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Highway Project Performance Study: Analysis of Barriers to Timely Delivery of Service

Bob Muir, PhD, PE

Highway project delivery of new and reconstructed facilities in the United States is viewed to consume too much time, thereby denying the traveling public of urgently needed transportation infrastructure. In response, a research effort was launched at Drexel University to gain a better understanding of the current state of highway project delivery and suggest countermeasures intended to enhance time performance. The major research focus was the Highway Project Performance (HPP) Study. The HPP study examined empirical data collected from 65 projects completed by 10 public highway agencies across 8 states within the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The study included determining frequency and magnitude of duration escalation and identifying the input variables of process, practices, conditions, and constraints under which typical highway projects are delivered. The study also revealed and analyzed other critical success factors (CSF) associated with timely project delivery.

The findings from the HPP Study provide focus and motivation for owners and their planners and designers to reduce the risk of project duration escalation. The additional value to planners, designers, and constructors includes introduction of simple risk management tools, which practitioners can utilize to study and predict project performance.

 

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Bob Muir, PhD, PE

 

Bob Muir is a licensed Professional Engineer with over 30 years of progressive experience in engineering and construction and 15 years in full-time academia. His construction management experience includes several facets of heavy civil and industrial construction, with the perspective of representing both the owner and constructor.  He currently serves as the Resident Engineer on the Churchland Bridge Replacement project in Portsmouth, VA for the consulting engineering firm, HDR, Inc.  He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction (MLSoC) at Virginia Tech, having most recently served as the Construction Engineering & Management (CEM) Program Chair and Professor of Practice.  He previously served as Program Director of the Construction Management (CMGT) Program at Drexel University.  He is also serving part-time as an Instructor in the School of Construction Management Technology, Purdue Polytechnic Institute, Purdue University.

 

Dr. Muir received Awards for Excellence on four bridge and highway projects. Muir served as National Director and President of Region 6, American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) and President of the First State Section of ASHE.  The First State Section named him Man of the Year in 2002.  He received the Joseph S. Mozino Blue & Gold Award from the Mary S. Irick Drexel Society for service in 2011.  He received the 2013 Twenty-Year Professional Attainment Award from the Mary S. Irick Drexel Society.  This award recognizes individuals who have attained positions of significance at key milestones in their chosen fields having been recognized by their peers, their community and the University.  The First State Section of ASHE inducted him into the Delaware Highway Hall of Fame in May 2014, recognizing his significant contributions to the State’s highway industry.  Muir most recently received the 2018 and 2019 Building Construction Exemplary Faculty Awards from the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech.

 

Dr. Muir has an earned Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Drexel University, winning the Honor of an Outstanding Contribution of a Young Researcher from the International Project Management Association (IPMA) for a component of his doctoral thesis titled Application of Lean Principles to Highway Projects: Analysis of Barriers to Timely Delivery of Service.  He also earned his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech.  His research areas of interest encompass innovative project delivery, Lean construction, DFMA and industrialized construction, project complexity, strategic management and most importantly; enhancing quality, safety and performance.  Professional competencies include project management; construction planning, scheduling, and execution; strategic planning, value engineering, project risk assessment, training and development, and teaching construction engineering and management.

 

Bob and his wife, Joan Marie have been married for 46 years.  The couple has been blessed with 3 children and 5 grandchildren and reside in Suffolk, VA.