Construction Domain Research Articles

Have we reached the organisational ceiling? a review of applied accident causation models, methods and contributing factors in construction

Work-related fatalities continue to represent a significant issue within the construction industry. Contemporary accident causation models are underpinned by systems thinking, however, it is unclear whether these theories have translated into the construction domain. This article presents the findings of a review that was conducted to determine if the construction accident analysis literature has applied a systems thinking approach to understand accident causation. Specifically, the review examined two key aspects: first the types of models and methods that have been applied to analyse construction incidents, and second, the types of contributing factors identified as playing a role in construction incidents. The findings are summarised using Rasmussen’s Risk Management Framework. The review revealed that contemporary models of accident causation have not yet been applied in construction-related research. It is concluded that the models and methods applied in the construction literature predominantly identify contributing factors associated with the company, management, and frontline work levels of the system, rather than considering broader, system-wide factors. Further, the relationships between individuals and organisations operating at each level of the system have not been typically examined. Further research underpinned by systems thinking is required to better understand accident causation in the construction domain.HighlightsThe review revealed that contemporary models of accident causation have not yet been applied in construction-related research;The models and methods applied in the construction literature predominantly identify contributing factors associated with the company, management, and front line work levels of the system, rather than considering broader, system-wide factors;Relationships between individuals and organisations operating at each level of the system have not yet been examined;Despite the efforts of regulators and construction entities, the consistently high rate of fatal accidents in construction highlights the challenges surrounding the practical management of safe production within complex and dynamic working environments;Accident analysis methods used in this industry have not kept pace with advances in the field of safety science.

Value Management-based Alternatives Ranking Approach for Automated Negotiation

Ranking alternatives is considered one of the main challenges in automated negotiation by multi-agent systems. Several approached have been identified by literature to mitigate the challenges of alternatives ranking, however, these approaches overlooked the importance of value management principles in modeling. Value management emphasizes on two main criteria to make a value decision which are Cost verses Functions. In this paper, Value Management-based Alternatives Ranking Approach that includes cost and function criteria in the modelling. Two main approaches are proposed by literature to optimize the ranking which are interest-based ranking and weight-based ranking. However, the two approaches produce totally two different results for a particular problem. Alternative interest-based ranking is recommended by value-management; but it creates a huge conflict among members. While, Alternative ranking based-weight is straight-forward with low or no conflict, but it is influenced by power, such influencing reduces reliability of a decision. To tackle this problem, we combine the processes of the two approaches alternative interest-based ranking and weight to make value decision and at the same time reduce the conflict among members. A scenario from construction domain is selected to test the proposed approach in ranking the alternatives based on cost and function criteria. The result shows a promising approach that could assist in making value decision, in addition, the result also shows that interest-weight-based ranking reduce the conflict between parties in comparison with interest-based ranking and weight-based ranking.

Towards Successful Social Collaboration in BIM-based Construction: A Review

The existence of digital applications in construction industry has opened the floodgates to a better integration and collaboration. In particular, Building Information Modelling (BIM) provides construction stakeholders greater visualisation of project information and communications across multi-organisations. Despite the explicit benefits, the study on what it takes to drive the successfulness of social collaboration in BIM still remain elusive. This paper presents a review of the literature to identify the key elements of social collaboration in BIM-based construction projects. The review identified three key elements (i.e. foundational platform, organisational context and behavioural context) which together form the nexus for successful social collaborative practice. The findings in this study extend the collaboration literature in construction domain by providing deeper insights into the characterisation and importance of social collaboration in digital environment.

A scale for restaurant customers’ healthy menu choices: individual and environmental factors

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the dimensions of restaurant customers’ engagement or disengagement with healthy eating in terms of individual and environmental factors to develop a scale. The results identified the underlying constructs of customers’ individual motives for and perceived barriers to healthy eating, as well as environmental elements of restaurants that encourage or discourage healthy eating.Design/methodology/approachTo develop an appropriate set of measures to assess factors influencing customers’ healthy eating behaviors at restaurants, the current study undertook the five steps of scale development suggested by Churchill (1979): specifying the domain of constructs, generating a pool of initial measurement items, assessing content adequacy, administering questionnaires (an online survey method) and purifying and finalizing the measurement (via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using 410 samples and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using 423 samples).FindingsThe results revealed ten individual factors (health, body image, weight control, feeling better, unappealing food, cost perception, lack of knowledge, state of mind (stress), lack of self-control and negative influences) and five environmental factors (healthy indications, social impact, availability of healthy menu, price policy and unhealthy indications) influencing customers’ healthy eating behaviors at restaurants.Originality/valueThis study developed an appropriate set of measures to assess individual and environmental factors influencing restaurant customers’ healthy eating behaviors, along with identifying underlying sub-constructs. The reliability and validity of the scale and the factor structure are presented and potential applications and theoretical contributions of the scale are provided as well.

Using network analytics to capture knowledge: Three cases in collaborative energy-oriented planning for oil and gas facilities

This paper is a multi-case study of three oil and gas projects in Brazil that investigates the tacit knowledge on how to best manage energy use during the construction phase. Twenty-two in-depth interviews form the primary evidence of the case studies. The methodology incorporates network analysis of concepts that influence energy use to formalize the case studies and collect additional knowledge. The framework comprises thirteen construction activities and twenty-one systems and factors related to design, resources and site characteristics, specific to the construction domain. This set of concepts can influence the energy consumption during the construction phase. Although these concepts are present in nearly every project, their dynamics and their inter-relations with project-specific systems change, depending on the context of the project. The proposed method, which employs network analysis, help identify their interrelationships and relative importance of these concepts. In addition to the opportunities and lessons learned that can guide future energy assessments and improve energy use in construction projects, the results show how promising network analytics is to obtain knowledge usually difficult to perceive in traditional knowledge processes. Besides, this work highlights the importance of supporting collaboration between project team members to study and decide on the plans to manage/reduce energy consumption during the construction phase in oil and gas facilities. While the energy savings are smaller than the upstream and operation phases, it has received much less attention. It is also a phase with much more subjective and contextualized knowledge – making the use of case-based analyses more suitable.

The Value of the Lens Model Paradigm in Neuropsychological Assessment

Abstract. A key issue of neuropsychological assessment is how to optimally associate mental function with neurobiological function. Correspondingly, clinical neuropsychology explores the relationship between mental dysfunction and neuropathology. Here, the well-known Brunswik-lens paradigm of psychological assessment is adapted to neuropsychology and a “neuro-lens model” (NLM) is suggested to better cross-link psychological and neurobiological construct domains. NLMs may contribute to optimizing coordinated measurement at different levels of aggregation and to clarifying issues of reliability and construct validation. Although the potential value of NLMs is challenged by complex implementation and analysis, Brunswik-type NLM modeling might be a promising new approach to clinical decision-making and assessment, test development, and research.

ROCP: A Rapid Ontology Construction Platform from Unstructured Data

The domain ontology, which plays a significant role in knowledge-based systems, still needs the manual work of domain experts to be constructed currently. The main motivation of this paper is to provide a semi-automatic platform which can construct fairly comprehensive domain ontology from unstructured data. Meanwhile, a brief QA System is proposed to simplify the interaction with the domain experts. A novel algorithm MPVW, which extends from the classical algorithm TF-IDF, is proposed to extract the terminologies from domain documents. MPVW balanced more parameters and factors to evaluate the feature of terminologies. The 3-layers taxonomy and terminology hyponymy height provide sufficient guide and prompt for domain experts to construct ontology from terminologies. According to our approach we have developed ROCP, a rapid ontology construction platform which has been applied in the space debris mitigation domain. The experimental data indicates that ROCP has sufficient accuracy to extract terminologies. Meanwhile, it is effective to relieve the labor of domain experts to construct domain ontology.

Identitätskonstruktion und sprachnationale Identifikation im deutschen und französischen sprachpflegerischen Diskurs

Abstract The objective of this paper is to analyze a particular part of French and German language planning discourse in a comparative perspective. In this context, the purpose of the article is to reveal the metalinguistic use and function of the common and frequently used national identity motive. Considering discourse linguistics as an appropriate applied linguistics approach, a case study rather focuses on the topical structure and on specific argument layouts as they play a vital part in language-related discourse and metalinguistic interaction as a major domain of national identity construction.

Identification of Delay Causing Actor in the Indian Real Estate Project: an AHP-Based Approach

Abstract Indian construction is a vital domain with an enormous employment potential and its contribution to the economy. Real estate is an essential domain of construction that tackles the housing demands. In the present scenario, this sector is experiencing a slowdown often failing projects. Thus, the aim is to identify the project participant and attributes that lead to delays in the schedule of real estate projects. In this process, we apply the hierarchical analytical process to identify the actor and the causes that result in an overrun. Our findings suggest that to a significant extent delays occur due to contractors under the influence of distinct factors discussed in the study.

CMfgIA: a cloud manufacturing application mode for industry alliance

Industry alliance is a cooperative mode based on some kind of contract or restraint, which is a new stage of the evolution and development of industrial cluster. In order to enhance the sharing ability of manufacturing resources, a new application mode called cloud manufacturing for industry alliance (CMfgIA) is presented in this paper. Firstly, the concept, architecture, and operation mechanism of CMfgIA is elaborated. Secondly, a domain-driven development approach for multi- granularity manufacturing services is proposed to ensure on-demand supply of manufacturing resources. In the approach, an improved feature model which contains process information of service composition is used to construct domain requirements. Based on the feature model, two-phase development process of manufacturing service is described. In the first phase, atomic manufacturing services are developed based on atomic features, and in the second phase, coarse-grained manufacturing services are modeled through automatic service composition which is realized by feature model customization. Then, a relationship management model is applied to manage the relationships between customized feature models and manufacturing services. Finally, an application example of cloud manufacturing platform for elevator industry alliance is given to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of CMfgIA.

Generative HBIM modelling to embody complexity (LOD, LOG, LOA, LOI): surveying, preservation, site intervention—the Basilica di Collemaggio (L’Aquila)

In December 2012, EniServizi (the Italian multinational energy company), after the Earthquake that occurred at L’Aquila in April 2009, decided to undertake the project “Re-start from Collemaggio”, funding around 14 million Euro to restore the Basilica di Collemaggio. EniServizi, aware of the BIM potential role in the complex building and infrastructure domain in the world, required an advanced HBIM based on laser scanner and photogrammetric surveying to address decision-making processes among the different actors involved in the preservation process. The Basilica of Collemaggio has been re-opened to the public on December 2017. This paper tries to make a synthesis of the different lessons learnt, in relation to both positive and critical aspects relating HBIM feasibility, sustainability and usefulness to the challenging restoration and preservation field. The theoretical and practical HBIM approach here tackled overcomes the current BIM logic based on the sequential process adopted by the AIA and NBS Level of Development (LOD), characterized by a simple-to-complex-detailing process, working in the new construction domain and generally following the conceptualizing phase, the preliminary design, the executive design, the construction phase till to the facility management. A complex-mixed LOD approach, able to entail the richness, unicity and multiplicity of each component and to get the maximum degree of knowledge, has been experimented in order to derive informed decisions in terms of preservation, restoration and management since the starting phases of the architectural design. To this aim, a Level of Geometry (LOG) coherent to the Level of Accuracy gained by the high-resolution surveys has been adapted to the specificity of the restoration process of a historic monument and is here proposed through different Grade of Generation (GOG) protocols developed in the object modelling to support the preliminary and definitive design proposal of the conservation plan of the Basilica. Particularly, a NURBS-based parametric generative modelling process (GOG9-10) is here proposed in order to get models “BIM abled” to describe the complex geometry and to match the related information. Specific Level of Information (LOI) has been introduced to support the preservation process, to document the as-built and the management of the building after the intervention, moving HBIM toward multi-actor domain. Given the effort required by such approach, obtaining a cost-effective HBIM modelling embodying the complexity of each damaged element as acquired by the surveys (i.e. walls, pillars, vaults, beams) represents a challenging issue. The result of the overall process aims to contribute in lowering the initial HBIM modelling costs by deploying a sustainable complexity delivering protocols and specification and by boosting at the same time an interoperable cooperative HBIM habit among multi-actors across all the phases, spreading its usability after the restoration process. On the lesson learnt, the process of updating the current Codification criteria (UNI11337-2009) has been started with a draft proposal stimulating the debate for the future of HBIM adoption in the case of restoration, preservation and maintenance (UNI11337-2017): in the conviction that transferring the HBIM richness into the Life Cycle Management process will allow multi-actors to take in account the knowledge and information gained during the restoration, integrating the as-built updating and keeping updated the monument monitoring during the time being.

Ghrelin Through GHSR1a and OX1R Heterodimers Reveals a Gαs-cAMP-cAMP Response Element Binding Protein Signaling Pathway in Vitro.

Growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1α (GHSR1a) and Orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) are involved in various important physiological processes, and have many similar characteristics in function and distribution in peripheral tissues and the central nervous system. We explored the possibility of heterodimerization between GHSR1a and OX1R and revealed a signal transduction pathway mechanism. In this study, bioluminescence and fluorescence resonance energy transfer and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) analyses were performed to demonstrate the formation of functional GHSR1a/OX1R heterodimers. This showed that a peptide corresponding to the 5-transmembrane domain of OX1R impaired heterodimer construction. We found that ghrelin stimulated GHSR1a/OX1R heterodimer cells to increase the activation of Gαs protein, compared to the cells that express GHSR1a. Stimulation of GHSR1a/OX1R heterodimers with orexin-A did not alter GPCR interactions with Gα protein subunits. GHSR1a/OX1R heterodimers induced Gαs and downstream signaling pathway activity, including increase of cAMP-response element luciferase reporter activity and cAMP levels. In addition, ghrelin induced a higher proliferation rate in SH-SY5Y cells than in controls. This suggests that ghrelin GHSR1a/OX1R heterodimers promotes an upregulation of a Gαs-cAMP-cAMP-responsive element signaling pathway in vitro and an increase in neuroblastoma cell proliferation.

Corrosion behavior of concrete mixes with masonry chips as coarse aggregate

This study is primarily centered towards a quantitative evaluation of the corrosion behavior of commonly used masonry chip concrete mixes as an assessor of durability performance of infrastructures. In South Asian regions like Bangladesh, the construction domain is inclined towards using masonry chips as coarse aggregate owing to its low cost and profound availability. However, reinforced concrete structures with brick aggregate impart high susceptibility towards corrosion while putting long-term sustainability at stake. This phenomenon is further prominent in the coastal areas where high saline conditions are prevalent. Meanwhile, there is no significant study available to assess the corrosion behavior of commonly used masonry chips which is relatable to the degree of durability degradation. Hence, a comprehensive study has been designed to infer the corrosion characteristics of concrete mixes made with brick aggregate in saline environment by using an accelerated corrosion technique. Corrosion proneness of different concrete mixes with a variation in water-cement ratio and mix proportion was analyzed within the scope of this study. An overall comparison of the corrosion performance of brick aggregate was also made to the similar behavior of stone aggregate to have a comparative overview of the durability performance of the commonly used aggregates in concrete mixes. Furthermore, an insightful correlation has been obtained between the corrosion potential readings and weight loss of the embedded rebar which can be used as a quantitative basis to deduce the durability of a structure. Thereby, this project suffice as an initial study to provide a clear understanding on the corrosion performance of commonly used concrete mixes and as an aid for an early in-situ evaluation of the health of infrastructures.

Dynamic Modeling of Multifactor Construction Productivity for Equipment-Intensive Activities

AbstractConstruction productivity is a major research interest within the construction domain. Because construction is a labor-intensive industry, previous research has often focused on constructio...

Surgeon leadership style and risk-adjusted patient outcomes.

There are many reasons to believe that surgeon personality traits and related leadership behaviors influence patient outcomes. For example, participation in continuing education, effective self-reflection, and openness to feedback are associated with certain personalities and may also lead to improvement in outcomes. In this context, we sought to determine if an individual surgeon's thinking and behavior traits correlate with patient level outcomes after bariatric surgery. Practicing surgeons from the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative (MBSC) were administered the Life Styles Inventory (LSI) assessment. The results of this assessment were then collapsed into three major styles that corresponded with particular patterns of an individual's thinking and behavior: constructive (achievement, self-actualizing, humanistic-encouraging, affiliative), passive/defensive (approval, conventional, dependent, avoidance), and aggressive/defensive (perfectionistic, competitive, power, oppositional). We compared patients level outcomes for surgeons in the lowest, middle, and highest quintiles for each style. We then used patient level risk-adjusted rates of complications after bariatric surgery to quantify the impact surgeon style on post-operative outcomes. We found that patients undergoing bariatric surgery performed by surgeons with high levels of constructive (achievement, self-actualizing, humanistic-encouraging, affiliative) and passive/defensive (approval, conventional, dependent, avoidance) styles had lower rates of adverse events compared with surgeons with low levels of the respective styles [High constructive: 14.7% (13.8-15.6%), low constructive: 17.7% (16.8-18.6%); high passive: 14.8% (13.4-16.1%), low passive: 18.7% (17.3-19.9%)]. Conversely, surgeons identified with high aggressive styles (perfectionistic, competitive, power, oppositional) had similar rates of post-operative adverse events compared with surgeons with low levels [high aggressive: 15.2% (14.3-16.1%), low aggressive: 14.9% (14.2-15.6%)]. Our analysis demonstrates that surgeons' leadership styles are correlated with surgical outcomes for individual patients. This finding underscores the need for professional development for surgeons to cultivate strengths in the constructive domains including intentional self-improvement, development of interpersonal skills, and the receptiveness to feedback.

Effects of Organic Matter on Physical Properties of Dredged Marine Sediments

Dredged sediment, listed as waste according to European classification, is available in significant quantities. With the announced shortage of standard materials to supply civil engineering sector (specifically road construction domain), the beneficial use of these wastes could lead to better management of waste and optimize the use of standard materials. Dredged sediments consist of a mineral phase, an organic phase (in various forms) and a liquid phase (generally water). However, the presence of organic matter (OM) in sediment, even in small amounts, can affect its physical properties. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of the OM content on physical properties of dredged sediments. The physical parameters studied are considered as a key parameter in the field of road construction. To undertake this study, a specific procedure for samples preparation was developed. This procedure allows undertaking tests on samples ranging from 2.5 to 15% in terms of organic matter content. The results on the prospected properties show that the material classification in the field of road construction is almost unaffected.

A theoretical framework to improve the quality of manually acquired data

We present a framework for organisations to prevent errors in data entry. It states that data entry errors can be prevented by a strong intention of data producers to enter data correctly and by a high task-technology fit. Two empirical studies support the framework and demonstrate that a high task-technology fit is relatively more important than the data producers’ intention. The framework refines the theory of planned behaviour, and extends the explanatory domain of the task-technology fit construct. The empirical evidence underlines the importance of the task-technology fit construct, an often-neglected construct in information systems research.

Investigating the effects of reduced technological constraints on cycle time through simulation modelling for automated steel wall framing

Off-site construction constitutes a paradigm shift in construction promoting improved sustainability. At present, North Americaäó»s building construction sector is still dominated by conventional stick-built construction, which is prone to excessive material waste, longer cycle times, high labour costs, and lower quality. In contrast, inspired by the manufacturing industry, off-site construction is an approach in which building components are prefabricated in factories and transported to the construction site for on-site assembly. As the concept of off-site prefabrication gains momentum within the domain of construction, some home builders are bringing the traditional industry practice into a factory setting, thus resulting in stick-building- under-a-roof. This paper describes the development of simulation models for the automated light gauge steel framing process using discrete-event simulation mimicking real-time machine production capacity and cycle time. At present, the literature on the development of such models for automated construction machinery is lacking; in this context, this paper aims to showcase the advantages of simulation as a decision-making support tool. Construction of such models provides a useful tool for understanding bottlenecks in machine operations that can be addressed to meet local demands. Since the steel framing process primarily consists of manual assembly and fastening of cold-formed steel (CFS) frames, these models showcase the potential to increase the level of automation through the addition of various mechanical and control modifications to an existing prototype steel framing machine. The results show that cycle time reductions of 13 percent or greater are possible by applying the proposed modifications.

Constructive Preference Elicitation Over Hybrid Combinatorial Spaces

Peference elicitation is the task of suggesting a highly preferred configuration to a decision maker. The preferences are typically learned by querying the user for choice feedback over pairs or sets of objects. In its constructive variant, new objects are synthesized "from scratch" by maximizing an estimate of the user utility over a combinatorial (possibly infinite) space of candidates. In the constructive setting, most existing elicitation techniques fail because they rely on exhaustive enumeration of the candidates. A previous solution explicitly designed for constructive tasks comes with no formal performance guarantees, and can be very expensive in (or unapplicable to) problems with non-Boolean attributes. We propose the Choice Perceptron, a Perceptron-like algorithm for learning user preferences from set-wise choice feedback over constructive domains and hybrid Boolean-numeric feature spaces. We provide a theoretical analysis on the attained regret that holds for a large class of query selection strategies, and devise a heuristic strategy that aims at optimizing the regret in practice. Finally, we demonstrate its effectiveness by empirical evaluation against existing competitors on constructive scenarios of increasing complexity.

Developing generic competencies for infrastructure managers in India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a model for generic competencies based on lifecycle orientation of projects to support infrastructure managers (IMs) in India.Design/methodology/approachThis study has reviewed literature on competency theories and their advancement of knowledge in management, construction and engineering projects. This study has applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to structure generic competencies founded on infrastructure practices in India. Further this study has applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test for confirmation on emerged dimensionality of the competence construct for IMs in India.FindingsUsing data collected from 175 usable questionnaires of managers serving in infrastructure firms in India for EFA followed by CFA, six generic competencies have been established in the domains of strategic, analytical, personal, managerial, professional and leadership dimensions significantly impacting competent performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has applied plausibility sampling and it presents only generic competencies for executives working in the infrastructure sector alone.Practical implicationsDue to the growth in number of executives to be employed in infrastructure firms in India, academic institutions in this subcontinent have gained momentum in offering programmes covering the field of infrastructure management. These institutions are believed to be covering domains of strategic, analytical, personal, managerial, professional and leadership dimensions for assuring competent performance of IMs in India.Social implicationsAttention to these generic competencies can help IMs to contribute towards better performance, academic institutions to design curriculum, recruiters to acquire talent and executives to advance professionally.Originality/valueExtant academic studies relating to generic competencies are available mostly in project and construction domains. There is a paucity of such academic studies in the domain of infrastructure.