scholarly journals MEASURING INFORMATION DEPENDENCY FOR CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING PROJECTS

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pin-Chao Liao ◽  
Stephen R. Thomas ◽  
William J. O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Industrial Engineering ◽  
The Other ◽  
Construction Engineering ◽  
Construction Industry Institute ◽  
Project Risks ◽  
Engineering Projects

Information dependency may be the most important key for managing information exchange to reduce project risks. Studies to date have not successfully discovered objective and quantitative surrogate to measure information dependency. This paper suggests an approach to measure information dependency with the productivity relationships among various disciplines for heavy industrial engineering projects. As part of a Construction Industry Institute (CII) study, the authors identified the information exchange pattern of engineering disciplines. Based on the patterns, the authors discovered the information dependency that various engineering disciplines had with their productivity relationships and conducted a survey afterwards for validation. Both results show significant and consistent evidence suggesting that: 1) information of equipment and piping disciplines is statistically dependent rather than the other paired disciplines; and 2) productivity relationship can be a legitimate surrogate to measure information dependency between equipment and piping disciplines. As such, this study enlightens a research trajectory for improvement of engineering productivity.

Assessment of Electronic Procurement Practices on Project Delivery, Case Study of Selected Construction Companies in Oyo State

2018 ◽  
pp. 257-266
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Electronic Procurement ◽  
Ict Infrastructure ◽  
E Mail

This study investigated the use of e-Procurement in selected construction firms in Oyo state, Nigeria. The data were derived using a well-structured questionnaire survey involving 104 respondents. Descriptive statistical and correlation analyses were used to analyze the data. Findings show that the use of electronic procurement in the selected construction firms for carrying out procurement function is high with majority of the professionals affirming the use of the system, the four categories of e-Procurement used were e-mail, static websites, web.2.0 technologies and portals that have capabilities of supporting the execution of functions limited to intra and inter firm communication and exchange of project information and data. Consequently, between 84 percent and 76 percent of the respondents used these e-Procurement technologies for communication of information, exchange of bill of quantities, project reports, CAD drawings and project specifications. Consequently, factors with the highest positive impacts on the use of these technologies in the firms were the speed of transactions, lower transaction cost and ease of use. The study implies that the selected construction firms in Oyo state Nigeria predominantly use e-mails and websites to support the execution of pre-award phase of construction procurement. Finding also shows that there is positive relationship between e-Procurement (e-Notifying, e-Exchange, and e-Submission of bid) and Project delivery. The study suggests that to accelerate the rate of uptake of e-Procurement and maximize its benefits in the Nigerian construction industry, there is a need to improve the quality and quantity of ICT infrastructure across the country; and to embark on aggressive enlightenment campaigns, training and skill development programs in the use of e-Procurement in the construction industry in this country.

scholarly journals Customisation and Desirable Characteristics of a Standard Method of Measurement for Building Works in Ghana

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Nani ◽  
Peter Edwards ◽  
Theophilus Adjei-Kumi ◽  
Edward Badu ◽  
Peter Amoah
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Standard Method ◽  
The Other ◽  
Opinion Survey ◽  
British Standard ◽  
Industry Practice ◽  
Precision Industry ◽  
Method Of Measurement ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Methods Of Measurement

This paper reports a study that identified andcategorised the modifications to the 5thEdition of the British Standard Method ofMeasurement (SMM5) of building works inGhana. Typical modifications involved ‘costinsignificant items’, ‘minor labour items’,‘custom units of measurement’, ‘methodrelated items’, ‘combinable items’,‘subordinate items’, and ‘items of minorinformative impact’. It was also observed thatthe desirable characteristics/ qualities ofstandard methods of measurement (SMM) ofbuilding work were noteworthy, since theyprovide insight into the nature of a SMMrequired for the construction industry inGhana.The research reviewed available literature,various SMMs and bills of quantities (BQs).The relevance of the modifications andSMM characteristics identified wasconfirmed by a survey of the opinions ofprofessional quantity surveyors conductedthrough a carefully designed questionnaire.Inferences from the opinion survey formedthe basis for grouping both SMMmodifications found and the desired qualitiesof a SMM for Ghana.Survey respondents confirmed all theidentified modifications to the British SMM,except for the elimination of items of minorinformative impact. It was held that allinformation was relevant in measurement.Desirable characteristics of a SMM were ratedin decreasing order of relevance as: easylocation of items; cost significance; simplicity;thoroughness; ease of cost analysis; goodpractice; conciseness; adoptability; precision;industry practice; stakeholders’ opinion;custom classification; regional relevance; andinclusion of jargon. It was noted that therelevance of these characteristics may varyform one region to the other as a result oftechnological, cultural and legal differences.However, the desired SMM characteristicswere recommended as fundamental indeveloping an appropriate SMM for Ghana.

scholarly journals Effect of Fly Ash on Compressive Strength, Drying Shrinkage, and Carbonation Depth of Mortar with Ferronickel-Slag Powder

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1037
Author(s):  
Se-Jin Choi ◽  
Ji-Hwan Kim ◽  
Sung-Ho Bae ◽  
Tae-Gue Oh
Keyword(s):  
Compressive Strength ◽  
Fly Ash ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Bituminous Coal ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Drying Shrinkage ◽  
The Other ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Slag Powder ◽  
Ferronickel Slag

In recent years, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have continued worldwide. In the construction industry, a large amount of CO2 is generated during the production of Portland cement, and various studies are being conducted to reduce the amount of cement and enable the use of cement substitutes. Ferronickel slag is a by-product generated by melting materials such as nickel ore and bituminous coal, which are used as raw materials to produce ferronickel at high temperatures. In this study, we investigated the fluidity, microhydration heat, compressive strength, drying shrinkage, and carbonation characteristics of a ternary cement mortar including ferronickel-slag powder and fly ash. According to the test results, the microhydration heat of the FA20FN00 sample was slightly higher than that of the FA00FN20 sample. The 28-day compressive strength of the FA20FN00 mix was approximately 39.6 MPa, which was higher than that of the other samples, whereas the compressive strength of the FA05FN15 mix including 15% of ferronickel-slag powder was approximately 11.6% lower than that of the FA20FN00 mix. The drying shrinkage of the FA20FN00 sample without ferronickel-slag powder was the highest after 56 days, whereas the FA00FN20 sample without fly ash showed the lowest shrinkage compared to the other mixes.

Measuring the service gaps in the roles of quantity surveyors in the emerging market

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1111-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
AbdulLateef Olanrewaju
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
The Other ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Survey Questionnaires

Purpose – The opportunities that the emerging markets present to the players in the construction industry means that the players need to expand on the scope and size of their responsibilities and duties to the stakeholders. Each of the professionals now demands more specialised and sophisticated services from one another. The other players in the construction industry now require more emerging responsibilities and duties from the quantity surveyors. The purpose of this paper is to examine the roles that “modern” quantity surveyors play by measuring the gaps that exist in the services that the quantity surveyors provide. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data are collected through survey questionnaires. In total, 23 roles played by modern quantity surveyors are identified and addressed to the respondents to rank the rate at which quantity surveyors provide these “emerging” services. The collected data were analysed statistically. Findings – The results of the findings led to the conclusion that the quantity surveyors were not meeting the expectations of other players. Therefore, for competitiveness, quantity surveyors need to better meet demand expectations. Research limitations/implications – This findings of this research are constrained to the services or functions that the quantity provide in the construction industry. Practical implications – This knowledge is valuable to academic institutions that offer quantity surveying programmes, to practicing quantity surveyors, governments, and other players in the construction industry. It will allow quantity surveyors to reconcile supply and demand expectations. Originality/value – There is no known conclusive empirical study on services offered by quantity surveyors in any emerging markets. Therefore, the findings offer a fresh understanding on the services of quantity surveyors not only in Nigeria but elsewhere. While some of the services are common, others are peculiar to emerging markets.

Analysing project risks in Ghana’s real estate industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-428
Author(s):  
Charles Amoatey ◽  
Doreen Danquah
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Real Estate Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Risks ◽  
Project Risks ◽  
Technical Risks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse project risks in Ghana’s real estate construction industry in terms of likelihood of occurrence, severity of impact and controllability. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research approach was used in this study to address the research objective. The study population consisted project managers, architects, surveyors and contractors from 17 members of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) in Ghana. Random stratified sampling technique was used to select 97 participants from these firms. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data, whereas descriptive statistics were used to present findings. Findings All risks identified have some level of likelihood of occurrence, extent of severity of impact and controllability. Market risks, technical risks and environmental risks are more likely to occur. Market risks, technical risks and environmental risks had the highest severity of impact. Financial risks, market risks, managerial risks and technical risks are the most controllable. Among all risks, environmental risks are the direst because they have high likelihood of occurrence and severity of impact but very low controllability. Real estate construction firms (developers) are therefore expected to prioritize remedy of environmental risks. Research limitations/implications The study is based on self-reported perception of project parties on the likelihood, severity of impact and controllability of real estate project risk factors. Firms outside of GREDA were not included in the survey. Therefore, generalisation of these risk factors for the entire construction industry should be done with caution. Practical implications The research results show that Ghanaian real estate developers are aware of the existence of the risks which impact on the performance of the industry. To effectively and efficiently manage these risk factors, project parties must understand the likelihood of occurrence, severity of impact and controllability of the risk factors, as well as individual firm’s responsibilities and capabilities to manage them. Such knowledge helps project managers to prioritise risks in managing them in the face of scarce resources. From an academic research perspective, the paper contributes to a conceptual risk assessment framework for the real estate industry. Originality/value The paper’s main contributions relate to the introduction of real estate construction sector-specific factors to project risk management modelling.

scholarly journals The Discussion on Construction Engineering Technology on Ultra High-rise Building

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Zengyu Li ◽  
Weibing Hu
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Construction Technology ◽  
Land Resources ◽  
Urban Architecture ◽  
Engineering Technology ◽  
Construction Engineering ◽  
High Rise ◽  
High Rise Building

<p>With the speeding up of urbanization and increasing of urban population, the urban land resources are increasingly scarce. Emergence of ultra high-rise building is an inevitable trend. At present, our construction industry is in the rapid development period, where the proportion of ultra high-rise buildings in urban architecture of many big cities constantly increases. The improving ultra high-rise engineering technology is an important part of the construction industry in our country. This paper will analyze the ultra high-rise construction technology of building work in detail.</p>

scholarly journals Analysis of Request for Proposals in Construction Industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Tkáč ◽  
Radoslav Delina ◽  
Martina Sabolová
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Single Case ◽  
The Other ◽  
Pareto Analysis ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Potential Client ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Main Barrier

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this paper is to identify and determine reasons why construction companies reject some of the request for proposals (RFPS) suitable for them. <br /><strong>Methodology/Approach:</strong> The research has several parts. Within the first part the list of reasons which lead to rejection of RFPS and thus potential client are identified. Then the comparison of differences between groups of rejected RFPS with different configuration is made. The last part of research use Pareto analysis to determine most obvious and most costly reasons of rejection of RFPS. <br /><strong>Findings:</strong> The paper identifies 12 reasons, why construction companies decline to prepare proposal for their potential clients. It also doesn’t confirm that configuration of RFPS has significant impact on the rejection of RFPS. Moreover the results on the other hand showed that insufficient trust represent the main barrier which influences the rejection of RFPS in selected company.<br /><strong>Research Limitation/implication:</strong> The main limitation of the research is that it is based on single case study. Although, the quantitative results have to be generalised very carefully, on the other hand paper provide list of the possible reasons why construction companies decline to compete for an offer. <br /><strong>Originality/Value of paper:</strong> The paper provides unique perspective because apart from traditional attitude, where only the submitted RFPS are evaluated, this paper analyses rejected RFPS and tries to identify and determine reasons why construction companies decide not to prepare proposal and thus reduce the possibility to acquire new contract.</p>

scholarly journals Study on Energy-saving Insulation Materials in the Building’s Exterior

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Yazhi Hu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Insulation Material ◽  
Curtain Wall ◽  
Construction Engineering ◽  
Technology Application ◽  
Insulation Materials

<p>Construction industry has been one of China's energy guzzlers, if we can reduce the energy consumption of the building industry through the use of new materials or new technologies, which will have a significant impact on the development of economy and society. The status quo of China's construction industry, high energy consumption, paper use energy-saving technologies in the field of construction works to expand the analysis, discusses the necessity of the construction industry currently uses energy-saving insulation materials and analyzes the current energy field of construction engineering technology application status, on the basis of focus on the application of energy-saving insulation materials in construction, particularly in the new system and the new glass curtain wall insulation material in construction applications, which further enhance the energy-saving technology within the field of construction engineering the application level has a certain reference.</p>

scholarly journals From BIM to GIS at the Smithsonian Institution

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Detlef Günther-Diringer
Keyword(s):  
Smithsonian Institution ◽  
Test Environment ◽  
Construction Engineering ◽  
Information Models ◽  
Building Management ◽  
Gis Data ◽  
Building Information ◽  
The Given ◽  
Engineering Projects ◽  
Basic Prerequisite

BIM-files (Building Information Models) are in modern architecture and building management a basic prerequisite for successful creation of construction engineering projects. At the facilities department of the Smithsonian Institution more than six hundred buildings were maintained. All facilities were digital available in an ESRI ArcGIS-environment with connection to the database information about single rooms with the usage and further maintenance information. These data are organization wide available by an intranet viewer, but only in a two-dimensional representation. Goal of the carried out project was the development of a workflow from available BIM-models to the given GIS-structure. The test-environment were the BIM-models of the buildings of the Smithsonian museums along the Washington Mall. Based on new software editions of Autodesk Revit, FME and ArcGIS Pro the workflow from BIM to the GIS-data structure of the Smithsonian was successfully developed and may be applied for the setup of the future 3D intranet viewer.

境外資金匯回管理運用及課稅條例適用爭議問題研究

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 160-199
Author(s):  
封昌宏 封昌宏
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
The Other ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Taxable Income ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Taiwanese People ◽  
Ministry Of Finance ◽  
Trade War

受到國際反避稅、稅務金融資訊交換、國際反洗錢及中美貿易戰等因素的影響，臺灣的稅務居民已意識到，資金停留在境外不是最安全的地方，許多人想將境外的資金匯回。但要匯回資金首先要面對課稅的問題，因為這些多年來在境外所累積的資金，很可能涉及有應課稅的所得。為了迎接這波的資金匯回，財政部提出了一部專為資金匯回制定的法律，解除資金匯回的課稅疑慮。但財政部在執行面卻又顯得保守，造成申請人以扭曲的行為來適用的這部專法，造成更多的爭議問題。本文就這些爭議問題，提出評析。Under the influence of international anti-tax avoidance, tax financial information exchange, international anti-money laundering and Sino-US trade war, Taiwan’s tax residents have realized that it is not relative safer to park their funds abroad and therefore, many Taiwanese people desire to repatriate overseas funds back to Taiwan. However, we need to face the first issue of taxation of possible taxable income accumulated abroad for a long period. In order to encourage the wave of repatriated offshore funds, the Ministry of Finance has specifically proposed a law to relieve the taxation doubts on repatriated funds. In the other hand, the Ministry of Finance has imposed a conservative manner on implementation, leading to applicants’ distorted behavior to apply for this law, which evokes more controversial issues. This article presents an analysis of these controversial issues.

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