The State of Computer Simulation Applications in Construction

2011 ◽  
pp. 1554-1576
Author(s):  
Mohamed Marzouk

Construction operations are performed under different working conditions including (but not limited to) unexpected weather conditions, equipment breakdown, delays in procurement, etc. As such, computer simulation is considered an appropriate technique for modeling the randomness of construction operations. Several construction processes and operations have been modeled utilizing computer simulation such as earthmoving, construction of bridges and tunnels, concrete placement operations, paving processes, and coordination of cranes operations. This chapter presents an overview of computer simulation efforts that have been performed in the area of construction engineering and management. Also, it presents two computer simulation applications in construction; earthmoving and construction of bridges’ decks. Comprehensive case studies are worked out to illustrate the practicality of using computer simulation in scheduling construction projects, taking into account the associated uncertainties inherited in construction operations.

Author(s):  
Mohamed Marzouk

Construction operations are performed under different working conditions including (but not limited to) unexpected weather conditions, equipment breakdown, delays in procurement, etc. As such, computer simulation is considered an appropriate technique for modeling the randomness of construction operations. Several construction processes and operations have been modeled utilizing computer simulation such as earthmoving, construction of bridges and tunnels, concrete placement operations, paving processes, and coordination of cranes operations. This chapter presents an overview of computer simulation efforts that have been performed in the area of construction engineering and management. Also, it presents two computer simulation applications in construction; earthmoving and construction of bridges’ decks. Comprehensive case studies are worked out to illustrate the practicality of using computer simulation in scheduling construction projects, taking into account the associated uncertainties inherited in construction operations.


2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda McCabe ◽  
Simaan M AbouRizk

This paper describes the development of indices useful in automating the experimentation process of a computer simulation. Simulation methodologies have been developed to model construction systems, but most of these systems require the experimentation process to be carried out manually. In achieving optimum performance, one has to repeat an exhaustive number of experiments. The indices can be used to automate this process, as they are indicators of bottlenecks in the system that can be tracked through the simulation output. They are based upon user-defined performance guidelines for the resources. Where a performance index falls outside the acceptable range, remedial action may be taken. Belief networks, a probabilistic form of artificial intelligence, were used to automate the analysis of the indices to determine the most likely causal factor of poor performance.Key words: construction engineering, computer simulation, performance indices, belief networks, performance improvement.


The issues of determining the estimated cost of capital construction projects with the involvement of Federal budget funds at the stage of development of project documentation, during verification of the accuracy of determining the estimated cost and the initial (maximum) contract price are considered. On the basis of the assessment of amendments to urban planning legislation for the purpose of implementing a state contract by the contractor ( based on the results of competitive procedures or without competitive procedures by decision of state authorities), the procedure for forming the estimate as part of a state (municipal) contract, the price of which is firm, is presented. For the purpose of mutual settlements between the customer and the contractor for the work performed, the formation of primary accounting documentation, as well as for checking the work performed by regulatory authorities, an example of drawing up an estimate of the state (municipal) contract on the basis of grouping costs according to structural elements and complexes of work is given. The result of the research conducted was the development of regulations and the formation of criteria for their practical application by state bodies, institutions, organizations and other participants in the investment-construction process, as well as recipients of budget funds, who perform the functions of the state (municipal) customer, developer and technical customer.


Author(s):  
M. A. Fesenko ◽  
E. V. Zueva ◽  
E. V. Fedorova

The possibility of using the survey as an intermediate stage of assessing the state of working conditions and health of workers. It is concluded that this method is not applicable as an independent device but can be used with other methods of medical research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Katalin Nagyváradi ◽  
Zsuzsa Mátrai

AbstractSeveral research works in the related international literature on sociology and health sciences deal with the state of health in one selected population. In these studies, the chosen sample is often connected with special jobs, especially with healthcare professionals and their working conditions. These studies predominantly examine the self-rated subjective health status using questionnaires. There are others that assess the state of health based not only on self-rated subjective indicators, but also using objective data gained by measuring. Considering the international experiences, we chose a special population in our research – healthcare professionals working in an institute for chronically ill psychiatric patients. Our choice was influenced by the fact that we wanted to include their unique working conditions when exploring and assessing their health status. Moreover, our approach was to assess the objective state of health alongside the subjective factors, as our hypothesis was that the majority of the indicators presumably coincided. The data were collected with the help of three questionnaires and some indicators of the objective health statuses were measured. The findings were processed using the SPSS 17.0 mathematical-statistical software package. Following the descriptive statistics, we applied hierarchic cluster-analysis based on results of the WHOQOLD-BREF26 life-quality questionnaire, the WHO WBI-5 Well Being Index, and on the body composition analysis. The results show the objective and subjective health status of population and the factors that influenced it; the working conditions and the interpersonal contacts in the workplace. The conclusion was that in the examined population the subjective and objective health status doesn’t coincide.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146394912110101
Author(s):  
Geraldine Mooney Simmie ◽  
Dawn Murphy

The last decade has revealed a global (re)configuring of the relationships between the state, society and educational settings in the direction of systems of performance management. In this article, the authors conduct a critical feminist inquiry into this changing relationship in relation to the professionalisation of early childhood education and care practitioners in Ireland, with a focus on dilemmatic contradictions between the policy reform ensemble and practitioners’ reported working conditions in a doctoral study. The critique draws from the politics of power and education, and gendered and classed subjectivities, and allows the authors to theorise early childhood education and care professionalisation in alternative emancipatory ways for democratic pedagogy rather than a limited performativity. The findings reveal the state (re)configured as a central command centre with an over-reliance on surveillance, alongside deficits of responsibility for public interest values in relation to the working conditions of early childhood education and care workers, who are mostly part-time ‘pink-collar’ women workers in precarious roles. The study has implications that go beyond Ireland for the professionalisation of early childhood education and care workers and meeting the early developmental needs of young children.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4122
Author(s):  
Young-Jun Park ◽  
Chang-Yong Yi

Construction quality is one of the primary management objectives relating to duration and cost for construction projects. Project managers struggle with minimizing duration and cost while maximizing quality for construction projects. In construction projects, duration and cost have management priorities. On the other hand, quality is considered a matter of achievement only when it reaches a certain level. Although the importance of quality control in construction management has been constantly discussed, it has still been sacrificed under the goal of shortening construction duration and reducing costs. This study presents a method for estimating the quantitative quality performance of construction operations in which the level of detail is breaking into the work task level for intuitive quality performance evaluation. For this purpose, quality weights of resources that have a proportional quality importance weight and quality performance indexes of resources are utilized for estimating the quantitative quality performance of construction operations. Quality performance estimation and the resource allocation optimization system is presented and validated using a construction simulation model.


2012 ◽  
Vol 490-495 ◽  
pp. 1920-1924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Tao Hu

Nowadays, a lot of people engage in unsustainable daily behavior unconsciously, although most of them worry about the state of our natural environment. Designers can find ideas in people’s unconscious saving behavior and wasting behavior, and then realize these ideas into design. Based upon the case studies, the paper gives hints how to realize ideas derived from unconscious behavior into sustainable design.


1950 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. O. Hinze ◽  
H. Milborn

Abstract Liquid, supplied through a stationary tube to the inner part of a rotating cup widening toward a brim, flows viscously in a thin layer toward this brim and is then flung off, all by centrifugal action. The flow within this layer and the disintegration phenomena occurring beyond the brim have been studied, experimentally as well as theoretically. A formula has been derived for the thickness and for the radial velocity of the liquid layer within the cup, which proved to agree reasonably well with experimental results. Three essentially different types of disintegration may take place around and beyond the edge of the cup designated, respectively, by: (a) the state of direct drop formation; (b) the state of ligament formation; and (c) the state of film formation. Which one of these is realized depends upon working conditions. Transition from state (a) into (b), or of state (b) into state (c) is promoted by an increased quantity of supply, an increased angular speed, a decreased diameter of the cup, an increased density, an increased viscosity, and a decreased surface tension of the liquid. The experimental results have been expressed in relationships between relevant dimensionless groups. For the state of ligament formation a semiempirical relationship has been derived between the number of ligaments and dimensionless groups determining the working conditions of the cup. Results of drop-size measurements made for the state of ligament formation as well as for the state of film formation show that atomization by mere rotation of the cup is much more uniform than commonly achieved with pressure atomizers.


Author(s):  
A.Yu. Svetlakova ◽  
◽  
T.T. Kaverzneva ◽  

Often, the employers allocate funds for occupational safety on the residual principle without considering the real needs in creating safe working conditions for the employees. This is especially topical for the small and medium-sized enterprises, whose budget, as a rule, does not allow to allocate sufficient funds for occupational safety. The substantiation is given concerning the need to improve modern systems for assessing the state of working conditions by integrating the missing elements, which are part of similar systems, selected during the analysis of domestic and foreign studies. In the critical review of foreign publications in the field of assessing the state of working conditions, the tools developed over the past 15 years are considered. The lines of business are selected related to the improvement of system for assessing the state of working conditions at the small and medium-sized Russian enterprises. To determine the most optimal methods, an algorithm is proposed for selecting the tools to assess the state of working conditions based on determining the efficiency parameter corresponding to each tool. Modern Russian methods are assessed in a similar way. As a result of the study, two tools for assessing the state of working conditions that are most optimal for small and medium-sized enterprises are selected. The analysis showed that the first selected method allows to assess the state of the personnel working conditions, i.e., gives a subjective assessment. The second method serves for an objective study of the estimated parameters, as well as for assessing the level of occupational hazard. Combined use of both tools can become the basis for the formation of a methodology for a comprehensive assessment of the state of working conditions at the small and medium-sized enterprises.


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