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Integrated Collaborative Tools for Precast Supply Chain Management
Abstract
Precast construction projects are associated with many activities, numerous parties, enormous effort and different processes. For effective communication, this requires delivering appropriate and up-to-date information to enhance collaboration and improve integration. The purpose of this paper is to develop the system architecture and prototype of Context-Aware Cloud Computing Building Information Modeling (CACCBIM) for precast supply chain management. The findings of this research are grounded through the literature of cloud computing, context-awareness, building information modeling and, ultimately, the analysis of interviews with stakeholders in precast construction. Findings determine that lack of integration, improper planning and scheduling, poor production timing, poor coordination, lack of good communication among parties, wrong deliveries, poor control and supervision are the major issues within the precast supply chain. These issues could result in adverse consequences for the objectives and success of the precast project.Eventually, to reduce and eliminate these issues, the proposed prototype will support appropriate deliveries,efficient monitoring, the facilitation of coordination and collaboration with improved communication. It is anticipated that this research will establish a unique perception of the precast construction industry which will finally enhance its productivity, improve its efficiency and maximise its effectiveness.
... Table 1 summarises the use of BIM for productivity measurement found in the 21 publications considered in this study. Abedi et al. (2016) The proposed CACCBIM can be used as an effective tool for the data collection for the CPM Arif and Khan (2020) Typical total station, cloud and BIM integrated framework for real-time productivity measurement Chan and Link 3D objects with a spreadsheet containing detailed daily progress information Fang et al. (2016) BIM and cloud-enabled RFID localisation systems enable productivity monitoring through worker location identification and data visualisation Heigermoser et al. ...
... The study proposed a field LP data acquisition method that integrated the 3D BIM model, which was primarily used to take off quantities and enhance the accuracy of the LP measurement. Abedi et al. (2016) proposed a cloud-integrated BIM for precast supply chain management, named context-aware cloud computing building information modelling (CACCBIM). This proposed tool enabled efficient monitoring of the precast supply chain and it can be used to collect data for the CPM. ...
Productivity is a critical performance indicator of the construction industry, and thus warrants effective and efficient construction productivity measurement (CPM). Building information modelling (BIM), a digital representation of the building process, plays a significant role in effective and efficient CPM. Considering the high mandatory requirements for enhancement in construction productivity measurement, this paper aims to review the state-of-the-art literature on BIM-integrated CPM, to identify gaps in the existing body of knowledge and explore future research trends. The aim is achieved through a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis where the data are retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar and proposes future research directions. In total 260 publications were identified from the initial search, and 56 were shortlisted for full-text analysis after several levels of screening including duplication, title and abstract checking. Finally, 21 were narrowed yielded for detailed review for this study. The results mapped the yearly publication trend, publications by source and the co-occurrence of terms. The findings help to identify a suite of BIM-integrated CPM methods used in the construction industry and provide a foundation for future research in CPM. A framework is developed to illustrate the knowledge gap and future directions identified in this study. Accordingly, the findings revealed that existing studies on utilising BIM for CPM are limited to only 3D and 4D BIM. Further, there is a lack of studies on the feasibility of using BIM for CPM, fully automated BIM integrated CPM tools and real-time CPM through BIM.
... According to Behera et al. [9], a major part of these problems can be traced to the interfaces of different parties involved in construction supply chains. A myopic and independent control of construction supply chains [1], exacerbated by characteristics such as fragmentation [11,12], lack of coordination and communication between participants [13], adversarial short-term relationships [14], separation of design and construction [1] and mistrust [6] is causing performance-related problems. ...
... This last subject area comprises just one practice, namely 'information and communication technology integration'. Information and communication technology (ICT) delivers an environment within which supply chain members have greater accessibility to one another and can conveniently retrieve or send information at any time and in any place [12,17]. Therefore, it plays a key role to ensure consistent and efficient information management [5] and to enhance communication and coordination within the supply chain [6], [115]. ...
The relevance of supply chain management (SCM) is being increasingly recognized in the construction industry. However, its implementation has been limited and is still challenging for researchers and practitioners. An adequate and systematic understanding of context-specific core concepts and practices are considered fundamental to foster its implementation. This paper aims to provide a holistic look into the existing research on elements underlying SCM in the construction industry. It adopts a systematic literature review method to examine almost two decades of publications and uses a comprehensive SCM framework to synthesize the findings. The results revealed a set of 19 core elements clustered in five subject areas (i.e., ‘strategic management’, ‘logistics’, ‘relationships’, ‘best practices’ and ‘organizational behavior’) that have a prominent role in construction SCM. Every core element was analyzed in detail and the results were discussed in the context of other evidence. This study produced the first comprehensive picture of the current state of knowledge, providing relevant contributions to enhance the understanding and implementation of SCM within the construction industry.
... A number of scholars have explored the supply chain management in the domain of prefabricated construction. Existing efforts mainly focus on four aspects, such as the organizational form [10], information integration and supply chain optimization [11][12][13][14], building components production and management decision support [15][16][17][18][19], and knowledge sharing [20], which have undoubtedly contributed to a better development of the prefabricated construction industry. However, existing research is only trying to identify the single obstacle factors hindering prefabrication construction development, which is far from enough to the integrated management and system thinking of the entire supply chain. ...
... Nenad et al. [11] attempted to address those issues relating to the integration of information flows in relation to material management throughout the construction industry supply-chain through theoretically modeling for information mapping. Abedi et al. [12] come up with Context-Aware Cloud Computing Building Information Modeling (CACCBIM) to deliver appropriate and up-to-date information so as to enhance collaboration and integration management of supply chain. Hu et al. [13] pointed out that the organization, delivery and analysis of effective information was the core of breaking industry bottlenecks and put forward a cloud platform for prefabricated concrete components supply chain information collaboration to improve productivity and reduce the cost of concrete components. ...
Prefabricated construction is a sustainable alternative to traditional on-site construction methods. However, many challenges still exist in the prefabricated construction process. For example, self-manufacturing or outsourcing decisions are vital to the industrial structure and organization of the prefabricated construction industry, and the company’s production and operation decision-making. This paper considers a prefabricated construction supply chain, which is composed of one upstream component manufacturing company and two downstream contractors. The large contractor can get the precast component through self-manufacturing or outsourcing, while the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) contractor can only buy components from the component manufacturer. A comprehensive game model (Cournot-Stackelberg model) under different decisions, that is, component self-manufacturing or outsourcing, was established. By solving the profit functions of different companies in the prefabricated construction supply chain, the equilibrium solutions of output, price and profit can be achieved. These solutions of equilibrium indicate the optimal decision on the production and operation, and the profit’s boundary conditions. After assuming relevant parameters, the profit levels of the companies in the supply chain are analyzed via a dynamic simulation in the changing process of prefabricated construction market size under different behavioral decisions. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the profit levels of all supply chain enterprises and the whole supply chain are increasing with an increase of market size; (2) the downstream contractors and the whole supply chain have a higher profit level under the component self-manufacturing decision, however, on the contrary, the upstream component suppliers get a higher profit level under the component outsourcing decision; (3) the equilibrium output of the SME contractor is reduced under the outsourcing decision of the large contractor, and the SME contractor is at a disadvantage in market competition, which is particularlyfull of risk when the market size is not big enough, but higher profit level can be expected as the market size increases. According to the results of the game-theoreticanalysis and the numerical simulation, managerial implications are put forward from the angles of extensive publicity, mandatory implementation, strengthening industrial chain integration, and intensifying component factory guidance to promote the development of prefabricated construction. Finally, the main problems which need to be studied further in the future are presented.
... After delving into the risks that supply chains face in the context of complex MiC projects, researchers have shifted their focus to explore four critical aspects: the supply chain's resilience, the supply chain's vulnerability, the supply chain's capability, and the supply chain's efficiency [146][147][148]. This line of research has predominantly focused on analyzing the entire system within SCM-MiC, aiming to understand its intricate workings and interactions (Figure 7). ...
As construction projects become increasingly complex, modular integrated construction (MiC) has emerged as a pivotal solution, driving integrated development in complex projects. However, the reliance on prefabricated modules underscores the crucial role of supply chain management (SCM) in MiC, necessitating strategic planning and operational control. This study aimed to use bibliometric analysis to map the SCM knowledge domain within MiC. Through the use of keywords related to “supply chain” and “MiC”, 196 relevant papers were extracted from the Web of Science database. These papers were subjected to co-citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and time span analysis to elucidate the historical evolution, multidisciplinary domains, and future directions in planning and control within SCM-MiC. The research identified two milestones in SCM-MiC’s historical trajectory, enhancing our understanding of its foundations. Moreover, 11 clusters were identified, illustrating the multidisciplinary nature of SCM-MiC. Dividing the literature into seven stages of the supply chain, the research outlined four research directions aligned with project complexity and technological development, highlighting current hotspots and gaps of the strategic planning and control. These directions bridge the construction management and information technology domains, guiding future SCM-MiC research within complex project management.
... Precast concrete production is associated with many activities, many parties involved, requires enormous resources, and varied processes. For effective communication, this requires conveying appropriate and upto-date information to enhance collaboration and improve integration [1]. The precast construction industry is often characterized by complexity, a non-integrated environment, and fragmentation. ...
Risk management is the process of measuring or assessing risk and developing management strategies. Risk analysis in the supply chain is an important issue, because companies are often not aware of risks until these risks arise and become a problem for the company. This research aims to analyze supply chain risks in the precast concrete industry. The data used is qualitative and quantitative data with primary data sources and secondary data. The data collection techniques used were observation, interviews, questionnaires, literature study and documentation study. The data analysis technique used is risk analysis with a probability and impact matrix. The research results show that 1) There are 20 identified supply chain risks in the precast concrete industry with a made to order system. 2) Supply chain risks in the precast concrete industry are categorized into four levels, namely a minor level of four risks, a moderate level of 12 risks, a major level of three risks, and a critical level of one risk. 3) Supply chain risk handling in the precast concrete industry can be carried out based on the level of risk, namely by accepting risk, mitigating risk, sharing risk, and avoiding risk.
... Ref. [62] designed an integrated collaborative tool for a precast supply chain. An architecture was developed that is based on Context-Aware Cloud Computing Building Information Modelling (CAABIM). ...
Background: Logistics management in the clinical trials industry is a very challenging undertaking because it involves multiple stakeholders, complex processes, diverse software applications, intensive white-collar jobs, and onerous quality standards. Current business practices are inefficient and difficult to automate technologies. Methods: This paper reviews the theories and concepts of clinical trials logistics management. The inefficiencies in current logistics management industry are then addressed by building a conceptual framework based on contemporary software tools and architectures, such as web portals, software agents, business process management system, project cards, and resource cards, all interacting with specialized software applications such as accounting, inventory, and label design software. The framework supports data analysis at multiple levels of decision making. To this end, a project planning tool for facilitating and optimizing the operational planning in this industry is designed and presented. Results: The planning tool also contributes to the literature by contrasting several different resource scenarios such as the shared pool, dedicated resources for each project, and the creation of several work groups with dedicated resources. These are Pareto trade-offs. Conclusions: A framework employing a business process management is proposed for clinical trials logistics management. Different managerial scenarios with shared, dedicated, and work group resources are investigated using a case study.
... The designing process, building operations, and overall reconstructing process encompass conventional disciplines (architectural, electrical, mechanical, and structural engineering) and several current occupations in topics such as environmentalrelated science and the study of managing waste. Most vocations have stringent sharing requirements of data [4,5]. ...
The objective of this study is to ascertain the essential elements that contribute to the successful implementation of cloud computing in small-scale construction projects, with the ultimate goal of promoting intelligent development in Malaysia. The construction sector is undergoing rapid transformation, and the integration of cloud computing technology can make a substantial contribution to the achievement of project objectives and the promotion of sustainable development. Nonetheless, there exists a dearth of comprehension regarding the function of cloud computing in minor construction undertakings within the Malaysian context. In order to bridge this gap, a mixed-methods approach was implemented, which encompassed a comprehensive review of the literature, interviews with experts, and a preliminary survey that involved 160 participants. Utilizing the findings of the pilot survey, the process of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was employed to discern and eliminate nonessential determinants of success. A survey utilizing primary questionnaires was conducted with a sample size of 230 participants. The subsequent analysis of 16 critical success factors was carried out through the application of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that there are four fundamental constructs that play a crucial role in the effective execution of a project. These include cost, quality, and time management (β = 0.352); planning success (β = 0.360); organizational success (β = 0.351); and communication and coordination (β = 0.299). The research results have favorable ramifications for the construction sector in Malaysia. The integration of cloud computing technology in minor construction endeavors has the potential to augment project efficacy and foster sustainable development. This study offers a roadmap for stakeholders in the construction industry to effectively utilize cloud computing technology for smart development by identifying critical success factors.
... It mainly provides a new method for the storage and sharing of information in the construction supply chain, and does not comprehensively analyze the factors affecting information coordination. The system framework for the Context-Aware Cloud Computing Building Information Modeling (CACCBIM) for prefabrication supply chain management was developed to address issues such as lack of integration, poor coordination, lack of good communication between parties, and poor control and supervision that may adversely affect the objectives and success of prefabrication projects [17]. However, the possible relationship between various influencing factors is not proposed. ...
The construction supply chain has many stakeholders and complex and diverse information, which cause various information exchange problems that diminish project management efficiency. Thus, information collaboration is an important factor in the construction supply chain. This study aims to improve the efficiency of project management by analyzing the factors hindering information collaboration in the construction supply chain in order to determine their internal influencing mechanisms. The relevant data of 281 construction employees is collected by questionnaire survey. The relationship among stakeholders (SH), information technology (IT), external stability mechanism (ESM), and information collaboration is then quantitatively evaluated based on the structural equation model (SEM). The results show that stakeholders, information technology, and the external stability mechanism have an influence on information collaboration, while stakeholders do not have a significant influence. Information technology and the external stability mechanism significantly influence information collaboration and provide a mediation role between stakeholders and information collaboration. The innovation of this work is the quantification of information collaboration influencing factors in the construction supply chain and the analysis of its potential path relationship according to the mediating effect test. Its theoretical contribution is to address the research gap in construction supply chain information collaboration and expand the research scope of construction project collaborative management regarding information collaboration. Finally, this work has a practical contribution by providing suggestions for improving the efficiency of building supply information collaboration.
... The precast construction sector is often characterized by complexities, non-integrated environments, and fragmentation. This sector has become one of the main construction supply chain elements, which manages various activities that include services, products, materials flow between suppliers, customers, manufacturers, architects/engineers, general contractors, consultants, subcontractors, and developers (Abedi et al. 2016). ...
Competitive industrialization pressures the construction sector to move activities away from the construction site, contemplating the prefabricated elements use. Companies willing to remain in the competitive market must seek new positions and developments in their production and management chains. To support the managers' decision-making about the prefabricated concrete elements production line, this article presents a computer simulation model for prefabricated pillars production line productivity scenarios creation. The data used for this model development were collected through a case study in the production line of prefabricated pillars. A simulation software modelled the production line with a dashboard that enables multiple-scenario generation. The adopted approach works with stochastic data, allowing nonprogrammer users to: manipulate and control scenarios and layout settings, analyze results through a dashboard and provide management and decision-makers with a comprehensive view of possible solutions.
... Tennant and Fernie (2014) investigated the complex relationships between different stakeholders and the methods for supply chain management. Third, many researchers have adopted realtime management tools and cloud computing to propose a technological solution to address some problems associated with the supply chain management, strategies, solution or technologies such as Just in Time (JIT), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), Building Information Modelling (BIM) and hybrid BIM system (Samaranayake & Toncich, 2007;Polat, 2010;Li et al., 2014aLi et al., , 2018Abedi et al., 2016;Kong et al., 2018;Ismail, 2020). Finally, considering the government's role, Wu et al. (2015) argued that the government's reasonable incentive policy is the most effective behavior. ...
Customers’ preferences for prefabricated building or conventional cast-in-situ building directly affect the decision-making process for strategic selection of building developers. This study utilizes a Hotelling model integrating game theory, including the market share function, product price function, and profit function of duopoly building developers to contribute a new approach to assist decision makers in their selection of developers for their projects. By analyzing different strategy combinations and the income matrix, we obtained the strategy combinations of duopoly building developers and the income matrix strategies, market share, optimal price and maximum profit. Managerial implications were discussed for government and building developers. Finally, we presented the research contribution as well as future research direction.
... This platform enhanced communication and collaboration among project participants in comparison to a file-based 4D BIM approach [65]. The collaboration of stakeholders (i.e., suppliers) is fundamental to successfully achieve the objectives of precast construction within the allocated time and assigned cost, and this issue led to the development of a collaborative tool comprising cloud computing, building information modelling, and context awareness (e.g., CACCBIM) [66]. By considering important features of data ownership and privacy in a cross-party collaboration study, [67] proposed a multi-server approach based on a private cloud for BIM data sharing and management in which different stakeholders can collaborate smoothly while retaining ownership and control of their data. ...
The construction industry is among the least digitized industries, and the lack of innovation in construction project management practices has led to decreases in productivity. The European Directives for Public Procurement are pushing the entire construction supply chain towards more radical digital transformations over the next years, and project managers are left with the difficult task to harness ICT for the involvement and management of project stakeholders. Digitalization of various processes and practices used to manage stakeholders in construction projects is still low, and part of this problem lies in weak systematization of ICT systems which support these practices. Thus, this paper provides a systematic review of how digitalization and digital transformation affect the way stakeholders behave, engage, and communicate in projects. Following the PRISMA methodology, 73 sources from the literature were chosen for the final analysis. Results are presented through descriptive and qualitative content analysis. Six research topics were identified and thoroughly analyzed. Results show that BIM, social network analysis, and web-based applications as means to digitalize stakeholder management are more mature than social media and VR/AR. An important finding is the need to reengineer and digitally transform processes in construction projects and construction firms to enable further digitalization and effectiveness of digital technologies. Suggestions for further studies follow this line of thought.
... suppliers, clients, manufacturers, architects/engineers, general contractors, consultants, subcontractors and developers) [29]. As a result, supply chain management engenders considerable efficiency and cost-effectiveness gains while reducing waste and shortening production processes [30]. However, the inherent complications associated with supply chain management in the construction industry create an omnipresent risk of interruption among project stakeholders -thus representing a negative drawback related to this construction approach [31]. ...
As a proactive reaction to current ineffective collaboration strategies, this study sought to combine the capabilities of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) method with mass customisation into a framework that enables customers to participate in the offsite construction configuration process. This approach engenders greater customer satisfaction whilst increasing production and construction efficiency. A model capable of facilitating the use of construction information in the proposed framework was developed to implement the proposed framework into practice. Combining the BIM model within the framework provides all project stakeholders with prerequisite information needed for a building's configuration. This collaborative process utilises an algorithmic composition in which the current assembly information in both the BIM model and framework is used as a controlling factor in the configuration process. The parametric environment of Revit and the algorithmic environment of the Dynamo plugin were used to realise the proposed framework (as a proof of concept).
... Furthermore, the BIM-based digital model/ concept framework was widely studied to integrate key stakeholders during the life cycle of a project (Chen et al., 2015;Zhai et al., 2019). For example, Abedi et al. (2016) developed a system architecture and prototype of Context-Aware Cloud Computing Building Information Modelling for effective communication and enhance collaboration among stakeholders in the supply chain. Nawi et al. (2014) proposed an integrated approach by combining BIM and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) to ensure highly effective collaboration among stakeholders of PC. ...
Building information modeling (BIM) and prefabricated construction (PC) are increasingly applied in the construction industry. Recent academic and industrial efforts indicated that the application of BIM and PC is a solution to reduce lifecycle costs, reduce waste, increase productivity and improve quality in construction. Although previous studies have advanced the integration of BIM and PC, extensive research scope and scattered research topics cannot form an overall picture of knowledge structure. Hence, this study aims to establish an up-to-date synthesis of the latest research on BIM for PC and identify the research gaps and future needs. First, a database with 103 journal articles on BIM for PC was established through data collection; second, a bibliometric analysis was applied to determine the top journals, articles and to map the latest mainstream research. Last, a qualitative analysis was used to determine the mainstream research areas and identify the research gaps and future needs. This study may contribute to enrich our body of knowledge on the use of the techniques in conjunction, help researchers and builders to understand the latest progress of BIM for PC research in timely fashion, and promote the integration of BIM with PC and other cutting-edge technologies moving forward.
... Context-Aware Cloud Computing Building Information Modelling (CACCBIM) has been proposed to aid data integration, provides current information within the precast supply chain [59]. Proper management information within the precast supply chain will help improve integration, reduce conflicts and mistrust among the suppliers, enhance the planning process and coordination and reduces the probabilities of poor communication and wrong deliveries. ...
Construction projects are becoming increasingly complex and the conventional methods of managing them have plateaued over the years. The complexity could be traced to the complexity of designs, which requires inputs from different suppliers/contractors. This has led to fragmentation where suppliers/ contractors specialize in a given project and are contracted to deliver only on their area of expertise. The aim of this paper is to produce evidence of the areas of application of supply chain management (SCM) in the construction industry. The aim was achieved by a thorough literature review of works done in the area. The results showed that all the selected research on the SCM falls within eight major areas. They are procurement, logistics, models application, information, performance evaluation, customer relationship, environmental management and sustainability. Other subfields can be derived from the areas.
... A indústria de construção pré-moldada é frequentemente caracterizada por complexidades, ambientes não integrados e fragmentação. O setor da construção pré-fabricada tornou-se um dos principais elementos da cadeia de suprimentos da construção, que consiste na gestão eficiente de várias atividades que contribuem para o fluxo de serviços, produtos e materiais entre os fornecedores, clientes, fabricantes, arquitetos/engenheiros, empreiteiros gerais, consultores, subcontratados e desenvolvedores (ABEDI et al., 2016). ...
A melhoria do controle e produtividade das construções é necessária para a sobrevivência das construtoras do setor da construção civil. Um dos meios propostos para atingir tais melhorias é por meio da industrialização do processo construtivo. Para a industrialização do setor, propõe-se o deslocamento de atividades para fora do canteiro de obras, contemplando a utilização de elementos pré-fabricados. Ainda que estes elementos sejam executados em ambientes de maior controle e eficiência, ainda assim apresentam problemas relativos a produtividade e desperdício. Dentro deste cenário, uma das ferramentas que auxiliam a visualizar estes desperdícios e perdas ao longo do processo é o Mapeamento do Fluxo de Valor (MFV). No intuito de auxiliar o gestor a visualizar os gargalos e perdas de sua linha de produção e atividades e processos que não agregam valor, realizou-se um mapeamento da linha de produção de pilares pré-fabricados, mensurando as perdas e gargalos por entre as atividades. Este estudo resultou na visualização do fluxo produtivo como um todo, auxiliando aos gestores a visualizarem as atividades e pontos de maiores perdas ao longo de sua linha de produção, proporcionando ao gestor uma informação valiosa para embasar sua tomada de decisão.
... For instance, failure to prepare the plant and machineryto handle the components, its will causes problems on double handling, storage, time delay and latter effected on cost operation, quality and duration of the project. Moreover, IBS project are difficult and often extremely challenging since there is so much information which needs to be effectively accessed on the right time and in the appropriate location, such as the drawings, specifications, checklists and daily reports.Previous studies conducted by [6]analyzed the main significant problems on Industrialised Building System on the information flow, communication flow and process flow.Therefore, some of the major challenges toward communication issues in IBS project are indicated in table 1. ...
In this article, we discuss aboutWhatsApp application practice around project managers in managing IBS construction projects. The WhatsApp application offer a great advantages, especially in collecting, managing information and data in a timely manner.Previous study highlighted effective communication become as a bridge between practitioners to share a knowledge, information and integration. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of empirical studies on how efficiencies of WhatsApp application overcome the communication barriers while managing distributed project teams on construction project. Thus this study seeks to explore communication performance perceived through WhatsApp application. The semi-structured interview methodology was used to gain in-depth knowledge from several project managers who have experiences in managing construction projects virtually through WhatsApp application. The finding from this study revealed that WhatsApp application has become an effective communication channel to overcome the barriers of communication while managing distributed teams and allowing timely information sharing.
... For instance, failure to prepare the plant and machineryto handle the components, its will causes problems on double handling, storage, time delay and latter effected on cost operation, quality and duration of the project. Moreover, IBS project are difficult and often extremely challenging since there is so much information which needs to be effectively accessed on the right time and in the appropriate location, such as the drawings, specifications, checklists and daily reports.Previous studies conducted by [6]analyzed the main significant problems on Industrialised Building System on the information flow, communication flow and process flow.Therefore, some of the major challenges toward communication issues in IBS project are indicated in table 1. ...
In this article, we discuss about WhatsApp application practise around project managers in managing IBS construction projects. The WhatsApp application offera great advantages, especially in collecting, managing information and data in a timely manner. Previous study highlighted effective communication become as a bridge between practitioners to share a knowledge, information and integration. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of empirical studies on how efficiencies of WhatsApp application overcome the communication barriers while managing distributed project teams on construction project. Thus this study seeks to explore communication performance perceived through WhatsApp application. The semi-structured interview methodology was used to gain in-depth knowledge from several project managers who have experiences in managing construction projects virtually through WhatsApp application. The finding from this study revealed that WhatsApp application has become an effective communication channel to overcome the barriers of communication while managing distributed teams and allowing timely information sharing.
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This paper analyzes the current state of research into Cloud Computing and Supply Chain Integration with the
objective to identify the findings to date, the areas of study developed and research gaps to provide guidance for
future research. For this, a Systematic Literature Review was conducted, with 77 papers addressing the Cloud
Computing-Supply Chain Integration relationship identified for analysis. These papers provide evidence of a
positive relationship between the adoption of Cloud Computing use in process/activity integration, technology/
system integration, and supply chain partner integration. The reviewed literature also indicates that Cloud
Computing use in supply chain can also have an impact on the integration of the supply chain’s information,
physical and/or financial flows.
... In addition, project IBS are involved with numerous technical drawings, a lot of information, change orders, and many approvals. Normally, information is produced in different and unconnected plat-forms which can be time-consuming and cause difficulties in accessing, sending, and retrieving information [4]. ...
The emergence of Industry 4.0 was influenced organisation to deal with digitalisation environment. Supported with the increasing use of WhatsApp tool has received attention as a driver to enhance communication and development of digital value chain between product, environment and business partners. However, lack of research has address WhatsApp in the construction sector. Further, this research aims to investigate the quality of communication practices through WhatsApp tool ability to managing communication processes in the construction project. The approach of the semi-structured interview was conducted to gain in-depth information from 5 project managers as a respondent which experienced in managing Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysian. Our result shows that WhatsApp application tool increased the efficiency of data sharing and increase quality of communication as a mechanism through which this influence exists.
... In addition, project IBS are involved with numerous technical drawings, a lot of information, change orders, and many approvals. Normally, information is produced in different and unconnected plat-forms which can be time-consuming and cause difficulties in accessing, sending, and retrieving information [4]. ...
The emergence of Industry 4.0 was influenced organisation to deal with digitalisation environment. Supported with the increasing use of WhatsApp tool has received attention as a driver to enhance communication and development of digital value chain between product, environment and business partners. However, lack of research has address WhatsApp in the construction sector. Further, this research aims to investigate the quality of communication practices through WhatsApp tool ability to managing communication processes in the construction project. The approach of the semi-structured interview was conducted to gain in-depth information from 5 project managers as a respondent which experienced in managing Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysian. Our result shows that WhatsApp application tool increased the efficiency of data sharing and increase quality of communication as a mechanism through which this influence exists.
... In addition, project IBS are involved with numerous technical drawings, a lot of information, change orders, and many approvals. Normally, information is produced in different and unconnected plat-forms which can be time-consuming and cause difficulties in accessing, sending, and retrieving information [4]. ...
The emergence of Industry 4.0 was influenced organisation to deal with digitalisation environment. Supported with the increasing use of WhatsApp tool has received attention as a driver to enhance communication and development of digital value chain between product, environment and business partners. However, lack of research has address WhatsApp in the construction sector. Further, this research aims to investigate the quality of communication practices through WhatsApp tool ability to managing communication processes in the construction project. The approach of the semi-structured interview was conducted to gain in-depth information from 5 project managers as a respondent which experienced in managing Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysian. Our result shows that WhatsApp application tool increased the efficiency of data sharing and increase quality of communication as a mechanism through which this influence exists.
... Furthermore, other research themes under RC6 are RC6.12 -"3D compliance checking" (Jiang, Leicht 2015;Nahangi, Haas 2014); RC6.13 -"project cost control" (Turkan et al. 2013;Wang et al. 2014b); RC6.14 -"project delivery and asset management" (Choi et al. 2014;Tsai et al. 2014a); RC6.15 -"construction knowledge management" (Lin 2014;Peterson et al. 2011;Wang, Leite 2016); RC6.16 -"BIM-based procurement framework" (Goedert, Meadati 2008); RC6.17 -"RCE-procurement" (Grilo, Jardim-Goncalves 2011, and RC6.18 -"construction collaborative networks" (Abedi et al. 2016;Neath et al. 2014). ...
Building Information Modelling (BIM) processes have continued to gain relevance in the Architectural, En- gineering, and Construction (AEC) industry with more resources directed toward it. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 445 BIM articles to investigate and understand the pattern of BIM research which include defining BIM research categories, evaluating the project sectors that are influenced by BIM, and tracking the funding structure of BIM research. A network map that displays a visualization of the structure of BIM literature by research origin, funding structure and geographical scope was designed. None of the previous reviews of literature analyzed the BIM articles' corpus to such level and depth. The findings revealed research categories such as construction and project management and BIM learning, adoption & practice as the core research areas in BIM and highlighted trending research themes in BIM research. Authors based in Asia and Europe received more research grants than their counterparts in other regions; likewise, two-third of the articles was authored by academics in the United States, Korea, and the United Kingdom. The study provides its readers with relevant research areas that require considerations, and the discussion of selected research areas provides an extensive understanding of salient BIM fields.
Due to the growing competition of firms in manufacturing industries, the enhancement of the design of new products for quick and collaborative interaction of stakeholders is inevitable. A customer-oriented approach during the enhancing of product design requires the support of various stakeholders’ collaboration from their functionality perspectives. Accordingly, manufacturing firms try to increase the product quality through the continuous collaboration and speeding up of the design process. Moreover, new manufacturing paradigms like cloud manufacturing require global and distributed collaboration of stakeholders. One competitive key necessity for firms is the integration of stakeholders in the design and production stages. This article has proposed an interactive and integrated framework for a cloud collaborative manufacturing system. The proposed framework uses the international STEP standard which ensures data integrity in the whole product development processes. The framework enables stakeholders to work collaboratively and interactively in their disciplines, while it also ensures coherency of modifications to avoid conflicts. The proposed model is introduced using an improvisational design method based on the STEP standard to create an interactive platform with a service-oriented approach and supports stakeholders for their own semantics. In addition to examining the needs of an interactive system, the article provides an architecture for implementation of this perspective. A comprehensive case study is designed to show the capabilities of the proposed framework.
Prefabrication construction has gained popularity in the construction industry during the last few years. Due to the complexity of prefabrication design, building information modelling (BIM) is adopted in the design stage to improve efficiency and accuracy. Many previous studies have examined the adoption of BIM in the design stage and explored the current practice of BIM adoption in prefabrication construction, however fewer first-hand investigations are made on assessing the adoption of BIM. This study aims to identify the opportunities and challenges of utilizing BIM technology in the design stage of prefabrication construction from the perspective of designers. A semi-structured interview was conducted for qualitative data collection and the data are analysed by thematic analysis. A total of eight designers from Chinese prefabrication construction projects were interviewed. The research identified 8 opportunities and 15 challenges of BIM adoption in prefabrication construction. The top four challenges are: (1) inaccurate prefabrication production drawings generated by BIM software, (2) late adoption of BIM in the design stage, (3) lack of communication platform for different designers, and (4) lack of sharing the updated design model among designers, manufacturers, and onsite engineers. These findings provide directions for improving BIM adoption in the design of prefabrication construction.
Purpose
As a strand in industrialization movement in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, prefabricated construction (PC) has gained widespread popularity due to high efficiency, energy saving, low environmental impacts, safety and other advantages of PC. Well-managed supply chain can further leverage the advantages of PC. However, there is a lack of more systematically overview of the prefabricated construction supply chain (PCSC). This paper aims to comb the current status and look into the future direction of PCSC by reviewing the existing research.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 131 articles related to prefabricated construction supply chain management (PCSCM) from 2000 to 2022 have been collated to (1) conduct a bibliometric analysis by using VOSviewer, including the literature sources, keywords co-occurrence, co-authorships, authorship citation and country active in the field of PCSCM; (2) classify and summarize the status of research in PCSCM through qualitative discussion and (3) point out the future research directions.
Findings
In total, 131 articles are carried out for bibliometric analysis and in-depth qualitative discussion, the visualization maps and the main research themes in the field of PCSCM are obtained. The results show that supply chain intelligentization and informatization are hot topics. Finally, future research directions that should be paid attention to in the field of PCSCM are pointed out.
Practical implications
This study can help project managers understand the current status and problems of PCSC operations and provide a basis for future management decisions.
Originality/value
Compared with previous studies, this study adds the dimension of “article authorship” to the quantitative analysis and discusses the research themes in the field of PCSCM in a comprehensive manner. In addition, this paper deeply discusses the main research topics from both the specific contents and research methods adopted.
Cloud-based building information modelling (Cloud-BIM) is an emerging research area for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, however, remains a lack of quantitative analysis and in-depth evaluation of the literature. This paper uses Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and Bibliometric-qualitative Analysis (BQA) methods to deliver a comprehensive review. The PRISMA framework is applied to select and screen 366 articles. Following that, descriptive analysis and scientometric statistics are conducted using bibliometric software. A number of contributing analyses related to development trends are drawn and addressed. And the influencing factors are summarised by the extended Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. This research provides an innovative basis for future practice and promotes interdisciplinary exchange.
Precast concrete (PC) can potentially improve construction industry projects when used as a primary process in the precast concrete supply chain (PCSC). Successful inventory reduction and on-time delivery are essential in the PCSC because of critical scheduling and cost factors. To solve these challenges, this study applied Just-In-Time (JIT) strategies in the PCSC using the Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) model to help manufacturers identify the optimal decision. The factors considered were offsite inventory levels (based on days buffered) and batch delivery decisions that reduced supply penalties and improved construction performance. The model was validated based on a precast project experiment in Vietnam; the model provided a saving of 52% in manufacturer penalties and reduced construction idle work by 77%. An optimal combined decision was provided for the manufacturer, such as a 1day-4batch decision with maximum benefit and a 2day-2batch decision for safety using an uncertainty risk consideration in the PC wall panel study case. This research contributes a tool to help manufacturers in decision making and promotes the use of JIT applications/strategies in the PCSC process.
The increasing urbanization of the built environment has bolstered the need of promoting sustainable practices and Building Information Modelling (BIM) initiative in building and construction projects. However, there has not been a unified adoption and implementation of BIM initiative and sustainability in most countries and the built environment as a whole – most notably within the sub-Saharan region of Africa due to several factors. Moreover, based on the extant literature, the existing green rating tools have been found to be inadequate to fully address the greenness and evaluate the sustainability performance of buildings. Hence, these generate several hindrances to the current drive for a holistic implementation of sustainability practices and innovative technologies such as BIM in the construction industry. Therefore, this research study aims to develop a green-BIM assessment model and cloud-based sustainability decision support system for evaluating buildings' compliance to sustainability principles with a view to integrating smart sustainable practices in building construction and management, improving operational efficiency, and enhancing the overall implementation of sustainable development in the built environment. The scope of study mainly focuses on developing countries located in the sub-Saharan region of Africa – using Nigeria, the largest economy in the region as a case study – with practical applications to other regions. The following research objectives was set out in fulfilling the study’s aim: (1) To identify and assess the inherent benefits, barriers, and critical success factors (drivers) associated with integrating BIM and sustainability principles in building projects. (2) To establish the relative weightings of the key sustainability indicators, sustainability attributes, and sub-attributes for buildings. (3) To develop a sustainability evaluation index for buildings using the Generalized Choquet Fuzzy Integral method. (4) To develop a cloud-based sustainability decision support system (C-SDSS) for buildings. (5) To develop a conceptual Green-BIM assessment framework as a tool for the evaluation of sustainability performance of buildings. Objective #1 was achieved via an in-depth desktop review of extant literature, pilot and Delphi surveys, empirical questionnaire surveys, as well as the use of several statistical analysis tools such as descriptive and inferential statistical tools, factor analysis, and fuzzy synthesis evaluation method. According to the desktop literature review, a total of 36 benefits, 38 barriers and 30 critical success factors were identified. Fourteen (14) experts from eight countries participated in the Delphi survey while 220 respondents from 21 countries were involved in the international questionnaire survey. Meanwhile, the base inputs for the data to achieve Objectives (#2 - #4) consisted of 189 diversified sets of experts in Nigeria with requisite experience in the built environment. A holistic review of green building technical notes and guidelines, existing green building rating systems, and relevant journal articles was undertaken to fulfil Objectives (#2 - #4); and augmented by industry experts’ inputs which facilitated the development of the Building Sustainability Assessment Method (BSAM) scheme. The BSAM scheme green rating system has been designed for developing countries in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. The proposed BSAM scheme is a more unified green rating tool that adequately considers the environmental, economic, and social pillars of sustainable development unlike the existing green rating tools such as LEED, BREEAM, BEAM Plus, Green Mark, etc. which focus solely on the environmental sustainability with little or no consideration of the other two sustainability pillars. Objective #3 was actualized by employing the Generalized Choquet Fuzzy Integral (GCFI) method to establish the weightings of the 8 key sustainability indicators, 32 sustainability attributes, and 136 sustainability sub-attributes of the BSAM scheme. Data collected from industry experts form the base inputs for the impacts of various sustainability criteria based on the local variations. The GCFI approach is regarded as a more practical and robust weighting method for non-additive, dependent, and interactive criteria. Consequently, the Building Sustainability Evaluation Index (BSEI) and a six-grade certification system were developed to evaluate the sustainability performance of building projects. The key sustainability criteria with the highest weighting based on the GCFI analysis include sustainability construction practices, transportation, and energy criteria. To ease the adoption and implementation of the proposed BSAM scheme, BSEI, and the BSAM certification system for use in the built environment, a Cloud-Based Sustainability Decision Support System (C-SDSS) was established to achieve Objective #4. PHP and Jscript, being high-level programming languages, as well as the MySQL relational database along with other web-based tools and systems were used to code, design, and deploy the C-SDSS platform. BIM models, and relevant data from four real-life building projects based in Nigeria were used during the validation exercise to demonstrate the usefulness of the developed C-SDDS and the BSAM scheme in practice for the built environment. The validation exercise was augmented with validation questionnaire surveys with industry experts. Finally, a conceptual green-BIM assessment (GBA) framework was developed as an effective tool for the evaluation of the sustainability performance of buildings using a cloud-based system (Objective #5). The proposed GBA framework comprised of six main components is intended to provide comprehensive guidelines and algorithms that can facilitate the full and optimal integration of BIM and green building rating systems (e.g. the proposed BSAM scheme) in the assessment of the sustainability performance of buildings. The developed GBA framework was validated using expert questionnaire surveys as well. The findings of the study have generated salient and significant contributions both from the theoretical and practical (industry) standpoints. Moreover, they have provided valuable insights, effective strategies, and recommendations that have addressed the limitations of the integration of the concepts of BIM and sustainability practices in the built environment. Overall, the research deliverables would be crucial in implementing Green-BIM both locally (in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries), and internationally.
Purpose
This paper aims to report a comprehensive analysis of literature on stakeholder relationships towards identifying patterns of relationships within the off-site construction context.
Design/methodology/approach
Key scholarly databases were accessed and after a filtering process, 74 relevant papers were retrieved for analysis. The papers were analysed using qualitative content analysis and scientometric techniques through the application of software Leximancer and VOSviewer.
Findings
Research synthesis methods used in the present study generate compatible results. Through text mining analysis, the key themes identified in the off-site construction stakeholder relationships literature included “collaboration”, “building information modelling”, “social network analysis”, "supply chain". As a finding by scientometric analysis, collaboration, BIM, supply chain management, housing and social network analysis were the most frequently entered keywords context of off-site construction. Regarding authorship pattern, the whole network of collaboration was fragmented into multiple isolated clusters, implying that the authors had tendency to cooperate in small groups.
Practical implications
The paper can bring together an important area of research not previously studied in detail. It will primarily assist academics in the first instance; however, the research leads to important findings that will ultimately assist policymakers and practitioners better understand factors affecting stakeholder relationships and in particular network thinking and collaborative mind-sets.
Originality/value
The review contributes a needed systematic and theoretical foundation for future stakeholder relationship studies and practices in off-site construction sector. It provides the basis for future studies and is a seminal analysis of stakeholder management and off-site construction. The scientometric methodology offers scholars a different approach to analysing and visualising literature reviews.
Modular integrated construction (MiC) is an innovative construction technology wherein complete building modules are produced and preassembled in an offsite factory before their final installation on the building site. It is fundamentally different from and has many advantages over the traditional onsite construction technology. However, it still involves several risks. To successfully implement MiC projects, effective MiC risk management (MiCRM) is crucial. Building information modeling (BIM) and BIM-related digital technologies have been applied to facilitate MiCRM in recent years. While numerous MiC studies exist, a critical analysis of BIM-based MiCRM is still missing. This study aims to conduct a critical survey of BIM-based MiCRM, and to offer recommendations about research gaps and future research directions. This was achieved by systematically identifying and critically reviewing related publications from four outlooks: (1) MiCRM through BIM used alone, (2) MiCRM through BIM used alongside sensing and tracking technologies (STTs), (3) MiCRM through BIM used alongside 3D model creation and comparison technologies (3D-MCCTs), and (4) other applications. Results indicated that using BIM alone for MiCRM has focused more on the design phase. The overall idea to use BIM-STTs integration for MiCRM is very young. In this direction, BIM-RFID integration has received most of the attention, although BIM-GIS integration is rarely explored. There are limited works around integrating BIM with 3D-MCCTs such as photogrammetry and augmented and virtual realities for MiCRM. While schedule- and cost-related risks have gained much attention in current BIM-based MiCRM research, facilities management, sustainability, and safety risks are largely ignored. Based upon identified gaps, this study suggested future research directions, including, e.g.: (1) BIM-based MiCRM software development, (2) fully automated and practical BIM-based MiCRM systems development, and (3) BIM-automatic rule checking integration for MiCRM. This study contributes to a solid understanding of BIM-based MiCRM and delivers a useful reference for its future practice and improvement within the industry.
The construction supply chain integration (CSCI) is considered one of the major factors in improving construction supply chain performance, especially for projects involving building information modelling (BIM) and prefabrication. Although CSCI has been studied extensively, there is still no consensus on its definition, scope, and benchmark. With the rapid growth of information technology applications in the construction industry, researchers have pointed out that the application degree, effectiveness, and trends of CSCI need to be studied more systematically and in depth. This study aims to clarify the concept, scope, and goals of SCI, and to identify the common research topics. We conducted a literature review on SCI research in the construction sector and developed a conceptual framework to facilitate future research.
A melhoria da qualidade, controle e produtividade das construções é necessária para a sobrevivência das construtoras do setor da construção civil. Um dos meios propostos para atingir tais melhorias é por meio da industrialização do processo construtivo. Para a industrialização do setor, propõe-se o deslocamento de atividades para fora do canteiro de obras, contemplando a utilização de elementos pré-fabricados. Ainda que estes elementos sejam executados em ambientes de maior controle e eficiência, ainda assim apresentam problemas relativos a produtividade e desperdício. No intuito de auxiliar gestor a embasar sua tomada de decisão com relação à produção da sua linha de produção de elementos pré-fabricados, este estudo teve como objetivo desenvolver um modelo de simulação computacional para a criação de cenários produtivos da linha de produção de elementos pré-fabricados de concreto como ferramenta de auxílio à tomada de decisão. O método aplicado foi a Design Science Research (DSR). Primeiramente, foi aplicado um questionário exploratório com relação à tomada de decisão com intuito de identificar quais são os elementos, processos e indicadores na linha de produção de elementos pré-fabricados de maior relevância aos gestores. Em seguida, foi escolhida uma linha de produção de pilares pré-fabricados para o mapeamento de seus processos. Na sequência esta linha foi modelada em um software de simulação, e simultaneamente desenvolvido um painel de controle para geração de múltiplos cenários. Este estudo resultou na criação de um modelo que auxilia a tomada de decisão, proporcionando ao gestor uma ampla visualização das soluções possíveis. A principal contribuição deste estudo foi apresentar um modelo que permite aos tomadores de decisão comparar diferentes cenários produtivos e seus resultados para adotar a solução mais adequada para cada situação analisada.
National and international experiences have demonstrated the potential of the BIM methodology in the remodeling of the way of designing, planning and executing construction projects. This requires new forms of relationship and contracting among the actors involved in the entire life cycle of the buildings. In this context, this article aims to list the main publications about the new forms of relationship between the construction agents (designers, suppliers, builders and investors), in particular through the use of IPD contractual methodology in conjunction with BIM. In the search 345 works were obtained and after the application of filters, 37 publications were reached that establish a panorama of the themes, besides being a guide for future research, since it points the gaps in this theme.
Experiências nacionais e internacionais vêm demonstrando o potencial da metodologia BIM na remodelação da forma de projetar, planejar e executar empreendimentos da construção civil. Esta exige novas formas de relacionamento e contratação entre os atores envolvidos em todo o ciclo de vida das edificações. Neste contexto, o presente artigo tem por objetivo mostrar os resultados de uma busca sistemática de literatura acerca das novas formas de relacionamento entre os agentes da construção (projetistas, fornecedores, construtores e investidor), em particular através da utilização da metodologia contratual IPD em conjunto com o BIM. Na busca foram obtidos 345 trabalhos e após a aplicação de filtros, chegou-se a 37 publicações que estabelecem um panorama dos temas, além de servir de guia para pesquisas futuras, uma vez que aponta as lacunas nesta temática. ABSTRACT National and international experiences have demonstrated the potential of the BIM methodology in the remodeling of the way of designing, planning and executing construction projects. This requires new forms of relationship and contracting among the actors involved in the entire life cycle of the buildings. In this context, this article aims to show the results of a systematic literature search about the new forms of relationship between the construction agents (designers, suppliers, builders and investor), in particular through the use of IPD contractual methodology With BIM. In the search 345 works were obtained and after the application of filters, 37 publications were reached that establish a panorama of the themes, besides being a guide for future research, since it points the gaps in this theme. 1 INTRODUÇÃO A Indústria da Construção Civil (ICC) é frequentemente citada por possuir alto índice de erros de projeto, falta de colaboração entre os agentes da cadeia produtiva (COELHO, 2017), atraso na entrega das obras (FILIPPI e MELHADO, 2015), geração de resíduos referentes ao alto índice de retrabalhos e falta de sintonia entre seus vários processos. No que diz respeito ao processo de projeto, Manzione (2013) afirma que a otimização do projeto deva ocorrer principalmente pela redução do desperdício de tempo na gestão da informação. Neste sentido são incentivadas a redução do número de interações entre os agentes, a colaboração em equipe e a transferência da informação em pequenos lotes. Ilozor e Kelly (2012) identificaram que a modelagem de informação da construção (BIM) e entrega de projetos integrados (IPD) são tecnologias novas que prometem oferecer eficiência, economia de custos e aumentos de produtividade à indústria de construção. Halttula et al. (2015) corroboram com esta ideia e acrescentam que as iniciativas de modelagem em BIM e arranjos de entrega de projetos integrados (RPDA)-e aqui se
This study serves as a practical model for optimizing production planning, allocation of precast component storage, and transportation sites as well as for making timely adjustments for contracted projects. To ensure that the structure of the research model is reasonable and matches actual applications, the study uses a field survey to directly observe the largest precast concrete plants in Taiwan for a period of 6 months, followed by in-depth interviews with experts involved with the planning, design, installation, and manufacturing for precast projects. The mathematical model is then established and evaluated using the data containing over 90% of national production in Taiwan. The results show that the tested corporate profits increase by an impressive 38.4% and performance is significantly increased by 97.75%. The proposed model can not only make up for oversights in human decision-making but improve the decision-making process boosting corporate competitiveness.
Construction industry has been characterised with fragmentation, lack of integration and complexities in processes and activities. These characteristic could threat the delivery of project objective which could ultimately have negative impact on construction project success. Construction industry is associated with numerous activities, processes, organisations and individuals. Improving the collaboration within the construction industry parties will enhance the productivity, maximising the efficiency and effectiveness . Delivering the construction industry parties to access the accurate and up to date information with having the efficient communication via the reliable, competent and appropriate network is mostly a challenge. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the construction collaboration tools along with concepts of cloud computing and context-awareness. The findings in this research are based on a thorough review of the comprehensive literature on IT, computing and construction. Accordingly, this study has present and develop the concepts of potential innovative collaborative tools, such as Context-Aware Cloud Computing Information Systems (CACCIS). With implementing the CACCIS in construction industry, it will facilitate the construction supply chain processes, relations and networks along with increasing the opportunities for attaining enhanced competitive advantages in the construction industry. Firstly, it is hoped that this study will contribute on improvements in construction industry collaboration which could ultimately improve and enhance the competitive advantages within the construction industry. Secondly, it proposes the fresh visions of construction industry integration and most significantly collaboration in an efficient way that will eventually maximise the productivity, enhance the efficiency and the effectiveness of construction industry.
The construction industry has been characterised by fragmentation, lack of integration and complexities in processes and activities. These characteristics could threaten the delivery of project objectives which could ultimately have a negative impact on construction project success. The construction industry is associated with numerous activities, processes, organisations and individuals. Improving the collaboration between the parties within the construction industry will enhance productivity whilst maximising efficiency and effectiveness. Providing the construction industry parties with access to accurate and up-to-date information along with efficient communications via a reliable, competent and appropriate network is frequently a challenge. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the construction collaboration tools along with the concepts of cloud computing and context-awareness. The findings in this research are based on a thorough review of the comprehensive literature on IT, computing and construction. Accordingly, this study presents and develops the concepts and potential of innovative collaborative tools, such as Context-Aware Cloud Computing Information Systems (CACCIS). Implementing CACCIS in the construction industry will facilitate the construction supply chain processes, relations and networks along with increasing the opportunities for enhancing competitive advantages. Firstly, it is hoped that this study will contribute to improvements in construction industry collaboration which could ultimately improve and enhance its competitive advantages. Secondly, it proposes a fresh vision of construction industry integration and, most significantly, collaboration in an efficient way that will eventually maximize productivity and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the construction industry.
Executive SummaryIntroductionTypes of Construction FirmsInformation Contractors Want from BIMProcesses to Develop a Contractor Building Information ModelReduction of Design Errors Using Clash DetectionQuantity Takeoff and Cost EstimatingConstruction Analysis and PlanningIntegration with Cost and Schedule Control and Other Management FunctionsUse for Offsite FabricationUse of BIM Onsite: Verification, Guidance, and Tracking of Construction ActivitiesImplications for Contract and Organizational ChangesBIM Implementation
BIM is a complex technology. Although its potential benefits are clear, its integration in structural engineering firms requires leadership and persistence as well as careful planning. Sophisticated three-dimensional parametric modelling software for precast concrete structures has been commercially available since 2005. Early adopters have gained sufficient experience with precast concrete buildings to allow analysis and comparison of their adoption strategies. Four detailed case-studies, observed at two mid-sized engineering firms in the last two years, have been recorded and analysed. They shed light on the obstacles that had to be overcome, the achievements and disappointments, and the changes in workflow and personnel that the firms have experienced. The results reveal clear improvement in engineering design quality, in terms of error-free drawings, and steadily increasing improvement in labour productivity. The firms' clients have also begun to exploit the rich information available with BIM, but not to the extent expected. Progress in adopting BIM is slow but certain. The conclusions may help the managers of structural engineering firms who are planning their own adoption process to avoid some of the pitfalls of replacing 2D CAD practices with BIM.
Qualitative researchers, in general, have arrays of methodologies to provide evidence to cope with their inquisitive mind regarding issues pertaining to their interest. In tandem, combining a qualitative research data management and data analysis with technology is frown by some qualitative researchers. However, qualitative researchers now have the option to " technologized " their approach in data management and data analysis to ease the complexity of the research process. This is important, due to the fact that qualitative researchers have to handle humongous amount of data and the chunking process of the data is tedious. This paper will descriptively report the researchers' effort in using the qualitative software known as NVivo in managing and analyzing qualitative data that was collected in a study designed to examine patterns of leadership among young student leaders in local universities. Thoroughly, the article discussed about the methodological techniques of using NVivo and briefly presented the results of this 2008 study.
In this paper, we investigate the potential of cloud computing for data-intensive spatial indexing. We assess the benefits in performance and cost. Specifically, we consider a data- and compute-intensive spatial application, namely, the construction of very large R-tree spatial indexes. We selected this application because of its high computing and memory requirements. We implemented this application and deployed it on various types of cloud configurations. We report our findings and provide insights useful when considering cloud computing for data- and compute-intensive spatial applications.
Precast construction projects are characterized by many activities, the involvement of numerous parties, a lot of effort and enormous processes. Precast supply chain phases are classified as: planning, design, manufacturing, transportation, installation and construction. Achieving integrated construction requires the parties within the precast supply chain phases to have efficient communication and effective collaboration to deliver proper and up-to-date information. The aim of this research is to explore cloud computing technology as the construction collaboration tool and to propose the cloud system architecture for precast supply chain management. The findings in this research are based on a comprehensive review of supply chain management, cloud computing and the precast industry. Findings illustrate that the major obstacles to precast construction are: poor planning and scheduling, less flexibility in design, production lead time, heavy precast components and poor on-site coordination. These obstacles could contribute to the negative consequences for the efficiency and effectiveness of precast project delivery. Therefore, cloud computing technology has valuable potential to mitigate these obstacles and deliver an effective collaboration system within the precast construction industry.
Precast concrete components are basic element of modern construction industry. Their lifecycle involves many steps, in which the element's progress is usually tracked on paper. Similarly construction projects do not often have a formal information management process. Increased traceability and information management could address issues related to duplicated information management work, lack of real-time information, information delays and access issues. A study of how an information system can be integrated to the construction process and what kind of services can be implemented with the unique tracking of precast concrete elements is reported here. The tracking and data management is implemented with embedded RFID chips in each of the elements. The viability of building information modelling, traceability, management, gathering of quality management data and logistics location management services are shown to work with a series of pilot projects. The information system increases the amount and the detail of data, providing more tools for data management and reduces the amount of human errors involved in information management.
Available: http://itcon.org/data/works/att/2013_7.content.01140.pdf
In recent years the health-arts nexus has received increasing attention; however, the relationship is not well understood and the extent of possible positive, negative and unintended outcomes is unknown. Guided by the biopsychosocial model of health and theories of social epidemiology, the aim of this study was to develop a framework pertaining to the relationship between arts engagement and population health that included outcomes, confounders and effect modifiers. A health-arts framework is of value to researchers seeking to build the evidence base; health professionals interested in understanding the health-arts relationship, especially those who use social prescribing for health promotion or to complement treatments; in teaching medical, nursing and health-science students about arts outcomes, as well as artists and health professionals in the development of policy and programmes.
A qualitative study was conducted. Semistructured interviews were analysed thematically.
Western Australia.
33 Western Australian adults (18+ years). Participants were randomly selected from a pool of general population nominees who engaged in the arts for enjoyment, entertainment or as a hobby (response rate=100%).
A thematic analysis was conducted using QSR-NVivo10. The resulting framework contained seven outcome themes and 63 subthemes. Three themes specifically related to health, that is, mental, social and physical health, while economic, knowledge, art and identity outcomes were classified as health determinants. Within each theme, positive, negative and unintended outcomes (subthemes) were identified and categorised as relating to the individual and/or to the community. A list of confounding and/or effect modifying factors, related to both the arts and health, was identified.
Given the increasing pressure on health resources, the arts have the potential to assist in the promotion of health and healing. This framework expands on current knowledge, further defines the health-arts relationship and is a step towards the conceptualisation of a causal health-arts model.
Context-awareness enables applications to provide end-users with a richer experience by enhancing their interactions with contextual information. Several frameworks have already been proposed to simplify the development of context-aware applications. These frameworks are focused on provisioning context data and on providing common semantics, definitions and representations of these context data. They assume that applications share the same semantic, which limits the range of use cases where a framework can be used, as that assumption induces a strong coupling between context management and application logic. This article proposes a framework that decouples context management from application business logic. The aim is to reduce the overhead on applications that run on resource-limited devices while still providing mechanisms to support context-awareness and behavior adaptation. The article presents an innovative approach that involves third-parties in context processing definition by structuring it using atomic functions. These functions can be designed by third-party developers using an XML-based programming language. Its implementation and evaluation demonstrates the benefits, in terms of flexibility, of using proven design patterns from software engineering for developing context-aware application.
In this paper we present “ML-AR” Practice Modules, in the field of Architecture and Building Engineering. They are alternative to traditional courses which are taught over a semester, and adapted to the student learning flow. In this case we used a particular technology such as Hand Held Augmented Reality (HHAR), to overlap virtual models on real scenes. Experience was limited to specific groups within four areas of undergraduate and master. In each case, specific Mobile Learning (ML) practices have been carried out. Each experimental group (EG) has been able to visualize a virtual model created by them or their teachers, in order to evaluate an architectural proposal or a construction detail, on site, as part of their own learning process. Students without the required devices, still in the ordinary course, configured the control group, (CG). Virtual models generation and augmented scenes preview on site, provided evaluation tools for better assessment and knowledge of student's proposals prior to any intervention. In addition, tangible interaction and the abilitiy to modify and share their views also provided social skills and helped to create a self-formative process. Mobile devices and AR technology were used close to the students who show greater motivation and commitment in their didactic contents generation. Evaluation is based on academic performance improvement through study cases, by comparing the achievement of the overall objectives between the two groups (EG & GC). Relationship between performance and usability is also assessed. The experiments carried out confirmed our initial hypothesis, where Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) used in the web 3.0 environments, allow improving learning processes and reducing its temporality without previous experience at a very low cost. AR Technology in this area combined with Cloud computing development, creates a new paradigm of continuous training and self-learning though the use of AR technology.
The adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) constitutes a paradigm shift in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Broader BIM adoption will transform construction processes to achieve greater efficiency to improve the quality of life (QOL) of construction stakeholders. This paper seeks to identify determinant factors and implementation gaps of BIM in the AEC industry. A case study was conducted through a preliminary workshop organised by CIDB among the five potential stakeholders: Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit (UKAS), JARING, eMOST/UMP, Greenwave Synergy (GWS) and CIDB eConstruct (EC) of the AEC industry in Malaysia. The findings suggest various determining factors and gaps existed at the national and organisational levels. Finally, the workshop suggested an ‘affordable BIM concept’ with ‘pay-per-use or periodical license’ method to be adopted for SMEs contractors.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a set of digital tools that can manage construction projects effectiveness. BIM has been used by the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industries in Malaysia. The idea to implement BIM in Malaysia was introduced by the Director of Public Works Department (PWD) in 2007. The aim of this paper is to explore BIM implementation in Malaysian construction industry. A literature review was done to explore previous BIM studies on definitions and history of BIM, construction issues, application of BIM and BIM tools in construction projects as well as benefits of BIM. Malaysian government encourages construction players to apply BIM to construction projects because it can overcome construction project problems such as delay, clash of design by different professionals and construction cost overrun. Autodesk tools have been suggested by the government as a BIM tool platform. Other tools include Revit Architecture, Revit Structural, Revit MEP, Navisworks and Cost-X. It is crucial for construction players to be aware of the importance of BIM application in construction projects. This is because BIM can be one of the conditions required of a company to qualify for government and private projects, similar to what is practiced in some other countries. Moreover, BIM helps to increase construction project efficiency and effectiveness. It can also be implemented to improve communication and collaboration between construction players. The implementation of BIM technology is expected to become more widespread in Malaysian construction industry because of the government’s efforts in promoting BIM.
Poor integrations and lack of collaboration are the major obstacles within the precast construction projects. In order to improve collaboration among precast supply chain stakeholders on the various phases of precast construction (planning, design, manufacturing, transportation, installation and construction), a system are needed for an effective communication and accessing to up to date information. This paper is aimed to explore the potential of the cloud computing technology as the construction collaboration tools for precast supply chain management. The research findings are established according to the study of comprehensive literature on information technology, supply chain management and precast construction industry. Findings shows that the poor planning and scheduling, high cost of precast concrete components, the poor design, lack of architectural creativities, the poor production timing, large size and heavy precast components, wrong deliveries, poor on site coordination and collaboration, poor specialised contactors and lack of good communication among parties are the main barriers within the precast supply chain. These barriers within the precast supply chain phases may result to adverse consequences on the performance of precast project delivery. Hence, the cloud computing technology was found to have huge potential to provide efficient collaboration systems within the precast construction.
Integrated information, innovation and collaboration are the key factors for the sustainable development of construction organizations nowadays. The advancement of cloud computing technology offers construction organizations great potential for developing a collaborative and integrated environment for construction management. This paper presents an in-depth literature review of cloud computing in construction management. Findings from this review have shown that the benefit of using cloud computing technology for construction collaboration will reduce both energy consumption and CO2 emissions, indeed, it is more towards a green mission as it also provides both a financial return and a tangible environmental benefit. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to investigate the most valuable construction collaboration tools as the cloud computing technology along with the main concepts of sustainable project management. The findings in this research illustrate that with implementing the cloud computing in construction industry, it will facilitate the construction processes, collaborations, communications, relations and networks through the construction industry. Firstly, it is hoped that this study will contribute on improvements in construction industry collaboration which could ultimately improve and enhance the competitive advantages within the construction industry. Secondly, it introduces the new visions of construction industry integration and most significantly collaboration in an efficient way that will eventually maximise the productivity, enhance the efficiency and improve the effectiveness towards a green construction industry.
A major barrier to successful construction project delivery has been the fragmentation and poor relationships existing between players in the construction industry. This significant issue has exerted a negative influence on project objectives, especially those which are predetermined, such as time, specified budget and standard quality. Construction projects require intensive efforts and processes, which it is often a challenge to provide to parties within the construction industry, to access accurate information and efficient communications. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the construction collaboration tools along with concepts of context-aware computing and cloud computing. The findings in this research are based on a thorough review of the comprehensive literature on IT, computing and construction. Consequently, this study sets out to introduce and develop the concepts of potential innovative collaborative tools, such as Context-Aware Cloud Computing Information Systems (CACCIS), for facilitating the construction supply chain processes and networks by enhancing the opportunities for achieving better competitive advantages. Firstly, it is hoped that this study will lead to improved construction collaboration to enhance the competitive advantages and opportunities for the internationalisation and globalisation of the construction industry. Secondly, it presents an effective method to provide new insights into the process of integration and, most significantly, to improve the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of the construction industry.
Abstract The preparation of detailed models of information and process flow by 14 member,companies,of the North American,Precast Concrete Software Consortium ,has provided ,a unique ,window ,into the current management, engineering design and production operations in this industry. The modeling was performed using the authors’ GT PPM process-modeling tool, within the framework of the consortium’s effort to develop a Precast Concrete Product Model (PCPM) and to specify new integrated 3D modeling software. The paper opens with a comparative,economic,review of precast construction internationally and in North America, which reveals that the market share of precast construction in North American is relatively low. The models ,are analyzed ,and aspects of the ,underlying ,management ,procedures ,that they reveal are discussed, such as types of contracting arrangements, cost estimating, design outsourcing, engineering design communication, mold design, product diversity, and quality control. The results highlight aspects of precast management ,processes that may ,be re-engineered through ,appropriate application of information technology. Keywords: Concrete, precast; Design; Construction management; Estimation; Quality control; Information Technology (IT). ,,,,,,,,,,,,
Current scheduling practices in precast plants are fairly basic and depend greatly on experience. This may lead to inefficient resource utilization, over-inventory, and/or missing delivery dates. Computer assisted scheduling may therefore be useful in producing better production schedules. This paper shows how constraint programming (CP) can be applied in production scheduling for precast plants. The paper describes a constrained precast scheduling model that incorporates the key constraints and objectives considered by production schedulers. A capacity-based backward-scheduling earliest due date rule and a CP approach are developed to solve the model. The CP approach is computationally efficient, even though it incorporates many problem-derived constraints. The efficiency of the CP approach lies in the fact that the representation (model) is separated from the algorithm (solver). Strategies to improve the performance of the CP approach are identified, and the CP approach is compared against commonly used heuristic rules on an example problem.
Existing mobile IT applications in the construction industry are constrained by their reliance on static methods of information delivery, which are often not appropriate to meet changing work demand resulting from dynamic project conditions. This paper focuses on a new interaction paradigm i.e. context-aware information delivery (CAID), which promises to make information provisioning more responsive to workers' changing work demands. A roadmap to personalized CAID in construction is laid out, with a focus on creating a pervasive user-centred intelligent work environment capable of serving relevant information needs of busy construction professionals by intelligent interpretation of their context. Research approach includes use of scenario planning method. Face-to-face unstructured interviews were arranged with 28 industry and technology experts for scenario validation and provided input for the road-mapping exercise. The research demonstrates that the realisation of the CAID vision is within reach and will tremendously enhance the value proposition of mobile information technology in the construction industry. Context-relevant and personalised information delivery will save valuable time and has the potential to improve efficiency and productivity. It can mak construction ICT applications and worker's immediate work environment more responsive to work demands, thereby allowing better management of construction projects. A key challenge is to link various technology enabling elements with methodological, cultural, social and organisational aspects specific to the construction industry. This would require a multi-disciplinary approach requiring input from different fields, including computer science, ergonomics, social studies and the construction industry.
Cloud computing infrastructure is now widely used in many domains, but one area where there has been more limited adoption is research computing, in particular for running scientific high-performance computing (HPC) software. The Robust Application Porting for HPC in the Cloud (RAPPORT) project took advantage of existing links between computing researchers and application scientists in the fields of bioinformatics, high-energy physics (HEP) and digital humanities, to investigate running a set of scientific HPC applications from these domains on cloud infrastructure. In this paper, we focus on the bioinformatics and HEP domains, describing the applications and target cloud platforms. We conclude that, while there are many factors that need consideration, there is no fundamental impediment to the use of cloud infrastructure for running many types of HPC applications and, in some cases, there is potential for researchers to benefit significantly from the flexibility offered by cloud platforms.
The reasons precast concrete systems are not used extensively in the United States were explored through four mail surveys that were sent to 100 contractors, 100 design firms, 100 precast concrete manufacturers, and 100 local labor unions. The findings indicate that most of the prerequisite conditions for the extensive use of industrialized building systems already exist. The findings also indicate, however, that there is a major shortage of expert personnel capable of designing and organizing projects involving precast concrete systems and that almost half the contractors surveyed did not observe significant cost savings when they used precast concrete systems. Architects' and engineers' awareness of precast concrete systems and the number of competent precast concrete designers and erectors can be increased by providing adequate exposure of engineering and architecture students to these systems and by providing frequent and numerous continuous education programs for the benefit of active professionals.
The use of precast concrete systems offers several advantages such as speedy erection, higher quality, lower project cost, better sustainability, and enhanced occupational health and safety. In spite of these advantages, the share of precast concrete systems in the U.S. building construction market is very low. The factors behind this low market share are discussed in several studies. This study aims to identify the current factors that affect the use of precast concrete systems, compare them with the ones that prevailed in 1995, and figure out what has changed through the last 11 years in the American precast concrete industry. The findings of an extensive survey indicate that most of the dominating barriers to the extensive use of precast concrete systems in 1995 are either eliminated or drastically reduced, while some of them still prevail. Practitioners should be well informed about the factors that affect the use of precast concrete systems if these systems are to be used more extensively.
Recent advances in the use of virtual building prototypes as a tool to support various site-based production processes coupled with improvements in context-aware mobile computing offer significant potential of improving decision making during construction phase of a building by providing relevant and timely access to design and process information. This paper investigates the scope and potential for integrating intelligent context-aware interfaces with sophisticated virtual building prototypes, to provide highly relevant and context-specific building information to concerned stakeholders throughout the building life cycle. Key enabling technologies and related literature are reviewed. Architecture to integrate context awareness with virtual building prototype is presented to allow for integration of context at various levels, and timely retrieval of building model data is presented. Conclusions are drawn about the possible future effect on the construction industry.
The Clouds Computing Assisted Instruction (CCAI) is the cloud computing technology that schools and teachers use to provide the cloud services (the education) and build personalized teaching and learning environment. How the civil engineering limited CAD experiment resources meet the growing demand for experimental teaching is the critical problem at present. In this paper, the author proposes that a CAD experimental platform based on cloud computing is an effective way to solve this problem. And the author sets forth the whole framework of the platform, the main function modules and specific subordinate of Hadoop.
Most of the water disasters such as flood, main breaks, and water contamination can be anticipated and controlled. Lack of effective and documented communication between water related sectors/users and agencies before, during, and after disasters is one of the main causes for the osculating disasters and the existing gap that prevents urgent actions in dealing with water disasters. Therefore, building the capacity in sharing knowledge in the operational side of water resources planning and management can considerably decrease the consequences of occurring disasters in a region such as NYC. Cloud computing is a new breed of large-scale distributed computing paradigm that is driven by economics of scales. The concept of cloud computing is generated from the delivery of computing sources as a service over network. It has three categories: infrastructure as a service; platform as a service; and software as a service - these are abbreviated as SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. It is easy to access and backup as well as reducing energy consuming and cost that leads to the increased reliability and flexibility. In this paper, a framework of cloud computing for flood disaster management has been explained that could be applicable for flood management. The proposed platform has the acquisition, retrieval, analysis, visualization, and mapping capabilities elements for sharing and for development of a shared vision on the collection, value and data integrity assessment, and dissemination of data and information.
Cloud computing is a hot research topic and is quickly gaining recognition and application in combination with Building Information Modeling (BIM). However, since there is still lack of an authoritative definition of cloud computing, different parties in Architectural / Engineering / Construction (AEC) industry may have very different understanding on what is qualified as BIM cloud computing. This paper proposes a system under which some of the currently available cloud computing frameworks are classified and the adoption of cloud computing in a specific context can be assessed, and reviews and compares several currently available BIM cloud computing frameworks under this system. The BIM cloud computing frameworks compared include dedicated cloud services for AEC industry such as Revit Server, Revit Cloud and STRATUS, and general purpose cloud services such as Advance2000 and Amazon. The proposed system can be used by IT implementers in the AEC industry when making decisions on adopting cloud computing for BIM applications.
The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) provides a rich and redundant schema for interoperability. However, IFC lacks semantic clarity in mapping entities and relationships resulting in multiple methods to map the same information. This research explores a software engineering methodology based on engineering ontologies to develop a formal, consistent and machine-readable structure for IFC entities, attributes and relationships. Various issues such as the need for a logical framework, the current semantic approaches in AEC/FM and advantages of ontology for IFC are addressed. Details of the approach are illustrated by building application ontology for precast model exchanges. This research is expected to impact the overall interoperability of BIM tools by providing a formal and consistent taxonomy and classification structure for creating model view definitions (MVD) using IFC.
Navigation through unfamiliar facilities, with labyrinths of corridors and rooms, is difficult and often results in a person being lost. The proposed research is to develop a navigation algorithm to help a person navigate through facilities. The scope is the use of passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking technology and Building Information Modeling (BIM). A novel theoretical approach is presented that utilizes current localization techniques, performance characteristics of passive RFID, and a BIM model. A prototype application has been developed that connects the RFID readers with a BIM model. The goals are to locate and navigate any user and/or utility in an unfamiliar facility. Preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of locating a user inside buildings in real-time. Significantly, the algorithm has the potential to enable anybody to navigate the shortest and quickest route, saving time, money and, in an event of an emergency, lives.
Industrialization creates new requirements for design. Designers need to consider not only building performance, but also production plan needs. This requires a well-structured Building Information Model (BIM) to support the manufacturing needs for design and drafting. BIM, in combination with CAD tools such as AutoCAD and ArchiCAD, can be used for this purpose. These, however, are not sufficient to support the level of detail needed for the manufacturing process. The proposed research establishes a methodology for the automation of design and drafting for the building manufacturing of residential facilities based on the platform construction framing method. The proposed methodology has been incorporated into a computer model called MCMPro, which was developed using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) as an add-on to a CAD model. MCMPro incorporates BIM technology based on CAD parametric modelling and manufacturing requirements in a 3D-model, in order to generate sets of shop and fabrication drawings.
With the introduction of interconnected cross-platform middleware, a new area of opportunities for ubiquitous/pervasive computing has emerged. Context aware applications can be enhanced to practically and realistically incorporate multiple facets of human-machine interactions in everyday life that aren’t limited to a device-centered model for deducing context. In this paper, we propose that they can rather extend this model to a human-centered, device and platform independent model, based on a personal distributed application and data cloud ecosystem. For this to be achieved, webinos, a set of web runtime extensions that enable web applications and services to be used and shared consistently and securely over a broad spectrum of converged and connected devices, is used to provide this ecosystem. The webinos Context Awareness Framework described here is accessible to each webinos-enabled application. After strict policy enforcement, it can collect contextual information, either via an automatic mechanism that intercepts native calls made by webinos applications through the various webinos APIs, via an automatic polling mechanism to these APIs, or via custom, application-specific context schema extensions. It can then distribute the contextual information from its own personal cloud storage mechanism, in the form of simple, manageable and intuitive Context Objects, to and from all webinos-enabled devices owned by the same user, or even other, authorized users.
In this paper we are addressing a new paradigm in the field of simulation-based engineering sciences (SBES) to face the challenges posed by current ICT technologies. Despite the impressive progress attained by simulation capabilities and techniques, some challenging problems remain today intractable. These problems, that are common to many branches of science and engineering, are of different nature. Among them, we can cite those related to high-dimensional problems, which do not admit mesh-based approaches due to the exponential increase of degrees of freedom. We developed in recent years a novel technique, called Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD). It is based on the assumption of a separated form of the unknown field and it has demonstrated its capabilities in dealing with high-dimensional problems overcoming the strong limitations of classical approaches. But the main opportunity given by this technique is that it allows for a completely new approach for classic problems, not necessarily high dimensional. Many challenging problems can be efficiently cast into a multidimensional framework and this opens new possibilities to solve old and new problems with strategies not envisioned until now. For instance, parameters in a model can be set as additional extra-coordinates of the model. In a PGD framework, the resulting model is solved once for life, in order to obtain a general solution that includes all the solutions for every possible value of the parameters, that is, a sort of computational vademecum. Under this rationale, optimization of complex problems, uncertainty quantification, simulation-based control and real-time simulation are now at hand, even in highly complex scenarios, by combining an off-line stage in which the general PGD solution, the vademecum, is computed, and an on-line phase in which, even on deployed, handheld, platforms such as smartphones or tablets, real-time response is obtained as a result of our queries.
Cloud computing offers scalable on-demand services to consumers with greater flexibility and lesser infrastructure investment. Since Cloud services are delivered using classical network protocols and formats over the Internet, implicit vulnerabilities existing in these protocols as well as threats introduced by newer architectures raise many security and privacy concerns. In this paper, we survey the factors affecting Cloud computing adoption, vulnerabilities and attacks, and identify relevant solution directives to strengthen security and privacy in the Cloud environment.
A study undertaken at the University of Liverpool has investigated the potential for using construction and demolition waste (C&DW) derived aggregate in the manufacture of a range of precast concrete products, i.e. building and paving blocks and pavement flags. Phase III, which is reported here, investigated concrete pavement flags. This was subsequent to studies on building and paving blocks. Recycled demolition aggregate can be used to replace newly quarried limestone aggregate, usually used in coarse (6 mm) and fine (4 mm-to-dust) gradings. The first objective was, as was the case with concrete building and paving blocks, to replicate the process used by industry in fabricating concrete pavement flags in the laboratory. The “wet” casting technique used by industry for making concrete flags requires a very workable mix so that the concrete flows into the mould before it is compressed. Compression squeezes out water from the top as well as the bottom of the mould. This industrial casting procedure was successfully replicated in the laboratory by using an appropriately modified cube crushing machine and a special mould typical of what is used by industry. The mould could be filled outside of the cube crushing machine and then rolled onto a steel frame and into the machine for it to be compressed. The texture and mechanical properties of the laboratory concrete flags were found to be similar to the factory ones. The experimental work involved two main series of tests, i.e. concrete flags made with concrete- and masonry-derived aggregate. Investigation of flexural strength was required for concrete paving flags. This is different from building blocks and paving blocks which required compressive and tensile splitting strength respectively. Upper levels of replacement with recycled demolition aggregate were determined that produced similar flexural strength to paving flags made with newly quarried aggregates, without requiring an increase in the cement content. With up to 60% of the coarse or 40% of the fine fractions replaced with concrete-derived aggregates, the target mean flexural strength of 5.0 N/mm2 was still achieved at the age of 28 days. There was similar detrimental effect by incorporating the fine masonry-derived aggregate. A replacement level of 70% for coarse was found to be satisfactory and also conservative. However, the fine fraction replacement could only be up to 30% and even reduced to 15% when used for mixes where 60% of the coarse fraction was also masonry-derived aggregate.
Organizational and people centered issues pose the greatest challenge for Building Information Modeling (BIM) implementation. Studies showed that BIM implementation is still a challenge for the North American construction industry. The Canadian construction industry, in contrast, is well behind that of the U.S. in its BIM adoption rate. Maturity and adoption of BIM depends mainly on the client or the owner in construction projects. Public sector clients often think that the market is not ready for BIM and are afraid to increase project costs by limiting competition. Moreover, if the contractor is not integrated in the project in the design phase, BIM has limited power. This paper proposes a ‘BIM partnering’ based public procurement framework to ensure ‘best value’ in construction projects. The case study presented in the paper proved the feasibility of proposed BIM based procurement in publicly-funded construction projects. The suggested contractual arrangement for the project resulted in improved productivity, better coordination, and reduced error, and rework.
Huge progress has been made on ‘Augmented Reality’ (AR) techniques such as registration, tracking, and display hardware. However, a construction AR system should be more convenient and combined with in-use applications to support multi-disciplinary users throughout construction lifecycle. This paper presents a video-based on-line AR environment and a pilot cloud framework. The contribution lies in two aspects: firstly, an environment utilizing web3D is demonstrated, in which on-site images are rendered to box nodes and registered with virtual objects through a three-step method; secondly, it is further extended to be “cloud” through federation of BIM (building information modeling) and BSNS (business social networking services). Technical solutions to key issues such as authoring, publishing, and composition are designed. The proposed environment is seamlessly integrated into in-use information systems and therefore enjoys greater usability. Implementations demonstrate how this framework and environment work. Although preliminary, it is conclusive for proof of concept.
The problems encountered in the current manual material tracking methods result in late deliveries, missing components and incorrect installations. Automated data collection technologies, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), are promising technologies that can be used to efficiently track components in construction supply chains. However, it is still not clear how the cost of technology investment should be shared among supply chain members. This study proposes the use of a cost sharing ratio, which is calculated for each party based on the benefits received. A case study was conducted at a prefabricated exterior concrete wall panel supply chain, and a simulation‐based decision-support tool was used to model the current manual phase and automated phases. The simulation results were used to determine and analyze the benefits and related cost savings of RFID for each party, and a cost sharing ratio was calculated for distributing the technology investment cost among parties.
Industrialized Building System(IBS) is one of the construction method that utilized where the components are manufactured in factory or in-situ. Each components are produced in a controlled and monitored environment, transported and installed with minimum workforce. This system are widely used in Malaysia and commonly there are six types of IBS which known as precast concrete frame, formwork system, steel formwork system, steel frame system, prefabricated timber system, block work systems and other innovative system. But at the same time, when a building was built by the IBS system, there are lots of maintenance problem that affect the building operation and quality. Hence, the factor that affect the quality of the IBS building should be identify and find out the solution to overcome the problem. Thus, this study will focus on poor practicing in design stage, manufacturing stage and construction stage that affect the quality of the building which leads to building maintenance. The objective of this study is to identify the factors of defect during design, construction and manufacturing stage of precast concrete that affect the quality of the building, then identify factors that are related to poor maintenance consideration during design, manufacturing and construction stage and last but not least to recommend solutions to overcome problem. All the data collection will be done in the form of questionnaire and distributed to the contractors, consultants and manufacturers. The IBS building maintenance problem in civil and architectural will be collect after the feedback from the potential respondent and analysis through the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) and note down in a check list. Hopefully from the analysis, a crucial part of the factor that affect the quality of the precast concrete building will be identified and will be supported through the propose suggestion and solution that will reduce the cost and time of maintenance in IBS building which use the precast concrete method.
This paper describes one approach to the analysis and design of prestressed concrete precast road bridges, with double U-shaped cross-section and isostatic spans. The procedure used to solve the combinatorial problem is a variant of simulated annealing with a neighborhood move based on the mutation operator from the genetic algorithms (SAMO). This algorithm is applied to the economic cost of these structures at different stages of manufacturing, transportation and construction. The problem involved 59 discrete design variables for the geometry of the beam and the slab, materials in the two elements, as well as active and passive reinforcement. The parametric study showed a good correlation for the cost, geometric and reinforcement characteristics with the span length, which can be useful for the day-to-day design of PC precast bridges. A cost sensitivity analysis first indicates that a maximum 20% rise in steel costs leads to an 11.82% increase in the cost, while a 20% rise in concrete costs increases the cost up to 4.20%, namely 2.8 times less. The analysis also indicated that the characteristics of the cost-optimized bridges are somewhat influenced by different economic scenarios for steel and concrete costs. Finally, there is a growth in the volume of concrete when the steel cost rises; surprisingly, the variation in the volume of concrete is almost insensitive to its rising price.
The just-in-time (JIT) philosophy has tremendous potential for managing the movement of precast concrete components from the prefabrication yard to, and within, the construction site. The space constraints for storage and the traffic congestion at the worksite can then be alleviated. By means of a survey and interviews, this paper helps a precast concrete supplier examine if contractors are ready to adopt the JIT philosophy for receiving and installing precast concrete components on-site. Lessons are drawn from the empirical findings to determine how contractors can prepare for JIT management of precast concrete components. The findings suggest that the contractors are, by and large, obscured by price and have generally overlooked the bigger picture of total costs. Only a minority of the respondents show an interest in JIT deliveries as a cost-saving management system. Conversely, the precasters are better prepared to provide logistical support for JIT deliveries. In this context, reimbursement of costs or sharing of the savings can help to motivate the precasters to commit to JIT deliveries.
As part of the productivity movement, the Singapore government is this year (2001) legislating for “buildability”. Consequently, all building projects will need to fulfill a minimum buildable score before their development and building plans can be approved. Achievement of higher buildable scores can be attained by greater use of prefabrication technology. The Building and Construction Authority is attempting to promote the just-in-time (JIT) philosophy for managing precast concrete components. Components are expected to be manufactured and delivered just in time for installation and erection on site. By means of a survey, this paper examines the readiness of precasters in Singapore to adopt the JIT philosophy in producing and delivering precast concrete components to contractor-clients.
Pre-assembly is an important facet of the strategy to re-engineer construction. It can be categorized as: modular building; volumetric pre-assembly, non-volumetric pre-assembly and component manufacture/subassembly. This paper presents the results of an interview survey of major construction clients about their expectations from and drivers for pre-assembly on their projects. In particular, time, cost, quality and productivity benefits through minimization of on-site operations and duration, less congestion on site, improved health and safety along with greater and more predictable quality are identified. To get the best out of pre-assembly, clients acknowledge that they must be able to freeze the design early, provide reasonable lead times and provide time for presite prototyping. Clients' past experience has been mixed, with some citing tangible benefits, but others experiencing poor-quality products and a limited and disjointed supply chain - these mitigate against efforts to increase pre-assembly as part of the re-engineering mantra. Typically, clients accepted that suppliers should be involved early, but in practice many do not re-engineer the process and leave key decisions too late in the process to maximize benefits. More than half wanted to see an increase in the use of pre-assembly on their projects, but the supply chain must refocus to consider the client's perspective and capitalize on this opportunity. Whilst pre-assembly is not new and many have published on the subject, the perspective of clients has not been adequately covered. Pre-assembly may be well understood by manufacturers, contractors and even some designers, but unless the client decision-makers understand its benefits and limitations, then their misunder standings and prejudices will continue to be a barrier to further development.