Construction Research, Inc


Principal Gerald H. Williams, Jr., Ph.D., P.E. Dr. Williams has been involved in the construction industry in Oregon since the 1970’s. Like most people in this industry Gerry started out working construction in the field as a teenager in high school, then in college worked as a draftsman for local mechanical engineering firms and as an engineering intern with the Oregon Department of Transportation. After College, Dr. Williams worked for small consulting civil engineering firms in Portland before joining the staff of the Portland Development Commission, to oversee the public improvements for RiverPlace. In 1989 Gerry joined the Donald M. Drake Company, as a project engineer and estimator. In his tenure at the Drake firm, he was personally responsible for more than $250 million of project estimates and participated in all of the more than $1.3 billion in building project bids that the firm bid during that time. In 1995 he left the Drake firm to become a full time Ph.D. student in the Engineering Management Program at Portland State University. Since forming CEM Research, Inc. (now Construction Research) in 1996, Dr. Williams has worked on more than a hundred projects ranging from academic research, to construction defect claims, forensic engineering, and of course construction payment claims. Email: gerry@cemresearch.com		Gerald H. Williams, Jr., Ph.D., P.E. Principal


Principal McCabe Karcher McCabe Karcher holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Portland State University and has worked in the construction field for more than a dozen years. After his military service following High School, McCabe worked for various construction contracting firms, home builders, and a structural engineering firm before committing to completing his college degree in engineering. McCabe was originally hired as student to complete the fieldwork on the Northwest Wall & Ceiling Bureau, Labor Productivity Impact Study for the firm, and subsequently has become an outstanding consultant working on both payment and construction defect claims. His years as a builder have given him a particular expertise in understanding defective construction and code compliance issues. Email: mccabe@cemresearch.com		McCabe Karcher Principal


Peter Livingston Peter is a junior at the University of California at Irvine and plans to major in Mechanical Engineering. During his junior year at Harbor High School in Santa Cruz, CA, Peter engineered a brake light system (Progressive Brake Light System) to prevent rear-end collisions. The PBLS warns the drivers in the cars behind the vehicle whether the vehicle is simply slowing down or suddenly stopping. It consists of a series LEDs, a magnetic sensor, and a circuit board acting as the controller. Email: peter@cemresearch.com



Associates Construction Research strives to provide its clients with the highest level of analyses available. Dr. Williams has developed a long relationship with academics at Portland State University (where he taught for 13 years) and elsewhere. In recent years Construction Research has brought on a number of college professors for specific assignments in the areas of their expertise. These include: statistical, parametric and non-parametric analyses; structural engineering and failure analyses; geotechnical engineering analyses; discrete and continuous systems simulation modeling; and arctic regions (effects of ice and snow) engineering analyses. But simply providing the analyses, or "egghead stuff" is not enough, analyses must be assembled and organized in such a manner that it can be clearly and concisely communicated to a mediator, arbitrator, court, or jury.


Tim Anderson Dr. Tim Anderson holds graduate degrees in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Georgia Tech and an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He has been a full time professor of Engineering & Technology Management at Portland State University since 1995 and has consulted with the firm on a project by project basis since 2003. Dr. Anderson is coauthor (with Dr. Williams) on the Northwest Wall & Ceiling Bureau, Labor Productivity Impact Study, and the forthcoming Finishing Contractors Association, Labor Productivity Impact Study. Tim provides much of the methodological support for the firm’s analyses; he has assisted in modeling labor productivity impacts on projects as diverse as Combined Cycle Co-Generation Electrical Power Plants, and Metal Stud Framing, Drywall and Finishing jobs. Dr. Anderson’s own area of research involves applications of Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate technical efficiencies in production operations, such as construction. Dr. Anderson has overseen studies of construction project efficiency that have involved more than a thousand construction projects, including hundreds of general construction building projects in the Oregon public building sector, and more than four hundred metal stud framing and drywall projects. He has testified as an expert on cases challenging statistical extrapolation in construction defect cases.


Franz Rad Dr. Franz N. Rad, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., headed the Civil Engineering Department at Portland State University for nearly three decades and currently leads the Structural Engineering group at PSU. Dr. Rad has worked on a number of projects for the firm, most recently he has been involved in the analysis of the collapse of a warehouse roof in Gresham, Oregon, for the firm. Dr. Rad has also worked as a consultant to the firm on various retaining walls and other structural engineering issues and he has also consulted with other firms on major structural failures. Dr. Rad recruited Dr. Williams to teach at PSU in the 1990's and that relationship has endured since; he brings a wealth of experience and understanding of complex structural engineering issues and unmatched technical knowledge to every project he has worked on for the firm.


Abby Lambert Abby is a graphic and web designer with more than 20 year’s experience in design and marketing. She is co-owner of AMP Marketing & Communications, a boutique agency in Portland, Oregon that provides marketing and design services to small businesses and start-ups. Abby holds a bachelor degree in Organizational Communications from Marylhurst University. She works with the Construction Research team on communications and other projects as needed.