Search results for: construction robot

Authors: Shraddha Palikhe, Sunkuk Kim

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The construction industry is the most labor intensive in Nepal. It is obvious that construction is a major sector and any productivity enhancement activity in this sector will have a positive impact in the overall improvement of the national economy. Previous studies have stated that Nepal has poor labor productivity among other south Asian countries. Though considerable research has been done on productivity factors in other countries, no study has addressed labor productivity issues in Nepal. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to identify and hierarchy the influence factors for poor labor productivity. In this study, a questionnaire approach is chosen as a method of the survey from thirty experts involved in the construction industry, such as Architects, Civil Engineers, Project Engineers and Site Engineers. A survey was conducted in Nepal, to identify the major factors impacting construction labor productivity. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis method was used to understand the underlying relationships among the factors, categorized into five groups, namely (1) Labor-management group; (2) Material management group; (3) Human labor group; (4) Technological group and (5) External group and was divided into 33 subfactors. AHP was used to establish the relative importance of the criteria. The AHP makes pairwise comparisons of relative importance between hierarchy elements grouped by labor productivity decision criteria. Respondents were asked to answer based on their experience of construction works. On the basis of the respondent’s response, weight of all the factors were calculated and ranked it. The AHP results were tabulated based on weight and ranking of influence factors. AHP model consists of five main criteria and 33 sub-criteria. Among five main criteria, the scenario assigns a weight of highest influential factor i.e. 26.15% to human labor group followed by 23.01% to technological group, 22.97% to labor management group, 17.61% material management group and 10.25% to external group. While in 33 sub-criteria, the most influential factor for poor productivity in Nepal are lack of monetary incentive (20.53%) for human labor group, unsafe working condition (17.55%) for technological group, lack of leadership (18.43%) for labor management group, unavailability of tools at site (25.03%) for material management group and strikes (35.01%) for external group. The results show that AHP model associated criteria are helpful to predict the current situation of labor productivity. It is essential to consider these influence factors to improve the labor productivity in the construction industry of Nepal.

Keywords: construction, hierarchical analysis, influence factors, labor productivity

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Authors: Mohmd Sarireh

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The geotechnical study can be employed successfully to assess and follow the expected development or delay in the project construction. The development project of city center or downtown was taken as a case study for the investigation of the project conditions that might support progress or cause delay. The project was proposed to build 7447 m2 by reinforced concrete mainly to serve and support the services provided to people in Tafila. The project construction had faced challenges and obstacles such as soil collapse because of excavation of the weak soil that found in the project site. In addition, the topography of the project area showed a high slope from South-West to North. The slope through the project footprint reached to 83.3% which is considered very high slope. One year and a half proposed to finish the project construction since the 1st of March 2013 and it was planned to be finished by the 31th of August 2014, but the project needs more than one year and a half as extension according to the consultant engineer. The collecting of data was conducted through the interviews with the engineers and officials, and by analyzing the soil reports and samples taken during design and excavation. The major findings came out to weak and fractured soil and construction waste that were found at project site. Also, soil was considered very fine according to the plasticity index (PI) values, in addition to the high depths required for foundation that contribute to the collapse of soil and the increase of project cost. The current project aims to present how the unseen conditions can delay the project construction and increase the cost of the project that rises to JD8.305 Million.

Keywords: geotechnical, management, progress, risk, soil unseen conditions management

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Authors: Xu Tao, Yilun Xu, Dingwei Xiang, Yaofei Sun

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The practice of urban planning and construction based on the concept of the “low carbon eco-city” has been universally accepted by the academic community in response to urban issues such as population, resources, environment, and social development. Based on this, the current article first analyzes the concepts of low carbon eco-city, then builds a complex adaptive system (CAS) theory based on Chinese traditional philosophical thinking, and analyzes the adaptive relationship between material and non-material elements. A three-dimensional evaluation model of natural ecology, economic low carbon, and social harmony was constructed. Finally, the construction of a low carbon eco-city index system in Hexi Newtown of Nanjing was used as an example to verify the effectiveness of the research results; this paradigm provides a new way to achieve a low carbon eco-city system.

Keywords: complex adaptive system, low carbon ecology, index system, model

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Authors: Muhammad Ejaz1

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Rework has been defined as: "The unnecessary effort of re-doing a process or activity that was incorrectly implemented the first time." A great threat to the construction industry is rework. By and large due attention has not been given to avoid the causes of reworks, resulting time and cost over runs, in civil engineering projects. Besides these direct consequences, there might also be indirect consequences, such as stress, de-motivation or loss of future clients. When delivered products do not meet the requirements or expectations, work often has to be redone. Rework occurs in various phases of the construction process or in various divisions of a company. Rework can occur on the construction site or in a management department due to for example bad materials management. Rework can also have internal or external origins. Changes in clients’ expectations are an example of an external factor that might lead to rework. Rework can cause many costs to be higher than calculated at the start of the project. Rework events can have many different origins and for this research they have been categorized into four categories; changes, errors, omissions, and damages. The research showed that the major source of reworks were non professional attitude from technical hands and ignorance of total quality management principals by stakeholders. It also revealed that sources of reworks have not major differences among project categories. The causes were further analyzed by interviewing employees. Based on existing literature an extensive list of rework causes was made and during the interviews the interviewees were asked to confirm or deny statements regarding rework causes. The causes that were most frequently confirmed can be grouped into the understanding categories. 56% (max) of the causes are change-related, 30% (max) is error-related and 18% (max) falls into another category. Therefore, by recognizing above mentioned factors, reworks can be reduced to a great extent.

Keywords: total quality management, construction industry, cost overruns, rework, material management, client’s expectations

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Authors: Mohammed Ali Ahmed, Vaughan Coffey, Bo Xia

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Quality management systems (QMSs) in the construction industry are often implemented to ensure that sufficient effort is made by companies to achieve the required levels of quality for clients. Attainment of these quality levels can result in greater customer satisfaction, which is fundamental to ensure long-term competitiveness for construction companies. However, the construction sector is still lagging behind other industries in terms of its successful adoption of QMSs, due to the relative lack of acceptance of the benefits of these systems among industry stakeholders, as well as from other barriers related to implementing them. Thus, there is a critical need to undertake a detailed and comprehensive exploration of adoption of QMSs in the construction sector. This paper comprehensively investigates in the construction sector setting, the impacts of all the salient factors surrounding successful implementation of QMSs in building organizations, especially those of external factors. This study is part of an ongoing PhD project, which aims to develop a new framework that integrates both internal and external factors affecting QMS implementation. To achieve the paper aim and objectives, interviews will be conducted to define the external factors influencing the adoption of QMSs, and to obtain holistic critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing these systems. In the next stage of data collection, a questionnaire survey will be developed to investigate the prime barriers facing the adoption of QMSs, the CSFs for their implementation, and the external factors affecting the adoption of these systems. Following the survey, case studies will be undertaken to validate and explain in greater detail the real effects of these factors on QMSs adoption. Specifically, this paper evaluates the effects of the external factors in terms of their impact on implementation success within the selected case studies. Using findings drawn from analyzing the data obtained from these various approaches, specific recommendations for the successful implementation of QMSs will be presented, and an operational framework will be developed. Finally, through a focus group, the findings of the study and the new developed framework will be validated. Ultimately, this framework will be made available to the construction industry to facilitate the greater adoption and implementation of QMSs. In addition, deployment of the applicable recommendations suggested by the study will be shared with the construction industry to more effectively help construction companies to implement QMSs, and overcome the barriers experienced by businesses, thus promoting the achievement of higher levels of quality and customer satisfaction.

Keywords: barriers, critical success factors, external factors, internal factors, quality management systems

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Authors: Hamidreza Hoshyarmanesh, Hosein Madieh, Sanju Lama, Yaser Maddahi, Garnette R. Sutherland, Kourosh Zareinia

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This paper illustrates the concept of an algorithm to register specified markers on the neuroArm surgical manipulators, an image-guided MR-compatible tele-operated robot for microsurgery and stereotaxy. Two range-finding algorithms, namely time-of-flight and phase-shift, are evaluated for registration and supervisory control. The time-of-flight approach is implemented in a semi-field experiment to determine the precise position of a tiny retro-reflective moving object. The moving object simulates a surgical tool tip. The tool is a target that would be connected to the neuroArm end-effector during surgery inside the magnet bore of the MR imaging system. In order to apply flight approach, a 905-nm pulsed laser diode and an avalanche photodiode are utilized as the transmitter and receiver, respectively. For the experiment, a high frequency time to digital converter was designed using a field-programmable gate arrays. In the phase-shift approach, a continuous green laser beam with a wavelength of 530 nm was used as the transmitter. Results showed that a positioning error of 0.1 mm occurred when the scanner-target point distance was set in the range of 2.5 to 3 meters. The effectiveness of this non-contact approach exhibited that the method could be employed as an alternative for conventional mechanical registration arm. Furthermore, the approach is not limited by physical contact and extension of joint angles.

Keywords: 3D laser scanner, intraoperative MR imaging, neuroArm, real time registration, robot-assisted surgery, supervisory control

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Authors: Sopio Gogilava, Goga Chakhaia, Levan Tsulukidze, Zurab Laoshvili, Irina Khubulava, Shalva Bosikashvili, Teimuraz Gugushvili

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Geoinformatics systems (GIS) integrated computer program RAMMS is widely used for forecasting debris flows and accordingly for the determination of anticipating risks with 85% accuracy. In view of the above, the work introduces new capabilities of the computer program RAMMS, which evaluates the effectiveness of anti-debris flow engineering construction, namely: the possibility of decreasing the expected velocity, kinetic energy, and output cone volume in the Mletiskhevi River. As a result of research has been determined that the anti-debris flow engineering construction designed to reduce the expected debris flow risk in the Mletiskhevi River is an effective environmental protection technology, that's why its introduction is promising.

Keywords: construction, debris flow, geoinformatics systems, program RAMMS

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Authors: Juanling Lin

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The construction of urban parks is an important part of eco-city construction, and the intervention of big data provides a more scientific and rational platform for the assessment of urban parks by identifying and correcting the irrationality of urban park planning from the macroscopic level and then promoting the rational planning of urban parks. The study builds an urban park assessment system based on urban road network data and POI data, taking Futian District of Shenzhen as the research object, and utilizes the GIS geographic information system to assess the park system of Futian District in five aspects: park spatial distribution, accessibility, service capacity, demand, and supply-demand relationship. The urban park assessment system can effectively reflect the current situation of urban park construction and provide a useful exploration for realizing the rationality and fairness of urban park planning.

Keywords: urban parks, assessment system, POI, supply and demand

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Authors: Ali Babaei

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There is a worldwide growing tendency toward construction of infrastructures with the possibility of private sector participation instead of free exploitation of public infrastructures. The construction and development of roads through private sector participation is performed by different countries because of appropriate results and benefits such as compensation of public budget deficit in road construction and maintenance and responding to traffic growth (demand). Toll is the most definite form of budget provision in road development. There are two issues in the toll rate assignment: A. costing of transport, B. Cost allocation and distribution of cost between different types of vehicles as each vehicle pay its own share. There can be different goals in toll collection and its extent is variable according to the strategy of toll collection. Costing principles in different countries are based on inclusion of the whole transport and not peculiar to the toll roads. For example, fuel tax policy functions where the road network users pay transportation cost (not just users of toll road). Whereas transportation infrastructures in Iran are free, these methods are not applicable. In Iran, different toll freeways have built by public investment and government provides participation in the road construction through encouragement of financial institutions. In this paper, the existing policies about the toll roads are studied and then the appropriate method of costing and cost allocation to different vehicles is introduced.

Keywords: toll allocation, road pricing, transportation, financial and industrial systems

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Authors: Nazirah Zainul Abidin, Nurul Zahirah Mokhtar Azizi

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Cost has always been the leading concern in green building development. The perception that construction cost for green building is higher than conventional buildings has only made the discussion of green building cost more difficult. Understanding the factors that will influence the cost of green construction is expected to shed light into what makes green construction more or at par with conventional projects, or perhaps, where cost can be optimised. This paper identifies the elements of cost before shifting the attention to the influencing factors. Findings from past studies uncovered various factors related to cost which are grouped into five focal themes i.e. awareness, knowledge, financial, technical, and government support. A conceptual framework is produced in a form of a flower diagram indicating the cost influencing factors of green building development. These factors were found to be both physical and non-physical aspects of a project. The framework provides ground for the next stage of research that is to further explore how these factors influence the project cost and decision making.

Keywords: green project, factors influencing cost, hard cost, soft cost

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Authors: Young-Jun You, Youn-Ju Jeong, Min-Su Park, Du-Ho Lee

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Due to a lot of limited conditions, a large box type floating structure is inevitably constructed by connecting many pontoons. When a floating structure is made with concrete, concrete shear key with saw-teeth shape is often used to carry shear force. Match casting for the shear key and precise construction on a sea are very important for making separated two pontoons as one body but those are not easy work and may increase construction time and cost. To solve this problem, one-way shear key is studied in this paper for a connected part where there is some difference between upward and downward shear force. It has only one inclined plane and can resist shear force in one direction. Big shear force is resisted by concrete which forms an inclined plane and small shear force is resisted by steel bar. This system can reduce manufacturing cost of individual pontoon and construction time and cost for constructing a floating structure on a sea. In this paper, the feasibility study about one-way shear key system is performed by comparing with design example.

Keywords: connection, floating container terminal, pontoon, pre-stressing, shear key

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Authors: Mohammad Momeenul Islam, U. Johnson Alengaram, Mohd Zamin Jumaat, Iftekhair Ibnul Bashar

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Palm oil industry produces millions of tonnes of industrial wastes and these wastes create huge storage and environmental problems. In order to solve these problems various research works have been performed for past decades. The commonly available wastes are Oil palm shells (OPS) and Palm oil fuel ash (POFA). These materials have already acquired well recognition as alternate of conventional construction materials. OPS has been used as coarse aggregate and compressive strength was found up to 56 MPa for 56-day. It is said that 30 grade Oil Palm shell concrete (OPSC) is possible without adding any cementitious materials. The maximum modulus of elasticity for OPSC was found 18.6 GPa. The Oil palm shell concrete (OPSC) are used in country areas and nearby areas where the palm oil factories are located for houses, road-kerbs, drain blocks, etc. In case of superstructure like beams and slab are also produced by utilizing OPS. Many experimental works have been performed to establish POFA as a substituting binding material in replace of Ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Throughout the research it has been showed that up to 20% of cement by mass can be replaced by POFA. POFA is one of the most enriched pozzolanic materials. The main purpose of this review is to discuss the usage and opportunity of the palm oil industrial wastes as construction materials following the previous experimental research work.

Keywords: construction materials, oil palm shells (OPS), palm oil fuel ash (POFA), aggregates

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Authors: Katarina Rogulj, Ivana Racetin, Jelena Kilic

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In this study, the fuzzy logic approach (FLA) was developed for construction project management (CPM) under uncertainty and duality. The focus was on decision making in selecting the type of the glass facade for a residential-commercial building in the main design. The adoption of fuzzy sets was capable of reflecting construction managers’ reliability level over subjective judgments, and thus the robustness of the system can be achieved. An α-cuts method was utilized for discretizing the fuzzy sets in FLA. This method can communicate all uncertain information in the optimization process, taking into account the values of this information. Furthermore, FLA provides in-depth analyses of diverse policy scenarios that are related to various levels of economic aspects when it comes to the construction projects' valid decision making. The developed approach is applied to CPM to demonstrate its applicability. Analyzing the materials of glass facades, variants were defined. The development of the FLA for the CPM included relevant construction projec'ts stakeholders that were involved in the criteria definition to evaluate each variant. Using fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory Method (DEMATEL) comparison of the glass facade was conducted. This way, a rank, according to the priorities for inclusion into the main design, of variants is obtained. The concept was tested on a residential-commercial building in the city of Rijeka, Croatia. The newly developed methodology was then compared with the existing one. The aim of the research was to define an approach that will improve current judgments and decisions when it comes to the material selection of buildings facade as one of the most important architectural and engineering tasks in the main design. The advantage of the new methodology compared to the old one is that it includes the subjective side of the managers’ decisions, as an inevitable factor in each decision making. The proposed approach can help construction projects managers to identify the desired type of glass facade according to their preference and practical conditions, as well as facilitate in-depth analyses of tradeoffs between economic efficiency and architectural design.

Keywords: construction projects management, DEMATEL, fuzzy logic approach, glass façade selection

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Authors: Kawalpreet Kaur, Panagiotis Mitropoulos

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The division of the project scope into work packages is the most important step in the preconstruction phase of construction projects. The work division determines the scope and complexity of each bid package, resulting in dependencies between project participants performing these work packages. The coordination between project participants is necessary because of these dependencies. Excessive dependencies between the bid packages create coordination difficulties, leading to delays, added costs, and contractual friction among project participants. However, the literature on construction provides limited knowledge regarding work structuring approaches, issues, and challenges. Manufacturing industry literature provides a systematic approach to defining the project scope into work packages, and the implementation of social network analysis (SNA) in manufacturing is an effective approach to defining and analyzing the divided scope of work at the dependencies level. This paper presents a case study of implementing a similar approach using SNA in construction bid packages. The study uses SNA to analyze the scope of bid packages and determine the dependency between scope elements. The method successfully identifies the bid package with the maximum interaction with other trade contractors and the scope elements that are crucial for project performance. The analysis provided graphical and quantitative information on bid package dependencies. The study can be helpful in performing an analysis to determine the dependencies between bid packages and their scope elements and how these scope elements are critical for project performance. The study illustrates the potential use of SNA as a systematic approach to analyzing bid package dependencies in construction projects, which can guide the division of crucial scope elements to minimize negative impacts on project performance.

Keywords: work structuring, bid packages, work breakdown, project participants

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Authors: Esra Yaldız, Tugba Bulbul Bahtiyar, Dicle Aydın

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Humans meet their need for shelter via housing which they structure in line with habits and necessities. In housing culture, traditional dwelling has an important role as a social and cultural transmitter. It provides concrete data by being planned in parallel with users’ life style and habits, having their own dynamics and components as well as their designs in harmony with nature, environment and the context they exist. Textures of traditional dwelling create a healthy and cozy living environment by means of adaptation to natural conditions, topography, climate, and context; utilization of construction materials found nearby and usage of traditional techniques and forms; and natural isolation of construction materials used. One of the examples of traditional settlements in Anatolia is Kilistra (Gökyurt) settlement of Konya province. Being among the important centers of Christianity in the past, besides having distinctive architecture, culture, natural features, and geographical differences (climate, geological structure, material), Kilistra can also be identified as a traditional settlement consisting of family, religious and economic structures as well as cultural interaction. The foundation of this study is the traditional residential texture of Kilistra with its unique features. The objective of this study is to assess the conformity of traditional residential texture of Kilistra with present topography, climatic data, and geographical values within the context of human scale construction, usage of green space, indigenous construction materials, construction form, building envelope, and space organization in housing.

Keywords: traditional residential architecture, Kilistra, Anatolia, Konya

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Authors: Nnadi Ezekiel Ejiofor

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The construction industry plays a decisive role in the healthy development of any nation. Not only large but even small construction projects contribute to a country’s economic growth. There is a need for good management to ensure successful delivery and sustainability because of the plethora of risks that have resulted in low-profit margins for contractors, cost and schedule overruns, poor quality delivery, and abandoned projects. This research reviewed Capitalization on Sustainable Risk Management. Questionnaires and oral interviews conducted were utilized as means of data collection. One hundred and ninety-eight (198) large construction firms in Nigeria form the population of this study. 15 (fifteen) companies that emanated from merger and acquisition were used for the study. The instruments used for data collection were a researcher-developed structured questionnaire based on a five-point rating scale, interviews, focus group discussion, and secondary sources (bill of quantities and stock and exchange commission). The instrument was validated by two experts in the field. The reliability of the instrument was established by applying the split-half method. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to test the data, and a degree of agreement was obtained. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics and analyzed using analysis of variance, t-test, and SPSS. The identified impacts of capitalization were an increase in turnover (24.5%), improvement in the image (24.5%), risk reduction (20%), business expansion (17.3%), and geographical spread (13.6%). The study strongly advocates the inclusion of risk management evaluation as part of the construction procurement process.

Keywords: capitalization, project delivery, risks, risk management, sustainability

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Authors: Mbambu K. Shaloom, Biba Kalengo, Pierre Echard, Olivier Gilson, Tshiswaka Ngalula, Léonard Kabeya Mukeba Yakasham

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In this 21st century, while design and eco-construction continue to be governed by considerations of functionality, safety, comfort and initial investment cost. Today, the principles of sustainable development lead us to think over longer time frames, to take into account new issues and the operating costs of green energy. DR Congo (sub-Saharan Africa) still suffers from the unusability of certain bio-sourced materials (such as bamboo, branches, etc.) and the lack of energy, i.e. 9% of the population has access to electricity and 21% of access to water. Ecoconstruction involves the energy performance of buildings which carry out a dynamic thermal simulation, which targets the different assumptions and conventional parameters (weather, occupancy, materials, thermal comfort, green energies, etc.). The objective of this article is to remedy the thermal, economic and technical artisanal problems in an aqueous environment in the city of Kinshasa. In order to establish a behavioral model to mitigate environmental impacts on architectural modifications and low-cost eco-construction through the approach of innovation and design thinking.

Keywords: thermal comfort, bio-sourced material, eco-architecture, eco-construction, squatting, design thinking

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Authors: Naghmeh Zamani, Ashkan Pourkand, David Grow

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This paper presents the design and mechanical model of a hybrid impedance/admittance haptic device optimized for applications, like bone drilling, spinal awl probe use, and other surgical techniques were high force is required in the tool-axial direction, and low impedance is needed in all other directions. The performance levels required cannot be satisfied by existing, off-the-shelf haptic devices. This design may allow critical improvements in simulator fidelity for surgery training. The device consists primarily of two low-mass (carbon fiber) plates with a rod passing through them. Collectively, the device provides 6 DOF. The rod slides through a bushing in the top plate and it is connected to the bottom plate with a universal joint, constrained to move in only 2 DOF, allowing axial torque display the user’s hand. The two parallel plates are actuated and located by means of four cables pulled by motors. The forward kinematic equations are derived to ensure that the plates orientation remains constant. The corresponding equations are solved using the Newton-Raphson method. The static force/torque equations are also presented. Finally, we present the predicted distribution of location error, cables velocity, cable tension, force and torque for the device. These results and preliminary hardware fabrication indicate that this design may provide a revolutionary approach for haptic display of many surgical procedures by means of an architecture that allows arbitrary workspace scaling. Scaling of the height and width can be scaled arbitrarily.

Keywords: cable direct driven robot, haptics, parallel plates, bone drilling

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Authors: Ahmad Odeh, Ahmad Jrade

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Energy assessment is an evidently significant factor when evaluating the sustainability of structures especially at the early design stage. Today design practices revolve around the selection of material that reduces the operational energy and yet meets their displinary need. Operational energy represents a substantial part of the building lifecycle energy usage but the fact remains that embodied energy is an important aspect unaccounted for in the carbon footprint. At the moment, little or no consideration is given to embodied energy mainly due to the complexity of calculation and the various factors involved. The equipment used, the fuel needed, and electricity required for each material vary with location and thus the embodied energy will differ for each project. Moreover, the method and the technique used in manufacturing, transporting and putting in place will have a significant influence on the materials’ embodied energy. This anomaly has made it difficult to calculate or even bench mark the usage of such energies. This paper presents a model aimed at helping designers select the construction materials based on their embodied energy. Moreover, this paper presents a systematic approach that uses an efficient method of calculation and ultimately provides new insight into construction material selection. The model is developed in a BIM environment targeting the quantification of embodied energy for construction materials through the three main stages of their life: manufacturing, transportation and placement. The model contains three major databases each of which contains a set of the most commonly used construction materials. The first dataset holds information about the energy required to manufacture any type of materials, the second includes information about the energy required for transporting the materials while the third stores information about the energy required by tools and cranes needed to place an item in its intended location. The model provides designers with sets of all available construction materials and their associated embodied energies to use for the selection during the design process. Through geospatial data and dimensional material analysis, the model will also be able to automatically calculate the distance between the factories and the construction site. To remain within the sustainability criteria set by LEED, a final database is created and used to calculate the overall construction cost based on R.M.S. means cost data and then automatically recalculate the costs for any modifications. Design criteria including both operational and embodied energies will cause designers to revaluate the current material selection for cost, energy, and most importantly sustainability.

Keywords: building information modelling, energy, life cycle analysis, sustainablity

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Zamanian

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The construction industry has always been recognized as one of the most dangerous available industries, and the statistics of accidents and injuries resulting from it say that the safety category needs more attention and the arrival of up-to-date technologies in this field. Building information modeling (BIM) is one of the relatively new and applicable technologies in Iran, that the necessity of using it is increasingly evident. The main purposes of this research are to evaluate the feasibility of using this technology in the safety sector of construction projects and to evaluate the effectiveness and operationality of its various applications in this sector. These applications were collected and categorized after reviewing past studies and researches then a questionnaire based on Delphi method criteria was presented to 30 experts who were thoroughly familiar with modeling software and safety guidelines. After receiving and exporting the answers to SPSS software, the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were assessed to evaluate the measuring tools. Fuzzy logic is a good way to analyze data because of its flexibility in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty issues, and the implementation of the Delphi method in the fuzzy environment overcomes the uncertainties in decision making. Therefore, this method was used for data analysis, and the results indicate the usefulness and effectiveness of BIM in projects and improvement of safety status at different stages of construction. Finally, the applications and the sections discussed were ranked in order of priority for efficiency and effectiveness. Safety planning is considered as the most influential part of the safety of BIM among the four sectors discussed, and planning for the installation of protective fences and barriers to prevent falls and site layout planning with a safety approach based on a 3D model are the most important applications of BIM among the 18 applications to improve the safety of construction projects.

Keywords: building information modeling, safety of construction projects, Delphi method, fuzzy logic

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Authors: C. M. Mat Isa, H. Mohd Saman, S. R. Mohd Nasir, A. Jaapar

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International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through which a firm expands its operation from domestic to the international domain. Hence, entry timing choices require the needs to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry into a new market. Questionnaire surveys administered to 115 Malaysian construction firms operating in 51 countries worldwide have resulted in 39.1 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine the most significant factors affecting entry timing choices of the firms to penetrate the international market. A logistic regression analysis used to examine the firms’ entry timing choices, indicates that the model has correctly classified 89.5 per cent of cases as late movers. The findings reveal that the most significant factor influencing the construction firms’ choices as late movers was the firm factor related to the firm’s international experience, resources, competencies and financing capacity. The study also offers valuable information to construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.

Keywords: factors, early movers, entry timing choices, late movers, logistic regression model, principal axis factorial analysis, Malaysian construction firms

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Authors: Weng Jiantao, Wu Yiqun

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The efficiency of natural ventilation, wind pressure distribution on building surface, wind comfort for pedestrians and buildings’ wind tolerance in traditional settlements are closely related to the pattern of terrain. On the basis of field research on the typical island terrain in China, the physical and mathematical models are established by using CFD software, and then the simulation results of the wind field are exported. We discuss the relationship between wind direction and wind field results. Furthermore simulation results are imported into ArcGIS platform. The evaluation model of island site selection is established with considering slope factor. We realize the visual model of site selection on complex island terrain. The multi-plans of certain residential are discussed based on wind simulation; at last the optimal project is selected. Results can provide the theory guidance for settlement planning and construction in China's traditional island.

Keywords: CFD, island terrain, site selection, construction mechanism

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Authors: Ehsan Sadie

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Despite the experience of heavy losses and damages of recent earthquakes such as 8 km E of Pāhala, Hawaii, 11 km W of Salvaleón de Higüey, Dominican Republic and 49 km SSE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic earthquakes, the possibility of large earthquakes in most populated areas of any country and the serious need for quality control in the design and implementation of buildings, not enough attention has been paid to the proper construction. Steel structures constitute a significant part of construction in any metropolitan area. This article gives a brief overview of the implementation status of these buildings in urban areas and considers the weaknesses of performance that typically occur due to negligence or insufficient mastery of the building supervisor in the principles of operation of earthquake-resistant buildings, and provides appropriate and possible solutions to improve the construction.

Keywords: bracing member, concentrated load, diaphragm system, earthquake engineering, load-bearing system, shear force, seismic retrofitting, steel building, strip foundation, supervising engineer, vulnerability of building

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Authors: Kamal Bahrin Jaafar

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The study area is located at Bukit Kukus, Penang where the construction of twin road project in ongoing. A landslide event has occurred on 19th October 2018, which causes fatal deaths. The purpose of this study is to figure out the causes of failure, the estimated volume of failure, and its balance. The study comprises of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensing and resistivity survey. The resistivity method includes spreading three lines of 200m length resistivity survey with the depth of penetration in the subsurface not exceeding 35m. The result of UAV shows the current view of the site condition. Based on resistivity result, the dominant layer in the study area consists of residual soil/filling material with a thickness of more than 35m. Three selected cross sections from construction drawing are overlain with the current cross sections to understand more on the condition of the subsurface profile. By comparison, there is a difference between past and present topography. The combination of result from the previous data and current condition shows the calculated volume of failure is 85,000 m³, and its balance is 50,000 m³. In conclusion, the failure occurs since the contractor has conducted the construction works without following the construction drawing supplied by the consultant. Besides, the cause of failure is triggered by the geology condition, such as a fault that should be considered prior to the commencement of work.

Keywords: UAV, landslide, resistivity survey, cause of failure

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Authors: Xueqing Sun, Pengcheng Xiang, Jr. Dong Ngoduy

Abstract:

In the context of rapid urbanization, urban sprawl has brought about extensive negative impacts on ecosystems and the environment, resulting in a gradual shift from "incremental growth" to ‘stock growth’ in cities. A detailed urban growth boundary is a prerequisite for urban renewal and management. This study takes Shenyang City, China, as the study area and evaluates the spatial distribution of urban spatial suitability in the study area from the perspective of spatial constraints-suitability using multi-source data and simulates the future rigid and elastic growth boundaries of the city in the study area using the CA-Markov model. The results show that (1) the suitable construction area and moderate construction area in the study area account for 8.76% and 19.01% of the total area, respectively, and the suitable construction area and moderate construction area show a trend of distribution from the urban centre to the periphery, mainly in Shenhe District, the southern part of Heping District, the western part of Dongling District, and the central part of Dadong District; (2) the area of expansion of construction land in the study area in the period of 2023-2030 is 153274.6977hm2, accounting for 44.39% of the total area of the study area; (3) the rigid boundary of the study area occupies an area of 153274.6977 hm2, accounting for 44.39% of the total area of the study area, and the elastic boundary of the study area contains an area of 75362.61 hm2, accounting for 21.69% of the total area of the study area. The study constructed a method for urban growth boundary delineation, which helps to apply remote sensing to guide future urban spatial growth management and urban renewal.

Keywords: urban growth boundary, spatial constraints, spatial suitability, urban sprawl

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Authors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, Mounica Guturu

Abstract:

The United Stated (U.S.) populous spends the majority of their time indoors in spaces where building codes and voluntary sustainability standards provide clear Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) metrics. The existing sustainable building standards and codes are aimed towards improving IEQ, health of occupants, and reducing the negative impacts of buildings on the environment. While they address the post-occupancy stage of buildings, there are fewer standards on the pre-occupancy stage thereby placing a large labor population in environments much less regulated. Construction personnel are often exposed to a variety of uncomfortable and unhealthy elements while on construction sites, primarily thermal, visual, acoustic, and air quality related. Construction site power generators, equipment, and machinery generate on average 9 decibels (dBA) above the U.S. OSHA regulations, creating uncomfortable noise levels. Research has shown that frequent exposure to high noise levels leads to chronic physiological issues and increases noise induced stress, yet beyond OSHA no other metric focuses directly on the impacts of noise on contractors’ well-being. Research has also associated natural light with higher productivity and attention span, and lower cases of fatigue in construction workers. However, daylight is not always available as construction workers often perform tasks in cramped spaces, dark areas, or at nighttime. In these instances, the use of artificial light is necessary, yet lighting standards for use during lengthy tasks and arduous activities is not specified. Additionally, ambient air, contaminants, and material off-gassing expelled at construction sites are one of the causes of serious health effects in construction workers. Coupled with extreme hot and cold temperatures for different climate zones, health and productivity can be seriously compromised. This research evaluates the impact of existing green building metrics on construction and risk management, by analyzing two codes and nine standards including LEED, WELL, and BREAM. These metrics were chosen based on the relevance to the U.S. construction industry. This research determined that less than 20% of the sustainability context within the standards and codes (texts) are related to the pre-occupancy building sector. The research also investigated the impact of construction personnel’s health and well-being on construction management through two surveys of project managers and on-site contractors’ perception of their work environment on productivity. To fully understand the risks of limited Environmental and Health Quality metrics for contractors (EHQ) this research evaluated the connection between EHQ factors such as inefficient lighting, on construction workers and investigated the correlation between various site coping strategies for comfort and productivity. Outcomes from this research are three-pronged. The first includes fostering a discussion about the existing conditions of EQH elements, i.e. thermal, lighting, ergonomic, acoustic, and air quality on the construction labor force. The second identifies gaps in sustainability standards and codes during the pre-occupancy stage of building construction from ground-breaking to substantial completion. The third identifies opportunities for improvements and mitigation strategies to improve EQH such as increased monitoring of effects on productivity and health of contractors and increased inclusion of the pre-occupancy stage in green building standards.

Keywords: construction contractors, health and well-being, environmental quality, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Muhammad Dawood Idrees, Arsalan Ansari

Abstract:

Construction industry is considered as one of the most dangerous industry because workers' safety is always a major concern due to extensive number of accidents, injuries, and casualties at worksites. There are various causes of accidents at construction sites, several factors are influencing on the perception of safety of workers and psychological factors are one of them. Perception of safety varies from region to region and it also varies by demographics of workers, such as gender, age, education, job level, etc. However, research on different level of workers, such as labor and managerial staff to evaluate the impact of psychological factor is limited. Objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of psychological factors with different job level of workers. An extensive literature review was conducted to find the casual relationship between psychological factors and perception of safety, and a hypothetical structure model was developed based upon literature review. A survey instrument based upon psychological factors was developed and data was obtained from several construction sites. Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was adopted in order to examine the effect of psychological factors on the perception of safety of workers with different job levels of workers. The results of this analysis reveal that job security and organizational relationships are most affecting factors in labor staff, therefore job satisfaction, mental stress, and workload are dominant in managerial staff.

Keywords: accidents, job level of workers, perception of safety, structural equation modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Ahmad Baghdadi, Mohammed Kishk

Abstract:

Construction projects are unique and involve different level of complexity. Airports projects, among other construction projects, are considered to be very complex as they face a number of challenges which make them inevitably exposed to risks. However, in Saudi Arabia, the sector of aviation is considered an important sector owing to the fact that it is the first destination for Muslims on an annual basis. As a result the Saudi government has allocated a huge amount of their general budget to this sector through the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). However, it has been found that the projects are still delivered with a significant number of time and cost overruns. These consequences are typically generated from the risks involved in the projects. Thus, there is a need to identify the number of risks thought to cause such overruns in project times and costs, as well as to assess their significances in terms of their likelihoods of occurrence and their impacts. Accordingly, this paper aims to identify risks associated with aviation construction projects in Saudi Arabia, as well as to assess their likelihoods of occurrence and impacts on such projects. In total, forty four risks have been identified through a critical literature review of common risks in similar projects, as well as thirteen semi-structured interviews with expert project managers involved in GACA’s projects. However, the assessment of the identified risks in term of their likelihoods of occurrence and impacts was obtained through the analysis of forty five questionnaires. Respondents of questionnaires include clients, contractors and consultants. The results show the risks of design changes by the client, labour issue, and setting a tight schedule by the client have the highest likelihoods of occurrence in GACA projects, while the risks of earthquakes, design constructability, and corruption have the greatest impacts.

Keywords: aviation construction projects, GACA, risks, risk assessment, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 530

Authors: David Blaine, George Raschbaum

Abstract:

The evaluation of DHCP has synthesized SCSI disks, and current trends suggest that the exploration of e-business that would allow for further study into robots will soon emerge. Given the current status of embedded algorithms, hackers worldwide obviously desire the exploration of replication, which embodies the confusing principles of programming languages. In our research we concentrate our efforts on arguing that erasure coding can be made "fuzzy", encrypted, and game-theoretic.

Keywords: SCHI disks, robot, algorithm, hacking, programming language

Procedia PDF Downloads 403

Authors: Scott Kelting, Lucas Nozick

Abstract:

The perpetually growing population and economy within the United States necessitates building construction of all types. Increased building generates environmental concerns, and rightfully so. This industry accounts for approximately 4% of the total GDP in the United States while creating around two-thirds of the material waste annually. The green building movement is certainly gaining popularity in both application and recognition through entities such as the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and their LEED program; however, builders are also producing their ideas. Alternative housing solutions that include pre-fabricated building components and shipping container homes are making great strides in the residential construction industry, and will certainly play an important role in the future. This paper will compare the cost and schedule of modular, panelized and shipping container homes to traditional stick frame home construction in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and recommend the best application for each option.

Keywords: cost, prefabricated, schedule, shipping container, stick framed

Procedia PDF Downloads 290