Site controlling in infrastructure projects by digital methods

<p>The construction industry is essentially determined by digital transformation and an increasingly complex market environment. Project controlling and monitoring is of high importance for construction site activities to achieve the project goals. Digital planning and recording methods make it possible to identify deviations at an early stage and to ensure the profitability of the project. To discuss the current practice of construction performance measurement as well as digital approaches in this domain, a qualitative study was carried out. The results of this empirical analysis examine the status quo of the construction performance measurement in civil engineering companies to illustrate the currently used methods and trends. Findings for the future use of digital planning and recording methods were obtained from the investigation. Based on empirical hypotheses, recommendations for action as well as for an improved process model are given.</p>

Relationships between post appraisal criteria and performance of official development assistance infrastructure projects: The case studies of Vietnam

Annual investment in infrastructure industry of Vietnam has expanded substantially since the adoption of reform and opening-up policy in 1986. Although this investment helps improving the capacity of infrastructure system, there are challenges in terms of project performance, which has been informed to be confronting with a number of critical problems, related to low competitiveness, poor quality, cost overruns, time delays, poor productivity, low efficiency and client dissatisfaction. Contributing to the massive investment, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) infrastructure projects (ODAIPs) has been played a vital role in the development for the last decades. The success of an ODAIP is determined by stakeholders’ perspective who have diverse objectives and concerns. At the completion of any ODAIPs, a preparation of a post project completion report is required with verifying all aspects of the ODAIPs have been completed, authorizing the project budget and discussing the issues that had been encountered over the course of project, which is needed to implications for further ODAIPs. This study aims to analyze the users’ perspectives in post appraisal of ODAIPs in regard to the functions of project management, including project conception, project planning, project directing and project controlling. The analyses were performed from users’ related project-specific data that were collected from 27 completed ODAIPs in Vietnam. The findings of this study are expected to offer not only a useful tool for construction professionals delivering appropriately managerial functions contributing to ODAIPs success and sustainability, but also active feedbacks to further enhancing of the ODA’s policies. Keywords: stay cable; rain - wind induced vibration; rivulet; analytical model; vibration.

The Origin and Types of Controlling in Project Management

The aim of the article is to present the views of domestic and foreign authors on the genesis of project controlling and importance of that idea for the success of implemented projects, as well as its evolution in relation to project management and the attempt to classify it from the point of view of accepted analysis criteria. Controlling as a business management tool in Europe gained in importance scarcely in the second half of the twentieth century, although its beginnings fall on the medieval period. Authors of numerous studies in this field point to various sources of controlling and controller concepts, mainly due to the cultural, economic and historical conditions of shaping the role and scope of information use for project management. In the initial period of use, controlling was primarily focused on the objectives of ongoing project management, but nowadays interest in controlling oriented towardsthe needs of strategic (long–term) management is becoming more and more noticeable. Nowadays, the idea of project controlling is recommended for implementation both in large, medium–sized and small business entities as well as public institutions. In relation to project management, it may include comparative activities of planned and actual values in current operations as well as undertaking activities of regulation, management, control or other related to information needs of the senior management and key project stakeholders.

The Executive Mechanism of Rastin Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) Banking

Despite the interest of bankers for using Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS)[1] banking for the last decades, it has not prevailed yet executively. The existence of different definitions of Riba, absence of appropriate operational, supervisory, and managing mechanism on PLS are some reasons that haven't allowed this kind of banking to be practiced yet. Here, we are going to introduce a practical method for Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) banking to overcome these problems. In this bank, the basis for determination of interest rate of loans is real economy return rate. The bank operates as an intermediary, who gets commission fee, collects saving resources and as an attorney or legal representative of the depositor, allocates them to investment projects, and supervises the detailed operation of the contractor. The yields of the investment will transfer to resources owners who are depositors whatever profit or losses.The PLS banking is a banking system with newly defined instruments of Mosharaka and Pazireh that not only stabilizes the financial and economic markets by preventing the banks, loanees /entrepreneurs and design, construction and contractor sectors in the economy from bankruptcy during crisis periods and volatile markets, but also makes the banks as an international firm which perform similar jobs as stock exchange markets for transactions of PLS products certificates through a secondary certificate market on virtual internet space. Depositors will earn more stabilized benefits too.In this designed method, a trustee (Amin) is a unit who supervise the contractor/entrepreneur operations on behalf of the bank for being honesty in carrying out the project, controlling on executive operations along with announced programs, resources allocation manner, and auditing financial statements.PLS banking will use new financial instruments and innovations such as Mosharaka (partnership) Certificates for projects with specific ends and Pazireh (Subscripted) Certificates for endless (productive) projects. Establishing of secondary exchange market for the transaction of certificates, and various insurance services will play important roles for activating and increasing the efficiency of newly established virtual markets.All of the activities in this method will be done on the basis of compiled instructions. The framework and the organization of the PLS banking have been analyzed in forms of required committees, units, and departments tailored for this type of Non-Usury Bank (NubankCo.) definition. JEL:L86 ,L87 ,G21 ,G24 [1] - This invention has been protected by US patent law under the application number: US 12/588,188

Case study of “project controlling” on a large HOPSCA project in China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed case study on the methods and organisational structure used for controlling the time schedule for a large and complex project. The paper discusses the use of “project controlling”, a term used to describe project control by a third-party organisation. Design/methodology/approach The researchers used action research to collect data for the case study. A member of the research team was a “participant-observer” on the project on a day-to-day basis for a period of 18 months collecting and analysing data which were subsequently analysed by a mixed methods approach. Findings The use of a “Project Controlling Unit” operated by an independent adviser organisation has significant advantages over traditional methods. It can provide timely, consolidated, independent guidance to the client and assistance to other participating organisations. Research limitations/implications The research has confirmed the effectiveness of the method on the project under study. Practical implications The findings provide guidance for enhanced project control on large complex infrastructural projects that will be of interest to other researchers, other clients and other construction organisations both within China and internationally. Social implications Organisations that seek to develop Project Controlling Units to implement the methods described in this paper will need to review their recruitment and training strategies to ensure that appropriate and experienced staffs are engaged. Originality/value The paper extends the knowledge relating to “project controlling” method. The findings provide additional insights to progress reporting and the management of construction production on HOPSCA and other large infrastructural projects.

Involvement of patients and parents in research undertaken by the Australian and New Zealand Fontan Registry

Research that is closely connected with the population it is studying and in which the translational value to healthcare is high is a laudable goal, but it is not often achieved. The Australian and New Zealand Fontan Registry has developed a model for involving patients and parents of children with a Fontan circulation in its research. The model involves consumer participation in the overarching Steering Committee, and has set in place multiple channels of communication allowing the early dissemination of research findings before peer-reviewing, and consumer feedback at all levels of the research. Our focus was not only to provide information but also to give a voice to this community and include them as researchers. These communication channels are a part of a larger network involving the practitioner community, support groups, funding agencies, and health authorities. This close connection with the target research population has multiple benefits: safeguarding the project; controlling and adjusting both the messages conveyed and the investigations; building a community; raising new ideas for research; increasing our research participation rate; increasing the weight of our endeavours; and, above all, increasing our own satisfaction in our research undertakings. In conclusion, the interactions with patients and their families within Australia and New Zealand provide one potential model for the involvement of patients and parents that may result in research that is more relevant, focussed, and practically applicable in a healthcare setting.