DESARROLLO DE MAPAS CLIMATOLÓGICOS PARA DIRECTORES DE PROYECTOS DE OBRAS DE CONSTRUCCIÓN: APLICACIÓN EN EL REINO UNIDO

Abstract

Construction projects usually suffer from delays and cost overruns. Poor planning and control practices, as well as the impact of (adverse) weather, are two of the most common causes for these delays and cost overruns. However, there are still very few practical tools that allow construction managers to take into account the potential impact of weather in real settings. This paper describes how a series of construction-relevant maps were developed to be used by UK construction managers during the planning and execution stages of any project. These maps synthesize large weather historical information from multiple weather stations across the country. Particularly, these maps represent the average proportion of workable days of a series of common and standard construction activities that belong to most construction projects. Applications of the information contained in these maps allow for: optimising the start date of any project (so that its cost and duration can be reduced), anticipating the likely project duration distribution as a function of the project start date and its location(s); and dealing with weather-related claims in an objective and fair manner.