A Cost Comparison Study of Force Account and Contract Construction on Five Secondary Projects in North Carolina

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF COMPREHENSIVE JOB COST STUDIES MADE ON THREE CONTRACT AND TWO FORCE ACCOUNT SECONDARY ROAD PROJECTS IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1952 AND 1953. THE PURPOSE OF THESE STUDIES WAS TO DEVELOP FACTS ON THE COMPARATIVE COSTS OF THE TWO METHODS OF DOING WORK. IT WAS GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT THE USEFULNESS OF THE STUDY RESULTS WOULD BE PRINCIPALLY IN FURNISHING CERTAIN FACTUAL BACKGROUND ON EACH METHOD, IN MINIMIZING UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS AS TO EXCESSIVE ECONOMIES OF ONE METHOD OVER THE OTHER, AND IN KEEPING THE MAIN ISSUES INVOLVED FROM BEING COMPLICATED BY MINOR UNRESOLVED DETAILS. RESULTS PRESENTED INCLUDE QUANTITIES OF WORK, TAX AND WAGE RATE DIFFERENTIALS, MATERIALS PROCUREMENT PRACTICES, AND OTHER VARIABLES OF RECORD PERTINENT TO THE COMPARISON. THE FINDINGS TENDED TO FAVOR THE CONTRACT METHOD. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/35/35-009.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 35, pp 102-109. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Farrell, F B
  • Kilpatrick, M J
• Publication Date: 1956

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Thirty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 17-20, 1956
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 35
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Construction; Contracts; Costs; Economics; Labor; Materials; Procurement; Salaries; Taxation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Construction costs; Work
• Old TRIS Terms: Force account
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Construction; Economics; Finance; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00214851
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 24 1994 12:00AM