Maintenance Projects Research Articles

Improvement of Turnaround Maintenance Project Execution Through Long-Term Specific Contracting Strategy (A Case Study: Gas Processing Plant in Indonesia)

Turnaround is crucial in maintaining reliability and ensuring the safety of the production operation facility in Central Processing Plant "CPP Senoro of JOB Tomori, as well as in minimizing downtime and Loss of Production Opportunity (LPO), which impact the performance and commitment of the Company to all stakeholders. For this reason, an improvement in total time utilization in the third Turnaround in 2024 is a significant concern. The researchers conducted qualitative research through interviews with several key personnel in the organization as respondents to comprehend the overall complexities of the TAR Project, which often occurred while carrying out the execution, because they might lead to failure to optimize the utilization of the total time (shutdown). Researchers also evaluate how the preferred contract strategy can be an alternative solution to minimize those constraints. This research aims to provide alternative solutions and recommendations to Company to optimize the total time (shutdown) utilization through a specific long-term contract strategy. The research considers specific long-term "incumbent" contracts as an alternative solution and the most suitable contract strategy to execute the third turnaround project in 2024.

Enhancing DSS Exploitation Based on VGI Quality Assessment: Conceptual Framework and Experimental Evaluation

The latest advances in spatial information technology have led to the emergence of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) as enrichment to existing spatial data sources. Additionally, Decision Support Systems (DSS) are among the fields that have seen major advances. Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has great potential as a valuable data source to decision support systems. Several studies have been proposed to integrate VGI data into DSS. However, as VGI data may have different levels of quality, integrating VGI data with poor quality may affect the decision-making process. In fact, VGI data with poor quality. that are obsolete or incomplete, could, if integrated into a spatial DSS, lead to inappropriate analysis results. This paper presents an approach that aims to enhance spatial DSS analysis and exploitation by integrating high quality VGI data that are appropriate to the user requirements, and that have a good indicator completeness and time relevance. The approach introduces a conceptual framework that evaluates VGI data quality and integrates only high quality VGI data into spatial DSS. The proposed approach is experimented on a road maintenance project in Grand-Tunis. We develop the Map-Report prototype, and we evaluate the efficiency of our approach in enhancing data analysis and exploitation in spatial DSS by reducing the error rate and providing accurate and precise analysis results.

Optimization for Asphalt Pavement Maintenance Plans at Network Level: Integrating Maintenance Funds, Pavement Performance, Road Users, and Environment

As an infrastructure project, the cost and benefits of road maintenance should be measured through social costs. In order to fully consider user interests and make road maintenance decisions more reasonable, two types of user costs that may affect road maintenance benefits have been quantified through analysis of existing literature. At the same time, environmental issues have gradually become the focus of various industries, and in optimizing road maintenance decisions, the impact of environmental issues on decision making should also be considered. This article first analyzes and quantifies the user costs that affect the effectiveness of road maintenance. Secondly, based on the concept of sustainable development of roads, the optimization of road maintenance decisions is divided into two steps: the first step is to determine the minimum maintenance budget funds, and the second step is to determine the optimal plan. The specific optimization method is to use the 0-1 mathematical programming method to establish a network-level pavement maintenance decision optimization model based on a quantitative model. The most reasonable maintenance optimization plan is determined from four aspects: maintenance funds, maintenance performance improvement value, user benefit improvement, and reducing environmental impact. Finally, a provincial road network for a case study is selected. The applicability of the new model is verified through a case study. This study can help decision makers deal with asphalt pavement maintenance arrangements at the network level with four decision objectives: maintenance funds, pavement performance, road users, and environmental impacts.

Research on Object Control and Application of University Maintenance Project Management

In this paper, the object control theory is applied to the design of the management scheme of the university maintenance project. The design content is covered the project object control, The overall trade-off of the three goals, the management performance appraisal and the safeguard measure. At the same time, scientific theory and method are used to guide the design process, and then achieve the design goal. The ultimate goal of the research is effectively improving the effectiveness of the comprehensive management of the maintenance project, thereby promoting the optimal allocation of the renovation funds and other educational resources.

Sediment Transport of Coastal Region Using Time-Series Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Spatial Data

Continuous monitoring of the varying topographical characteristics of shorelines is important for effective coastal management. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are installed to accumulate photographic data on coastal topographical changes. The overall change in the coastal waters can be intuitively understood from the images. However, the amount of three-dimensional (3D) changes that can be grasped is limited. To address this, studies have employed aerial photogrammetry, which is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to capture aerial pictures, construct 3D models of target areas, and perform analysis through scale-invariant feature transform and structure from motion technologies. Although highly efficient, this technique requires several ground-control points (GCPs), which could corrupt the overall imagery. This study designs real-time kinematics—global navigation satellite system (RTK–GNSS) UAV, which requires few GCPs. To evaluate the positional accuracy of the captured UAV orthographic images and digital surface models (DSMs) used for precise coastal terrain measurements, a virtual reference service survey was performed to determine the vertical errors. The R-squared was 0.985, which is close to 1.0. Short-term and one-year topographic changes before and after a storm were investigated using time-series UAV image data after a coastal maintenance project. Analysis of the coefficient of variation in the beach volume for one year revealed that submerged breakwater reduced erosion during high wave resistance. The submerged breakwater located in the center exhibited variability similar to the opening. Hence, this method is more suitable for periodically monitoring coastal areas.

Impact of anthropogenic disturbance on nesting Chimney Swift (<i>Chaetura pelagica</i>) including best practices for conservation

The effect of anthropogenic disturbance on nesting Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) is poorly described. We review five case studies of anthropogenic disturbance around Chimney Swift nest sites caused by building construction, demolition, and maintenance activities in St. Adolphe, Manitoba. Chimney Swift behaviour and nest site activity did not appear to be overtly influenced by building demolition and construction conducted on adjacent buildings or lots within 13–30 m of nest chimneys. In contrast, Chimney Swift behaviour and breeding success appeared to be negatively affected by loud interior renovations and rooftop work conducted in or on the same building as the nest chimneys. The presence of humans on the roof of the nest building prevented Chimney Swifts from entering the nest site and reduced the overall rate of feeding young. Based on these observations, we provide conservation best practices for building construction and maintenance projects conducted within or on the same building as nest chimneys to help ensure protection of Chimney Swifts and their nesting habitat during the breeding season.

Students’ project for instrumentation and automation of a manually operated torsion testing machine with educational purposes

From the pedagogical point of view, a very interesting initiative for engineering schools is to engage their students in design, renovation, or maintenance projects of laboratory equipment. It allows engineering students to work on real projects, with all the difficulties that arise in field testing, and to gain hands-on experience from the confrontation of practical situations and challenges, which presents positive outcomes regarding learning objectives and program appreciation. This article presents an engineering project developed by students for instrumentation and automation of an old manually operated torsion testing machine, for execution of accurate mechanical tests and reliable physical replications of real-world industrial processes on laboratory scale. An electrical resistive furnace is incorporated into the torsion testing machine to also allow hot torsion tests with controlled temperature. In addition to students’ skills development, this project yields a completely functional instrumented and automated torsion testing machine, with a controlled temperature electrical furnace and other features that have been used in Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral projects, laboratory classes, and new research.

Study of the Properties of Waterborne Epoxy Resin Emulsified Asphalt and Its Modification Mechanism

Waterborne epoxy resin (WER) emulsified asphalt (WEREA) has the advantages of high viscosity and strength of epoxy asphalt, as well as a simple construction process, so it is used widely in asphalt pavement maintenance and repair projects. This paper investigated the comprehensive properties, the microstructure, the modification mechanism, and the strength formation mechanism of WEREA. The results of bond strength tests, adhesion tests between emulsified asphalt and coarse aggregate, conventional performance tests, and multistress creep recovery (MSCR) tests showed that with the increase of WER content, the adhesive properties and creep recovery properties at high temperature of the WEREA gradually improved, and gradually became the properties of brittle materials. When the WER content was 15%, the irrecoverable creep compliance of the WEREA stabilized and it met heavy traffic demand. In addition, fluorescence microscopy (FM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that WER changed from having an island structure to having an epoxy skeleton structure in the WEREA. The results of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) testing showed that during the modification of the emulsified asphalt by the WER, no new substances were generated, which indicated that the sample possessed the mechanism of intermolecular physical blending. The test results were used to analyze the strength formation process of WEREA, which provides theoretical guidance for other researchers to study WEREA.

Analysis of Important Methods for Bridge Inspection and Maintenance

Bridges are considered an essential part of modern transportation systems and play a vital role in the economic growth and cultural exchange of the two regions they connect. However, loads from typhoons, overexposure to rain, sun or seawater, increased transportation loads, and even periodic deterioration of steel reinforcement can have serious negative effects on bridges. Inadequate preventive measures may lead to structural failure, which can result in injury, death and property damage. The awareness of the importance of bridge maintenance and preventive measures has now slightly increased, while many unhelpful, less than scientific and accurate questions have been raised. Therefore, this article concludes the factors that may lead to bridge damage, the significance of bridge maintenance, and five promising maintenance or construction approaches. The goal of better, safer, and more efficient design by engineers or workers through the above techniques and methods will hopefully be achieved. From the first two studies, it can be seen that if the newly introduced methods are scientifically proven, they may be more suitable to be adopted. This paper also analyzes and discusses three concepts that are extremely important for a probability estimation or a maintenance project construction.

Perawatan Pompa Air untuk Sarana Air Bersih Mushalla Al-Muhajirin Desa Blang Krueng Kabupaten Aceh Besar

Community service activities are carried out to maintain water pumps in the Al Muhajirin Mushalla clean water facility in Blang Krueng Village, Aceh Besar District, to address the problem of the availability of clean water in the area. The project team carried out several stages during the week, including observation, problem identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Observations were made at clean water facilities to identify existing problems. The results showed that the water pump used in the clean water facility was damaged and not functioning properly. Therefore maintenance is needed to repair the water pump so that clean water facilities can function properly. After identifying the problem, the team plans to maintain the water pump by replacing damaged components and cleaning the contaminated parts. Clean water facilities in Mushalla Al Muhajirin can function properly after maintenance, and the availability of clean water in the area increases. Evaluation is carried out to determine the success of maintenance. The evaluation showed that the maintenance was successful in increasing the availability of clean water, and the local community felt that this improvement helped. In conclusion, the water pump maintenance project at Mushalla Al Muhajirin succeeded in increasing the availability of clean water. This community service project is expected to inspire and guide other communities in improving their clean water facilities.

Analysis of Constraint Factors for Bridge Maintenance in Poso District

Bridge maintenance is a routine activity that must be carried out by the manager but the implementation of bridge maintenance in the Poso Regency has various obstacles. So the research will be carried out to know the constraint factors in the implementation of bridge maintenance. This type of research is descriptive, population of PUPR employees in the field of maintenance and contractors who have handled bridge maintenance projects, totalling 40 respondents. Calculation of data analysis using factor analysis. The results showed that there were six factors that hindered the implementation of bridge maintenance, namely: (1) Implementation of Construction Management during procurement & execution of work, (2) Project Resource Planning & Weather, (3) Implementation of project resources and communications, (4) Monitoring of project resources and resource conditions, (5) Commitment and material availability, (6) The quality of equipment in the field. The six factors influence 80,462%, and the remaining 19,538 % are influenced by other factors. It is suggested that the management needs to make these six inhibiting factors as a reference in determining the strategy or planning for the implementation of routine maintenance projects.

Assessing Technology Implementation Success for Highway Construction and Asset Management

The increasing demand for safe, reliable, and higher-quality infrastructure systems has led to more complex transportation construction and maintenance projects. This, coupled with the declining staff levels at many transportation agencies, requires a more comprehensive evaluation of technology implementation to compensate for these challenges. With a focus on effective technology implementation, this research goes beyond simply evaluating technologies to investigate technology implementation with personnel and policies at departments of transportation (DOTs). The study methodology involved a comprehensive literature review, a survey of all 50 state DOTs, and an in-person workshop of 18 DOT experts to validate the survey results and preliminary research findings. The findings support the need for those implementing technologies to understand people, processes, and technology maturity for their improved chances of implementation success. Using the approach presented, the DOTs can assess themselves and identify pathways to higher maturity levels in the areas of their people, processes, and technologies. This study also highlighted six factors that are important considerations for technology implementation and thus determined the relative importance of people, processes, and technology for these factors. The objective of this study was to assess the importance of people, processes, and technology that DOTs should prioritize to enhance the likelihood of successfully implementing technologies. The framework presented herein can be extended to any new or existing technology implementation initiatives at a DOT, including automatic identification and data capture (AIDC), emerging sensing and wireless technologies, safety technologies, and others.

Feasibility Analysis of Lake Toba Coastal Roads in Simalungun Regency

The success of development is inseparable from the active participation of the transportation sector. Where the transportation sector is the lifeblood of economic, social, cultural, political and defense-security. The development of the transportation sector is directed at realizing a transportation system that is reliable, highly capable and organized in an integrated, orderly, smooth and comfortable manner; can drive the dynamics of development, the mobility of goods, people and services all at once. Land transportation, one of which is the Road, is a connecting infrastructure by land that is used for human and goods traffic from one place to another. In addition to the aspect of spatial planning activities, the road network has the benefit of directing the growth of an area it traverses, as stated in Regional Regulation no. 10 of 2012 concerning Spatial Planning for the Simalungun Regency, stipulates a transportation network structure plan that is intended to direct the distribution of transportation services and the development of the Simalungun Regency area. At present it is felt that the road on the coast of Lake Toba, Simalungun Regency, is still unable to serve traffic smoothly and safely. There are still locations for these passages that are felt to still need to be addressed to obtain adequate technical feasibility standards, there are still areas that cannot be accessed and have adequate transportation facilities. Determining the economic feasibility of a road maintenance program, it is necessary to analyze the feasibility features economy. In this study, what will be discussed is the feasibility of a road maintenance project with the help of the HDM – III program, then analyzing the output of the program in the form of an analysis of Benefit Cost Ratio, Net Present Value, and Internal Rate of Return. The results of using the HDM-III model show that based on the analysis of road damage, handling with scenario 3 produces better functional road conditions compared to other scenarios. The economic analysis also shows that scenario 3 is more economically feasible than the other scenarios, with minimum maintenance costs and maximum benefits in the form of vehicle operating costs, this is indicated by the NPV, BCR, and IRR values. Keywords: Feasibility Study, HDM – III, Vehicle Operating Costs, Time Value, NPV, BCR, IRR, Missing Link Planning.

Effects of curing temperature on mechanical properties and pore size distribution of cement clay modified by metakaolin and basalt fiber

Owing to the increase in human activities, a large number of construction and maintenance projects in cold regions are facing problems associated with cement soil materials. Undoubtedly, the cement soil structures are inevitably cured at negative temperature conditions. In the present study, the effects of curing temperature and curing age on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS), splitting tensile strength, E50, and failure mode of cement clay modified by metakaolin (CCM) and cement clay modified by metakaolin and basalt fiber (CCMB) were systematically studied. Moreover, the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were performed to investigate the characteristics of pore size distribution and microstructure of CCM and CCMB specimens at different curing temperatures. Test results indicate that negative curing temperature leads to the increase of peak strain, as well as the decrease in the decline rate of the post-peak stage of stress-strain curves. In addition, the curing age and positive curing temperature contribute to the increase of cement clay strengths, while the incorporation of basalt fiber shows opposite effects on the UCS and splitting tensile strength of CCMB specimens at two curing temperatures. The meso-pores and large-pores will transform into small-pores and micro-pores with the increase of curing age, and the values of total porosity and the proportion of meso-pores and large-pores of specimens at −10 °C curing temperature are higher compared with that at positive curing environment. Furthermore, negative curing temperature inhibits the cement hydration and destroys the bonding effect between basalt fiber and matrix.

Performance Evaluation of Green Pavement Markings for Bicycle Infrastructure

Bicyclists depend on the visibility of the surrounding environment to maintain a safe travel path. Throughout the country, new types of bicycle infrastructure and pavement markings are being installed. This study used a new procedure to evaluate different pavement markings used in bike lanes. Three different paints were evaluated including green waterborne, green methyl methacrylate (MMA), and thermoplastic paint. The deterioration of these materials was tested under different conditions that simulated wear from motorized vehicles and street equipment. Surface polishing (i.e., repeated passing over the material) was examined under pneumatic tires, steel wheels, and steel scraper blades. Different characteristics were measured including durability, retroreflectivity, color changes, and surface friction of the test materials. The results demonstrated that the procedure used in this study was able to evaluate different materials in a short time compared to field evaluation which often can take years to complete. As expected, the retroreflectivity decreased with the number of polishing cycles. Overall, there was a significant decrease in percent retroreflectivity after 1,000 polishing cycles for all testing conditions before retroreflectivity eventually reached a terminal value. Based on the R2-values, a logarithmic model was suited to best describe the change in the retroreflectivity of markings with respect to loading cycles. The MMA paint experienced the lowest color loss even after 100,000 polishing cycles irrespective of the exposure and the testing conditions. It is believed that the small reduction in color is due to the presence of chemicals coupled with thicker paint of the MMA materials compared to waterborne materials. The durability results demonstrate that the waterborne markings peeled off the surface with increased polishing cycles. These findings will benefit transportation agencies, to predict the performance deterioration of various pavement markings for the bike lanes, and the proposal of new pavement making, while assisting in the schedule for marking maintenance projects.

지역주택조합 설립단계상의 실효적 개선방안에 관한 연구

As the Seoul's housing policy changed from a full-scale demolition method to a conservation, management, and regeneration method, the survey began as a new town and redevelopment exit strategy, and 391 maintenance(schedule) areas and maintenance areas were lifted in Seoul alone from 2011 to 2020. The (single) housing reconstruction project was abolished as of August 3, 2014, and the local housing association project began to be activated as an alternative project. Based on the period from 2000 to September 2022, There are in progress the local housing associations project 603 places nationwide, 114 places in Seoul. and There are the number of planned households 356,624 households nationwide, 61,489 households in Seoul. Based on the period from 2000 to September 2022, looking at the progress of the local housing association project in Seoul, the approval for the establishment of a association (19 places) was shown to be lower than the report for the recruitment of association members (82 places). This is that the local housing association project under the 「Housing Act」 was carried out by some local residents and business agencies without public support, unlike the maintenance project that falls under the「Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act」, so because there are problems in the establishment stage before approval for the establishment of the association. (First, the issue of regional analysis and regional selection. Second, the issue of local housing association business planning. Third, the issue of the composition and operation of the promotion committee. Fourth, the issue of the promotion committee's selection of service providers. Fifth, the issue of securing land use rights. Sixth, the issue of the timing of the recruitment of association members.) The maintenance projects under the「Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act」 have been promoted under the management and supervision of the government and the Seoul as the 「Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act」 has been newly established and revised several times and related systems have been improved. On the other hand, the local housing association project under the 「Housing Act」 has been promoted in the indifference of the government and the Seoul to the extent that a related department was recently created in the Seoul. In the case of maintenance projects under the 「Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act」support by the public in accordance with the 「Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act」, the 「Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Urban and Residential Environment Improvement」, and the Public Support Plan (Quick Integration Plan). Therefore, in this study, prior to the revision and establishment of the 「Housing Act」, in the case of the Seoul, the autonomous districts that have the right to establish an association of local housing association projects are interested in local housing association projects, communicate with local residents, and so that we can improve problems together. By presenting ‘the autonomous district ordinance enactment’ as an improvement plan, the local housing association project is intended to establish itself as a ‘housing policy for the common people to prepare their own homes’, which is the fundamental purpose of the local housing association project.

Benefits of Beach Erosion Control on the East Coast of Korea

Lee, J.S. and Chang, J.-I., 2023. Benefits of beach erosion control on the east coast of Korea. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(2), 347–353. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Coastal erosion control projects bring various benefits to people, such as reducing damage from coastal disasters, reducing erosion and flooding damage, and providing water-friendly spaces. Nevertheless, it is difficult to evaluate a project because there are few analyses of the economic impact of the project. Thus, this study aims to estimate the benefits of coastal erosion control and maintenance projects using people's willingness to pay (WTP). In particular, information on the effectiveness of a project for relatively unknown coastal regions is lacking. Therefore, this study targeted the Yeongrang coast in Gangwon-do, located on the east coast of Korea. The annual WTP per household was estimated to be approximately KRW 1999 (USD 1.81). The benefit–cost ratio based on this was estimated to be approximately 2.98, which is considered to be a sufficiently large benefit compared with the cost of the project. The findings of this study can be used as the basis for decision making regarding coastal erosion control policies for similar case areas.

Evaluation of Carbon Emissions According to the Steep Slope Maintenance Project

Reducing carbon emissions due to climate change has emerged as a national objective. To achieve carbon-free emissions nationally by 2050, evaluating and reducing carbon emissions is essential for efficient disaster management. In this study, a method for quantitatively evaluating carbon emissions in disaster management projects was proposed. Disaster management projects were divided into detailed processes, and in each process, the extent of equipment operation and amount of raw material used for unit construction work were presented using standard production of construction work. The carbon emissions resulting from equipment operation and material usage were based on the standards given by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. Finnally, amount of carbon emissions for unit construction volume during each detailed process were estimated. Using developed methods, carbon emissions were calculated at the steep slope maintenance project. The results indicated that 89.4% of the total carbon emissions were generated from pouring concrete, such as cement and ready-mixed concrete. Thus, reduction of cement and concrete usage is essential for reducing carbon emissions in disaster management projects.

Bi-objective pavement maintenance and rehabilitation optimization decision-making model incorporating the construction length of preventive maintenance projects

Existing optimization decision-making approaches for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) ignore the construction length of preventive maintenance (PM) projects, and its negative effects are difficult to be transformed into cost. To address this issue, this study proposes a bi-objective decision-making model that incorporates the problem as the second objective into the two-stage bottom-up approach. The proposed model contains selection of performance indicators, Bayesian neural network-based probabilistic deterioration model, evaluation of initial M&R actions on a segment level, and bi-objective decision-making. It is solved by the enumeration method and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. Finally, the Pareto solutions are obtained. A solution is an M&R plan, where an initial action (treatment type) is selected for a pavement segment. Among the Pareto solutions, the one with the second objective greater than or equal to and closest to the shortest construction length, is the optimal M&R plan. In addition, compared with the model that converts the problem into a constraint, the proposed model recommends a better plan that can achieve higher performance at lower cost, which validates the strength of the proposed model. Decision-makers can adopt the proposed model to optimize pavement M&R plans that consider the construction length of PM projects.

Cost overruns of Belgian transport infrastructure projects: Analyzing variations over three land transport modes and two project phases

Transport infrastructure agencies are increasingly coping with strong budget constraints, while being highly under pressure to manage and upgrade an infrastructure network that meets the increasing service level expectations of all its stakeholders. Sound infrastructure management therefore includes tight cost control, a long-term vision and budget planning. Belgium has long been structurally underinvesting in infrastructure, but is in recent years trying to clear the backlog. However, it seems that cost overruns for transport investment projects – paid by the same budget as structural maintenance projects – may seriously reduce the number of critical projects to be carried out in the next years, delaying the necessary catching up process as compared to neighboring countries’ state of infrastructure (in the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany). This study analyzes quantitatively the cost developments, from the first publicly released estimates to the final execution costs, of 36 Belgian railway, road and inland waterway projects, representing a total final value of € 1,059,754,416.37 in 2020 prices, or approximately almost 10% of all transport infrastructure investments (in % of CAPEX) in Belgium during the last two decades is captured in our sample. We obtain results on the cost variation itself, and on the phase of the project in which the deviation is higher. We also investigate the transport mode as the independent variable. We find that overruns are higher in the project stage before contract awarding, and that cost overruns for road projects exceed those of rail or inland navigation projects. This case-based quantitative analysis, together with the variables researched in the case analysis, will enable Belgian governing bodies and transport agencies, separately responsible for one mode per region, to learn from these deviations, and to prioritize the need to further explore causes and develop solutions.