Experience Curve Effects in Bridge Construction

Learning is an essential part of life through which we accumulate experience, which then can help us to improve our ability to solve problems. In economics experience can improve productivity. The concept of the experience curve as a form of organizational learning was developed during the second half of the 20th century. It was especially promoted by the Boston Consulting Group and found its way into most textbooks on management and strategic planning; empirical data have been published for a number of industries. In the construction industry, however, very few data areavailable to support the concept. The largest obstacle for all researchers is to obtain the cost information as these are typically not shared by companies. Consequentially we have gathered cost data from four very large expressway bridges to study experience effects in construction projects. These were built in Bangkok, Thailand, by the same joint venture for the same owner during the periodfrom 1990 to 2000 using segmental bridge construction technology. The square meters of bridge deck serve as basic units and the four projects comprise some threemillion of these, so that impacts of increasing experience could be observed. The data for all four projects have been evaluated and adjusted for inflation. They support the idea that a costreduction of 20% can be achieved. The cost reductions must be actively pursued, there exists no automatic process.