Assessment of the causes and effects of design deficiencies for large construction projects using social network analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the latent interrelationships of causes and effects of design deficiencies (DDs) and to identify the most crucial ones by considering the interactions among them.Design/methodology/approachFirst, through a comprehensive literature review, the most critical causes of DDs were identified. The review eventuated in a list of 22 causes and 12 effects, which were categorized into six groups. Second, through the rules of system dynamics and the interactions between the causes and effects were modeled and illustrated using causal loop diagrams (CLDs). With the aid of semi-structured interviews with 20 competent experts, the resultant CLDs were also validated. Third, the opinions of 54 experts, who were chosen from the Iranian community of clients and consultants, were solicited concerning the degree of influence which each factor (causes or effects) exerts on others. Finally, the social network analysis (SNA) approach was deployed to analyze and prioritize factors based on the gathered data from experts.FindingsSNA results indicated that factors such as “design firms' staff rework” and “design firms' loss of reputation” are the most central factors affecting DDs. The model results also identified that factors such as “schedule variance”, “workload” and “lack of quality control and supervision during the design phase” have the highest overall impact on DDs. In the end, some recommendations to address major factors and links were also put forward. Overall, more communications between the pair of stakeholder groups and continuous learning from project experiences are believed to be the main strategies.Originality/valueIt is believed that this study has provided a comprehensive understanding of causal mechanisms among factors, which can assist project managers of different parties (clients, contractors and consulting firms) in taking more effective actions to ameliorate the quality of design documents.

A qualitative system dynamics approach to modeling the causes and effects of design deficiencies in construction projects

Purpose Poor quality of design documents and Design Deficiencies (DDs) are critical factors that can potentially cause time and cost overrun and lead to project failure. Despite the importance of this issue, few studies have been conducted to explore the underlying relations among the causes and effects of DDs, and it is not clear how they exert influence on each other. However, it is imperative to have a clear understanding of their interrelationships so as to devise intervention strategies. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to explore these causes and effects. Design/methodology/approach To this aim, a qualitative system dynamics model was provided to visualize how various factors interact with one another. The model was developed and validated by drawing on the expertise of industry-related experts. The key causes and effects of the DDs were identified through the investigation of the model. Findings It was concluded that design management of project and the composition of design teams are critical. The obtained results also showed that more attention should be paid to the enhancement of knowledge circulation and communication within design firms and increasing the awareness of managers and owners from the technical consequences of their managerial decisions. Research limitations/implications It is worth mentioning that the design process could be deeply affected by the quality, frequency and strength of relationships among the project’s parties. Early involvement of contractors, for example, can significantly contribute to enhancing design quality. This study investigates factors’ interactions in projects delivered using the traditional design-bid-build method. As relationships between the project’s parties could be different in various project delivery methods, further research is indeed needed to assess factors’ interactions in projects delivered using other methods. Originality/value It is believed that the proposed model by providing a better insight into the connections of causes and effects could aid project managers of different parties with planning the strategies to reduce DDs and mitigate their effects.

Substantial challenges of road construction

In the form of a representative review of the construction of Central Drugs Georgia, solutions, acceptance of stages of design, deficiencies, names of their own reasons, important guarantees of trusts, which must be technically and painfully necessary transportation of goods and passengers. His role in the economy of Georgia and the international court. Concrete examples are taken, which, obviously, required good solutions and unfavorable results, half-baked in the result of your most important solution. Presented perspectives that follow are considered. What is permissible to avoid the risk of risk.

Sampling bias is an evaluator’s worst foe: A research note on an evaluation study of predictors for success in medical school

Frischenschlager, Haidinger, and Mitterauer (FHM hereafter) reported an evaluation study of predictors for success in Austrian medical undergraduates (Croat Med J. 2005;46:58-65). Since most of the international literature on medical education topics still comes from the USA and the UK, in principle this Central European contribution is much needed and to be welcomed. However, several obvious and grave study limitations make the data and findings of FHM markedly less useful than the authors suggest. Relatedly, in the current absence of other Austrian studies on that topic it is foreseeable that the FHM evidence could be used to inform policy decisions in regards to medical education issues in Austria and, possibly so, elsewhere in Central Europe. I strongly opine that, due to the study’s design deficiencies, this should be avoided. The main purpose of the present comment is therefore to elucidate the shortcomings of this study as well as to stimulate further discussion and research.

Designing the Next Generation of Federal Tax Credits for Low-Carbon Technologies

Achieving emissions reductions to reach economywide net-zero emissions by 2050 will require sustained technological innovations and widespread deployment of emerging low-carbon technologies that are not yet commercially deployed on a mass-market scale. Tax credits are an important policy tool for supporting the early-stage deployment of emerging technologies as well as more mature technologies that have not yet reached widespread deployment. While existing federal tax credits have played an important role in enabling the deployment of several low-carbon technologies, including wind, solar, and electric vehicles, they also suffer from critical design deficiencies that make them less effective. This paper proposes six considerations for designing the next generation of federal tax credits that can support deployment of clean energy and low-carbon technologies in the U.S. power, transportation, industrial, and buildings sectors. Within each consideration, the paper lays out different approaches and discusses the tradeoffs between each.

Fiscal and financial conditions for a stronger euro area

The euro is irreversible but it needs reform to address well-known design deficiencies and also new challenges. Although progress has been made, further steps are needed, the most important of which are: revision of the fiscal rules, establishing a central stabilisation capacity, and completing the banking union (especially a deposit insurance, a capital market union based around a common safe asset, and improved macroprudential policy). This article sets out the necessary reforms in these areas in detail.

Energy, Seismic, and Architectural Renovation of RC Framed Buildings with Prefabricated Timber Panels

In seismic European countries most of the residential building stock is highly energy-intensive and earthquake-prone because it was built before the enforcement of the most recent energy and seismic codes. Furthermore, this stock often shows a low architectural quality due to poor maintenance and/or construction and design deficiencies: for all these reasons, it needs deep renovation, but the use of common energy and seismic upgrading techniques is often unsustainable in terms of costs, work duration, and occupants’ disturbance. Therefore, new integrated, affordable, fast, and low-disruptive renovation actions are strongly needed. This study proposes an innovative energy, seismic, and architectural renovation solution for reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings, based on the addition of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels to the outer walls, in combination with wooden-framed panels. The two panels integrate insulation and cladding materials in order to improve the energy performance and the architectural image of the renovated building. Moreover, the CLT panels are connected to the existing RC frame through innovative seismic energy dissipation devices. In case of an earthquake, these devices in combination with the CLT panels reduce the drift demand of the building, preventing or reducing structural damages and consequent repair costs. In particular, this paper investigates the technical feasibility, the energy efficiency, and the architectural enhancement of the proposed retrofitting system. To this purpose, dynamic thermal simulations were conducted on a typical multi-story residential building from the 1960s, located in Catania, Italy. The results indicated that this retrofitting technique considerably improved the energy performance of the selected building, with a reduction of the global energy demand up to nearly 60%. The presented study is part of a larger research project aimed at also investigating, in a further stage, the seismic performance achievable by the above-mentioned renovation solution.

Nonlinear Analysis of Progressive Collapse of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Building by Different Kinds of Column Removal

Building collapse mostly can be caused by the loss of loading capacity in a primary structural component, resulting in the failure of surrounding elements, which in turn cause a failure propagation. Progressive collapses may be accidental, due to design deficiencies or errors, material failure or natural phenomenon (e.g. earthquakes) but it can be prevented by upgrade the concrete components’ material [1][2]. Well-engineered RC buildings generally have a good performance under normal loading conditions. However, faulty design, construction errors, material deterioration, and overloading are always occurred. When part of structure fails, the total load in the whole system will not disappear, which means the load will be redistributed unevenly to the adjacent part of structure. This phenomenon revealed that sustained high stresses in RC elements can lead to catastrophic collapse. Due to very few of papers did the research on the RC elements under high stress level sustained load, relevant experiments should be performed in this area. This paper gives the suggestions about how to apply the load in an experiment if researchers want to know the behavior of elements near to collapse especially focus on RC columns.

Perception of Stakeholders on Factors Responsible for Sports Facilities Defects in Selected Universities in South Western Nigeria

The study assessed the perceptions of stakeholders on factors causing sports facilities defects in selected universities established between 1957 and 1962 in South-West Nigeria by examining the strength of the identified factors responsible for sports facilities’ defects in the selected universities. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire which was administered on sports men and women and maintenance personnel. The study incorporated all the fifteen sports featured at the Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) competitions. Three federal universities were purposively selected because these have facilities for all the fifteen sports and have hosted national and international sporting events. Data obtained were analysed using frequency distribution, percentages, mean response analysis and factor analysis. Using the mean response analysis, the result showed that the most severe factors responsible for sports facilities’ defects were design deficiencies (3.67), intensity of use (3.53), level of exposure to climatic condition (3.41), inadequate maintenance funding (3.19), vandalism (3.18), moisture (3.17) and inadequate cash flow analysis (3.16). The study recommends that users of the facilities should be carried along at the designs stage to minimize design errors and also adequate fund should be provided to maintenance unit to guarantee adequate maintenance of sports facilities for optimal performance.