Search results for: construction design teams

Authors: M. Lesage, G. Raîche, M. Riopel, F. Fortin, D. Sebkhi

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This paper describes a Web server implementation of the hierarchical aggregate assessment process in the field of education. This process describes itself as a field of teamwork assessment where teams can have multiple levels of hierarchy and supervision. This process is applied everywhere and is part of the management, education, assessment and computer science fields. The E-Assessment website named “Cluster” records in its database the students, the course material, the teams and the hierarchical relationships between the students. For the present research, the hierarchical relationships are team member, team leader and group administrator appointments. The group administrators have the responsibility to supervise team leaders. The experimentation of the application has been performed by high school students in geology courses and Canadian army cadets for navigation patrols in teams. This research extends the work of Nance that uses a hierarchical aggregation process similar as the one implemented in the “Cluster” application.

Keywords: e-learning, e-assessment, teamwork assessment, hierarchical aggregate assessment

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Authors: E. Gouya Bozorg

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The issue of ranking of sports teams, in particular soccer teams is of primary importance in the professional sports. However, it is still based on classical statistics and models outside of area of mathematics. Rigorous mathematics and then statistics despite the expectation held of them have not been able to effectively engage in the issue of ranking. It is something that requires serious pathology. The purpose of this study is to change the approach to get closer to mathematics proper for using in the ranking. We recommend using theoretical mathematics as a good option because it can hermeneutically obtain the theoretical concepts and criteria needful for the ranking from everyday language of a League. We have proposed a framework that puts the issue of ranking into a new space that we have applied in soccer as a case study. This is an experimental and theoretical study on the issue of ranking in a professional soccer league based on theoretical mathematics, followed by theoretical statistics. First, we showed the theoretical definition of constant number Є = 1.33 or ‘golden number’ of a soccer league. Then, we have defined the ‘efficiency of a team’ by this number and formula of μ = (Pts / (k.Є)) – 1, in which Pts is a point obtained by a team in k number of games played. Moreover, K.Є index has been used to show the theoretical median line in the league table and to compare top teams and bottom teams. Theoretical coefficient of σ= 1 / (1+ (Ptx / Ptxn)) has also been defined that in every match between the teams x, xn, with respect to the ability of a team and the points of both of them Ptx, Ptxn, and it gives a performance point resulting in a special ranking for the League. And it has been useful particularly in evaluating the performance of weaker teams. The current theory has been examined for the statistical data of 4 major European Leagues during the period of 1998-2014. Results of this study showed that the issue of ranking is dependent on appropriate theoretical indicators of a League. These indicators allowed us to find different forms of ranking of teams in a league including the ‘special table’ of a league. Furthermore, on this basis the issue of a record of team has been revised and amended. In addition, the theory of ranking can be used to compare and classify the different leagues and tournaments. Experimental results obtained from archival statistics of major professional leagues in the world in the past two decades have confirmed the theory. This topic introduces a new theory for ranking of a soccer league. Moreover, this theory can be used to compare different leagues and tournaments.

Keywords: efficiency of a team, ranking, special table, theoretical mathematic

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Authors: Picha Sriprachan

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The increase in electricity prices affects the cost of high-rise building construction. The objectives of this research are to study the electrical cost, trend of electrical cost and to forecast electrical cost of high-rise building construction. The methods of this research are: 1) to study electrical payment formats, cost data collection methods, and the factors affecting electrical cost of high-rise building construction, 2) to study the quantity and trend of cumulative percentage of the electrical cost, and 3) to forecast the electrical cost for different types of high-rise buildings. The results of this research show that the average proportion between electrical cost and the value of the construction project is 0.87 percent. The proportion of electrical cost for residential, office and commercial, and hotel buildings are closely proportional. If construction project value increases, the proportion of electrical cost and the value of the construction project will decrease. However, there is a relationship between the amount of electrical cost and the value of the construction project. During the structural construction phase, the amount of electrical cost will increase and during structural and architectural construction phase, electrical cost will be maximum. The cumulative percentage of the electrical cost is related to the cumulative percentage of the high-rise building construction cost in the same direction. The amount of service space of the building, number of floors and the duration of the construction affect the electrical cost of construction. The electrical cost of construction forecasted by using linear regression equation is close to the electrical cost forecasted by using the proportion of electrical cost and value of the project.

Keywords: high-rise building construction, electrical cost, construction phase, architectural phase

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Authors: Michelle Sánchez de León Brajkovich, Nuria Martí Audi

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The envelope is one of the most important elements when one analyzes the operation of the building in terms of sustainability. Taking this into consideration, this research focuses on setting a classification system of the envelopes opaque systems, crossing the knowledge and parameters of construction systems with requirements in terms of sustainability that they may have, to have a better understanding of how these systems work with respect to their sustainable contribution to the building. Therefore, this paper evaluates the importance of the envelope design on the building sustainability. It analyses the parameters that make the construction systems behave differently in terms of sustainability. At the same time it explains the classification process generated from this analysis that results in a classification where all opaque vertical envelope construction systems enter.

Keywords: sustainable, exterior walls, envelope, facades, construction systems, energy efficiency

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Authors: Musoke Ivan, Birungi Racheal

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The construction trend is characterized by increased use of modern methods yet traditional methods are cheaper in terms of costs, in addition to the benefits it offers to the construction sector, like providing more jobs that could have been worked with the intensive machines. The purpose of this research was to assess the influence of using Traditional methods of construction (TMC) on the costs and quality of building structures and determine the different ways. Traditional methods of construction (TMC) can be applicable and integrated into the construction trend, and propose ways how this can be a success. The study adopted a quantitative method approach targeting various construction professionals like Architects, Quantity surveyors, Engineers, and Construction Managers. Questionnaires and analyses of literature were used to obtain research data and findings. Simple random sampling was used to select 40 construction professionals to which questionnaires were administered. The data was then analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The findings of the research indicate that Traditional methods of construction (TMCs) in Uganda are cheaper in terms of costs, but the quality is still low. This is attributed to a lack of skilled labour and efficient supervision while undertaking tasks leading to low quality. The study identifies strategies that would improve Traditional methods of construction (TMC), which include the employment of skilled manpower and effective supervision. It also identifies the need by stakeholders like the government, clients, and professionals to appreciate Traditional methods of construction (TMCs) and allow for a levelled ground for Traditional Methods of Construction and Modern methods of construction (MMCs).

Keywords: traditional methods of construction, integration, cost, quality

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Authors: F. H. Abanda, B. Kamsu-Foguem, J. H. M. Tah

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Construction cost estimation is one of the most important aspects of construction project design. For generations, the process of cost estimating has been manual, time-consuming and error-prone. This has partly led to most cost estimates to be unclear and riddled with inaccuracies that at times lead to over- or under-estimation of construction cost. The development of standard set of measurement rules that are understandable by all those involved in a construction project, have not totally solved the challenges. Emerging Building Information Modelling (BIM) technologies can exploit standard measurement methods to automate cost estimation process and improves accuracies. This requires standard measurement methods to be structured in ontologically and machine readable format; so that BIM software packages can easily read them. Most standard measurement methods are still text-based in textbooks and require manual editing into tables or Spreadsheet during cost estimation. The aim of this study is to explore the development of an ontology based on New Rules of Measurement (NRM) commonly used in the UK for cost estimation. The methodology adopted is Methontology, one of the most widely used ontology engineering methodologies. The challenges in this exploratory study are also reported and recommendations for future studies proposed.

Keywords: BIM, construction projects, cost estimation, NRM, ontology

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Authors: Polina Trusova

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The majority of young enterprises is founded and run by teams and develops new, innovative products or services. While problems within the team are considered to be an important reason for the failure of young enterprises, effective teamwork on innovation may be a key success factor. It may require special teamwork design or members’ creativity not needed during work routine. However, little is known about how young enterprises develop innovative solutions in teams, what makes their teamwork special and what influences its effectivity. Extending this knowledge is essential for understanding the success and failure factors for young enterprises. Previous research focused on working on innovation or professional teams in general. Rare studies combining these issues usually concentrate on homogenous groups like IT expert teams in innovation projects of big, well-established firms. The transferability of those studies’ findings to the entrepreneurial context is doubtful because of several reasons why teamwork should differ significantly between big, well-established firms and young enterprises. First, teamwork is conducted by team members, e.g., employees. The personality of employees in young enterprises, in contrast to that of employees in established firms, has been shown to be more similar to the personality of entrepreneurs. As entrepreneurs were found to be more open to experience and show less risk aversion, it may have a positive impact on their teamwork. Persons open to novelty are more likely to develop or accept a creative solution, which is especially important for teamwork on innovation. Secondly, young enterprises are often characterized by a flat hierarchy, so in general, teamwork should be more participative there. It encourages each member (and not only the founder) to produce and discuss innovative ideas, increasing their variety and enabling the team to select the best idea from the larger idea pool. Thirdly, teams in young enterprises are often multidisciplinary. It has some advantages but also increases the risk of internal conflicts making teamwork less effective. Despite the key role of teamwork on innovation and presented barriers for transferring existing evidence to the context of young enterprises, only a few researchers have addressed this issue. In order to close the existing research gap, to explore and understand how innovations are developed in teams of young enterprises and which factors influencing teamwork may be especially relevant for such teams, a qualitative study has been developed. The study consisting of 20 half-structured interviews with (co-)founders of young innovative enterprises in the UK and USA started in September 2017. The interview guide comprises but is not limited to teamwork dimensions discussed in literature like members’ skill or authority differentiation. Data will be evaluated following the rules of qualitative content analysis. First results indicate some factors which may be relevant especially for teamwork in young innovative enterprises. They will enrich the scientific discussion and provide the evidence needed to test a possible causality between identified factors and teamwork effectivity in future research on young innovative enterprises. Results and their discussion can be presented at the conference.

Keywords: innovation, qualitative study, teamwork, young enterprises

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Authors: Kenneth O. Otasowie, Matthew Ikuabe, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

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The practice of feasibility studies plays a huge role in the success of construction projects. Feasibility studies according to several research should be the reason for embarking on any project. However, it has been discovered that in South Africa (SA), feasibility studies are mainly done in the private sector construction but skipped in the construction of most public projects. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the barriers to feasibility studies practice in public projects and the implications. A survey design was adopted. A total number of One hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were administered to Quantity Surveyors, Construction managers, Construction project managers, Project managers, Architects and Civil and Structural engineers in Guateng Province, SA and ninety (90) were returned and found suitable for analysis. Collected data was analysed using percentage, mean item score, standard deviation, one-sample t-test. The findings show that political interference and corruption are the most significant barriers to feasibility studies practice in the public construction projects in SA, while late project completion, poor quality infrastructure are among the implication of not conducting feasibility studies in SA public projects. Therefore, the study recommends the development of a framework for public projects execution that will reduce the interference of the political class in the country, that way the risk of late project completion and poor quality infrastructure will be mitigated.

Keywords: arriers, feasibility studies, public construction, South Africa.

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Authors: Noor M. Abdulfattah, Ahmed M. Khalafallah, Nabil A. Kartam

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Despite the evident benefits of building information modeling (BIM) to the construction industry, it faces significant implementation challenges in the State of Kuwait. This study investigates the awareness of construction stakeholders of BIM implementation challenges, and identifies various solutions to overcome these challenges. Specifically, the main objectives of this study are to: (1) characterize the barriers that deter utilization of BIM, (2) examine the awareness of engineers, architects, and construction stakeholders of these barriers, and (3) identify practical solutions to facilitate BIM utilization. A questionnaire survey was designed to collect data on the aforementioned objectives from local companies and senior BIM experts. It was found that engineers are highly aware of BIM implementation barriers. In addition, it was concluded from the questionnaire that the biggest barrier is the lack of BIM training. Based on expert feedback, the study concluded with a number of recommendations on how to overcome the barriers of BIM utilization. This should prove useful to the construction industry stakeholders and can lead to significant changes to design and construction practices.

Keywords: building information modeling (BIM), construction, information technology, challenges

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Authors: Mohamed Al Araby, Amany Salman, Mostafa Amin, Mohamed Madbully, Dalia Keraa, Mariam Ali, Marah Abdelfatah, Mariam Ahmed, Ahmed Hassab

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In recent years, the architecture, engineering, and construction (A.E.C.) industry have been exposed to important innovations, most notably the global integration of digital design and fabrication (D.D.F.) processes in the industry’s workflow. Despite this evolution in that sector, Africa was excluded from the examination of this development. The reason behind this exclusion is the preconceived view of it as a developing region that still employs traditional methods of construction. The primary objective of this review is to investigate the trend of digital construction (D.C.) in the African environment and the difficulties in its regular utilization of it. This objective can be attained by recognizing the notion of distributed computing in Africa and evaluating the impact of the projects deploying this technology on both the immediate and broader contexts. The paper’s methodology begins with the collection of data from 224 initiatives throughout Africa. Then, 50 of these projects were selected based on the criteria of the project's recency, typology variety, and location diversity. After that, a literature-based comparative analysis was undertaken. This study’s findings reveal a pattern of motivation for applying digital fabrication processes. Moreover, it is essential to evaluate the socio-economic effects of these projects on the population living near the analyzed subject. The last step in this study is identifying the influence on the neighboring nations.

Keywords: Africa, digital construction, digital design, fabrication

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Authors: Susana F. Casla

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Talent Gaming is an innovative methodology based on a large research done for years about how table board games can be used to empower teams. This methodology was developed thinking about the efficiency of facilitating team coaching sessions and the importance of bringing out the best of individuals when working as a team. The fact that more senses are involved in playing a board game, linked with the psychological element of space and “permission to play”, help us travel to earlier stages of our life when our authenticity was at its heights. By being focused on playing the board game, the individual does not direct their consciousness in a particular way and is rather focused in winning the board game. By doing this, his or her inner talents and authenticity surfaces and the fact that all the senses are involved impacts enormously his behaviors and attitudes. All of this combined results in an arena where our talents show up and our decision making process is not impacted by other elements, such as appearances, status or hierarchy.

Keywords: talent, team, board game, business psychology, coaching teams at work

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Authors: Daniel Y. Abebe, Jaehyouk Choi

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The design philosophy of building structure has been changing over time. The reason behind this is an increase in human interest regarding the improvements in building materials and technology that will affect how we live, the aim to speed up construction period, and the environmental effect which includes earthquakes and other natural disasters. One technique which takes into account the above case is using a prefabricable structural system, in which each and every structural element is designed and prefabricated and assembled on a site so that the construction speed is increased and the environmental impact is also enhanced. This system has immense advantages such as reduced construction cost, reusability, recyclability, faster construction period and less enviromental effect. In this study, some of the developed and evaluated structural elements of building structures are presented.

Keywords: eccentrically braced frame, natural disaster, prefabricable structural system, removable link, SGSS

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Authors: E. Omanya, E. Mueni, G. Makau, M. Kariuki

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HIV infection is the strongest risk factor for a person to develop TB. Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) for People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) not only reduces the individual patients’ risk of developing active TB but mitigates cross infection. In Kenya, IPT for six months was recommended through the National TB, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program to treat latent TB. In spite of this recommendation by the national government, uptake of IPT among PLHIV remained low in Kenya by the end of 2015. The USAID/Kenya and East Africa Afya Jijini project, which supports 42 TBHIV health facilities in Nairobi County, began addressing low uptake of IPT through Quality Improvement (QI) teams set up at the facility level. Quality is characterized by WHO as one of the four main connectors between health systems building blocks and health systems outputs. Afya Jijini implements the Kenya Quality Model for Health, which involves QI teams being formed at the county, sub-county and facility levels. The teams review facility performance to identify gaps in service delivery and use QI tools to monitor and improve performance. Afya Jijini supported the formation of these teams in 42 facilities and built the teams’ capacity to review data and use QI principles to identify and address performance gaps. When the QI teams began working on improving IPT uptake among PLHIV, uptake was at 31.8%. The teams first conducted a root cause analysis using cause and effect diagrams, which help the teams to brainstorm on and to identify barriers to IPT uptake among PLHIV at the facility level. This is a participatory process where program staff provides technical support to the QI teams in problem identification and problem-solving. The gaps identified were inadequate knowledge and skills on the use of IPT among health care workers, lack of awareness of IPT by patients, inadequate monitoring and evaluation tools, and poor quantification and forecasting of IPT commodities. In response, Afya Jijini trained over 300 health care workers on the administration of IPT, supported patient education, supported quantification and forecasting of IPT commodities, and provided IPT data collection tools to help facilities monitor their performance. The facility QI teams conducted monthly meetings to monitor progress on implementation of IPT and took corrective action when necessary. IPT uptake improved from 31.8% to 61.2% during the second year of the Afya Jijini project and improved to 80.1% during the third year of the project’s support. Use of QI teams and root cause analysis to identify and address service delivery gaps, in addition to targeted program interventions and continual performance reviews, can be successful in increasing TB related service delivery uptake at health facilities.

Keywords: isoniazid, quality, health care workers, people leaving with HIV

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Authors: Johnson Adafin, James O. B. Rotimi, Suzanne Wilkinson, Abimbola O. Windapo

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An aspect of client expenditure management that requires attention is the level of accuracy achievable in design-stage elemental cost planning. This has been a major concern for construction clients and practitioners in New Zealand (NZ). Pre-tender estimating inaccuracies are significantly influenced by the level of risk information available to estimators. Proper cost planning activities should ensure the production of a project’s likely construction costs (initial and final), and subsequent cost control activities should prevent unpleasant consequences of cost overruns, disputes and project abandonment. If risks were properly identified and priced at the design stage, observed variance between design-stage elemental cost plans (ECPs) and final tender sums (FTS) (initial contract sums) could be reduced. This study investigates the variations between design-stage ECPs and FTS of construction projects, with a view to identifying risk factors that are responsible for the observed variance. Data were sourced through interviews, and risk factors were identified by using thematic analysis. Access was obtained to project files from the records of study participants (consultant quantity surveyors), and document analysis was employed in complementing the responses from the interviews. Study findings revealed the discrepancies between ECPs and FTS in the region of -14% and +16%. It is opined in this study that the identified risk factors were responsible for the variability observed. The values obtained from the analysis would enable greater accuracy in the forecast of FTS by Quantity Surveyors. Further, whilst inherent risks in construction project developments are observed globally, these findings have important ramifications for construction projects by expanding existing knowledge on what is needed for reasonable budgetary performance and successful delivery of construction projects. The findings contribute significantly to the study by providing quantitative confirmation to justify the theoretical conclusions generated in the literature from around the world. This therefore adds to and consolidates existing knowledge.

Keywords: accuracy, design-stage, elemental cost plan, final tender sum

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Authors: Mehrab Gholami Zangalani, Siavash Rajabpour

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In compliance with the Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI)’s results, construction and housing section in Iran is consuming 40% of energy, which is 5 times more than the world average consumption. By considering the climate in Iran, the solutions in terms of design, construction and exploitation of the buildings by utilizing the LEED rating system (LRS) is presented, regarding to the reasons for the high levels of energy consumption during construction and housing in Iran. As a solution, innovative Work Break Structure (WBS) in accordance with LRS and Iranian construction’s methods is unveiled in this research. Also, by amending laws pertaining to the construction in Iran, the huge amount of energy and cost can be saved. Furthermore, with a scale-up of these results to the scale of big cities such as Tehran (one of the largest metropolitan areas in the middle east) in which the license to build more than two hundred and fifty units each day is issued, the amount of energy and cost that can be saved is estimated.

Keywords: costs reduction, energy statistics, leed rating system (LRS), work brake structure (WBS)

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Authors: Khatija Bahdur, Duane Dell’Oca

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There is limited information on how altitude impacts performance in a team sport. Most altitude research in football has been conducted at high elevation ( > 2500m), resulting in a chasm of understanding whether low to moderate altitude affects performance. The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) fixtures entail matches played at altitudes from sea level to 1700m above mean sea level. Despite coaches highlighting the effect of altitude on performance outcomes in matches, further research is needed to establish whether altitude does impact match results. Greater insight into if and how altitude impacts performance in the PSL will assist coaches in deciding if and how to incorporate altitude in their planning. The purpose of this study is to fill in this gap through the use of a retrospective analysis of PSL matches. This quantitative study is based on a descriptive analysis of 181 PSL matches involving one team based at sea-level, taking place over a period of thirteen seasons. The following data were obtained: altitude at which the match was played, match result, the timing of goals, and timing of substitutions. The altitude was classified in 2 ways: inland ( > 500m) and coastal ( < 500m) and also further subdivided into narrower categories ( < 500m, 500-1000m, 1000-1300m; 1300-1500m, > 1500m). The analysis included a 2-sample t-test to determine differences in total goals scored and timing of goals for inland and coastal matches and the chi-square test to identify the significance of altitude on match results. The level of significance was set at the alpha level of 0.05. Match results are significantly affected by the altitude and level of altitude within inland teams most likely to win when playing at inland venues (p=0.000). The proportion of draws was slightly higher at the coast. At altitudes between 500-1000m, 1300-1500m, and 1500-1700m, a greater percentage of matches were won by coastal teams as opposed to draws. The timing of goals varied based on the team’s base altitude and the match elevation. The most significant differences were between 36-40 minutes (p=0.023), 41-45 minutes (p=0.000) and 50-65 minutes (p=0.000). When breaking down inland team’s matches to different altitude categories, greater differences were highlighted. Inland teams scored more goals per minute between 10-20 minute (p=0.009), 41-45 minutes (p=0.003) and 50-65 minutes (p=0.015). The total number of goals scored per match at different altitudes by a) inland teams (p=0.000), b) coastal teams (p=0.006). Coastal teams made significantly more substitutions when playing at altitude (p=0.034), although there were no significant differences when comparing the different altitude categories. The timing of all three changes, however, did vary significantly at the different altitudes. There were no significant differences in timing or number of substitutions for inland teams. Match results and timing of goals are influenced by altitude, with differences between the level of altitude also playing a role. The trends indicate that inland teams win more matches when playing at altitude against coastal teams, and they score more goals just prior to half-time and in the first quarter of the second half.

Keywords: coastal teams, inland teams, timing of goals, results, substitutions

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Authors: Gholamreza Namavar, Ali Bayati

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Nowadays according to increasing the population all around the world, consuming of fossil fuels increased dramatically. Many believe that most of the atmospheric pollution comes by using fossil fuels. The process of natural sources entering cities show one of the large challenges in consumption sources management. Nowadays, everyone considered about the consumption of fossil fuels and also reduction of consumption civil energy in megacities that play a key role in solving serious problems such as air pollution, producing greenhouse gasses, global warming and damage ozone layer. In construction industry we should use the materials with the lowest need to energy for making and carrying them, and also the materials which need the lowest energy and expenses to recycling. In this way, the kind of usage material, the way of processing, regional materials and the adaption with environment is critical. Otherwise, the isolation should be use and mention in long term. Accordingly, in this article we investigates the new ways in order to reduce environmental pollution and save more energy by using materials that are not harmful to the environment, fully insulated materials in buildings, sustainable and diversified buildings, suitable urban design and using solar energy more efficiently in order to reduce energy consumption.

Keywords: architectural design, insulation, sustainable construction, reducing energy consumption

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Authors: Mohammadreza Azarnoush, Ali Bayati, Jamileh Azarnoush

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Nowadays according to increasing the population all around the world, consuming of fossil fuels increased dramatically. Many believe that most of the atmospheric pollution comes by using fossil fuels. The process of natural sources entering cities shows one of the large challenges in consumption sources management. Nowadays, everyone considers the consumption of fossil fuels and also reduction of consumption civil energy in megacities as playing a key role in solving serious problems such as air pollution, producing greenhouse gasses, global warming, and damage ozone layer. In the construction industry, we should use the materials with the lowest need to energy for making and carrying them, and also the materials which need the lowest energy and expenses to recycling. In this way, the kind of usage material, the way of processing, regional materials, and the adoption to the environment is critical. Otherwise, the isolation should be use and mention in the long term. Accordingly, in this article, we investigate the new ways in order to reduce environmental pollution and save more energy by using materials that are not harmful to the environment, fully insulated materials in buildings, sustainable and diversified buildings, suitable urban design and using solar energy more efficiently in order to reduce energy consumption.

Keywords: building design, construction masonry, insulation, sustainable construction

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Authors: Omar M. Aldenali

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Planning is one of the most important phases of the management science and network planning, which represents the project activities relationship. Critical path is one of the project management techniques used to plan and control the execution of a project activities. The objective of this paper is to implement a fuzzy logic approach to arrange network planning on construction projects. This method is used to finding out critical path in the fuzzy construction project network. The trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are used to represent the activity construction project times. A numerical example that represents a house construction project is introduced. The critical path method is implemented on the fuzzy construction network activities, and the results showed that this method significantly affects the completion time of the construction projects.

Keywords: construction project, critical path, fuzzy network project, planning

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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: Kamal Ahmed, Othman Ayman, Refat Mostafa

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The post-construction phase represents a critical milestone in the project lifecycle. This is because design errors and omissions, as well as construction defects, are examined during this phase. The traditional procurement approaches that are commonly adopted in construction projects separate design from construction, which ultimately inhibits contractors, suppliers and other parties from providing the design team with constructive comments and feedback to improve the project design. As a result, a lack of considering maintainability aspects during the design process results in increasing maintenance and operation costs as well as reducing building performance. This research aims to investigate the role of Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) in the design process as an approach to enhancing building maintainability. In order to achieve this aim, a research methodology consisting of a literature review, case studies and a survey questionnaire was designed to accomplish four objectives. Firstly, a literature review was used to examine the concepts of building maintenance, maintainability, the design process and ESI. Secondly, three case studies were presented and analyzed to investigate the role of ESI in enhancing building maintainability during the design process. Thirdly, a survey questionnaire was conducted with a representative sample of Architectural Design Firms (ADFs) in Egypt to investigate their perception and application of ESI towards enhancing building maintainability during the design process. Finally, the research developed a framework to facilitate ESI in the design process in ADFs in Egypt. Data analysis showed that the ‘Difficulty of trusting external parties and sharing information with transparency’ was ranked the highest challenge of ESI in ADFs in Egypt, followed by ‘Legal competitive advantage restrictions’. Moreover, ‘Better estimation for operation and maintenance costs’ was ranked the highest contribution of ESI towards enhancing building maintainability, followed by ‘Reduce the number of operation and maintenance problems or reworks’. Finally, ‘Innovation, technical expertise, and competence’ was ranked the highest supplier’s selection criteria, while ‘paying consultation fees for offering advice and recommendations to the design team’ was ranked the highest form of supplier’s remuneration. The proposed framework represents a synthesis that is creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.

Keywords: maintenance, building maintainability, building life cycle cost (ICC), material supplier

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Authors: Hamed Zolfaghari, Mojtaba Kord

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After feasibility study the design phase is started and the rest of other phases are highly dependent on this phase. forecasting the duration of design phase could do a miracle and would save a lot of time. This study provides a fast and accurate Machine learning (ML) and optimization framework, which allows a quick duration estimation of project design phase, hence improving operational efficiency and competitiveness of a design construction company. 3 data sets of three years composed of daily time spent for different design projects are used to train and validate the ML models to perform multiple projects. Our study concluded that Artificial Neural Network (ANN) performed an accuracy of 0.94.

Keywords: time estimation, machine learning, Artificial neural network, project design phase

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Authors: Sowmiyaa V. S., Tiruvengala Padma, Dhanasekaran B.

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Due to urbanization, traffic congestion, air pollution and fuel consumption underground metros are constructed in urban cities nowadays. These metros reduce the commutation time and makes the daily transportation in urban cities hassle free. To construct the underground metros deep excavations are to be carried out. These excavations should be supported by an appropriate earth retaining structures to provide stability and to prevent deformation failures. The failure of deep excavations is catastrophic and hence appropriate caution need to be carried out during design and construction stages. This paper covers the construction aspects, equipment, quality control, design aspects of one of the earth retaining systems the Diaphragm Walls.

Keywords: underground metros, diaphragm wall, quality control of diaphragm wall, design aspects of diaphragm wall

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Authors: Namhun Lee, Seong Jin Kim

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The construction industry represents one of the largest industries in the United States, yet it continues to face several occupational health and safety challenges. Many workers on construction sites are suffering from extended exposure to stressful situations such as poor and hazardous work environments and task complexity. Stress can be commonly defined as a feeling of emotional or physical tension, which can easily impact construction safety and result in a higher rate of job-related injuries in the construction industry. Physiological signals transmitted from wearable biosensors can be used to detect excessive stress. Therefore, workers’ stress should be detected and mitigated to prevent any type of serious incident or accident proactively. By doing this, construction productivity, as well as job satisfaction, would also be improved in the construction industry. To establish a foundation in this field of research, a conceptual framework for using wearable technology for construction safety has been developed for continuous and automatic monitoring of worker’s stress. The conceptual framework will serve as a foothold in future studies on the application of wearable technology for construction safety.

Keywords: construction safety, occupational stress, stress monitoring, wearable biosensors

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Authors: Christina Kalogirou

Abstract:

Investigating the integration of bioclimatic design into vernacular architecture could lead to interesting results regarding the preservation of cultural heritage while enhancing the energy efficiency of historic buildings. Furthermore, these recognized principles and systems of bioclimatic design in vernacular settlements could be applied to modern architecture and thus to new buildings in such areas. This study introduces an approach to categorizing distinct technologies and design principles of bioclimatic design based on a thoughtful approach to various climatic zones and environment in Greece (mountainous areas, islands and lowlands). For this purpose, various types of dwellings are evaluated for their response to climate, regarding the layout of the buildings (orientation, floor plans’ shape, semi-open spaces), the site planning, the openings (size, position, protection), the building envelope (walls: construction materials-thickness, roof construction detailing) and the migratory living pattern according to seasonal needs. As a result, various passive design principles (that could be adapted to current architectural practice in such areas, in order to optimize the relationship between site, building, climate and energy efficiency) are proposed.

Keywords: bioclimatic design, buildings physics, climatic zones, energy efficiency, vernacular architecture

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Authors: Faisal Alazzaz, Andrew Whyte

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Off-site construction methods have played an important role in the construction sector in the past few decades. It is increasingly becoming a major alternative technique and strategic direction compared to traditional in-situ method. It produces a significant amount of value for the construction industry and the economy more generally. To date, an impressive number of studies have been lunched on the perceived perception of off-site construction. However, it seems that a quantifying benefit on the offsite construction area is lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the recent research literature on the benefits of off- site construction and provides future direction. In the beginning, this paper provides a brief history and current value of the off-site construction followed by a detailed discussion on the benefit of off-site construction. These benefits include but not limited to time saving, quality improvement, relieving skills shortages, cost reduction and productivity improvement. Toward this end, off-site construction should learn from other productive industry similar to services or manufacturing industry by applying operational management tools and techniques with extensive focus on employee empowerment will shed the light on future uptake of Off-site construction. This study is of value in providing scholars have a clear picture of perceived benefit of off-site construction research and give an opportunities for future uptake of off-site method.

Keywords: building projects, employer empowerment, off-site construction benefits, productivity

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Authors: Jin Woo Hwang, Byung Kwan Oh, Yousok Kim, Hyo Seon Park

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As greenhouse effect has been recognized as serious environmental problem of the world, interests in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission which comprises major part of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been increased recently. Since construction industry takes a relatively large portion of total CO₂ emissions of the world, extensive studies about reducing CO₂ emissions in construction and operation of building have been carried out after the 2000s. Also, performance based design (PBD) methodology based on nonlinear analysis has been robustly developed after Northridge Earthquake in 1994 to assure and assess seismic performance of building more exactly because structural engineers recognized that prescriptive code based design approach cannot address inelastic earthquake responses directly and assure performance of building exactly. Although CO₂ emissions and PBD approach are recent rising issues on construction industry and structural engineering, there were few or no researches considering these two issues simultaneously. Thus, the objective of this study is to minimize the CO₂ emissions and cost of building designed by PBD approach in structural design stage considering structural materials. 4 story and 4 span reinforced concrete building optimally designed to minimize CO₂ emissions and cost of building and to satisfy specific seismic performance (collapse prevention in maximum considered earthquake) of building satisfying prescriptive code regulations using non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II). Optimized design result showed that minimized CO₂ emissions and cost of building were acquired satisfying specific seismic performance. Therefore, the methodology proposed in this paper can be used to reduce both CO₂ emissions and cost of building designed by PBD approach.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, performance based design, optimization, sustainable design

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Authors: Juliette MacDonald, Jun Li, Wenji Xiang, Mingwei Zhao

Abstract:

Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation (SCF) was created as a result of a collaborative partnership agreement between the University of Edinburgh and Donghua University. The College provides two programmes: Fashion Innovation and Fashion Interior Design and the overarching curriculum has the intention of developing innovation and creativity within an international learning, teaching, knowledge exchange and research context. The research problem presented here focuses on the multi-national/cultural faculty in the team, the challenges arising from difficulties in communication and the associated limitations of management frameworks. The teaching faculty at SCF are drawn from China, Finland, Korea, Singapore and the UK with input from Flying Faculty from Fashion and Interior Design, Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), for 5 weeks each semester. Rather than fully replicating the administrative and pedagogical style of one or other of the institutions within this joint partnership the aim from the outset was to create a third way which acknowledges the quality assurance requirements of both Donghua and Edinburgh, the academic and technical needs of the students and provides relevant development and support for all the SCF-based staff and Flying Academics. It has been well acknowledged by those who are involved in teaching across cultures that there is often a culture shock associated with transnational education but that the experience of being involved in the delivery of a curriculum at a Joint Institution can also be very rewarding for staff and students. It became clear at SCF that if a third way might be achieved which encourages innovative approaches to fashion education whilst balancing the expectations of Chinese and western concepts of education and the aims of two institutions, then it was going to be necessary to construct a framework which developed close working relationships for the entire teaching team, so not only between academics and students but also between technicians and administrators at ECA and SCF. The attempts at co-construction and integration are built on the sharing of cultural and educational experiences and knowledge as well as provision of opportunities for reflection on the pedagogical purpose of the curriculum and its delivery. Methods on evaluating the effectiveness of these aims include a series of surveys and interviews and analysis of data drawn from teaching projects delivered to the students along with graduate successes from the last five years, since SCF first opened its doors. This paper will provide examples of best practice developed by SCF which have helped guide the faculty and embed common core values and aims of co-construction regulations and management, whilst building a pro-active TNE (Trans-National Education) team which enhances the learning experience for staff and students alike.

Keywords: cultural co-construction, educational team management, multi-cultural challenges, TNE integration for teaching teams

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Authors: C. W. F. Che Wan Putra, M. Alshawi, M. S. Al Ahbabi, M. Jabakhanji

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Much of the waste that is generated throughout the life-cycle of a building is mainly related to project stakeholders not having access to information that others have created. This results in waste and high costs. Over the past decade, however, the industry reacted to these challenges by adopting effective procurement approaches, such as partnering and design and build, to improve collaboration and communication among projects’ stakeholders. Most recently, there is a focus on creating and reusing digital project information of stakeholders throughout the life-cycle to facilitate the exchange of information among partners. This shift is based around BIM (Building Information Modelling) and collaborative environment (IPD). The power of collaborative BIM goes beyond improving efficiency. Sustainability, perhaps the most important challenge for the design and construction community, is at the intersection of BIM and collaborative project delivery, drawing strength from both. Due to these benefits, a research study has been carried out to investigate the need of BIM and IPD, on a large scale construction project which is procured on a traditional approach, i.e. design-bid-build. A qualitative research work including a semi-structured interview with project partners was conducted on a typical project in the UAE, whereby the selected project suffered from severe delays and cost overrun. This paper aims to bring about clear evidence to what most likely to happen to a typical construction project in spite of employing very good consultants, project manager and contractors and how these problems could have been avoided if BIM and IPD were deployed.

Keywords: building information modelling (BIM), integrated project delivery (IPD), collaborative environment, case study

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Authors: Tharaki S. Hettiarachchi

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Sustainable construction has gained massive attention in the present world as the construction industry is highly responsible for carbon emissions and other types of unsustainable practices. Yet, the construction industry has not been able to completely attain sustainable goals. Therefore, the present study aims to identify the extent to which sustainability has been considered within the scope of construction project management and to analyze the challenges, gaps, and constraints associated. Accordingly, this study develops a sustainable framework to integrate in construction project management. In accomplishing the research aim, this research integrates a qualitative approach while relying on secondary data sources. The data shall be then analyzed with the use of a systematic literature review (SLR) method while following the PRISMA (2020) guideline and represented in a statistical form. The outcomes of this study may become highly significant in identifying the nature of the existing sustainable frameworks associated with construction project management scopes and to develop a new framework to integrate in order to enhance the effectiveness of sustainable applications in construction management. The outcomes of this research may benefit present and future construction professionals and academicians to organize sustainable construction-related knowledge in a useful way to apply in practical implementation for effective project management. Overall, this study directs present and future construction professionals toward an advanced construction project management mechanism.

Keywords: construction, framework development, project management, sustainability

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