Contractor Activity Research Articles

Developing administrative and process-related solutions for the benefit of residential construction projects

Housing construction is a key segment of economy in any country, as it satisfies the needs of population and ensures safe living conditions. This segment must take into account the requirements of safety, environmental friendliness, energy efficiency and limited mobility, resulting in high-quality construction products within pre-set deadlines. Due to the fact that many parties are involved in the construction of buildings, numerous processes are underway. As a result, various risk factors may arise. They may cause a failure to meet deadlines and lower quality of work. The authors propose administrative and process-related solutions aimed at eliminating the most substantial risk factors. The study solves the following tasks: analyzing the general contractor's activity in residential construction; studying risk factors that affect the building construction period; identifying actions aimed at mitigating risk factors by applying administrative and process-related solutions; developing and implementing a novel method developed on the basis of the research projects. An expert survey was conducted among the top specialists from the construction industry, and a list of risk factors arising during the construction of residential buildings was made. As a result, a method is developed that enables the pre-assessment of potential construction risk factors and elimination or minimization of their effect. This method reduces the period of construction, improves the quality of construction facilities and, on the whole, increases labor productivity.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF THE PRIVATE EXECUTOR AS A MEANS OF IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS IN UKRAINE

The article is devoted to the study about the reform of the system of compulsory execution judgments of the court increasing the efficiency of the process of execution of court judgments, as well as the introduction of the work of a private executor. The features of the private contractor's activity are highlighted in relation to his motivation, restrictions on the categories of executive documents that can be executed by private executors, etc. In addition, the article highlighted that it is necessary to make appropriate changes, in particular, the implementation of the reorganization of the system for the execution the judgments of the court in the context of increasing the efficiency of enforcement proceedings. The presence of private performers does not mean the self-exclusion of the state from the scope of implementation of decisions of public authorities and in this case the state exercises control and regulation through licensing, professional liability insurance, certification, guarantees protection in case of violation of the rights and legitimate interests of the executor. Our research serves as a basis for the development of new approaches to the creation of state policy in the area of enforcement, which contribute to the proper formation of the relevant regulatory framework, as well as for the successful solution of the existing issues relating to the development of an enforcement mechanism of judgments of jurisdictional authorities in Ukraine. Therefore, to solve all this problems, it is expedient to codify the norms concerning enforcement proceedings into a single Code of Enforcement Proceedings, which should regulate the status of public and private executors, the system and structure of executive services; tasks, principles, forms and functions of their activity; relations with public authorities and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and abroad, corporate and private organizations; methods and means of governmental, ministerial, public control, as well as prosecutorial supervision; application of technical means; involvement of experts and other specialists in carrying out executive actions; the order and volume of logistical, financial and personnel support; delineation of legal and social protection.

Overcoming information asymmetry in the construction industry based on open and closed contractor activity data

The purpose of the research is to find measures to reduce information asymmetry which significantly affects the relationship between customer and contractor, leading to higher prices for construction work and enhanced opportunism. Information asymmetry can make contractor and customer move away from direct contractual relations to more and more costly ways of interaction: legal, law enforcement and ethical. In the long run, the most effective level of interaction is ethical, as it significantly reduces information asymmetry as well as attendant costs. The article proposes two approaches to analyse asymmetry of contractor’s information: in the situation of limited access to internal information of a construction company and in the situation of maximum access to information of the activities of construction company’s individual departments. In the first approach, an assessment of price discrimination and changes in the cost of construction due to a deliberate deterioration in its quality is used. In the second approach, a set of indicators is considered, grouped by the functional levels of the contractor: physical, procurement, economic, technological and design.

PROBLEMS OF FORMATION OF INCOME AND EXPENSES OF PRIVATE CONTRACTORS AS SUBJECTS OF INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

Introduction. The need to set up a private enforcement institute arose from the problem of enforcement of court decisions. The activities of state executors are clearly regulated, have experience and achievements. A private contractor is authorized by the state to carry out enforcement activities, but from an economic point of view, he is a self-employed person, which means that he is financially interested in the results of his work. The economic aspect of private contractor activity is not well understood to date. Methods. The study is based on the use of the historical and comparative method in determining the prerequisites for establishing an institute of private performers in Ukraine and in the world. A generalization method was used to determine general properties in the taxation of private contractors. The efficiency of the work and the feasibility of introducing a “private” element in the enforcement of court decisions was proved by the method of analysis. The method of grouping was used to determine the taxation base for the performance of private contractors. Results. The organizational and legal aspects of the activity of private contractors have been determined. The economic advantages and disadvantages of introducing the Institute of Private Performers are presented. The procedure for recognition of income and formation of costs of private contractors is outlined. It is proved inadmissible to identify the concepts of “costs of enforcement proceedings” and “costs of private executors”. The necessity of accounting and control of results of activity of private contractors is substantiated. Discussion. Prospects for further researches will be to develop recommendations for accounting for deposit accounts; accounts intended to be credited to enforcement proceedings; accounts intended to account for the principal and additional remuneration of private contractors; payroll calculations; payments with budget for taxes, fees, other required payments private artist revenue and expenses, etc. Keywords: enforcement proceedings, self-employed entities, private contractor, remuneration of private contractor, costs of enforcement proceedings, costs of private contractor, income of private contractor.

Project systemic risk: Application examples of a network model

Projects are increasingly perceived as complex systems, yet little work has been done in developing methodologies that are theoretically grounded on complex systems theory. In response, this article argues the practical utility of a recently introduced model that draws on notions from Network Science (NS) – a prominent domain in the study of complexity. Its utility is exemplified in the context of Project Management (PM), tackling two specific challenges: risk and conflict management. In the case of the former (risk), shifts in the susceptibility of a project to systemic risk (in the form of inter-linked failures) are identified. In the case of the latter (conflict), the effect of (sub) contractor activity – in terms of variance and activity pattern – to project systemic risk is assessed. To do so, numerical methods are developed and applied on an empirical dataset of widely-captured data (Gantt charts). In the context of the two challenges proposed, it is shown that: (a) the exposure of a project to systemic risk varies in a non-trivial manner as it evolves, at both micro and macro level; (b) (sub) contractor activity substantially impacts the emergence of locally important tasks (i.e. tasks able to disrupt the operation of a (sub) contractor). From a theoretical perspective, this work initiates a dialogue between the two domains (PM and NS), potentially opening new ways of tackling long-lasting challenges of PM.

IMPROVING THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENTS BY MEANS OF TECHNOLOGICAL RISKS MANAGEMENT

The widely used and well-researched tool in investment analysis is the net present value estimation, based on discounting of cash flows. However, it has been often criticized because risks-adjustment of discount rate with various «risk premiums». The main mistake is considering discount rate as an argument, able to have another economic sense, than the possible alternative earning capacity of reinvestment assets. The account of any risks of the investments should be carried out by adjusting the values of cash flows directly, by means of various probabilistic and risky facients, obtained by the statistical processing of the projects’ data implemented by considered contractor. In this regard we suggest to abandon the practice of taking the investment risks into account by means of discount rate, but to use for this purpose the correcting risky facients of the amount of the cash flows. The larger part of construction investment risks are directly connected with the construction works, i.e. “technorisks”. The technique presented at paper implements the systemic risk management approaches by multilevel management of technorisks, including monitoring of a contractor activity, determination of risky facients and adjusting of the net present value. It would allow the economically and statistically substantiated determination, ranging and control of the technorisks of a building contractor, and is going to be a useful analytical tool in improving the economic efficiency of investment in construction.

Analysing Japanese contractor activity on the basis of panel data

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing defaults and exits from public works by prime contractors of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Japanese construction industry. By analysing the data for several years as panel data, this study determines the extent of influence of changes in company characteristics on the defaults and exits. Design/methodology/approach – Using construction company evaluation (Keiei Jikou Sinsa or Keisin) data and by employing the panel binary logit random effect model, this study empirically analyses the construction industry. Findings – This study shows that defaulting and exiting companies have different characteristics. The result shows financial performance indicators, non-financial performance indicators and Keisin scores to significantly affect defaults and exits. In particular, this study finds non-financial performance indicators, such as whether a firm draws insurance, to significantly affect its likelihood to default or exit and the influence varies on the basis of insurance type. Originality/value – The feature of this study is that its analysis focuses not only on defaulting companies but also on exiting companies, defined as those that stop operating as prime contractors for public works but otherwise stay in business. In contrast to existing research, this study distinguishes between defaults and exits and analyses the factors that influence a firm following one of these two outcomes. Moreover, although Keisin data are usually used to determine whether companies qualify to enter bids for public works, they can be applied for an attribution analysis of corporate defaults and exits.

Recovery Audit Contractor audits and appeals at three academic medical centers.

Outpatient (observation) and inpatient status determinations for hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries have generated increasing concern for hospitals and patients. Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) activity alleging improper status, however, has received little attention, and there are conflicting federal and hospital reports of RAC activity and hospital appeals success. To detail complex Medicare Part A RAC activity. Retrospective descriptive study of complex Medicare Part A audits at 3 academic hospitals from 2010 to 2013. Complex Part A audits, outcome of audits, and hospital workforce required to manage this process. Of 101,862 inpatient Medicare encounters, RACs audited 8110 (8.0%) encounters, alleged overpayment in 31.3% (2536/8110), and hospitals disputed 91.0% (2309/2536). There was a nearly 3-fold increase in RAC overpayment determinations in 2 years, although the hospitals contested and won a larger percent of cases each year. One-third (645/1935, 33.3%) of settled claims were decided in the discussion period, which are favorable decisions for the hospitals not reported in federal appeals data. Almost half (951/1935, 49.1%) of settled contested cases were withdrawn by the hospitals and rebilled under Medicare Part B to avoid the lengthy (mean 555 [SD 255] days) appeals process. These original inpatient claims are considered improper payments recovered by the RAC. The hospitals also lost appeals (0.9%) by missing a filing deadline, yet there was no reciprocal case concession when the appeals process missed a deadline. No overpayment determinations contested the need for care delivered, rather that care should have been delivered under outpatient, not inpatient, status. The institutions employed an average 5.1 full-time staff in the audits process. These findings suggest a need for RAC reform, including improved transparency in data reporting.

Engineering projects real-time supervision mechanism based on grid management

This paper proposes an innovative supervision method that can provide project supervisors with real-time supervision of engineering projects and contractor activity. To obtain real-time and comprehensive state of project, we use grid management to divide the project supervision grid in three levels: stage, objective, and milestone. Then, a detailed supervision mechanism is designed to help supervisors measure the project situation in real time. This mechanism checks that if the project objectives (such as schedule, cost, quality, and safety) in every supervision grid cell are under the healthy limits, any project deviation can be identified as soon as possible. A schedule objective is selected as an example to illustrate the method used to calculate the healthy limit.

Modulation of mouse gastrointestinal motility by allyl isothiocyanate, a constituent of cruciferous vegetables (Brassicaceae): evidence for TRPA1‐independent effects

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC, mustard oil), a constituent of many common cruciferous vegetables (Brassicaceae), activates transient receptor potential of ankyrin type-1 (TRPA1) channels, claimed to regulate gastrointestinal contractility. In this study, we have investigated the effect of AITC on intestinal motility. Effects of AITC were investigated in vivo on upper gastrointestinal transit in mice and in mouse isolated ileum [contractions induced by electrical field stimulation (EFS), acetylcholine and spontaneous contractility]. The contractor activity of AITC was studied in mouse isolated colon. The ability of TRPA1 channel antagonists to block AITC-induced elevation of intracellular Ca(2+) [Ca(2+)](i) was assessed in HEK293 cells transfected with rat TRPA1 channels. AITC increased [Ca(2+)](i) in HEK293 cells, reduced ileal contractility (acetylcholine-, EFS-induced contractions and spontaneous contractility), but contracted the isolated colon. Gentamicin and camphor (non-selective TRPA1 channel antagonists), HC-030031 and AP18 (selective TRPA1 channel agonists) inhibited AITC-induced effects in HEK293 cells but not in the ileum or colon. AITC-induced contractions were reduced by tetrodotoxin and strongly reduced by nifedipine, cyclopiazonic acid and ryanodine. In vivo, AITC reduced (following i.p. administration) or increased (following intragastric administration) upper gastrointestinal transit in mice These effects were not affected by HC-030031. AITC, depending, in vitro, on the regions of gut examined and, in vivo, on the route of administration, exerted both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on intestinal motility, which were not sensitive to TRPA1 channel antagonists. The proposition that TRPA1 channels are the primary targets for AITC to induce contraction should be revised.

Effects of arginine vasotocin and prostaglandin E 1 on the hen uterus

• In the domestic hen, the uterine portion of the oviduct responded in vitro to arginine vasotocin (AVT) and prostaglandin E 1 (PGE 1) at all investigated stages of the egg-laying cycle. However, the uterus was less responsive to both hormones during oviposition. • The injections of these hormones provoked premature oviposition and a significant pressure increase in the uterus. In vitro and in vivo AVT was a more potent uterine stimulant than PGE 1. Indomethacin, an inhibitor of prostaglandin biosynthesis, antagonized in vitro the contractor activity of AVT but not that of PGE 1. Prostaglandin-like activity was demonstrated in the hen uterine tissue at the time of oviposition. It is concluded that AVT may cause uterine contractions via a prostaglandin activated mechanism.

STUDY OF RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS AND VENTILATORY CAPACITIES AMONG ROPE WORKERS

In a rope works handling manila, sisal, and St. Helena hemps, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and the change in forced expiratory volume (F.E.V._1·0) during the work shift were studied in a group of 41 women and 41 men who represented 93% of the population at risk. Dust concentrations, measured with a modified Hexhlet, ranged from 0·11 to 4·51 mg./m.³ for total dust and 0·02 to 1·46 mg./m.³ for fine dust. The highest concentrations were found in the preparing rooms, in which the workers, all of whom were women, showed on the average a fall in ventilatory capacity during the shift. The workers in the rope walk, all of whom were men, showed a rise in ventilatory capacity during the shift. The difference between the men and women was statistically significant (p < 0·05). No worker gave a characteristic history of byssinosis, although nine women complained of chest tightness associated with their work. Undue breathlessness on exertion and persistent cough and phlegm were also more common among the women, but they were on the average 18 years older than the men. When the ventilatory capacities and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms of women rope workers were compared with those of a group of women employed elsewhere in the dockyard, the only significant difference was that the rope workers had more chest tightness associated with their work (p < 0·02). Exposure of volunteers to St. Helena hemp, which is apparently the most likely of the hard hemps to give rise to respiratory symptoms, caused only a slight fall in ventilatory capacity and a small rise in airways resistance. A sample of St. Helena hemp assayed on guinea-pig ileum had only a relatively small degree of contractor activity. The evidence suggests that the dusts of hard hemps do not cause byssinosis under the conditions in this factory. However, the irritant nature of the dust indicates the need to prevent total dust levels exceeding about 2 mg./m.³.

Some pharmacological actions of cotton dust and other vegetable dusts.

Aqueous extracts of cotton and other vegetable dusts cause contraction of the isolated ileum and tracheal muscle of the guinea-pig, and of isolated human bronchial muscle. The levels of this contractor activity place the dusts of cotton, flax, and jute in the order of the probable incidence of byssinosis occurring in the mills spinning these fibres. Extracts of cotton dust possess a histamine-liberating activity and contain a permeability-increasing component. These actions are of plant origin and are found in the pericarp and bracts of the cotton boll. Histamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine have also been found in some cotton dust samples. The formation of histamine by bacterial action in cotton dust does not take place under conditions found in cotton mills. The smooth muscle contractor substance is organic in nature, relatively heat-stable, and dialysable. The relevance of these results to the symptoms of byssinosis is discussed.