A Bid Item Level Performance Time Database Management System as Part of a Framework for Progressively Estimating Contract Time

The estimation of contract performance time is an integral step in highway construction project planning. State highway agencies must strive to set accurate and reasonable contract performance times in order to encourage qualified bidders, produce quality projects, and minimize impacts to the traveling public. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognizes this and has mandated that all state highway agencies have an approved, written contract time estimating procedure. The FHWA also published a number of recommendations to assist individual state highway agencies in meeting this mandate. Among these recommendations is the development of a database of historical production rates. This work was performed to assist the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in adhering to this mandate and developing an organization-specific performance database. A multi-level framework for contract time estimation was proposed that parallels the cost estimating and the design progression processes. The framework relies on the increasing number of design details as a project proceeds from the scoping phase to the advertisement phase. Three framework levels are proposed: conceptual, parametric, and pre-advertisement. Another major element of this work was the development of the bid item level performance time database management system known as the Bid Item Duration Data System (BIDDS). BIDDS uses contract-specific conditional attributes to query for and report historical bid item performance data in a tabular or graphical format. These formats display relationships between performance time and time of year performed, and total installed quantity. Performance time histograms are also available to display the frequency of performance time occurrence.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Williams, Robert Charles
  • Hildreth, John
  • Vorster, Michael C
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2007-1-21 to 2007-1-25
• Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: TRB 86th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bids; Contract administration; Contracting out; Contracts; Cost estimating; Database management systems; Databases; Time
• Uncontrolled Terms: Contract delays; Contract time; Line item data; Time data series
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Construction; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I52: Construction of Pavements and Surfacings; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01045593
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 07-1522
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 8 2007 6:08PM