Major Construction Projects Research Articles

User Involvement, Procurement Practices and Implementation of Building Construction Projects in the Kenyan Judiciary

Kenyan population increased from 20 million in 1985 to approximately 47.6 million in 2019 and with it, demand for justice also increased yet the growth did not come with improved Judiciary infrastructure. This attracted the World Bank through the Judicial Performance Improvement Project (JPIP) to fund 30 major court construction projects while the Kenyan Government also funded another 33 such projects from 2013. However, by January, 2020,only 10 projects had been completed and successfully handed over with all the 63 projects being out of the planned time and with variation on the original scope of works.This gave rise to this study that aimed to evaluate the influence of user involvement on implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan judiciary as moderated with the procurement practices. The study was based on general systems theory. Pragmatism paradigm and convergent parallel mixed research design was adopted and proportionate stratified sampling was used to select a population of 234 consisting of judiciary staff, construction staff and consultants .Primary data was collected through use of questionnaires, interviews and document content analysis. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha while data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which included measures of central tendency. Qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis to triangulate results derived from quantitative data. Inferential statistics was analyzed by correlation, simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis. Two hypotheses were tested to establish whether there were significant relationships between project delivery attributes and implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary, namely 1.H 0 : User Involvement has no significant relationship with implementation of construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary and 2.H 0 : There is a significant moderating influence of procurement practices on the relationship between user involvement and implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary. The findings were that there was a significant influence of user involvement on the implementation of construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary and that procurement practices significantly moderated the relationship between user involvement and implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary. The slope coefficient was significant when p ≤0.05. The findings of the study will be beneficial to policy makers, project managers in public and private sectors and scholars regarding project delivery attributes on implementation of building construction projects. Keywords: User involvement, Procurement Practices and Implementation of Building Construction Projects. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-18-12 Publication date: September 30 th 2021

The Impact of Inflation on Bank Financial Performance: Case of Tunisia

Kenyan population increased from 20 million in 1985 to approximately 47.6 million in 2019 and with it, demand for justice also increased yet the growth did not come with improved Judiciary infrastructure. This attracted the World Bank through the Judicial Performance Improvement Project (JPIP) to fund 30 major court construction projects while the Kenyan Government also funded another 33 such projects from 2013. However, by January, 2020,only 10 projects had been completed and successfully handed over with all the 63 projects being out of the planned time and with variation on the original scope of works.This gave rise to this study that aimed to evaluate the influence of user involvement on implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan judiciary as moderated with the procurement practices. The study was based on general systems theory. Pragmatism paradigm and convergent parallel mixed research design was adopted and proportionate stratified sampling was used to select a population of 234 consisting of judiciary staff, construction staff and consultants .Primary data was collected through use of questionnaires, interviews and document content analysis. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha while data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which included measures of central tendency. Qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis to triangulate results derived from quantitative data. Inferential statistics was analyzed by correlation, simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis. Two hypotheses were tested to establish whether there were significant relationships between project delivery attributes and implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary, namely 1.H 0 : User Involvement has no significant relationship with implementation of construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary and 2.H 0 : There is a significant moderating influence of procurement practices on the relationship between user involvement and implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary. The findings were that there was a significant influence of user involvement on the implementation of construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary and that procurement practices significantly moderated the relationship between user involvement and implementation of building construction projects in the Kenyan Judiciary. The slope coefficient was significant when p ≤0.05. The findings of the study will be beneficial to policy makers, project managers in public and private sectors and scholars regarding project delivery attributes on implementation of building construction projects. Keywords: User involvement, Procurement Practices and Implementation of Building Construction Projects. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-18-12 Publication date: September 30 th 2021

An investigation of safety climate in Chinese major construction projects

Safety performance in the Chinese construction projects remains poor in comparison to other developed countries. While a considerable body of research has accumulated to explain why accident and incident rates remain high in China, research into safety climate in Chinese major construction projects remains scant. To address this gap in knowledge, a survey of 189 construction professionals across five major construction projects in China was undertaken using a validated safety climate framework. Follow-up interviews were also conducted with nine senior construction safety professionals to verify the survey analysis results. The findings indicate that safety climate in major construction projects in China is perceived to be strong, and management commitment appears to be the underlying factor to promote this positive result. Safety rules and procedures is a dimension that requires attention because of their complexity and competing interests during their implementation. All the dimensions of the safety climate are strongly interrelated, indicating that multidimensional and holistic strategies should be employed to improve safety climate in major construction projects. This research enriches the understanding about the characteristics of safety climate in Chinese major construction projects and the effective measures which can be taken to further enhance the safety performance on these projects.

Are green wall technologies suitable for major transport infrastructure construction projects?

Many city’s current transport infrastructure is deemed to be inadequate for rapid population growth and projected urbanisation, driving an increase in the construction of more efficient and reliable transport infrastructure and networks. However, transport infrastructure projects have negative impacts on the environment, during both the construction and operational phases. Green wall technologies have become an increasing trend within urban areas to combat these impacts, however, their uptake has been limited. This study answers the question of whether green wall technologies are a suitable technology for instilling sustainability into major infrastructure projects. This was achieved by comparing available green wall systems, conducting interviews with leading industry professionals and developing a case study on the possible areas of implementation of green wall technologies within a major multi-billion dollar infrastructure project. The overall benefits and constraints are presented, with insights into how these systems may contribute to sustainability rating tools for infrastructure projects.

Estimation of static jacking load (Pep) for the prestressed centrifugal concrete piles on some types of ground structure in Hai Duong city

Nowadays, the prestressed centrifugal concrete piles (PCCP) are applied in most major construction projects in Hai Duong city. The pile bearing capacity and static jacking load (Pep) are very important parameters for optimizing the pile foundation design, and they depend on the types of ground structure. The paper introduces the estimated method for the pile static jacking load which was applied for two types of ground structure in Hai Duong city (type I and type II). The results showed that the maximum static jacking load (Pepmax) was 66.6 tons and 76.6 tons at the depth of 32 m for types I and II, respectively. The results of evaluation and comparison between the calculated Pep with the actual Pep have provided the penetration coefficient (K) for each soil: K = 1.8 for fine sand; K = 1.5 for stiff sandy clay; K = 1.4 for firm sandy clay and K = 1.2 for soft soil.

Reviews of the Built Environment

Berlin has experienced a recent spate of major civic construction projects. This review comprises critical assessments, by three different authors, of three of those recently completed projects: the Berlin Palace and Humboldtforum (Brigitte Sölch), the redesign of the Kulturforum (Elke Nagel), and the new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (Max Hirsh).

Preliminary Study on Social Stability Risk Assessment of Land Integrated Renovation Project: A Case Study of Shichuan River Project in Fuping

Many uncertain factors in the construction of major projects may lead to social stability risk events. Taking the land integrated renovation project of Shichuan River (Urban Section) in Fuping as an example, this paper discusses the connotation of social stability risk in the land renovation project, and claims that during the construction and management of the land integrated renovation project of the Shichuan River (Urban Section) the risk of land acquisition and demolition and the risk of environmental damage are the more important risk factors in the identification of social stability risk.

Seismic Analysis of Multi-Storey Structure Subjected To Different Ground Motions

Major Construction project in urban India is incorporated with Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames, which experience both static and dynamic forces during their lifetime. Static forces can easily be analysed whereas dynamic force analysis is very time consuming, but it can’t be left unanalysed as the results may be catastrophic. Earthquake is an important dynamic force which a building may experience during its lifespan and is therefore its analysis becomes a critical step in design.
 The present work in its utmost sense, aim at understanding the influence of different ground motions on the structure over its life span. This providing new parameters and information to help improve design work.
 INTRODUCTION
 During an earthquake, the structure undergoes dynamic motion due to reaction of the inertia forces built up in the direction against the acceleration of seismic forces. These inertia forces, also known as seismic forces, are considered by assuming pseudo external forces acting on the building. Excluding gravity loads, predominant structure experiences significant lateral forces of considerable magnitude during seismic action. Thus, before the designing of the structure is carried out, it becomes integral to identify and estimate the magnitude of lateral forces acting on the structure.
 Reinforced concrete structures are routinely designed for higher strength parameters than the necessary service load constraints. In general, the members are designated with greater dimensions and higher material standards than the minimum strength requirements specified in the IS design codes. The design procedures for seismic loads also results with greater strength parameters. Furthermore, the redundancy of the structure under the account of division of stresses will also lead to increased overall strength. The current study understands the comparison of storey displacement, base shear, and storey drift of RC framed structure with in individual seismic regions of Indian sub-continent.

Engaging the organizational field: The case of project practices in a construction firm to contribute to an emerging economy

We develop a model of practices undertaken by project managers to address the challenges of organizational fields in an emerging economy context. We anchor the model in a qualitative study of project managers’ activities in a major construction industry firm in India. We make three contributions. First, our study illustrates how the micro activities of project managers, in coordination with the actions of senior management, address the emerging economy challenges, and project managers’ responses hold lessons for the emerging literature on “projects as practice.” Second, we augment the dominant cognitive orientation in the discussion of organizational fields in project management literature with a practice perspective. Finally, we enrich the institutional theory stream in project management. In addition to the mechanisms identified in that stream of literature, our data suggest that the activities of project managers in major construction projects may act as a mechanism of transition in emerging economies. While the project managers in the Indian construction industry firm undertook numerous field building activities that were crucial for their projects’ success, these activities were simultaneously addressing major gaps in the economic infrastructure of India. Thus, our data portray construction industry managers as not merely engaged in project execution, but as active participants in the economic transition of a country.Similarly, labor and supplier markets in India were underdeveloped, and the projects had to bear the cost of this development.

Automatic far‐field camera calibration for construction scene analysis

AbstractThe use of cameras for safety monitoring, progress tracking, and site security has grown significantly on construction and civil infrastructure sites over the past decade. Localization of construction resources is a crucial prerequisite for many applications in automated construction management. However, most existing vision‐based methods perform the analysis in the image plane, overlooking the effect of perspective and depth. The manual and labor‐intensive process of traditional calibration techniques, as well as the busy and restrictive construction environment, makes this a challenging task. This study proposes a framework for automatic camera calibration with no manual intervention. The framework utilizes convolutional neural networks for geometrical scene analysis and object detection, which are used to estimate the location of horizon line, vertical vanishing point, as well as objects with known height distributions. This enables automatic estimation of camera parameters and retrieval of scale. The proposed framework is evaluated on images from two major construction projects in Melbourne, Australia. Results show that the proposed method achieves a minimum accuracy of 90% in estimating proximity of points on the ground and can facilitate further development of vision‐based solutions for safety and productivity analysis.

How productive is public investment? Evidence from formal and informal production in India

We use firm-level data on formal and informal production in India to examine the sectoral consequences of government investment in public infrastructure. Our results indicate that proximity to highway infrastructure, time since project completion, and firm size are important determinants of the sectoral effects of infrastructure on firm productivity. First, we show that while public capital is associated with a positive and significant output elasticity for formal sector firms, it has no systematic effect on informal firms. Next, using a major highway construction project in India, we show that proximity to a newly completed highway and the time since project completion are productivity-enhancing for formal firms, with these benefits distributed evenly across firm size in that sector. By contrast, similar benefits do not accrue to informal firms. Specifically, the presence of large firms in areas close to a newly completed highway crowds out the output of small informal firms, thereby mitigating the overall benefits of public investment for the informal sector.

Empirical investigation of the applicability of constructability methods to prevent design errors

PurposeThe paper aims to identify the effective constructability methods and tools that should be applied during the early project design stages to prevent specific constructability failures regarding project context.Design/methodology/approachSeventeen basic constructability problems were defined, 12 constructability implementation methods for investigation were selected, and a general tool representing potential causal connections between the problems and the methods that could prevent them was developed. A comparative case study was conducted through a rigorous investigation of the construction documentation of four major building construction projects. Nearly four hundred constructability problems were identified. The tool developed was used to draw conclusions about the preferred constructability methods, in general, and with respect to specific project contexts.FindingsThe managerial approach offers the best methods for preventing constructability problems. The major methods that emerged were (1) assigning a constructability champion, (2) facilitating the involvement of the general contractor early in the design process, and (3) augmenting design quality control. At the other end of the scale, methods such as company procedures and owner involvement were found to be the least effective.Originality/valueThe paper offers the ability to relate constructability problems to preventive mechanisms and to identify the appropriate steps to be taken to resolve these problems. The mechanism described here can be used by construction companies that keep failure data within accounting files to check projects in retrospect and draw lessons from them to be implemented in future projects.

Traženje, kristalizacija i zrelost autorskog izraza arhitekte Milosava Miše Mitića (1932-1970) u šestoj deceniji XX veka

The subject of the research is the beginning of the design work and professional engagement of architect Milosav Miša Mitić in the 1960s. Until now, this period of Mitić's design practice and construction activity has not been the subject of any scientific research, and it has still not been assessed in architectural historiography. The aims of the paper are to shed light on the lesser-known facts about Mitić's work at the beginning of his professional career, to determine the basic characteristics of his practice and to critically re-examine his contribution to the overall picture of Serbian architecture in the second half of the twentieth century. The scientific analysis covers significant unrealized and accomplished architectural achievements, both independently in the project studio Atrium (1956-1959), and jointly within the architectural group Belgrade Five (1954-1970). It examines in detail Mitić's developmental creative path in three phases (1956-1960): the search for authorial expression during the 1950s in the project studio Atrium, when his authorial duality comes to the fore, imbued with a strong sense of modus operandi and modus vivendi; crystallization of the author's expression within a five-member group, through a series of competitions and the first major accomplished project in the first housing estate within the Central zone of New Belgrade; and reaching full authorial maturity in his first major independent contracted design and construction project, for the EFGH local community center complex, with the S-10 commercial and residential tower. This is historical evidence of the possible different physiognomy of the future center of New Belgrade, with its recognizable architecture.

Utilisation of order processing technology for logistics process improvement in the Nigerian construction industry

The logistic technologies for effective and efficient ‘order processing operations’ in the areas of tracking, shipping, replenishment, dispatching and holding of inventory are deficient in the Nigerian construction industry, when compared to manufacturing and retailing sectors. This is confirmed to have a significant effect on the performance of the construction sector. This article assessed how order processing technology utilised by manufacturing and retail industries could improve the order processing logistics operations of the construction industry. Lagos State and the F.C.T. Abuja, Nigeria, were the selected geographical study areas, from which five manufacturing companies, five retailing companies and five construction projects were purposively selected. Mixed methods research strategy was used. The research instruments included an observation guide (quantitative) and semi-structured interviews (qualitative). The collected quantitative data was analysed, using descriptive analytical tools: frequencies and percentiles. The qualitative data was analysed, using the thematic method. The result revealed that 80% and 100% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, observed, adopted barcoding technology for order processing purposes. Only 40% of the observed construction project adopted barcoding technology for order processing in the following: 2.4% for receiving process; 0.9% for put-away process; 0.9% for shipping process (stock control); 1.2% for dispatching process; 0.6% for replenishment process, and 1.2% for tracking inventory (stock tracking). In addition, 100% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, observed, adopted Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for order processing purposes. Only 40% of the observed construction projects adopted RFID technology for order processing. It was also revealed that utilisation of the order processing technology could have the following benefits: managerial control in the construction industry; shorter processing time; easy way of tracking materials on site, and increased speed of work in the construction industries. The research concludes that effective utilisation of order processing technology in the logistics system could lead to full efficiency gains in the order processing aspect of the construction industry. It is recommended that the Federal Government of Nigeria should mandate all major construction project stakeholders to attend workshops on the use of recent technologies in the management of construction operations.

Identification of the level of innovativeness of a complex major construction project

The complexity of a project as a system is characterized by the variety of elements and the number of possible initial and future states. It is possible to give an accurate mathematical description of a complex system based on the study of entropy. The entropy of states is defined as a measure of the diversity of the set of possible options. A construction project that includes a large number of heterogeneous innovative components belongs to the group of complex projects. The problem of control is to reduce its diversity by reducing the set of all states to a subset of states that satisfy the goals of control. Consequently, the essential characteristics of the innovativeness of a construction project should be studied in relation to the sphere of occurrence of the effect from the application of innovations. It seems logical to consider the effects of the introduction of innovations throughout the life cycle of an investment and construction project, which can be presented as an integral production and economic system.

Discussion on the Integration and Optimization Plan of Natural Reserve-Take Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture as an example

The integration and optimization of nature reserves is an important part of the new round of land and space planning, and it is also an important part of building a system of nature reserves with national parks as the main body. This article takes Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which has many nature reserves and relatively complex conditions as an example, to summarize and study the technical and operational issues involved in the integration and optimization of 30 different types of nature reserves, natural parks and scenic spots in the region. We propose an integration and optimization plan that fits the region, focusing on the treatment of the overlapping and distributed residential land, basic farmland, and major construction projects of each protected area, and provide reasonable suggestions for the integration and optimization of the construction of natural reserves with Chinese characteristics.

Use of Prisoners of War Labor in Karelia During the First World War

The article describes the study of using prisoners' labor in Karelia during the First World War. The scientific novelty of the study is that for the first time the angle of approach to this problem was beyond the traditional context of the issue, that usually covers the details of the Murmansk railway construction and prisoners labor service. The author analyzed the proposals which were put forward by the Zemstvos and by the governing bodies of the Olonets and Arkhangelsk provinces. They proposed to use the labor of prisoners in the implementation of several infrastructure projects, which were aimed at achieving major strategic defense objectives, as well as at solving local economic problems. The text has a special focus on the problem of using prisoners of war in the field work in Karelia. The study concluded that the labor of war prisoners was hardly used in Karelia. The only major construction project, which included prisoners labor, was the construction of the Murmansk railway. Several reasons for that were defined and presented in the article. Firstly, it was due to the reluctance of the Central authorities to spend money on major projects duplicating the railway to Murmansk, which was under construction. Secondly, it was caused by the position of the Olonets provincial administration, which resisted the additional inflow of prisoners of war to Karelia. Thirdly, it was dependent on the specificities of local peasant population and its regional economic structure.

Influence of Time Management on Implementation of Road Construction Projects in Kilifi County, Kenya

Purpose: Major road construction projects across Kilifi County have experienced delays in delivery due to a majority of contractors, both local firms and government agencies, failing to adhere to agreed-upon completion dates.it is in the backdrop of these problems that influenced the researcher to establish the influence of time management on the implementation of road projects in Kilifi County. The main purpose of this study was to examine the influence of time management on the implementation’s road constructions projects in Kilifi County.Methodology: The study adopted cross sectional research design and collect data using questionnaires from 120 engineers/project managers, supervisors/inspectors and technicians/foremen from 12 organizations including five construction companies involved in urban road construction projects in Kilifi County, five service providers whose utility facilities run along road construction corridors in Kilifi County, and two state corporations charged with the management of road construction in Kenya. Data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of IBM SPSS Statistics. Descriptive analysis involved the use of frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation in order to summarize the results of the various study variables. Inferential analysis involved the application of Pearson correlation and regression analysis to determine the nature of relationship between time management and implementation of road projects in Kilifi County.Results: The study found out that activity sequencing positively and significantly affects road constructions projects in Kilifi County (r = 0.688, P=0.000 < 0.01). The study further determined that a unit improvement in activity sequencing would lead significantly lead to improvement in road project implementation (β = 0.127, t = 2.037, P=0.044 <0.05). It was also determined that resource estimation positively and significantly affects implementation of road constructions projects in Kilifi County (r = 0.721, P = 0.002 < 0.01). the analysis also showed that a unit improvement in resource estimation would lead to a unit improvement in road project implementation (β = 0.218, t = 2.741, P = 0.005<0.05). The study also determined that activity control significantly and positively predicts implementation of road constructions projects in Kilifi County (r = 0.909, P= 0.000< 0.01). The regression analysis showed that a unit improvement in activity control would significantly lead to an improvement in implementation of road construction projects in the county (β = 0.173, t =3.045, P = 0.003<0.05). Finally, the study found out that institutional capacity affects road projects implementation (r = 0.558, P=0. .003 < 0.01). It was also determined that institutional capacity has moderating influence on the relationship between time management and road project implementation (β = 0.185, t = 4.302, P=0.000 < 0.05).Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The study recommended that for effective time management during implementation of road construction projects, there should be stakeholder involvement as this will facilitate ideas and perspective. Stakeholder involvement in time management and planning, will better their correspondence, improve accuracy of information, increase credibility and acceptance findings and finally improve the quality road constructions projects in Kilifi County.

Mitigating the Impact of Long-Term Construction on the Health of Older Adult Residents in New York City’s Chinatown

Introduction: Recent proposed major construction projects in New York City’s Chinatown often last multiple years. Little is known about the health impact of construction on vulnerable populations such as older adults. In Chinatown, approximately 20% of residents are older adults, live below the poverty level (34%), have a disability (47%), and nearly half report limited English proficiency. Objectives: We are conducting a mixed methods study to describe possible health and psychosocial outcomes of construction on older adults in Chinatown. Methods: We used a community-engaged modified Delphi process to identify priority areas related to construction and older adults which included: 1) a scoping review of the health impact of long-term construction; 2) key informant interviews of academic experts; and 3) convened community stakeholder leaders to review key focus areas and evidence-informed, culturally-relevant mitigation strategies. Five priority topics were identified: 1) Construction site emissions; 2) Noise; 3) Outdoor nocturnal lighting; 4) Neighborhood changes; and 5) Relocation. Results: Long-term construction contributes to adverse effects of air pollution, noise, and changes in the environment, with exposure to particulate matter and unwanted noise associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Unsafe sidewalk due to construction increase the risk of falling, the leading cause of death among NYC seniors. Construction-related stressors may isolate older adults from vital services and social networks. Conclusion: Long-term construction poses serious health implications for older adults. Stakeholders should adopt a community-engaged approach and identify meaningful community priorities to inform practical solutions to mitigate the impact of construction on vulnerable Chinatown older adults.

Estimating the Frequency of Exposure to Uncertain Hazards: Impact of Wind Conditions on Concrete Dam Construction

Due to the narrow construction site, intensive construction, and constant strong winds, some concurrent activities during concrete dam construction are proven to lead to space conflicts and increase the frequency of exposure to hazards. Despite some valuable contributions, the current methods for quantifying exposure frequency are still subjective and inadequate for reliable safety evaluation. Therefore, this study provides a formal approach to identify exposure under dynamic wind loads and to estimate exposure frequency to scrutinize dynamic interactions at construction sites. In this study, first, the force of hazard with wind loads is analyzed to identify the impact of potential hazards from vertical concrete transport in an undesirable event. Second, combined with the concrete dam construction cycle process and the operating time characteristics, the probability of hazards and victims concurrently appearing in an overlapping space is calculated to measure the possibility of disastrous events from the perspective of spatial and temporal attributes. Then, the exposure frequency is expressed using statistical information on wind conditions, location information on the site layout, and mechanical motion parameters. In contrast to traditional risk-assessment methods, the proposed model combines the uncertainty of wind and the probability of hazards and victims simultaneously appearing in an overlap into a more rigorous safety perspective. Finally, the model’s capability of hazard exposure assessment is demonstrated and tested by applying it to a case study of a major real-world construction project. The results show that the novel methodology is able not only to quantify the exposure frequency with the contribution of the influence of strong winds but also to assess the risk of dam construction projects. Furthermore, this method will provide an important objective and precise evaluation tool for hazard exposure.