 report provides guidance for completion of the PMPs for the projects on which they are required, there is no template or guide on the specifics of completing a PMP for an ABC project. In this project the research team worked with subject matter experts to develop a template and guide that project team members can use as they develop their PMPs specifically for ABC projects.
Objective:
The main objective of this project is to develop the framework of PMP for ABC. The framework is divided into two main parts: one part being a list of questions to be answered in the creation of the PMP and the second part providing a checklist of items or things to consider for each ABC technique selected for the project.
Scope:
This project focused on developing the framework of PMP for ABC. The following tasks were performed to achieve the project objective:
- Task 1 – Literature Review
- The objective of this task was to investigate the components of ABC projects through review of literature and existing PMPs.
- Task 2 – Collect and analyze PMPs of large projects
- The objective of this task was to study the components of PMPs in general and specific to the ABC projects. The following were the specific action items listed for accomplishing this task:
- Located and reviewed PMPs of past projects including PMPs for ABC projects.
- Identified SHRP 2 R10 5DPM recommendations for PMPs.
- Analyzed contents of collected PMPs. Compare contents of PMPs from past projects to the Guide to Project Management R10 reports.
- Task 3 – Conduct interviews for evaluating the framework
- The objective of this task was to evaluate the initial framework. DOT officials knowledgeable about the ABC projects were recruited and informed about the initial framework. Subsequent structured interviews were conducted to evaluate the framework. The research team reached out to experts within their network and then used a snowball approach. Feedbacks from the interviews were used to adjust the initial framework.
- Task 4 – Final framework of PMP for ABC
- The developed framework of PMP for ABC has been presented in the final report. The proposed framework is divided into two parts: part one consists of list of questions to be answered while creating the PMP and the second part provides a checklist of items to consider for each ABC technique selected for the project.
Research Team:
Principal Investigator: Dr. Matthew Reyes
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Somik Ghosh
Research Assistant: Mr. Thandolwenkosi E. Mpofu