Prediction of Productivity for Microtunneling Projects in Bidding Phase: Fid-Bau Portal

Prediction of Productivity for Microtunneling Projects in Bidding Phase

Hegab, Mohamed Y.

The need for utility service line replacement or repairs with minimum disruption to the surface has increased the demand for trenchless excavation methods like microtunneling. Microtunneling is a trenchless technique that is used in installation of new pipelines. Microtunneling can be applied in gravity and pressure lines, permanent ducts for cables, and crossings under rails or roads. When bidding a microtunneling project, the main concern of microtunneling contractors is predicting the underground behavior of the machine. In other words, the microtunneling productivity is the key for profit in microtunneling projects. Contractors use their own experience in predicting approximate productivity, which risks cost estimation accuracy for microtunneling projects. Contractors lack productivity models that help them in predicting overall project time. Predicting the overall time for microtunneling projects in different soil types using probabilistic analysis methods is the purpose of this paper. Low, medium, and high performance operation is considered in the models. Contractors can use the models in predicting the overall project time through different soil types in bidding phase. Contractors can use it as well to evaluate the performance of project team. Researcher can use these models to start a more detailed analysis of the bidding process of microtunneling projects.