- Lean Construction, Lean Construction and Design, Computer Simulation and Lean Construction, Lean Construction, Learning, BIM-technology, BIM/IPD Specialists, and 7 moreDesign Management, Supply Chain Management, 3d Printing Concrete, Construction Engineering and Management, Production planning and management, Last Planner System, and lookahead planningedit
- Dr. Hamzeh is a champion of Lean Construction. His theoretical and applied research in the US and the MENA region aim... moreDr. Hamzeh is a champion of Lean Construction. His theoretical and applied research in the US and the MENA region aims at improving the design and construction of projects. Working in the construction industry, conducting research on actual design and construction projects, developing models, and establishing new performance metrics all contribute to his mission of making design and construction more Lean. Dr. Hamzeh is the leader of the Production and Planning control area within the International Group of Lean Construction (IGLC) and has published heavily on Lean Construction and related topics.Dr. Farook Hamzeh is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the American University of Beirut (AUB) since 2011. He earned his Bachelor in Civil Engineering from AUB in 1997 and later a Masters in Engineering Management in 2000. Dr. Hamzeh then received a Masters in Engineering Project Management from UC-Berkeley in 2006. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Engineering Project Management emphasis) from the University of California (UC), Berkeley in 2009. He became an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University between 2009 and 2011.Dr. Hamzeh has worked for more than seven years in the construction industry in Lebanon, Qatar, Dubai, and the United States on several mega projects. These include the $1.7 Billion Cathedral Hill Hospital in San Francisco, the 333 m high Rose Rotana Hotel in Dubai, Losail motor-bike racetrack in Qatar, Olympic Tower in Qatar, Al-Amal Oncology Hospital in Qatar, Serail 1374 Building in downtown Beirut, and Sibline Cement factory 2nd production line in Lebanon. Throughout his career, Dr. Hamzeh has developed a passion for improving construction processes to increase productivity, raise customer value, and reduce process waste. This passion has fueled his research in the areas of lean construction, process improvement, production planning, BIM, Simulation, and supply chain management.edit
There is unanimous agreement that the complex and dynamic nature of construction jobsites is coupled with inherent risks. Global occupational and health agencies revealed that the construction industry leads with the number of fatal... more
There is unanimous agreement that the complex and dynamic nature of construction jobsites is coupled with inherent risks. Global occupational and health agencies revealed that the construction industry leads with the number of fatal injuries incurred every year. Lebanon, a developing country in the Middle East, is no exception. Studies on construction safety in the country showed that the industry has failed to implement safety regulations, while also witnessing a lack of safety incentives, training, and education. The situation worsens with the absence of a national experience multiplier that could reflect on contractors’ safety statuses and hold them accountable for their safety performance. This study addresses the problem by proposing a cost model that evaluates construction injuries. An analysis was performed on more than 3,000 accident claims collected from insurance companies to understand the events and exposures that construction labour face. Results showed that there are 1...
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The Last Planner System (LPS) aims to enhance planning reliability by reducing variability in construction processes. While LPS applications have been explored in construction and detailed design, its application in architectural design... more
The Last Planner System (LPS) aims to enhance planning reliability by reducing variability in construction processes. While LPS applications have been explored in construction and detailed design, its application in architectural design remains underrepresented due to its abstract nature. This study addresses this gap by proposing an LPS framework tailored for architectural design, utilizing LPS metrics to assess planning reliability. Key issues hindering formal planning methods’ implementation are identified, and relevant LPS principles are aligned with these challenges, culminating in a conceptual LPS model designed for architectural projects. Building upon the conceptual model, an implementation model was developed and put into practice within an architectural design company in the United States, resulting in measured improvements in planning reliability and responsiveness. Additionally, it unveils hidden challenges associated with emerging tasks, guiding future design process en...
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Lookahead planning is a fundamental process in the Last Planner system of production control, which encompasses four tiers of planning processes: master scheduling, phase scheduling, lookahead planning, and commitment planning. Lookahead... more
Lookahead planning is a fundamental process in the Last Planner system of production control, which encompasses four tiers of planning processes: master scheduling, phase scheduling, lookahead planning, and commitment planning. Lookahead planning means not just viewing near-term tasks from the master or phase schedule and possibly detailing them, but it is a process to make tasks ready and create a workable backlog of tasks. The purpose of this paper is to report on research dedicated to improving the Last Planner system in general and the lookahead process in particular. The paper describes the role of lookahead planning as a connector between long term planning and commitment planning. Research is presented on two projects in North America combined with preliminary results from a survey investigating the Last Planner implementation and the performance of the lookahead process. The data collected was employed to evaluate the current practice, suggest hypotheses for improvement, and...
Research Interests: Engineering and Work Flow
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AbstractConstruction projects require effective planning and management of site equipment. Tower cranes are heavily employed on large-scale construction projects, thus incurring additional costs an...
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Improvisation is the decision-making process addressing unexpected obstacles in a spontaneous but rational manner. Although undesirable, as it indicates deviation from plans, improvisation is unavoidable in construction to address issues... more
Improvisation is the decision-making process addressing unexpected obstacles in a spontaneous but rational manner. Although undesirable, as it indicates deviation from plans, improvisation is unavoidable in construction to address issues related to unforeseen uncertainties. An adaptive planning system employing improvisation to react rapidly to unplanned events may therefore boost the performance in construction projects. Accordingly, this research aims to predict the outcomes of construction planning processes from an improvisational perspective by better understanding the dynamics of improvisation. It seeks to identify how different variations of improvisational parameters influence the improvisational outcome. This objective is achieved through an agent-based model used to simulate the improvisation practices at the level of planners interacting together. Parameters relating to planners, projects, and problems influencing each planner’s improvisational means are illustrated in th...
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Engineers and architects employ their technical abilities, innovative approaches, and problem solving skills to deviseproducts and services that support human needs and contribute to the progress of civilizations. Designing and building... more
Engineers and architects employ their technical abilities, innovative approaches, and problem solving skills to deviseproducts and services that support human needs and contribute to the progress of civilizations. Designing and building inthe real world require the collaborative input of several specialists from different disciplines; however, engineering andarchitecture curricula do not necessarily emphasize multidisciplinary education. To mirror the needs of the job market,university education should focus on training students to work in a multidisciplinary environment and develop a holisticview of engineering practices that their future jobs would demand. This study presents a new course aimed at engaging firstyear engineering and architecture students in a multidisciplinary environment, which inspires students’ creativity inproblem solving and engineering design. This paper presents different teaching methods for achieving various learningobjectives, analyzing students’ satisfac...
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3D concrete printing is an innovative construction method that promises to be highly advantageous in the construction field in terms of optimizing construction time, cost, design flexibility, error reduction, and environmental aspects.... more
3D concrete printing is an innovative construction method that promises to be highly advantageous in the construction field in terms of optimizing construction time, cost, design flexibility, error reduction, and environmental aspects. Concrete is extruded...
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Purpose In a public-private partnership (PPP), the private sector is represented by a company termed the special purpose vehicle (SPV), which combines different stakeholders including designers, contractors and service providers under one... more
Purpose In a public-private partnership (PPP), the private sector is represented by a company termed the special purpose vehicle (SPV), which combines different stakeholders including designers, contractors and service providers under one umbrella. Correct SPV team selection is critical to ensure PPP success as the SPV must act as an integrated entity. In fact, unless the SPV takes an active role in developing trust and promoting integration principles, segmentation of interests, highly adversarial atmospheres, loss of value and economic inefficiency will prevail. Absence of awareness of such principles among stakeholders and the scarcity of literature investigating SPV stakeholder integration create great risks that jeopardize project success. Accordingly, to mitigate the aforementioned risks and provide stakeholders with both the knowledge and the tools to instigate and maintain integration, this paper aims to develop and test a framework to measure SPV stakeholder integration, in...
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Over the past few decades, modular concrete construction emerged as a viable solution for meeting client requirements in getting an early return on investment, a high quality building, and an economically feasible construction. Precast... more
Over the past few decades, modular concrete construction emerged as a viable solution for meeting client requirements in getting an early return on investment, a high quality building, and an economically feasible construction. Precast concrete construction offers several green building benefits such as reducing construction wastes, minimizing site disturbances, and increasing flexibility. Although modular construction has been on the rise in Lebanon, many obstacles stand in the way of reaping more value for customers including technical, logistical, and organizational issues. This research aims at assessing the obstacles for efficient industrialized construction and exploring opportunities for improvement. The study reports results from industry-wide interviews covering all modular precast production companies, the major architects and design professionals, and class-A contracting companies. Findings of the study highlight that technical, logistical, and organizational/ cultural fa...