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1 OTMC FILE COPY I3R AZ' construction TOOL MANAGENTI;(V) byI LflLn" lDTK*C1 ELECTEIIII* SJuly 19907p 7IN,,jEngineering and ManagementJHSchool of Civil Engineering-Purdue UniversitySWest Lafayette, Indiana 47907 Divsin o CnstucioICONSTRUCTION TOOL MANAGEMENTA Special Research ProblemPresented toThe Faculty of the ConstructionEngineering ard Management ProgramPurdue UniversityIbyl Cannon L. MorseI In Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for the Degree ofMaster of Science in Civil EngineeringJuly 1990* Approved:Professor Bob McCullouchFaculty Advisor/Date/1/Professor Luh-Maan Changi Member, Reading CommitteeiProfessr Dke HalpinDirector, C] kyrogramIIII]/ ABSTRACT-Contractors utilize tools and equipment daily onconstruction projects.

2 Managing large pieces of equipmentsuch as cranes and graders is essential to assure thesuccessful completion of the project. Hand tools and minorequipment can play an equally important role during theI project's construction This paper examines the current procedures of hand tooland minor equipment management being implemented bycontractors. Additionally, a guide for a tool managementsystem will be developed for use by a large contractor withnumerous projects acruss the United States. Techniques suchas tool procurement, storage, issue, inventory, disposal,and distribution will be presented and ForNTIS GRA&IDTIC TAB 0 UnannouncedJustifieationDistribution/Ava ilability CodesAvel land/4orDist SpeoalIACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis research was supported by a grant from comments and suggestions from Mr.

3 Reed W. Nielsen,Bechtel's Manager of construction Technologies, have TABLE OF CONTENTSI. Background .. 1II. Project Description .. Statement of the Problem .. Objectives .. Methodology .. 4I III. Surveys .. Initial Letter Survey .. Telephone Survey .. 5IV. Survey Results .. construction Company Survey .. Purchasing Procedures .. Tool and Equipment Leasing .. Project Costs .. Tool Storage and Issue Policy .. Tool Loss .. Tool Disposal and Replacement Tool Distribution .. Tool Depreciation .. Tool Tracking Systems.

4 Innovative Tool Management .. 185 Summary .. 19V. Recommendations .. Procurement Plan .. Project Costs .. Storage and Issue Methods .. Minimize Loss .. Tool Disposal and Replacement .. Distribution of Tools and Minor Depreciation .. Tool Tracking Systems .. Summary .. 32VI. Conclusions .. 33 VII. References .. 35 III iiiI3 A. Letter Sent to Contractors .. 36B. List of Contractors Participating in the C. Survey Questionnaire .. 42D. List of Contractors Responses .. 451 i. Small Tools Purchasing Procedures .. 92. Percentage of Costs Devoted to Tools.

5 113. Average Project Size .. 124. Tool Loss Rate .. 13iIIIIIIIiI3 ivIBACKGROUNDE quipment management is a necessary part of5 construction operations. Selecting the proper equipment toperform a task is a major responsibility for the the need, procurement analysis, establishingmaintenance procedures, historical records, and value3 analysis are the steps to good equipment management(Grothaus, 1982).Whether the equipment is large, such as a scraper, or a3 small power tool, the contractor must assure that it isavailable when required. Managers must have the right toolsand equipment to complete a construction activity.

6 Theycannot neglect the fact that construction equipment is usedby small crews whose main objective is completingconstruction on time and on budget. It has been proposedthat equipment has but one fundamental purpose: To5 facilitate the construction process (Vorster and Sears,1987). The goal of equipment management should be toI maximize profits instead of minimizing equipment , when profits are not an issue, such as a governmentagency like the Navy, minimizing costs is a reality and must3 be construction equipment is discussed, large pieces3 such as bulldozers and cranes often come to mind.

7 However,11II hand tools and small equipment are just as important to theconstruction process as any large piece of equipment. Acontractor must establish procedures for hand tools and3 minor tool management techniques should addresstopics including procurement methods, tool storage, issue3 and inventory, tool loss control and distribution betweenprojects. Tracking of tools and equipment utilizing3 computers is an essential component for many of today'scontractors. Innovative areas such as bar coding tool issueI procedures have been accomplished (Bell and McCullouch,1 1988).

8 Books, journals and articles are plentiful on the topic3 of construction equipment management. However, research hasbeen minimal on management methods for hand tools and minorI equipment. construction companies must be skilled in thisi area in order to remain competitive. A tool that isrequired for a Job, but not available, can delay a project3 and render a crew inactive. Contractors must manage toolssuch as drills, saws, water pumps and generators in an3 effective PROJECT Statement of the ProblemThis study focuses on the methods that constructioncontractors utilize to manage hand tools and minor equipmentvalued at under $1500.

9 Several key points of toolmanagement will be studied in detail. These include:3 procedures for procurement or lease, warehousing and btoragemethods, issuing tools on construction projects, inventoryI procedures, tool disposal and replacement policies and how3 tools are distributed and redistributed to Large contractors having projects at numerous locationsthroughout the United States must be able to economicallyI manage large equipment, such as cranes and scrapers, andsmall equipment, such as impact hammers and power firms need to skillfully plan and execute theirpolicies in order to have a successfull tool ObjectivesThe objective of this study is twofold.

10 One is to* analyze the current methods of tool and minor equipmentmanagement that are being employed by construction3 contractors. The second objective is to develop guidelines13II for an efficient system of tool management that may be usedby a large contractor with many projects scatteredthroughout the United States. The results of the firstobjective will be used to develop the second achieve these objectives, construction contractorswere contacted to discuss their current practices of tool5 and minor equipment management. Several topics pertainingto their management policy were covered during the3 that have successful tool and equipmentmanagement policies will form the foundation for therecommended system for a large contractor with many projectslocated across the MethodologyThis study is an independent research project in* partial fulfillment of the requirement for a Master ofScience in Civil Engineering at Purdue University.