Search results for: integrated knowledge-base construction
2082 Uptake of Off-site Construction: Benefit and Future Application
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 54252081 An Economical Operation Analysis Optimization Model for Heavy Equipment Selection
Authors: A. Jrade, N. Markiz, N. Albelwi
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Optimizing equipment selection in heavy earthwork operations is a critical key in the success of any construction project. The objective of this research incentive was geared towards developing a computer model to assist contractors and construction managers in estimating the cost of heavy earthwork operations. Economical operation analysis was conducted for an equipment fleet taking into consideration the owning and operating costs involved in earthwork operations. The model is being developed in a Microsoft environment and is capable of being integrated with other estimating and optimization models. In this study, Caterpillar® Performance Handbook [5] was the main resource used to obtain specifications of selected equipment. The implementation of the model shall give optimum selection of equipment fleet not only based on cost effectiveness but also in terms of versatility. To validate the model, a case study of an actual dam construction project was selected to quantify its degree of accuracy.Keywords: Operation analysis, optimization model, equipment economics, equipment selection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 42442080 Identifying Project Delay Factors in the Australian Construction Industry
Authors: Syed Sohaib Bin Hasib, Hiyam Al-Kilidar
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Meeting project deadlines is a major challenge for most construction projects. In this study, perceptions of contractors, clients, and consultants are compared relative to a list of factors derived from the review of the extant literature on project delay. 59 causes (categorized into 8 groups) of project delays were identified from the literature. A survey was devised to get insights and ranking of these factors from clients, consultants & contractors in the Australian construction industry. Findings showed that project delays in the Australian construction industry are mainly the result of skill shortages, interference in execution, and poor coordination and communication between the project stakeholders.
Keywords: Construction, delay factors, time delay, Australian construction industry.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12252079 Motivation among the Managers in Construction Companies
Authors: A.Marisa, Nor'Aini Yusof
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Managers as the key employees have a very important role in maintaining the workforce performance which is critical to the construction companies- success in the future. If motivated employees start with motivated managers probably it would seem plausible if the de-motivated ones start with de-motivated managers. This study aims to analyze the importance of motivated managers to their successes and construction companies- successes. In this study, a quantitative method was used and the study area was in Medan, North Sumatera. Questionnaire survey was distributed directly to construction companies in Medan which are listed in the Construction Services Development Board. A total of 60 managers responded and the completed questionnaires were analyzed using the descriptive analysis. The results indicated that the respondents acknowledge the importance of motivation among themselves to the projects and construction companies- success, implying that it is vital to maintain the motivation and good performance of the workforce.Keywords: construction companies, managers, motivation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23542078 Development of Risk Assessment and Occupational Safety Management Model for Building Construction Projects
Authors: Preeda Sansakorn, Min An
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In order to be capable of dealing with uncertainties, subjectivities, including vagueness arising in building construction projects, the application of fuzzy reasoning technique based on fuzzy set theory is proposed. This study contributes significantly to the development of a fuzzy reasoning safety risk assessment model for building construction projects that could be employed to assess the risk magnitude of each hazardous event identified during construction, and a third parameter of probability of consequence is incorporated in the model. By using the proposed safety risk analysis methodology, more reliable and less ambiguities, which provide the safety risk management project team for decision-making purposes.
Keywords: Safety risks assessment, building construction safety, fuzzy reasoning, construction risk assessment model, building construction projects.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23282077 Abating the Barriers to the Deployment of Radio Frequency Identification for Construction Project Delivery in South Africa
Authors: Matthew O. Ikuabe, Ayodeji E. Oke, Clinton O. Aigbavboa, Douglas O. Aghimien, Tshepo P. Mokori
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The use of technological innovations has been touted to be beneficial in the delivery of construction projects. Particularly, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is widely regarded to be of immense advantage for the management of construction projects. This study focused on evaluating the barriers to the use of RFID technology for the delivery of construction projects. Using Gauteng Province in South Africa as the study area, questionnaire was used in eliciting responses from construction professionals which made up the population of the study. Retrieved data were analyzed using Mean Item Score and One-Sample t-test. Findings from the study showed that the most significant barriers to the deployment of RFID for construction project delivery are high cost and lack of awareness. Conclusively, the study made recommendations that would aid in the abatement of the barriers to the use of RFID technology for construction project delivery.
Keywords: Barriers, construction, project delivery, RFID.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4392076 Stress Variation of Underground Building Structure during Top-Down Construction
Authors: Soo-yeon Seo, Seol-ki Kim, Su-jin Jung
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In the construction of a building, it is necessary to minimize construction period and secure enough work space for stacking of materials during the construction especially in city area. In this manner, various top-down construction methods have been developed and widely used in Korea. This paper investigates the stress variation of underground structure of a building constructed by using SPS (Strut as Permanent System) known as a top-down method in Korea through an analytical approach. Various types of earth pressure distribution related to ground condition were considered in the structural analysis of an example structure at each step of the excavation. From the analysis, the most high member force acting on beams was found when the ground type was medium sandy soil and a stress concentration was found in corner area.Keywords: Construction of building, top-down construction method, earth pressure distribution, member force, stress concentration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17062075 Labor Productivity in the Construction Industry -Factors Influencing the Spanish Construction Labor Productivity-
Authors: G. Robles, A. Stifi, José L. Ponz-Tienda, S. Gentes
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This research paper aims to identify, analyze and rank factors affecting labor productivity in Spain with respect to their relative importance. Using a selected set of 35 factors, a structured questionnaire survey was utilized as the method to collect data from companies. Target population is comprised by a random representative sample of practitioners related with the Spanish construction industry. Findings reveal the top five ranked factors are as follows: (1) shortage or late supply of materials; (2) clarity of the drawings and project documents; (3) clear and daily task assignment; (4) tools or equipment shortages; (5) level of skill and experience of laborers. Additionally, this research also pretends to provide simple and comprehensive recommendations so that they could be implemented by construction managers for an effective management of construction labor forces.
Keywords: Construction management, Factors, Improvement, Labor productivity, Lean construction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 69532074 A Study on the Importance of Motivation among the Managers in Construction Companies in Medan
Authors: A.Marisa, Nor'Aini Yusof
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Managers as the key employees have a very important role in maintaining the workforce performance which is critical to the construction companies- success in the future. If motivated employees start with motivated managers probably it would seem plausible if the de-motivated ones start with de-motivated managers. This study aims to analyze the importance of motivated managers to their successes and construction companies- successes. In this study, a quantitative method was used and the study area was in Medan, North Sumatera. Questionnaire survey was distributed directly to construction companies in Medan which are listed in the Construction Services Development Board. A total of 60 managers responded and the completed questionnaires were analyzed using the descriptive analysis. The results indicated that the respondents acknowledge the importance of motivation among themselves to the projects and construction companies- success, implying that it is vital o maintain the motivation and good performance of the workforce.Keywords: construction companies, managers, motivation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16982073 Integrated Simulation and Optimization for Carbon Capture and Storage System
Authors: Taekyoon Park, Seok Goo Lee, Sung Ho Kim, Ung Lee, Jong Min Lee, Chonghun Han
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CO2 capture and storage/sequestration (CCS) is a key technology for addressing the global warming issue. This paper proposes an integrated model for the whole chain of CCS, from a power plant to a reservoir. The integrated model is further utilized to determine optimal operating conditions and study responses to various changes in input variables.
Keywords: CCS, Caron Dioxide, Carbon Capture and Storage, Simulation, Optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26702072 IFC-Based Construction Engineering Domain Otology Development
Authors: Jin Si, Yanzhong Wang
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The essence of the 21st century is knowledge economy. Knowledge has become the key resource of economic growth and social development. Construction industry is no exception. Because of the characteristic of complexity, project manager can't depend only on information management. The only way to improve the level of construction project management is to set up a kind of effective knowledge accumulation mechanism. This paper first introduced the IFC standard and the concept of ontology. Then put forward the construction method of the architectural engineering domain ontology based on IFC. And finally build up the concepts, properties and the relationship between the concepts of the ontology. The deficiency of this paper is also pointed out.
Keywords: Construction Engineering, IFC, Ontology
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20952071 Multivalued Knowledge-Base based on Multivalued Datalog
Authors: Agnes Achs
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The basic aim of our study is to give a possible model for handling uncertain information. This model is worked out in the framework of DATALOG. The concept of multivalued knowledgebase will be defined as a quadruple of any background knowledge; a deduction mechanism; a connecting algorithm, and a function set of the program, which help us to determine the uncertainty levels of the results. At first the concept of fuzzy Datalog will be summarized, then its extensions for intuitionistic- and interval-valued fuzzy logic is given and the concept of bipolar fuzzy Datalog is introduced. Based on these extensions the concept of multivalued knowledge-base will be defined. This knowledge-base can be a possible background of a future agent-model.
Keywords: Fuzzy-, intuitionistic-, bipolar datalog, multivalued knowledge-base
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11452070 Causality between the Construction Industry and the GDP in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Hasan S. Mahmoud, Salwa M. Beheiry, Vian Ahmed
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In light of the repercussions of the 2008 global economic crisis, the response of the United Arab Emirates economy and growth, and the vast construction activities that are undergoing, there is a need to investigate the relationship between construction activities and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This study aims to investigate the causality relationship between the construction industry in the United Arab Emirates and the GDP of the country in the last decade. For that, this study will investigate the relationship between the growth of the GDP and the growth of construction activities and their value addition to the economy. To ascertain this relationship, Granger Causality method is used to identify the causality between the time-dependent series.
Keywords: Construction value addition, Granger causality, Growth of GDP, UAE.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12642069 Exploring the Relationship between Building Construction Activity and Road-Related Expenditure in Victoria
Authors: Md. Aftabuzzaman, Md. Kamruzzaman
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Road-related expenditure and building construction activity are two significant drivers of the Victorian economy. This paper investigates the relationship between building construction activity and road-related expenditure. Data for construction activities were collected from Victorian Building Authority, and road-related expenditure data were explored by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics. The trend between these two sectors was compared. The analysis found a strong relationship between road-related expenditure and the volume of construction activity, i.e., the more construction activities, the greater the requirement of road-related expenditure, or vice-versa. The road-related expenditure has a two-year lag period, suggesting that the road sector requires two years to respond to the growth in the building sector.
Keywords: Building construction activity, infrastructure, road expenditure, Victorian building authority.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3772068 The Establishment of Cause-System of Poor Construction Site Safety and Priority Analysis from Different Perspectives
Authors: Shirong Li, Xueping Xiang
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Construction site safety in China has aroused comprehensive concern all over the world. It is imperative to investigate the main causes of poor construction site safety. This paper divides all the causes into four aspects, namely the factors of workers, object, environment and management and sets up the accident causes element system based on Delphi Method. This is followed by the application of structural equation modeling to examine the importance of each aspect of causes from the standpoints of different roles related to the construction respectively. The results indicate that all the four aspects of factors are in need of improvement, and different roles have different ideas considering the priority of those factors. The paper has instructive significance for the practitioners to take measures to improve construction site safety in China accordingly.Keywords: construction site safety, Delphi Method, structuralequation modeling, different perspective.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19272067 BIM Application and Construction Schedule Simulation for the Horizontal Work Area
Authors: Hyeon-Seong Kim, Sang-Mi Park, Seul-Gi Kim, Seon-Ju Han, Leen-Seok Kang
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The use of BIM, including 4D CAD system, in a construction project is gradually increasing. Since the building construction works repeatedly in the vertical space, it is relatively easy to confirm the interference effect when applying the BIM, but the interference effect for the civil engineering project is relatively small because the civil works perform non-repetitive processes in the horizontal space. For this reason, it is desirable to apply BIM to the construction phase when applying BIM to the civil engineering project, and the most active BIM tool applied to the construction phase is the 4D CAD function for the schedule management. This paper proposes the application procedure of BIM by the construction phase of civil engineering project and a linear 4D CAD construction methodology suitable for the civil engineering project in which linear work is performed.
Keywords: BIM, 4D CAD, Horizontal work area, Linear simulation, VR.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10082066 Innovation in Lean Thinking to Achieve Rapid Construction
Authors: Muhamad Azani Yahya, Vikneswaran Munikanan, Mohammed Alias Yusof
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Lean thinking holds the potential for improving the construction sector, and therefore, it is a concept that should be adopted by construction sector players and academicians in the real industry. Bridging from that, a learning process for construction sector players regarding this matter should be the agenda in gaining the knowledge in preparation for their career. Lean principles offer opportunities for reducing lead times, eliminating non-value adding activities, reducing variability, and are facilitated by methods such as pull scheduling, simplified operations and buffer reduction. Thus, the drive for rapid construction, which is a systematic approach in enhancing efficiency to deliver a project using time reduction, while lean is the continuous process of eliminating waste, meeting or exceeding all customer requirements, focusing on the entire value stream and pursuing perfection in the execution of a constructed project. The methodology presented is shown to be valid through literature, interviews and questionnaire. The results show that the majority of construction sector players unfamiliar with lean thinking and they agreed that it can improve the construction process flow. With this background knowledge established and identified, best practices and recommended action are drawn.
Keywords: Construction improvement, rapid construction, time reduction, lean construction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12982065 Sustainable Development in Construction
Authors: Ali Hemmati, Ali Kheyroddin
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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
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15332064 Lean Thinking and E-Commerce as New Opportunities to Improve Partnership in Supply Chain of Construction Industries
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24122063 The Impact of the Type of Diversification of Listed Construction Enterprises in China on Corporation Performance
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17392062 Critical Factors to Company Success in the Construction Industry
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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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 97952061 Recycling Construction Waste Materials to Reduce the Environmental Pollutants
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28962060 Auditing of Building Information Modeling Application in Decoration Engineering Projects in China
Authors: Lan Luo
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In China’s construction industry, it is a normal practice to separately subcontract the decoration engineering part from construction engineering, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) is also done separately. Application of BIM in decoration engineering should be integrated with other disciplines, but Chinese current practice makes this very difficult and complicated. Currently, there are three barriers in the auditing of BIM application in decoration engineering in China: heavy workload; scarcity of qualified professionals; and lack of literature concerning audit contents, standards, and methods. Therefore, it is significant to perform research on what (contents) should be evaluated, in which phase, and by whom (professional qualifications) in BIM application in decoration construction so that the application of BIM can be promoted in a better manner. Based on this consideration, four principles of BIM auditing are proposed: Comprehensiveness of information, accuracy of data, aesthetic attractiveness of appearance, and scheme optimization. In the model audit, three methods should be used: Collision, observation, and contrast. In addition, BIM auditing at six stages is discussed and a checklist for work items and results to be submitted is proposed. This checklist can be used for reference by decoration project participants.
Keywords: Audit, evaluation, dimensions, methods, standards, building information modeling application, decoration engineering projects.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18532059 Measuring Relative Efficiency of Korean Construction Company using DEA/Window
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
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19742058 Evaluation of Traditional Methods in Construction and Their Effects on Reinforced-Concrete Buildings Behavior
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26512057 A Heuristic for the Integrated Production and Distribution Scheduling Problem
Authors: Christian Meinecke, Bernd Scholz-Reiter
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The integrated problem of production and distribution scheduling is relevant in many industrial applications. Thus, many heuristics to solve this integrated problem have been developed in the last decade. Most of these heuristics use a sequential working principal or a single decomposition and integration approach to separate and solve subproblems. A heuristic using a multi step decomposition and integration approach is presented in this paper and evaluated in a case study. The result show significant improved results compared with sequential scheduling heuristics.
Keywords: Production and outbound distribution, integrated planning, heuristic, decomposition and integration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24562056 Sustainable Construction in Malaysia – Developers- Awareness
Authors: Nazirah Zainul Abidin
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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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 45802055 Construction Procedures Evaluation of Three Adjacent Tunnels and Excavation Step Effects
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24162054 An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Health and Safety Induction Practices in the Zambian Construction Industry
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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18322053 Optimum Design of Launching Nose during Incremental Launching Construction of Same-Span Continuous Bridge
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
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3615