Const1  Const2  Const4  Const3
 
 
 
 
 
August 2009
Table of Contents
President's Message
Feature Article
Membership Chair's Message
Annual Conference Construction presentations - a great success
Lean Construction and IIE's Construction Division
Wanted: International Correspondents and Student Representatives
Joining IIE and the Construction Division
Pearl of Wisdom
President's Message 
 
Dear members:
We had a very successful annual conference a couple of months ago in the wonderful tropical atmosphere of the Doral Hotel and Spa in Miami, Florida. Our construction division participated in both the IERC research sessions and the Solutions track with a wide variety of well-received presentations. I would like to say a special word of thanks to Dr. Craig Harvey of Louisiana State University for doing an outstanding job as co-chair of the research sessions. Through Craig's help we partnered with the Ergonomics Divison to increase participation in construction presentations by sharing the sessions with construction-based ergonomics presentations. Al Attah, president of MacVal Associates also deserves special recognition for co-chairing a very successful Construction track in the Solutions sessions. More from the President
Feature Article  
Mr. Sammy Wan of Hong Kong University was the winner of the Student "Best Construction Paper" for 2006.  Sammy is a Ph.D., student, and his research area is lean construction. This article is a summary of Sammy's prize-winning  paper. He has been kind enough to share an overview of his paper with division members who were unable to attend the conference. The "Best Construction Paper" award is sponsored by The ConAm Group of Companies, a builder and developer of residential projects throughout the United States.
 
Membership Chair's Message   
by George Gardner, State Partnering Coordinator, Virginia Department of Transportation 

Greetings Fellow Construction Industry Experts!
The IIE Construction Division is soliciting your input on some key areas. We are embarking on a mission to reach our counterparts globally. Our goals are to establish an invigorated series of activities that will link us to each other and provide all of us the opportunity to share best practicies in the construction industry. With our international flair, we have the ability to participate and provide direction in some really important industry-shaping opportunities. More about membership 
Annual Conference Construction presentations - a great success
 
The IIE's Annual Conference was held recently in Miami, Florida 
The Construction Division had two sets of conference activities:
a) an IERC Program with research-oriented presentations, and
b) A Solutions track with practice-oriented presentations
 
The IERC program included approximately twelve papers in five sessions:   
  • Construction Productivity
  • Green/Sustainable/Lean Construction 
  • Rountable Discussion on IE/IIE Strategies to improve the Construction Industry 
  • Session:  Ergonomics and Safety in Construction  
  • Session:  Safety in Construction  

We would like to recognize everyone whose paper was selected for the program, including the the following presenters.  We thank them for their contributions that helped to make the IERC program a success.   

John Shewchuk, Virginia Tech
Jorge A. Sefair, Universidad de los Andes
Guillermo Velarde, North Carolina State University
Maximiliano Giunta, Universidad Catolica Andres Bello
Paul Ray, The University of Alabama
Wajdi Wazzan, King Abdulaziz University
Craig Harvey, Louisiana State University  

The Solutions program: We would like to say a special word of thanks to the following presenters:   
Peter Furst, Liberty Group
Somick Ghosh, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Brock Husby, Altarium Institute/University of Michigan
George Gardner, Virginia of Transportation
Sammy Wan, Hong Kong University
Al Attah, MacVal Associates, Dallas, Texas   
Lean Construction and IIE's Construction Division  
The Lean Construction Institute (LCI) was founded in August, 1997 by Glenn Ballard and Greg Howell, two leading researchers and educators for the construction industry. Lean construction is a new way to design and build facilities; it is based on lean theory, principles and techniques.  Lean construction has produced significant improvements in projects, especially in those that are complex, uncertain, and quick. Read more    
 
Wanted!  
 
International Correspondents and Student Representative
The Construction Division has a special opportunity for members who wish to serve as international correspondents.  We are also looking for an enterprising student to serve as the Construction Division's Student Representative.  
Mentoring and Internship Opportunities for IE Students in the Construction Industry  One of the goals of the Construction Division is to assist member in becoming actively involved in the construction industry. 
Join IIE and the Construction Division 
 
Join as a new member -Students and Professionals Apply online 
 
 If you are already a member of IIE, have not joined the Construction Division and would like to join the Construction Division, go to Manage Your Membership. Select "Update Your member Record"; set up a username and password, if you don't already have one; from there, under "Societies and Divisions" select "Edit" and  click on the Construction Division.

Call Robyn Dowdall at (800) 494-0460, ext. 102 if you have trouble. It's fast, free and simple.
Pearl of Wisdom    
 
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters to what lies within us.                                     
                             -Oliver Wendell Holmes