The Field Rework Index: Early Warning for Field Rework and Cost Growth

Field rework is a misleading term. Although it manifests itself in the field during construction, its roots actually begin in the design and project definition phases. If field rework is to be minimized, the majority of effort must be placed in these early project phases rather than in the field.

Previous CII research highlighted the cost of rework, indicating a need for further investigation. CII Publication 10-2, Measuring the Cost of Quality in Design and Construction, estimated annual losses due to rework in industrial construction at $15 billion. CII benchmarking data for field rework show mean values for field rework in excess of three percent of construction phase cost for heavy industrial projects. To address the challenges presented by field rework, CII created a research team to investigate field rework and to develop a tool to aid project management.

This research summary presents important findings about field rework in industrial construction. Information has been developed from an industry survey, a focus group of industry managers with in-depth knowledge of field rework, site visits to six best practices companies, and analysis of a database of over 150 industrial construction projects.

To aid in determining when extra effort is required, the research team has developed an early warning tool—the Field Rework Index (FRI). Requiring less than five minutes to complete, this simple, two-page tool can be used prior to construction to warn of significant field rework challenges during construction. The FRI has great potential to lower field rework and to contribute to improved cost effectiveness. In addition, analysis of the project database revealed an unforeseen relationship between FRI and cost growth. As a result, the FRI also can be used prior to construction to warn of impending cost growth.