Search results for: Construction

Authors: Ali Hemmati, Ali Kheyroddin

Abstract:

Semnan is a city in semnan province, northern Iran with a population estimated at 119,778 inhabitants. It is the provincial capital of semnan province. Iran is a developing country and construction is a basic factor of developing too. Hence, Semnan city needs to a special programming for construction of buildings, structures and infrastructures. Semnan municipality tries to begin this program. In addition to, city has some historical monuments which can be interesting for tourists. Hence, Semnan inhabitants can benefit from tourist industry. Optimization of Energy in construction industry is another activity of this municipality and the inhabitants who execute these regulations receive some discounts. Many parts of Iran such as semnan are located in highly seismic zones and structures must be constructed safe e.g., according to recent seismic codes. In this paper opportunities of IT in construction industry of Iran are investigated in three categories. Pre-construction phase, construction phase and earthquake disaster mitigation are studied. Studies show that information technology can be used in these items for reducing the losses and increasing the benefits. Both government and private sectors must contribute to this strategic project for obtaining the best result.

Keywords: approval, building, construction, document, industry, IT, Semnan

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Authors: Kaustav Kundu, Alberto Portioli Staudacher

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Construction industry plays a vital role in the economy of the world. However, due to high uncertainty and variability in the industry, its performance is not as efficient in terms of quality, lead times, productivity and costs as of other industries. Moreover, there are continuous conflicts among the different actors in the construction supply chains in terms of profit sharing. Previous studies suggested partnership as an important approach to promote cooperation among the different actors in the construction supply chains and thereby it improves the overall performance. Construction practitioners tried to focus on partnership which can enhance the performance of construction supply chains but they are not fully aware of different approaches and techniques for improving partnership. In this research, a systematic review on partnership in relation to construction supply chains is carried out to understand different elements influencing the partnership. The research development of this domain is analyzed by reviewing selected articles published from 1996 to 2015. Based on the papers, three major elements influencing partnership in construction supply chains are identified: ‘Lean approach’, ‘Relationship building’ and ‘E-commerce applications’. This study analyses the contributions in the areas within each element and provides suggestions for future developments of partnership in construction supply chains.

Keywords: Partnership, construction, lean, SCM, supply chain management.

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Authors: Yi-Hsin Lin, Ying-Ying Li

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The construction industry is the pillar industry in China, accounting for about 6% of the gross domestic product. Along with changes in the external environment of the construction industry in China, the construction firm faces fierce competition. The paper aims to investigate the relationship between diversified types of construction firm and its performance in China. Based on generalist and specialist strategy in organizational ecology, we think a generalist organization can be applied to an enterprise with diversified developments, while specialist groups are extended to professional enterprises .This study takes advantage of annual financial data of listed construction firm to empirically verify the relationship between diversification and corporation performance establishing a regression equation to econometric analysis. We find that: 1) Specialization can significantly improve the level of profitability of listed construction firms, and there is a significant positive relationship with corporate performance; 2) The level of operating performance of listed construction enterprises which engage in unrelated diversification is higher than those with related diversification; 3) The relationship between state-owned construction firms and corporate performance is negative. The more the year of foundation is, the higher performance will be; however, the more the year of being listed, the lower performance will be.

Keywords: Diversification, Specialization, Construction Firm, Performance.

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Authors: G. Arslan, S. Kivrak

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Achieving success is a highly critical issue for the companies to survive in a competitive business environment. The construction industry is also an area where there is strong competition due to a large number of construction contractors. There have been many factors such as qualified employees, quality workmanship and financial management that can lead to company success in the construction industry. The aim of this study was to investigate the critical factors leading to construction company success. Within this context, a survey was carried out among 40 Turkish construction companies which are located in the Northwest region of Turkey. In this survey, top-level managers and owners of the companies were interviewed. The interviews took place over a five month period between January and May 2007. Finally, the ranking of the critical success factors has been determined by using the Simple Multi Attribute Rating Technique (SMART). Based on the results, business management, financial conditions and owner/manager characteristics were determined as the most important factors to company success.

Keywords: Company success, construction, organization, success factors.

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Authors: Mehrdad Abkenari, Alireza Rezaei, Naghmeh Pournayeb

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There have recently been many studies and investments in developed and developing countries regarding the possibility of recycling construction waste, which are still ongoing. Since the term 'construction waste' covers a vast spectrum of materials in constructing buildings, roads and etc., many investigations are required to measure their technical performance in use as well as their time and place of use. Concrete is among the major and fundamental materials used in current construction industry. Along with the rise of population in developing countries, it is desperately required to meet the people's primary need in construction industry and on the other hand, dispose existing wastes for reducing the amount of environmental pollutants. Restrictions of natural resources and environmental pollution are the most important problems encountered by civil engineers. Reusing construction waste is an important and economic approach that not only assists the preservation of environment but also, provides us with primary raw materials. In line with consistent municipal development in disposal and reuse of construction waste, several approaches including, management of construction waste and materials, materials recycling and innovation and new inventions in materials have been predicted. This article has accordingly attempted to study the activities related to recycling of construction wastes and then, stated the economic, quantitative, qualitative and environmental results obtained.

Keywords: Civil engineering, environment, recycling, construction waste.

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Authors: Jung-Lo Park, Sung-Sik Kim, Sun-Young Choi, Ju-Hyung Kim, Jae-Jun Kim

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Sub-prime mortgage crisis which began in the US is regarded as the most economic crisis since the Great Depression in the early 20th century. Especially, hidden problems on efficient operation of a business were disclosed at a time and many financial institutions went bankrupt and filed for court receivership. The collapses of physical market lead to bankruptcy of manufacturing and construction businesses. This study is to analyze dynamic efficiency of construction businesses during the five years at the turn of the global financial crisis. By discovering the trend and stability of efficiency of a construction business, this study-s objective is to improve management efficiency of a construction business in the ever-changing construction market. Variables were selected by analyzing corporate information on top 20 construction businesses in Korea and analyzed for static efficiency in 2008 and dynamic efficiency between 2006 and 2010. Unlike other studies, this study succeeded in deducing efficiency trend and stability of a construction business for five years by using the DEA/Window model. Using the analysis result, efficient and inefficient companies could be figured out. In addition, relative efficiency among DMU was measured by comparing the relationship between input and output variables of construction businesses. This study can be used as a literature to improve management efficiency for companies with low efficiency based on efficiency analysis of construction businesses.

Keywords: Construction Company, DEA, DEA/Window, Efficiency Analysis

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Authors: E. H. N. Gashti, M. Zarrini, M. Irannezhad, J. R. Langroudi

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Using ETABS software, this study analyzed 23 buildings to evaluate effects of mistakes during construction phase on buildings structural behavior. For modelling, two different loadings were assumed: 1) design loading and 2) loading due to the effects of mistakes in construction phase. Research results determined that considering traditional construction methods for buildings resulted in a significant increase in dead loads and consequently intensified the displacements and base-shears of buildings under seismic loads.

Keywords: Reinforced-concrete buildings, Construction mistakes, Base-shear, displacements, Failure.

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Authors: Nazirah Zainul Abidin

Abstract:

The creation of a sustainable future depends on the knowledge and involvement of the people, as well as an understanding of the consequences of individual actions. Construction industry has long been associated with the detrimental effects to our mother earth. In Malaysia, the government, professional bodies and private companies are beginning to take heed in the necessity to reduce this environmental problem without restraining the need for development. This paper focuses on the actions undertaken by the Malaysian government, non-government organizations and construction players in promoting sustainability in construction. To ensure that those concerted efforts are not only skin deep in its impact, a survey was conducted to investigate the awareness of the developers regarding this issue and whether those developers has absorb the concept of sustainable construction in their current practices. The survey revealed that although the developers are aware of the rising issues on sustainability, little efforts are generated from them in implementing it. More effort is necessary to boost this application and further stimulate actions and strategies towards a sustainable built environment.

Keywords: Environmental sustainability, Malaysian construction industry, Malaysian developers, Sustainable construction.

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Authors: M. Mahdi, N. Shariatmadari

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Since, both the relative position of tunnels and the construction procedure affect the soil movement and internal forces in the lining, it is of major concern to study the influence of these factors on the tunnel design. Construction procedures of tunnels have considerable effects on the magnitude of surface movements and lining stresses. This paper describes numerical analysis of construction procedure of a three adjacent shallow tunnels at high groundwater levels using the commercial finite difference software (FLAC-3D). The aim of this study is to determinate the most suitable construction procedure for the three tunnels and the optimum excavation step in Tehran Metro tunnels in order to optimize the surface settlements and lining stresses.

Keywords: Shallow tunnel, multiple tunnels, construction procedure, surface movement, numerical modeling.

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Authors: Josephine Mutwale-Ziko, Nonde Lushinga, Inonge Akakandelwa

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The study discusses the effectiveness of health and safety induction practices on construction sites against the background of the Zambian construction industry experience. The research design included the literature review of relevant literature. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to regulatory bodies, health, and safety personnel. Observation was also employed on construction sites to assess the health and safety practices being used. Health and safety in the construction industry are not something to be ignored or overlooked. The construction industry needs to take heed of the serious consequences of inadequate health and safety induction practices. The implications of inadequate health and safety induction procedures included among others threats to profitability, corporate social responsibility and increased turnover of the workforce leading to poor productivity. Adequate health and safety practices can improve the health and wellbeing of employees, reduce financial implications on firms and encourage productivity on construction sites. Despite this, accidents are still prevalent on construction sites in Zambia. The overall result of this research denotes that the implementation of health and safety induction practices is inadequate, as indicated by the negligent and non-adherent attitude to health and safety induction aspects on the sites by most stakeholders on construction sites. Therefore, health and safety induction practices are ineffective as preventive measures for reduction of accidents on construction sites in Zambia.

Keywords: Accidents, employees, health and safety, inadequate induction.

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Authors: Weifeng Wang, Hengbin Zheng, Xianwei Zeng

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The launching nose plays an important role in the incremental launching construction. The parameters of the launching nose essentially affect the internal forces of the girder during the construction. The appropriate parameters can decrease the internal forces in the girder and save the material and reduce the cost. The simplified structural model, which is made with displacement method according to the characteristic of incremental launching construction and the variation rule of the internal forces, calculates and analyzes the effect of the length, the rigidity and weight of launch nose on the internal forces of girder during the incremental launching construction. The method, which can calculate the launching nose parameters for the optimum incremental launching construction, is achieved. This method is simple, reliable and easy for practical use.

Keywords: incremental launching, launching nose, optimumanalysis, displacement method

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Authors: R. Monib, C. I. Goodier, A. Gibb

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The aim of this paper is to investigate the key drivers in planning the construction phase for infrastructure projects to reduce project delays. To achieve this aim, the research conducted three case studies using semi-structured and unstructured interviews (n = 59). The results conclude that a lack of modularization awareness is among the key factors attributed to project delays. The current emotive and ill-informed approach to decision-making, coupled with the lack of knowledge regarding appropriate construction method selection, prevents the potential benefits of modularization being fully realized. To assist with decision-making for the best construction method, the research presents project management tools to help decision makers to choose the most appropriate construction approach through optimizing the use of modularization in engineering and construction (EC). A decision-making checklist is presented in this paper. This checklist tool assists the project team in determining the best construction method, taking into consideration the module type.

Keywords: Infrastructure, modularization, decision support, planning.

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Authors: Ikumapayi Catherine Mayowa

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The well been of human beings on construction site is very important, many man power had been lost through accidents which kills or make workers physically unfit to carry out construction activities, these in turn have multiple effects on the whole economy. Thus it is necessary to put all safety items and regulations in place before construction activities can commence. This study was carried out in Ondo state of Nigeria to known and analyse the state of health and safety of construction workers in the state. The study was done using first hand observation method, 50 construction project sites were visited in 10 major towns of Ondo state, questionnaires were distributed and the results were analysed. The result show that construction workers are being exposed to a lot of construction site hazards due to lack of inadequate safety programmes and nonprovision of appropriate safety materials for workers on site. From the data gotten for each site visited and the statistical analysis, it can be concluded that occurrence of accident on construction sites depends significantly on the available safety facilities on the sites. The result of the regression statistics show that the level of significant of the dependence of occurrence of accident on the availability of safety items on site is 0.0362 which is less than 0.05 maximum significant level required. Therefore a vital way of sustaining our building strategy is by given a detail attention to provision of adequate health and safety items on construction sites which will reduce the occurrence of accident, loss of man power and death of skilled workers among others.

Keywords: Construction sites, health, safety, welfare.

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Authors: Y. Abdelrazig

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Evolutionary optimization methods such as genetic algorithms have been used extensively for the construction site layout problem. More recently, ant colony optimization algorithms, which are evolutionary methods based on the foraging behavior of ants, have been successfully applied to benchmark combinatorial optimization problems. This paper proposes a formulation of the site layout problem in terms of a sequencing problem that is suitable for solution using an ant colony optimization algorithm. In the construction industry, site layout is a very important planning problem. The objective of site layout is to position temporary facilities both geographically and at the correct time such that the construction work can be performed satisfactorily with minimal costs and improved safety and working environment. During the last decade, evolutionary methods such as genetic algorithms have been used extensively for the construction site layout problem. This paper proposes an ant colony optimization model for construction site layout. A simple case study for a highway project is utilized to illustrate the application of the model.

Keywords: Construction site layout, optimization, ant colony.

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Authors: Kati Kõrbe Kaare, Ott Koppel

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Transport and logistics are the lifeblood of societies. There is a strong correlation between overall growth in economic activity and growth of transport. The movement of people and goods has the potential for creating wealth and prosperity, therefore the state of transportation infrastructure and especially the condition of road networks is often a governmental priority. The design, building and maintenance of national roads constitute a substantial share of government budgets. Taking into account the magnitude and importance of these investments, the expedience, efficiency and sustainability of these projects are of great public interest. This paper provides an overview of supply chain management principles applied to road construction. In addition, road construction performance measurement systems and ICT solutions are discussed. Road construction in Estonia is analyzed. The authors propose the development of a national performance measurement system for road construction.

Keywords: ICT in road construction, key performance indicators, quality performance measurement, road construction supply chain.

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Authors: Alcínia Z. Sampaio, Pedro G. Henriques

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Three-dimensional geometric models have been used to present architectural and engineering works, showing their final configuration. When the clarification of a detail or the constitution of a construction step in needed, these models are not appropriate. They do not allow the observation of the construction progress of a building. Models that could present dynamically changes of the building geometry are a good support to the elaboration of projects. Techniques of geometric modeling and virtual reality were used to obtain models that could visually simulate the construction activity. The applications explain the construction work of a cavity wall and a bridge. These models allow the visualization of the physical progression of the work following a planned construction sequence, the observation of details of the form of every component of the works and support the study of the type and method of operation of the equipment applied in the construction. These models presented distinct advantage as educational aids in first-degree courses in Civil Engineering. The use of Virtual Reality techniques in the development of educational applications brings new perspectives to the teaching of subjects related to the field of civil construction.

Keywords: Education, Engineering, virtual reality, visualsimulation.

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Authors: Yoong H. Chan, Brenda C. T. Lee, Jin C. Lee

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As Malaysia aims to be a developed country by year 2020; the construction industry has since been identified as a major catalyst for the country to attain the status. It is one of the sectors that contribute to most environmental pollutions. It is, therefore, important for the industry to implement sustainable construction practices to reduce the negative impacts that it has on the environment. However, most Malaysian developers have placed much focus on market demand and economic factors; neglecting the need for attention on environmental issues. The practice of sustainable construction is deemed to be an obstacle to achieve short-term economic goals due to the higher cost incurred in the operations. Hence, choices need to be made and a balance needs to be struck in weighing the long-term environmental benefits against immediate economic factors. This paper discusses the challenges faced by Malaysian developers in adopting sustainable practices in the construction industry and the cause of these challenges. It also looks into the achievements and breakthroughs that developers in Malaysia have achieved so far. The paper aims explores the long-term benefits of sustainable practices that would potentially raise awareness on the feasibility and economic potential of sustainable construction.

Keywords: Construction industry, construction method, sustainability.

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Authors: G. Chakhaia, S. Gogilava, L. Tsulukidze, Z. Laoshvili, I. Khubulava, S. Bosikashvili, T. Gugushvili

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The work reviewed and evaluated various genesis debris flow phenomena recently formatted in the Mletiskhevi, accordingly it revealed necessity of treatment modern debris flow against measures. Based on this, it is proposed the debris flow against truncated semi cone shape construction, which elements are contained in the car’s secondary tires. its constituent elements (sections), due to the possibilities of amortization and geometric shapes is effective and sustainable towards debris flow hitting force. The construction is economical, because after crossing the debris flows in the river bed, the riverbed is not cleanable, also the elements of the building are resource saving. For assessment of influence of cohesive debris flow at the construction and evaluation of the construction effectiveness have been implemented calculation in the specific assumptions with approved methodology. According to the calculation, it was established that after passing debris flow in the debris flow construction (in 3 row case) its hitting force reduces 3 times, that causes reduce of debris flow speed and kinetic energy, as well as sedimentation on a certain section of water drain in the lower part of the construction. Based on the analysis and report on the debris flow against construction, it can be said that construction is effective, inexpensive, technically relatively easy-to-reach measure, that’s why its implementation is prospective.

Keywords: Construction, debris flow, sections, theoretical calculation.

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Authors: Mansur Hamma-adama, Abdul-Basit Sa’eed Ahmad

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Construction Industry is evolving amid the fourth industrial revolution. Transportation, commerce, manufacturing and many other industries ripened the current technological advancement and are striving to utilise every development in the IT sector. The procurement of construction works is known to be very conventional and backward in the adoption of digitalisation. The construction industry's procurement and supply chain are blamed for the most inflated cost of construction projects, mainly attributed to a lack of transparency and trust between the industry stakeholders. This research explores the challenges of e-procurement adoption in the industry and identifies the potential opportunities for its usage. This investigation's data are acquired through interviews, and the data are analysed using qualitative content analysis. This study reveals compounding challenges (i.e., corruption and lack of commitment) that lead to the failure of such efforts in Nigeria and the potential prospects (i.e., transparency and efficiency). This study is essential in developing a more effective and transparent process of procurement so that the Nigerian construction industry is not be left behind in the fast-digitalising markets.

Keywords: Challenges, construction industry, corruption, e-procurement, Nigeria, opportunities.

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Authors: R. K. D. G. Kaluarachchi

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The generation of solid waste and its effective management are debated topics in Sri Lanka as well as in the global environment. It was estimated that the most of the waste generated in global was originated from construction and demolition of buildings. Thus, the proportion of construction waste in solid waste generation cannot be underestimated. The construction waste, which is the by-product generated and removed from work sites is collected in direct and indirect processes. Hence, the objectives of this research are to identify the proportion of construction waste which can be reused and identify the methods to reduce the waste generation without reducing the quality of the process. A 6-storey building construction site was selected for this research. The site was divided into six zones depending on the process. Ten waste materials were identified by considering the adverse effects on safety and health of people and the economic value of them. The generated construction waste in each zone was recorded per week for a period of five months. The data revealed that sand, cement, wood used for form work and rusted steel rods were the generated waste which has higher economic value in all zones. Structured interviews were conducted to gather information on how the materials are categorized as waste and the capability of reducing, reusing and recycling the waste. It was identified that waste is generated in following processes; ineffective storage of material for a longer time and improper handling of material during the work process. Further, the alteration of scheduled activities of construction work also yielded more waste. Finally, a proper management of construction waste is suggested to reduce and reuse waste.

Keywords: Construction waste, effective management, reduce, reuse.

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Authors: Mamoon M. Atout

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The Middle East Gulf region has witnessed rapid growth and development in many areas over the last two decades. The development of the real-estate sector, construction industry and infrastructure projects are a major share of the development that has participated in the civilization of the countries of the Gulf. Construction industry projects were planned and managed by different types of experts, who came from all over the world having different types of experiences in construction management and industry. Some of these projects were completed on time, while many were not, due to many accumulating factors. Many accumulated factors are considered as the principle reason for the problem experienced at the project construction stage, which reflected negatively on the project success. Specific causes of delay have been identified by construction managers to avoid any unexpected delays through proper analysis and considerations to some implications such as risk assessment and analysis for many potential problems to ensure that projects will be delivered on time. Construction management implications were adopted and considered by project managers who have experience and knowledge in applying the techniques of the system of engineering construction management. The aim of this research is to determine the benefits of the implications of construction management by the construction team and level of considerations of the techniques and processes during the project development and construction phases to avoid any delay in the projects. It also aims to determine the factors that participate to project completion delays in case project managers are not well committed to their roles and responsibilities. The results of the analysis will determine the necessity of the applications required by the project team to avoid the causes of delays that help them deliver projects on time, e.g. verifying tender documents, quantities and preparing the construction method of the project.

Keywords: Construction management, control process, cost control, planning and scheduling, roles and responsibilities.

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Authors: K. Reitner, F. Staberhofer, W. Ortner, M. Gerschberger

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The purpose of this paper is to identify the main challenges faced by companies in the timber construction sector and to provide improvement opportunities that can be implemented on a short-, medium- and long-term basis. To identify the challenges and propose actions for each company a literature review and a multiple case research were conducted using the Quick Scan Audit Methodology. Finally, the findings and outcomes are compared with each other to support companies in the timer construction sector when implementing and restructuring their day-to-day activities.

Keywords: Supply chain management, supply chain challenges and opportunities, timber construction sector.

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Authors: Fabrício José Piacente, Vanessa de Cillos Silva, Thigo Luiz Mello Melato

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The construction industry has been demonstrating increased growth and importance in Brazil’s national economic development. This study aims to evaluate the financial performance of the leading companies in the construction sector in Brazil in the period from 2009 to 2012. An analysis is made of the capital structure, liquidity, and profitability of the six largest companies in the construction sector in Brazil: Brookfield, Cyrela, Gafisa, MRV, PDG and Rossi. The results are then compared with standard industry ratios. It was found that among the companies analyzed, MRV and Cyrela showed the best relative performance in the period under consideration.

Keywords: Accounting ratios, construction, financial performance.

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Authors: Robin Becker, Maike Eilers, Nane Roetmann, Manfred Helmus

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The shortage of junior staff in the construction industry is a problem that will be further exacerbated in the coming years by the retirement of the baby-boom generations (1955-1969) from employment. In addition, the current working conditions in the field of construction management are not attractive for young professionals. A survey of students as part of the paper revealed a desire for an increase in flexibility and an improved work-life balance in everyday working life. Students of civil engineering and architecture are basically interested in a career in construction management but have reservations due to the image of the profession and the current working conditions. A survey among experts from the construction industry, also as a part of the paper, shows that the profession can become more attractive. This report provides recommendations for action in the form of working modules to improve the working conditions of employees. If these are taken into account, graduates can be attracted to the profession of construction management, and existing staff can be retained more effectively. The aim of this report is to show incentives for employers to respond to the wishes and needs of their current and future employees to the extent that can be implemented.

Keywords: Modern construction management, construction industry, work modules, shortage of junior staff, sustainable personnel management, making construction management more attractive, working time model.

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Authors: Golnaz Moghimi, Alireza Afsharghotli, Alireza Rezaei

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Construction waste has been gradually increased as a result of upsizing construction projects which are occurred within the lifecycle of buildings. Since waste management is a major priority and has profound impacts on the volume of waste generated in construction stage, the majority of efforts have been attempted to reuse, recycle and reduce waste. However, there is still room to study on lack of sufficient knowledge about waste management in construction industry. This paper intends to provide an insight into the effect of project management knowledge areas on waste management solely on construction stage. To this end, a survey among Iranian building construction industry contractors was conducted to identify the effectiveness of project management knowledge areas on three jobsite key factors including ‘Site activity’, ‘Training’, and ‘Awareness’. As a result, four management disciplines were identified as most influential ones on amount of construction waste. These disciplines were Project Cost Management, Quality Management, Human Resource Management, and Integration Management. Based on the research findings, a new model was presented to develop effective construction waste strategies.

Keywords: Awareness, PMBOK, site activity, training, waste management.

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Authors: Buket Metin

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Buildings cause a variety of loads on the environment due to activities performed at each stage of the building life cycle. Construction is the first stage that affects both the natural and built environments at different steps of the process, which can be defined as transportation of materials within the construction site, formation and preparation of materials on-site and the application of materials to realize the building subsystems. All of these steps require the use of technology, which varies based on the facilities that contractors and subcontractors have. Hence, environmental consequences of the construction process should be tackled by focusing on construction technology options used in every step of the process. This paper presents an environmental decision-making model for assessing on-site performances of subcontractors based on the construction technology options which they can supply. First, construction technologies, which constitute information, tools and methods, are classified. Then, environmental performance criteria are set forth related to resource consumption, ecosystem quality, and human health issues. Finally, the model is developed based on the relationships between the construction technology components and the environmental performance criteria. The Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method is used for weighting the environmental performance criteria according to environmental priorities of decision-maker(s), while the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is used for ranking on-site environmental performances of subcontractors using quantitative data related to the construction technology components. Thus, the model aims to provide an insight to decision-maker(s) about the environmental consequences of the construction process and to provide an opportunity to improve the overall environmental performance of construction sites.

Keywords: Construction process, construction technology, decision making, environmental performance, subcontractors.

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Authors: Javad Majrouhi Sardroud, Mukesh C. Limbachiya

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Construction projects generally take place in uncontrolled and dynamic environments where construction waste is a serious environmental problem in many large cities. The total amount of waste and carbon dioxide emissions from transportation vehicles are still out of control due to increasing construction projects, massive urban development projects and the lack of effective tools for minimizing adverse environmental impacts in construction. This research is about utilization of the integrated applications of automated advanced tracking and data storage technologies in the area of environmental management to monitor and control adverse environmental impacts such as construction waste and carbon dioxide emissions. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) integrated with the Global Position System (GPS) provides an opportunity to uniquely identify materials, components, and equipments and to locate and track them using minimal or no worker input. The transmission of data to the central database will be carried out with the help of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

Keywords: Clear environment, Construction industry, RFID.

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Authors: A. Leśniak, E. Plebankiewicz, K. Zima

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Construction projects can be implemented under various contractual and organizational systems. They can be divided into two groups: systems without the managing company where the Client manages the process, and systems with the managing company, where management is entrusted to an external company. In the public sector of the Polish market there are two ways of delivery of construction projects with the participation of the manager: one is to assign operations to another party, the so called Project Supervisor, whilst the other results from the application of FIDIC conditions of contract, which entail appointment of the Engineer. The decision is to be made by the Client and depends on various factors. On the public procurement market in Poland the selection of construction project manager boils down to awarding the contract for such a service. The selection can be done by one of eight public procurement procedures identified by the procurement law. The paper provides the analysis of 96 contracts for services awarded in 2011, which employed construction management. The study aimed to investigate the methods and criteria for selecting managers, applied in practice by the Polish public Clients.

Keywords: construction management, construction services, methods and criteria of tender selection, public procurement

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Authors: Lingzhi Li, Jiankun Zhang, Tiantian Gu

Abstract:

Hazard management that can prevent fatal accidents and property losses is a fundamental process during the buildings’ construction stage. However, due to lack of safety supervision resources and operational pressures, the conduction of hazard management is poor and ineffective in China. In order to improve the quality of construction safety management, it is critical to explore the use of information technologies to ensure that the process of hazard management is efficient and effective. After exploring the existing problems of construction hazard management in China, this paper develops the griddization management model for construction hazard management. First, following the knowledge grid infrastructure, the griddization computing infrastructure for construction hazards management is designed which includes five layers: resource entity layer, information management layer, task management layer, knowledge transformation layer and application layer. This infrastructure will be as the technical support for realizing grid management. Second, this study divides the construction hazards into grids through city level, district level and construction site level according to grid principles. Last, a griddization management process including hazard identification, assessment and control is developed. Meanwhile, all stakeholders of construction safety management, such as owners, contractors, supervision organizations and government departments, should take the corresponding responsibilities in this process. Finally, a case study based on actual construction hazard identification, assessment and control is used to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed griddization management model. The advantage of this designed model is to realize information sharing and cooperative management between various safety management departments.

Keywords: Construction hazard, grid management, griddization computing, process.

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Authors: Norman Wu, Darren Sun

Abstract:

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used for post result evaluation in the construction industry, and they normally do not have provisions for changes. This paper proposes a set of dynamic key performance indicators (d-KPIs) which predicts the future performance of the activity being measured and presents the opportunity to change practice accordingly. Critical to the predictability of a construction project is the ability to achieve automated data collection. This paper proposes an effective way to collect the process and engineering management data from an integrated construction management system. The d-KPI matrix, consisting of various indicators under seven categories, developed from this study can be applied to close monitoring of the development projects of aged-care facilities. The d-KPI matrix also enables performance measurement and comparison at both project and organization levels.

Keywords: Aged-care project, construction, dynamic KPI, healthcare system.

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