The Center for Construction Industry Studies (CCIS) engages in research projects to assure the competitiveness and advancement of the industry in a changing global environment.

   The Center has three major thrust areas. Through direct observation, on-site interviews, focus groups, and surveys, the Center has had contact with more than 2,000 participants from more than 250 organizations. Investigations into Fully Integrated and Automated Project Processes (FIAPP) have shown that mapping of work-function characteristics offers an exciting new way to better understand the challenges of creating and adopting new technologies. The Construction Workforce thrust area continues to increase in importance as skilled workforce shortages persist - both in

the field and in the office. A major initiative has examined the Two-Tier Workforce Strategy,an entirely new paradigm for how industry views its workforce. In the Project Execution Processes thrust area, a diverse collection of Value Management Processes have been cataloged and examined for their impact on projects and new work process tools have been developed pertaining to innovative contracting strategies, design effectiveness, and better predicting critical project durations.

   In addition to the studies mentioned above, the Center has recently initiated several new research projects supportive of these thrusts. Scholars are investigating such topics as the impact of globalization on pre-construction services, the role of organizational boundaries on technological change processes, performance benchmarking of public works projects under different contract strategies, and project cost growth economic models. They are also examining how to optimize engineering value on projects, how organizations can prepare for major change in acquisition strategy, effective management practices for lessons-learned programs, and leveraging technology to improve construction productivity.

   These projects are supported through leveraged funding by a diverse group of project sponsors including the Construction Industry Institute, the Texas Department of Transportation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology, along with support from several private corporations. The Center and its industry partners benefit from the ongoing involvement of researchers from the U.T. College of Engineering, the McCombs School of Business, and the LBJ School of Public Policy.