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Abdelhamid, T S and Everett, J G (2000) Identifying Root Causes of Construction Accidents. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 52–60.

Allouche, E N, Ariaratnam, S T and Lueke, J S (2000) Horizontal Directional Drilling: Profile of an Emerging Industry. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 68–76.

Back, W E, Boles, W W and Fry, G T (2000) Defining Triangular Probability Distributions from Historical Cost Data. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 29–37.

  • Type: Journal Article
  • Keywords:
  • ISBN/ISSN: 0733-9364
  • URL: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2000)126:1(29)
  • Abstract:
    During the development of an automated cost estimating system, several factors led to the selection of the triangular probability-density function to model historical construction costs. The triangular-density function is customarily used when function parameters are directly estimated by experts. A typical example is for estimating activity durations by identifying a minimum value, a most likely value, and a maximum value. These values are then used to construct triangular-density functions to represent uncertain activity durations. For this work, however, it was necessary to estimate parameters of the triangular-density function using historical cost data. A methodology was developed to generate test data and compare three methods of parameter estimation—maximum likelihood, moment matching, and least-squares curve-fitting techniques. It is concluded that optimized moment matching and least-squares techniques produce more accurate parameter estimates, while maximum likelihood estimation yields less accurate results. It is further concluded that the least-squares minimization method always performed as well as or better than the optimized moment matching technique and was therefore selected as the method of choice for the project.

Chinowsky, P S and Meredith, J E (2000) Strategic Management in Construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 1–9.

Dunston, P S and Reed, A G (2000) Benefits of Small Projects Team Initiative. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 22–28.

Ernzen, J J and Schexnayder, C (2000) One Company's Experience with Design/Build: Labor Cost Risk and Profit Potential. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 10–14.

Hendrickson, C and Horvath, A (2000) Resource Use and Environmental Emissions of U.S. Construction Sectors. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 38–44.

O'Connor, J T and El-Diraby, T E (2000) Urban Freeway Bridge Reconstruction Planning: Case of Mockingbird Bridge. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 61–67.

Rowings, J E, Federle, M O and Rusk, J (2000) Design/Build Methods for Electrical Contracting Industry. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 15–21.

Tilford, K R, Jaselskis, E J and Smith, G R (2000) Impact of Environmental Contamination on Construction Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 45–51.

Wilson, J M and Koehn, E & (2000) Safety Management: Problems Encountered and Recommended Solutions. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(01), 77–79.