A Study on the Use of Performance Indicators in Project Monitoring of Reinforced Concrete Structures Design

Abstract

A critical factor that determines the success of any continuous improvement process is the ability to quantitatively measure performance. After all, it is difficult to understand, manage, or improve parameters that cannot be quantitatively measured; with the aim of providing concrete structure designers with a design performance monitoring tool, this paper presents performance indicators focused on material consumption for the building concrete structures design. The proposed indicators were applied to building projects provided by structural designers in Brasilia, Brazil, and focused on the structural typology of buildings in the Águas Claras neighborhood. To apply the performance indicators, the buildings were grouped according to the structural solution adopted in the project making possible to analyze the influence the structural solution has on the consumption of concrete and steel materials. Finally, the obtained values were compared with benchmark values from previous studies as well as with values from a building designed in accordance with a new version of the Brazilian concrete design technical standard. In the end, this paper improves the knowledge on the influence of design decisions on the consumption of raw materials in building concrete structures and it provides the structural designers with a tool set to monitoring their projects performance.

Article history: Received (10 October 2012); Revised (21 December 2012); Accepted (21 March 2013)