Design Of Construction Projects Research Articles

USING NEURAL NETWORK TECHNOLOGY IN CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

The article discusses the basics of using neural networks in the activities of construction organizations. The main goal of the study was to substantiate the advantages and prospects of using neural networks in the construction industry. As part of the study, the essence of this variant of machine learning was initially determined, their classical architecture was justified, key elements were identified, and the principle of operation was described. Subsequently, options for using neural networks within the construction industry were systematized (design of construction projects, analysis of costs for the implementation of construction projects, management of construction projects, monitoring of labor and equipment productivity, assessment of the quality of materials used and inventory management, ensuring energy efficiency, risk analysis and ensuring the safety of work performed, etc.) and a distinction was made between the areas of application of neural networks within the stages of the life cycle of construction projects, which formed the basis of scientific novelty. The results of the study can be applied in the activities of construction organizations to increase the efficiency of work carried out at various stages of construction.

Calculation of Proper Time of Concentration for Drainage Design in Construction Projects for Urban Development

The design and construction of a proper drainage system are important for any urban development project, small or big. Hydrological and hydraulic calculations are used to design the drainage systems. The calculation of peak flow is one of the common hydrological methods applied to determine the drain sizes for all construction projects. Peak flows and hydrographs can be calculated using several techniques. In order to calculate the peak flow, the design rainfall duration has to be appropriate, which will reflect the critical storm duration. The critical storm duration, on the other hand, depends on the time of concentration (tc) of the catchment. However, most of the equations for tc available in the literature are empirical. At least 23 equations could be traced in various references, which consist of different geophysical and other hydrological parameters. This paper is intended to explain the importance of the proper use of tc to calculate peak runoff flow for construction projects, as accurately as possible. A review of the existing methods used to calculate the time of concentration revealed inconsistencies among a few methods found in the literature. The correct value of the time of concentration (tc) is important for the application of the Rational Method, as the value of tc helps the designer assume the storm duration critical to get the maximum peak flow value. If the critical storm duration is not used in the Rational Method, the drain will be undersized, and the overflow of the storm runoff may happen. Therefore, ample attention should be given to the calculation of the time of concentration to ensure the safety, economy, and sustainability of the drainage system in any development project.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on The Construction Projects in Indonesia: Identifying the Risks from the Stakeholders’ Perspective

Covid-19, which is declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11 2020 has significant impacts in many sectors around the world. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research which analyses the impact of Covid-19 in the construction projects risks in developing countries. Given the lack of research related to the construction projects risks due to Covid-19, the overall aim of the study is to identify and classify the risk in a construction project as a result of Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia. The methodology which is used in this study is by implementing the questionnaire approach with the targets from the related construction industry stakeholders. The findings identified five risks which have the highest possibility to occur in a construction project as a result of Covid-19, in which the highest risk is delayed funding on construction project design (Score: 0,2523) while the lowest risk is unknown threat or vandalism from the neighborhood gangster (score: 0,0136). Further study will focus on the way in which we could develop a new framework model for risk management and preventive measures of these risks adjusted to Covid-19 impact.

A study on implementing QFD (quality function deployment) in the construction of a commercial business center

Purpose This study aims to demonstrate how the process of quality function deployment (QFD) is used to identify the basic requirements of the customers in designing and executing the commercial business center. Design/methodology/approach This study was considered with the aim of determining the approach of QFD methodology used in the planning and designing of commercial business centers. The methodology used in the study is a customer-driven process that includes customer requirements in each and every aspect of the planning and designing of the project. The main focus of this study is to understand the requirements of the customers and to design and execute a commercial business project. Findings This study illustrates the quality requirements of the projects that benefit from the QFD process to obtain customer requirements for the planning and designing of commercial business centers. A case study is used to demonstrate the use of QFD process. This helps to explain the effective application of QFD in the planning and designing of business centers and similar constructions. Research limitations/implications The planning and designing of the commercial business center using the QFD process were challenging and hence it is limited to the design part. The strategic objectives are not taken into account while performing QFD in this case study and the risk of market research is lacking. House of quality (HOQ) can be too complicated at times; hence, the adaptability in the traditional QFD is lacking. Most of the work in the HOQ matrix is done through subjective evaluation. Therefore, this research is mostly useful for a single party responsible for all phases of the planning and designing of the project. Originality/value In the construction industry, the use of the QFD process for project performance analysis and application is restricted. As a result of the scarcity of studies on the planning and design of construction projects, this study on the planning and design of a construction project was inspired.

The Application of Green Energy-saving Technology in the Electrical Design of Building Engineering

With the continuous development and progress of society, the scale of building construction is expanding and the functions are more diversified. Therefore, in the building construction stage as well as the building application stage, a large amount of energy is consumed, which includes a large amount of electrical resources. In order to promote the green development of buildings, green energy-saving technologies can be integrated into the electrical design of construction projects. It is necessary to understand the basic development status and application principles of green energy-saving technologies. According to the application principles, reasonable technical application measures should be selected. Based on this, this paper discusses in order to provide reference and reference for relevant workers.

A TOPSIS‐Based Decision Model to Establish Priorities for Sequencing the Design of Construction Projects in the Public Sector

The availability of resources regarding budget and personnel for infrastructure development in the public sector is increasingly scarce, prioritizing personnel payments and basic expenses. Therefore, there is a need to prioritize the design of maintenance, refurbishment, and construction projects. Also, it is necessary to validate their impact and necessity before allocating public resources. The main contribution of this paper is a framework proposed to handle these issues frequently found in the public sector with a multicriteria approach, considering strategic and service aspects. To illustrate the proposed model, we considered the context of a federal institution of higher education that offers an infrastructure for about forty thousand students. This public institution is affected by issues of conjuncture and opportunities arising from political moments that hinder consistent programming for better allocation of these resources. Similarly to other institutions in the public sector, the chosen one has to cope with several demands for construction projects. However, limited resources and personnel to carry out those project designs are subject to the uncertainty of not having the financial resources to implement these construction projects. Or even worse, when unforeseen, funds to carry out specific projects arise without a feasible time to design those construction projects that the public institution did not prioritize. Thus, another contribution of the decision model proposed in this paper is to enable the department responsible for projects to establish the ranking for the project design, considering the multiple criteria that reflect the institution’s needs. Among the advantages perceived from this real application, there is a priority ranking resulting from a mathematical model based on the TOPSIS method, which is easy to understand. Furthermore, the proposed approach gives the transparency and reproducibility required in such a public and democratic environment, enabling transparency on the criteria considered in the allocation process for all personnel involved considering the actors that manage the resources and those which demand the project design services.

Европейский опыт внедрения BIM-технологий в строительном секторе

Introduction. Building information modeling is key to the digital transformation of the construction industry. By maintaining ­­ a transparent and continuous flow of information between all stakeholders, BIM facilitates their collaboration at various stages of a project. This leads to significant efficiency gains at lower costs, faster delivery with fewer inaccuracies and delays, better business opportunities, and lower emissions and waste. The purpose of the study is to identify patterns in the formation of new industry-wide information processes and to formulate the main barriers to their implementation in the project practice. Materials and methods. The author studied the scholarly publications of domestic and foreign researchers. Since this scope of problems was formulated in the recent decade, materials, published during this period, were considered. Theoretical methods of research were employed: analysis, which allowed the author to break down an extensive information base on the EU countries; classification, which made it possible to identify the main levers for implementing new technologies; analogy, which identified similarities in the development of innovations; synthesis, which generated a general idea of the stages of forming new phenomena in the design of construction projects. Results. The author made a comparative analysis of the introduction of new technologies in the EU countries depending on the centre-periphery patterns, drew a parallel between the information processes in Russia and European. He also formulated the main drivers of the introduction of innovative development in the construction sector and decelerating factors based on a 10-year history of the implementation of BIM in European countries. Conclusions. The implementation of BIM in the construction sector is often limited. The main barriers are related to interoperability, compliance for all users, workflow changes, legal issues and training, and the emergence of new rights and responsibilities.

THE IMPACT OF INTEGRATING BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) TECHNOLOGY AND RE-ENGINEERING PROCESS IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

In general, the recent findings obtained in line with current construction industry conditions confirm the idea of evaluating the design before its actual implementation. Accordingly, the design needs to be examined and reviewed from various aspects before the implementation of the design in construction projects in order to eliminate the possible obstacles, problems and errors of the system. Traditional methods and techniques included multiple reviews and double-checking of maps. This method is time consuming compared to new methods and technologies, and the percentage of errors is high. Therefore, traditional methods should be replaced by more effective methods. One of the most effective advanced technologies in the world that has been faced with a great welcome around the world is Building Information Modeling (BIM). This method has significant organizational benefits and causes a systematic change in the organization. In this paper, we will examine the status of building information modeling in construction projects and organizational maturity.

Machine learning in project analytics: a data-driven framework and case study

The analytic procedures incorporated to facilitate the delivery of projects are often referred to as project analytics. Existing techniques focus on retrospective reporting and understanding the underlying relationships to make informed decisions. Although machine learning algorithms have been widely used in addressing problems within various contexts (e.g., streamlining the design of construction projects), limited studies have evaluated pre-existing machine learning methods within the delivery of construction projects. Due to this, the current research aims to contribute further to this convergence between artificial intelligence and the execution construction project through the evaluation of a specific set of machine learning algorithms. This study proposes a machine learning-based data-driven research framework for addressing problems related to project analytics. It then illustrates an example of the application of this framework. In this illustration, existing data from an open-source data repository on construction projects and cost overrun frequencies was studied in which several machine learning models (Python’s Scikit-learn package) were tested and evaluated. The data consisted of 44 independent variables (from materials to labour and contracting) and one dependent variable (project cost overrun frequency), which has been categorised for processing under several machine learning models. These models include support vector machine, logistic regression, k-nearest neighbour, random forest, stacking (ensemble) model and artificial neural network. Feature selection and evaluation methods, including the Univariate feature selection, Recursive feature elimination, SelectFromModel and confusion matrix, were applied to determine the most accurate prediction model. This study also discusses the generalisability of using the proposed research framework in other research contexts within the field of project management. The proposed framework, its illustration in the context of construction projects and its potential to be adopted in different contexts will significantly contribute to project practitioners, stakeholders and academics in addressing many project-related issues.

Building Information Modeling Application in Civil Engineering Field -- Take Gongbei Tunnel as an Example

Building Information Modelling (BIM), the direct product of digital technology, is now widely applied in the civil engineering field as a tool to enhance the overall construction project design and implement. Compared with Europe and the US, China has a later start in BIM technology, but has still achieved certain results in the past decade. Therefore, this research studies the application of BIM technology in the field of civil engineering and selects an example to analyze. This research reviews the development of BIM in China, revealing the broad development prospects in China's market. And by selecting the BIM application in Gongbei tunnel as an example, the detail functions of BIM software and their advantages are concluded: (1) Visualization of models; (2) Higher collaboration efficiency; (3) Higher cost management efficiency. This research can help promoting the future development of BIM in China.

Tailoring a Project Risk Management Tool through Co-Design: Managing Risk in the Fuzzy Front-End of Construction Project Design

AbstractThe objectives and scope of a construction project is defined in the early design stage, the fuzzy front-end. This stage is crucial for project risk management and success, but traditional risk management tend to focus on operational risk in later design stages. This action research study leverages co-design methodology and the project management actuality perspective to tailor a risk management process for the fuzzy front-end of construction projects in a large client organization. The co-design process help enchance stakeholder value perception of the designed solution.

Consulting Business Workflow and Design Performance Metrics for BIM Based Construction Design in Nigeria

Extant literature has confirmed the unavoidability of changes to the design of construction projects. These changes have also been identified as major reasons for project cost, quality, and time failure. Despite BIM’s documented capabilities to enhance project success, its implementation remains unsatisfactory in Nigeria. This paper, therefore, examines the impacts of BIM-based design workflow in consulting business on construction project design performance. Using questionnaire as the research instrument, quantitative survey research was adopted to collect data from consulting organizations. Analysis revealed sequential and concurrent workflows as the most used and preferred, respectively. Design coordination, information, and communication are enhanced with sequential workflow within a firm, while concurrent metrics are enhanced when collaborating with other firms. Both workflows are jointly declared suitable for the timely delivery of designs. The study, therefore, recommended retraining of professionals on sequential and concurrent workflows because of their appropriateness for efficient design within and among firms.

Risk Prevention And Control And Construction Path Of Criminal Compliance Of Construction Engineering Corporates

The corporate compliance system, an internal control mechanism to prevent, detect and stop illegal and criminal offences within a corporate, can serve to effectively solve potential criminal compliance risks in construction projects. The construction projects are characterized by their long-term, continuous and concealed nature. In addition, the system design of construction projects is limited by many factors, including the limitation of traditional centralized administrative mode, the absence of process supervision mechanism and reciprocal motivation mechanism, the complicated setting of supervision matters, the lack of reciprocity of the motivation mechanism and the dislocation of the main body in regulatory responsibilities. Such that, numerous violations of rules and regulations, including quality-centred disputes and safety accidents, keep coming up in the construction industry in China. Under the context of the co-development of economic and legal globalization, in order to prevent and control the potential criminal compliance risks of construction engineering corporates, it is necessary to construct compliance rules centred on supervision activities, form a corporate criminal offence and compliance identification mechanism, improve the corporate criminal liability system, establish corporate obligation and rules of criminal compliance, formulate measures for the dual models of punishment and incentive, and promote the construction and implementation of the corporate compliance system of the construction industry.

Knowledge Management Model for Construction Design Consulting Companies

An optimum design is critical for improving a construction project efficiency in its implementation phase. However, it is observed in Vietnam that in many construction projects, the design optimization process has not attracted reasonable attention; this process is often carried out in a perfunctory manner without a systematic approach, then the projects’ designs are often not optimized, leading to a reduction in their performance efficiency. This study presents a knowledge-based approach with knowledge management model developed to aid in the management of a construction project's design process, based on the intelligent use of accessible corporate data and experience knowledge. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in three construction consulting companies with the goal of learning how the selected design solution process was executed in practice and gaining necessary knowledge for system identification and design of the suggested model. A Construction Design Knowledge Model was created, operated, and validated with consultancy construction experts. The developed Construction Design Knowledge Model was deemed an advanced tool for building design selection as a result of its ability to assist consulting firms in creating corporate information, making decision-making in a less subjective manner, and lowering reliance on personal knowledge. The system's indicated advantages helped to increase construction design performance.

Integrating building information modeling with value engineering to facilitate the selection of building design alternatives considering sustainability

The recent accelerated development of the information management process has assisted to provide further technical development in the construction industry. In order to achieve the best sustainable design, it is critical to examine the design of construction projects and consider all potential alternatives. This problem may become very difficult when the choice of alternative depends on the assessment of a number of design related criteria. Hence, there is a need for better tools and increased use of technology to improve the selection of suitable alternative. The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Value Engineering (VE) can improve sustainable design even further. In addition, the use of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a fundamental approach to decision making. This paper presents a framework integrating BIM with VE to improve sustainable design by creating a model designed to select the best alternative with several criteria. This model is based on the development of a 5 D BIM model, studying the energy efficiency of building design. Also, assess the relative environmental impacts of building materials. Finally, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is considered through the LEED rating system according to ISO 14040 standards. The results show that the proposed model has the potential to improve the study of VE job plan, and the importance of the model in evaluating and selecting the most appropriate alternative design.

Problems and Challenges in the Interactions of Design Teams of Construction Projects: A Bibliometric Study

There is no comprehensive understanding of the problems that may impact the performance of the different actors that participate in the design of construction projects. In the absence of clarity about the problems and challenges that may impact the interactions, it is not possible to propose action plans to optimize the performance of the design teams. Therefore, this study proposes to identify the main problems and challenges in the interactions of design teams in building projects. A mixed review method is used to integrate bibliometric reviews, systematic reviews, and social network analysis to build a complete picture of the reviewed topic while highlighting certain key areas to ensure in-depth research. To achieve the objective of this work, the research was divided into three stages: (1) study of interactions in design teams; (2) identification of problems in design team interactions; and (3) study of problems in design team interactions. Through this study, four current major trends of research were identified: (1) Collaboration and BIM; (2) Design teams in the construction industry; (3) Design management; and (4) Collaborative design methodologies and processes. In addition, the most relevant problems or challenges within design team interactions arise in communication, collaboration, coordination, trust, and role identification.

Research on Urban Area Development and Planning Based on the Vision of Financial Management

Objectives: In the current urban construction, the development planning of regional projects is not only a matter for the government, but also for many financing companies. Methods: Financial management is an important part of the entire regional development and planning process. This study made some suggestions for regional construction projects from the perspective of financial management, and on this basis, designed a financing plan for urban regional construction. Results: Finally, taking the development plan of the M industrial zone as an example, a comprehensive financing plan was determined based on the project’s financial situation and capital structure. Conclusion: It is hoped that this study can provide some suggestions for the financial management of urban area construction, and at the same time provide some reference for the financing scheme design of construction projects.

Digital fabrication, BIM and early contractor involvement in design in construction projects: a comparative case study

ABSTRACT Digital Fabrication (DFAB) is a systemic innovation with low adoption rates in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) projects. Managing requirements of a new design process is one major challenge for the increased DFAB adoption. For other types of innovations, practices such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) improve design management by integrating process, information and organisation in construction projects. In theory, BIM and ECI could improve design management and increase the adoption of DFAB. However, the relationship between DFAB, BIM and ECI has not yet been studied thoroughly. There is a need to understand new paradigms of DFAB design management in regard to process integration, information integration and organisational integration. This study undertakes a comparative study of four DFAB adoptions in AEC projects with varying levels of BIM and ECI implementation. The design processes of DFAB are traced using swimlane process diagrams. From this, relationships between DFAB, BIM, and ECI are derived using a quadripartite interrelationship diagram. This work illustrates the proposed relationships in DFAB adoption in design using a fishbone diagram. This work concludes with potential future research in design management for digital fabrication, including five takeaways for practitioners to adopt and manage DFAB in the design process of construction projects.

Enhancing users involvement in architectural design using mobile augmented reality

PurposeMobile augmented reality (MAR) is one of the advanced three-dimensional (3D) representation tools that has been recently utilized in the construction industry. This paper aims to assess a user’s involvement levels through MAR application that has been experimented against traditional involvement techniques through an existing facility, plan re-designing scenario.Design/methodology/approachThrough reviewing related literature studies in the MAR field, an application has been developed that can superimpose real design alternatives on paper-based markers, allowing for flexible wall positioning, interior and exterior wall material application. As such, an enhanced user involvement experience is created. To measure user involvement levels, the application is experimented with 33 participants having the British University in Egypt’s library building as a case study, followed by survey questionnaires to gather and evaluate user responses.FindingsThe results of the analyzed data using SPSS indicated that MAR showed a positive impact on enhancing user involvement and better understanding of design projects. It also allowed users to produce different design alternatives in comparison to the traditional involvement approaches where users showed low design interaction and understanding.Originality/valueThe interactive features of the proposed application facilitate implementing ideas in design of construction projects that require user involvement.

Analyzing the Association between Lean Design Management Practices and BIM Uses in the Design of Construction Projects

The authors acknowledge the help and support provided by GEPUC, which provided access to data collection for this study. In addition, the authors acknowledge financial support from FONDECYT (1181648) and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Rodrigo Herrera acknowledges financial support for Ph.D. studies from Vicerrectoria de Investigacion (VRI) of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC) and CONICYT-PCHA/National Doctorate/2018 -21180884.