Sustainable construction and the versatility of the quantity surveying profession in Singapore

PurposeThe changing role of quantity surveyors in the new paradigm of sustainable construction requires studies into new competencies and skills for the profession. The impact of sustainable construction on quantity surveying services, engagement and how they manage challenges provided an indication of the success indicators of the quantity surveying profession in meeting the sustainable construction needs.Design/methodology/approachA five-point Likert scale was developed from the list of quantity surveying firms in Singapore. An 85% response rate from 60 quantity surveying firms contacted in this study provided 51 responses. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were employed to evaluate the findings.FindingsThe factor analysis categorised the drivers derived from the literature into awareness of sustainable construction, adversarial role on green costing; carbon cost planning; valuing a sustainable property; common knowledge of sustainable construction; and lack of experience in sustainable construction.Social implicationsThe research findings supported the idea of increased sustainable construction skills in quantity surveying education, research and training.Originality/valueThe dearth of quantity surveyors with sustainable construction experience must focus on quantity surveying professional bodies and higher education. The quantity surveying profession needs reskilling in green costing and carbon cost planning to meet the needs of sustainable construction.

Research and Development Talents Training in China Universities—Based on the Consideration of Education Management Cost Planning

Research and development (R&D) talents training are asymmetric in China universities and can be of great significance for economic and social sustainable development. For the purpose of making an in-depth analysis in the education management costs for R&D talents training, the belief rule-based (BRB) expert system with data increment and parameter learning is developed to achieve education management cost prediction for the first time. In empirical analysis, based on the BRB expert system, the past investments and future planning of education management costs are analyzed using real education management data from 2001 to 2019 in 31 Chinese provinces. Results show that: (1) the existing education management cost investments have a significant regional difference; (2) the BRB expert system has excellent accuracy over some existing cost-prediction models; and (3) without changing the current education management policy and education cost input scheme, the regional differences in China’s education management cost input always exist. In addition to the results, the present study is helpful for providing model supports and policy references for decision makers in making well-grounded plans of R&D talents training at universities

Extended Reality in Quantity Surveying

Purpose – It is possible for cost professionals to prepare an informed and compendious cost plan by identifying all the factors that cause cost overruns, variations, safety hazards and others without having a significant prior experience. The implementation of Extended Reality can address this phenomenon. The paper aims to introduce the concept of Extended Reality in the field of quantity surveying by exploring its untapped potential and also looks to identify critical barriers in implementing this technology.Methodology/approach –A detailed review of literature study produced eight critical factors acting as barriers in successful implementation. With the suggestions from the industry professionals, the inter-relationship among these factors were established and prioritised using Interpretative Structural Modelling (ISM) tool. Further, these factors were categorised using MICMAC (Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification) analysis.Findings – This study identifies, Lack of expertise and Lack of suitable software as the key driving factors in successful implementation and all the remaining factors are directly or indirectly influenced by them.Research limitations –The sample size considered in building the ISM network is limited to the Indian construction industry. The disadvantages of Extended Reality have not been covered in the study. There may be several negative repercussions to human health due to this technology.Practical implications – This study can be used by industry professionals in understanding how advance technology like this can overcome many challenges pertinent to cost planning and estimation.Originality/value – This study stands out among the few research topics which contribute to reducing the knowledge gap among the cost professionals irrespective of their experience.

Assessing the expected current and future competencies of quantity surveyors in the Malaysian built environment

PurposeQuantity surveying is a profession that blends engineering, construction and economics. To be competent is to have the ability to apply the set of related knowledge, skills and abilities to perform a task effectively. This paper examines the competency requirements for quantity surveyors (QSs) in the face of changing and increasing client needs.Design/methodology/approachBased on a detailed meta-analysis of the literature, 12 basic/core and 16 evolving competencies are identified. Primary data were gathered through a field survey involving practicing QSs from client, consultant and contractor organisations, and university students undertaking QS programmes in Malaysia. The data obtained were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools.FindingsThe significance of the basic/core and evolving competencies are presented. Overall, the most important contemporary skills are cost planning, valuation of works, measurement/quantification and contract documentation. The evolved roles require expertise in communication and negotiation, ethics and professional conduct and value management. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicates there are misaligned expectations of the proficiency levels needed to provide contemporary and future services between practitioners in client/consultant organisations, contractors and new generation students.Originality/valueThe findings provide guidance on the education, training and practice of quantity surveying to deal with emerging challenges in the dynamic built environments in Malaysia and beyond.

A spatially explicit optimization model for the selection of sustainable transport technologies at regional bus companies

Buses account for almost 60% of the total public transport services in Europe, and most of the vehicles are diesel fuelled. Regional transport administrators, under pressure by governments to introduce zero-emission buses, require analytical tools for identifying optimal solutions. In literature, few models combine location analysis, least cost planning, and emission assessment, taking into account multiple technologies which might achieve emission reduction goals. In this paper, an existing optimal location model for electric urban transport is adapted to match the needs of regional transport. The model, which aims to evaluate well-to-wheel carbon emissions as well as airborne emissions of NOx and PM10, is applied to a real case study of a regional bus transport service in North Eastern Italy. The optimization has identified electric buses with relatively small (60 kWh) batteries as the best compromise for reducing carbon equivalent emissions; however, under current economic conditions in Italy, the life cycle cost of such vehicles is still much higher than those of Euro VI diesel buses. In this context, our model helps in identifying ways to minimize infrastructure costs and to efficiently allocate expensive resources such as electric buses to the routes where the maximum environmental benefit can be achieved.

Theoretical and methodological approaches to the calculation of planned costs for maintenance of service vehicles of the road works customer

Introduction. Effective management of road indstry is particularly important in conditions of limited funding, as it is not possible to provide adequate funding of the economic entity that has the functions of a customer service. The cost of the customer service maintenance depends directly on the compliance with applicable regulations for these works cost determination. One of the aspects that form a considerable part of the costs of customer service is the maintenance of service vehicles.Problem Statement. Road services in the regions (hereinafter RSR) are the recipients and managers of the funds from the State Budget of Ukraine that are directed for the development and maintenance of public roads of state importance, being as well the asset holders of these roads. To perform their functions, the RSR have vehicles on their balance, the use of which involves a number of costs, including fuel and lubricants, repair, maintenance, replacement of tires, etc. The most important of the steps involved in setting the costs of vehicle maintenance is the process of cost planning. Planning has to be based on the structure of the vehicle fleet (own or leased), functional responsibilities and scope of road works.Planning is carried out for vehicles on the balance of the RSR, as well as for leased vehicles. In the case of leasing, the costs mentioned above are added by the vehicles leasing costs. These costs must be forecasted, justified and performed within the approved cost estimates of the customer service expenses.Purpose. The purpose of the article is to highlight the theoretical and methodological approaches to the calculation of planned costs for the maintenance of service vehicles of the road works customer.Materials and methods. Dialectical methods of knowledge, such as analysis and synthesis of fleet composition characteristics and approaches to cost planning methods, as well as induction, were used in writing the article to explore some aspects of the process of calculating the planned cost of maintenance of the road works customer's service vehicles.Results. The study highlights and describes the main approaches to the calculation of planned costs for the maintenance of service vehicles of the road works customer. The methodology of calculation of planned costs for the maintenance of service vehicles is explored.Conclusions. The introduction of a clear methodology and analytical toolkit for calculating all necessary expenditure items for the maintenance of the road works customer's vehicles in the cost planning process will establish the implementation of a clear mechanism for calculating the planned costs of maintenance of the road works customer's vehicles. It will also provide an automated information-analytical complex for planning of cost estimates, with information entry and reporting in standard forms and possibility of prompt response to changes in fleet composition, needs for spare parts, repairs or other expenses for the maintenance of service vehicles and making changes in cost estimates.Keywords: motor vehicles, costs, cost planning, customer service, maintenance of service vehicles

MANAJEMEN PRODUKSI PROGRAM MIMBAR AGAMA TVRI RIAU-KEPRI

AbstrakProgram mimbar agama merupakan program pendidikan mengenai keagamaan yang ditayangkan secara live di TVRI Riau, dengan mengangkat tema yang berbeda-beda setiap minggunya sesuai dengan agama masing-masing, yaitu: Islam, Kristen Protestan, Khatolik, Budha dan Hindu yang diisi oleh narasumber yang berbeda. Penelitian dilakukan untuk melihat manajemen produksi program acara dengan menggunakan teori POAC yaitu perencanaan, pengorganisasian, penggerakan, dan pengawasan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Teknik pengumpulan dilakukan dengan observasi, wawancara dan dokumentasi. Pengambilan narasumber dengan menggunakan pertimbangan tertentu sesuai dengan tujuan penelitian. Informan dalam penelitian ini sebanyak empat orang yaitu produser program, pengarah acara serta pengisi acara. Hasil dari penelitian ini yaitu: Pertama membuat susunan acara program mimbar agama mulai dari perencanaan isi dan biaya. Kedua membuat susunan kerabat kerja yang bertugas dalam pelaksanaan perencanaan produksi program. Ketiga penggerakan produksi program secara live di TVRI Riau yang melibatkan semua kru yang telah ditentukan dan yang terakhir pengawasan terhadap acara tersebut dengan cara evaluasi yang diakukan oleh produser program secara langsung. Kata Kunci: program; manajemen; agama; televisi. AbstractThe religious pulpit program is an educational program on religion that is broadcast live on TVRI Riau, with a different theme each week according to their respective religions, namely: Islam, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism filled with different sources.. The research was conducted to see the production management of the program using POAC theory, namely planning, organizing, mobilizing, and controlling. This study used descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques are the result of observation, interviews and documentation. Retrieval of sources by using certain considerations in accordance with the objectives of the study. The informants in this study were four people, namely program producer, program director and performers. The results of this study are: First, make arrangements for the religious pulpit program starting from content planning and cost planning. Second, make the arrangement of work relatives who are in charge of implementing program production planning. The third is the movement ofprogram production live on TVRI Riau involving all predetermined crews and the last one is supervision of the event by means of evaluation carried out by the program producer directly Keywords: program; management; religious; television.

ANALISIS PERENCANAAN DAN PENGENDALIAN BIAYA OPERASIONAL DALAM RANGKA MENINGKATKAN LABA PADA PT. PRATAMA CITRA BERSINAR

This research aims to find out the analysis of operational cost planning to increase profits. This research was conducted at PT. Pratama Citra Bersinar. The variable used is the planning of operational costs and profits. The results of this study that have been carried out find that PT. Pratama Citra Bersinar must analyze the operational costs incurred so that there is no difference and in carrying out budget planning and realization as well as possible in accordance with policies and regulations and PT. Pratama Citra Bersinar in setting operational costs see estimates from the directors for direct and indirect expenses, this affects income earnings because the costs incurred exceed the policies set.

Classification and modeling of integrated accounting and planning of costs for the production of agricultural products

Agricultural activity is a complex process where various resources, organizational forms of production, labor and payment are used. In this regard, the issues of the development of cost management for the production of agricultural products and the results of its production are becoming topical. A special place in the development of cost management for the production of agricultural products is occupied by management accounting of these costs, as well as their control and analysis. Therefore, the article has improved the classification of costs in agriculture based on the operation of basic economic laws and the practical need for management accounting and planning. Methods for determining the total production cost of products, gross (marginal) income, operating net income, operating profit are proposed. A model of the integrated organization of accounting and cost planning in the agricultural management system has been developed. A methodology for establishing fair value and transfer pricing for agricultural products, as well as a method for accounting for these products, is proposed.