Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets

Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets
Title Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets PDF eBook
Author Barry B. LePatner
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Pages 240
Release 2008-09-15
Genre Architecture
ISBN 0226472698

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Addressing the out-of-control delays and cost overruns of construction projects across the nation, prominent construction attorney LePatner builds a powerful case for change in an industry that consumes $1.23 trillion and wastes at least $120 billion each year.

Too Big to Fall

Too Big to Fall
Title Too Big to Fall PDF eBook
Author Barry B. LePatner
Publisher UPNE
Pages 265
Release 2010
Genre Business & Economics
ISBN 0984497803

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A comprehensive overview of the shocking state of our nation's infrastructure and what must be done to fix it

Building Lean, Building BIM

Building Lean, Building BIM
Title Building Lean, Building BIM PDF eBook
Author Rafael Sacks
Publisher Routledge
Pages 408
Release 2017-12-06
Genre Architecture
ISBN 1315300508

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Building Lean, Building BIM is the essential guide for any construction company that wants to implement Lean Construction and Building Information Modelling (BIM) to gain a strategic edge over their competition. The first of its kind, the book outlines the principles of Lean, the functionality of BIM, and the interactions between the two, illustrating them through the story of how Tidhar Construction has implemented Lean Construction and BIM in a concerted effort over four years. Tidhar is a small-to-medium-sized construction company that pioneered a way of working that gave it a profit margin unheard of in its market. The company's story serves as a case study for explanation of the various facets of Lean Construction and BIM. Each chapter defines a principle of Lean and/or BIM, describes the achievements and failures in Tidhar's implementation based on the experiences of the key people involved, and reviews the relevant background and theory. The implementation at Tidhar has not been a pure success, but by examining their motives alongside their achievements and failures, readers will learn about what pitfalls and pinnacles to expect. A number of chapters also compare the experience of Tidhar with those of other companies who are leaders in their fields, such as Skanska and DPR. This book is highly relevant and useful to a wide range of readers from the construction industry, especially those who are frustrated with the inefficiencies in their companies and construction projects. It is also essential reading for Lean and BIM enthusiasts, researchers and students from a variety of industries and backgrounds.

Other People's Money

Other People's Money
Title Other People's Money PDF eBook
Author Charles V. Bagli
Publisher Penguin
Pages 434
Release 2014-03-25
Genre Business & Economics
ISBN 0142180718

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A veteran New York Times reporter dissects the most spectacular failure in real estate history Real estate giant Tishman Speyer and its partner, BlackRock, lost billions of dollars when their much-vaunted purchase of Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village in New York City failed to deliver the expected profits. But how did Tishman Speyer walk away from the deal unscathed, while others took the financial hit—and MetLife scored a $3 billion profit? Illuminating the world of big real estate the way Too Big to Fail did for banks, Other People’s Money is a riveting account of politics, high finance, and the hubris that ultimately led to the nationwide real estate meltdown.

The Commercial Real Estate Revolution

The Commercial Real Estate Revolution
Title The Commercial Real Estate Revolution PDF eBook
Author Rex Miller
Publisher John Wiley & Sons
Pages 91
Release 2009-07-08
Genre Business & Economics
ISBN 0470523700

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As it currently operates, the commercial real estate construction industry is a disaster full of built-in waste. Seventy-percent of all projects end over budget and late. The buildingSMART Alliance estimates that up to fifty-percent of the process is consumed in waste. Almost every project includes massive hidden taxes in the form of delays, cost overruns, poor quality, and work that has to be redone. Building new structures is a fragmented, adversarial process that commonly results in dissatisfied customers and frequently ends in disappointment, bitterness, and even litigation. The industry must change—for its own good and that of its customers. But while the industry has tried to reform itself, it can’t do it alone. Real change can only come from business owners and executives who refuse to continue paying for a dysfunctional system and demand a new way of doing business. The Commercial Real Estate Revolution is a bold manifesto for change from the Mindshift consortium—a group of top commercial real estate industry leaders who are fed up with a system that simply doesn’t work. The book explains how business leaders can implement nine principles for any project that will dramatically cut costs, end delays, create better buildings, and force the industry into real reform. The Commercial Real Estate Revolution offers a radically new way of doing business—a beginning-to-end, trust-based methodology that transforms the building process from top to bottom. Based on unifying principles and a common framework that meets the needs of all stakeholders, this new system can reform and remake commercial construction into an industry we’re proud to be a part of. If you’re one of the millions of hardcore cynics who work in commercial construction, you probably think this sounds like pie in the sky. But this is no magic bullet; it’s a call for real reform. If you’re an industry professional who’s sick of letting down clients or an owner who’s sick of cost overruns and endless delays, The Commercial Real Estate Revolution offers a blueprint for fixing a broken industry.

A Better Way to Build

A Better Way to Build
Title A Better Way to Build PDF eBook
Author Michael R. Adamson
Publisher Purdue University Press
Pages 399
Release 2013-01-15
Genre Business & Economics
ISBN 1612492312

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While architects have been the subject of many scholarly studies, we know very little about the companies that built the structures they designed. This book is a study in business history as well as civil engineering and construction management. It details the contributions that Charles J. Pankow, a 1947 graduate of Purdue University, and his firm have made as builders of large, often concrete, commercial structures since the company's foundation in 1963. In particular, it uses selected projects as case studies to analyze and explain how the company innovated at the project level. The company has been recognized as a pioneer in "design-build," a methodology that involves the construction company in the development of structures and substitutes negotiated contracts for the bidding of architects' plans. The Pankow companies also developed automated construction technologies that helped keep projects on time and within budget. The book includes dozens of photographs of buildings under construction from the company's archive and other sources. At the same time, the author analyzes and evaluates the strategic decision making of the firm through 2004, the year in which the founder died. While Charles Pankow figures prominently in the narrative, the book also describes how others within the firm adapted the business so that the company could survive a commercial market that changed significantly as a result of the recession of the 1990s. Extending beyond the scope of most business biographies, this book is a study in industry innovation and the power of corporate culture, as well as the story of one particular company and the individuals who created it.

The Construction MBA: Practical Approaches to Construction Contracting

The Construction MBA: Practical Approaches to Construction Contracting
Title The Construction MBA: Practical Approaches to Construction Contracting PDF eBook
Author Matt Stevens
Publisher McGraw Hill Professional
Pages 513
Release 2012-07-02
Genre Architecture
ISBN 0071763260

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Proven business strategies for operating a profitable and efficient construction firm Written by a successful management researcher, advisor, and educator to construction contractors, The Construction MBA reveals effective operating practices for managing the multiple processes that must work simultaneously to make a construction firm consistently profitable. The methods in the book apply to both general and specialty contracting firms and describe how to grow both the top line and bottom line. This strategic resource explains how to integrate metrics into your business model that allow you to identify and react to critical trends. You'll learn ways to gain the competitive edge by adopting superior processes, speeding up your business cycle, and maximizing client satisfaction. Tips for positioning your firm on the "sweet spot" of the risk-reward curve are also included. Realworld case studies demonstrate the concepts presented in this practical guide. In addition, eight legendary management books are reviewed and their lessons are applied to the construction contracting business. The Construction MBA covers: The new business model Corporate objectives and strategies Work acquisition Operations management Human resources Financial management Technology Good operating practices