Construction Engineering and Management
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.
Key Features:
There are many books about architects, but very few about twentieth-century “makers.”
Tells the story behind many iconic buildings, especially in the western half of the US.
Charles Pankow was a pioneer in concrete construction and the “design-build” system.
As the built environment ages, demolition has become a rapidly growing industry offering major employment opportunities. During the 1990s the number of contractors grew by nearly 60 percent and there are now over 800 US companies focused on demolition, as well as many more offering this service as part of their portfolio. It has also become an increasingly complex business, requiring a unique combination of project management skills, legal and contractual knowledge, and engineering skills from its practitioners.
Created in partnership with the National Demolition Association, Demolition: Practices, Technology, and Management is written specifically with students of construction management and engineering in mind, although it will also be an invaluable reference resource for anyone involved in demolition projects. Since demolition has become such a central part of construction management, this audience includes practicing architects and engineers, general contractors, building and manufacturing facility owners, as well as government officials and regulators.
Covered in the book is the full range of technical and management issues encountered by the demolition contractor and those who hire demolition contractors. These include modern demolition practices, the impact of different construction types, demolition regulations, estimating demolition work, demolition contracts, safety on the demolition project, typical demolition equipment, debris handling and recycling, use of explosives, demolition contractors' participation in disaster response, and demolition project management.
The scope of disasters ranges from man-made emergency to natural calamity, from a kitchen grease fire to a hurricane or volcanic eruption. It may be just one house that is destroyed, or perhaps a whole infrastructure system is threatened. While each type of event requires a very different scale and type of immediate response, the project management challenges that face restoration and reconstruction professionals after the emergency phase is complete are remarkably similar. Using insights acquired through decades of real-world experience, as well as from his academic research and teaching responsibilities, the author explains pertinent requirements and methods for the contractors and other professionals who bring order from chaos. The first section of the book surveys the managerial skills required to confront the range of disasters that might be encountered and the different project environments involved. The second section examines the details of project management and administration, from materials management to health and safety. The third and final section provides an overview of restoration techniques, from restorative drying to debris management and demolition. This is the first systematic presentation of the tools and skills needed for disaster recovery project management. It is designed primarily for contractors (both large and small firms), although it will also be of value for those who might hire them, the communities they serve, and their organizational partners in the disaster recovery effort. Those who are new to disaster restoration and reconstruction will find the volume particularly useful. Focused on informing the management of projects that recover the built environment, after emergency conditions sufficiently stabilize, the volume supplements and complements books devoted to conventional construction or emergency relief management.