Dr. Awad S. Hanna is a nationally recognized expert in construction productivity, claims analysis, and project delivery systems. He serves as Chief Operating Officer of Hanna Consulting Group and as Professor and Chair of the Construction Engineering and Management Program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Penn State University and is a registered professional engineer in both the United States and Canada.

With over 30 years of experience as a construction practitioner, educator, and researcher – including a decade as a design engineer and project manager – Dr. Hanna brings unparalleled expertise to his consulting practice. He has delivered more than 2,000 seminars and trained over 50,000 construction professionals across the U.S. and Canada. His seminars focus on improving efficiency across all stages of the construction process, including bidding, preconstruction planning, project tracking, change order management, labor productivity, and closeout practices.

Dr. Hanna has worked extensively with major industry associations, including the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario (ECAO), Canadian Mechanical Contracting Education Foundation, Electrical Contractors Association of Canada, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), and the National Association of Boilermaker Construction Employees (NACBE).

He has developed and authored numerous industry-standard training programs, including:

• Change Order Pricing and Best Management Practices

• Improving Labor Productivity

• Preconstruction Planning for Project Success

• Project Tracking to Improve Labor Productivity: The Earned Value Approach

• Top Habits of High-Performing Foremen

• Top Habits of High-Performing Contractors

Dr. Hanna has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles on construction topics, with a focus on labor productivity, risk allocation, project delivery systems, and change order impacts. He is the author of three comprehensive reference books:

• Construction Labor Productivity Management and Methods Improvement

• Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Improve the Management and Outcomes of Construction Claims

• Change Order Pricing Principles and Best Management Practices 

As a consultant and expert witness, Dr. Hanna has been involved in numerous high-profile national claims cases, including the Massachusetts Central Artery (“The Big Dig”) and the New England Patriots Stadium, providing expert analysis on labor productivity and project delays.

His accolades include:

• Construction Industry Institute (CII) Outstanding Researcher Award (2006)

• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Construction Management Award (2010)

• ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize (2015) for his paper on “Quantifying Performance of Integrated Project Delivery System as Compared to Established Delivery Systems.”

• Election as Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (2009)

• CII Outstanding Academic Award (2022)

Dr. Hanna is also the creator of several construction management software tools, currently being deployed to assist contractors in streamlining operations across all phases of project delivery.