Project Budget Research Articles

Critical risk factors of electric road uptake on motorways: a Swedish Delphi study

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of a ranking-type Delphi study on the critical risk factors for the adoption of an electric road system (e-road) for trucks on the main motorways in Sweden. The investment cost of such a system is high, necessitating an upfront evaluation of the adoption risk factors to reduce the likelihood of budget overruns and project delays. Participating Swedish e-road experts (N = 52) from the public sector, private sector, and academia identified 32 unique risk factors, which were divided into five categories. The three most critical risk factors, as ranked by the experts, were ‘low expansion rate,’ ‘low utilization rate,’ and ‘lengthy public-sector evaluation.’ Overall, market and financial risks were ranked as more important than institutional, technological, and sustainability risks. This study has important implications for policymakers in countries considering e-road adoption.

IDENTIFICATION AND UTILIZATION OF WASTE MATERIALS IN THE FOLLOW-UP PROJECT OF TALUD CONSTRUCTION OF SYUKURAN AMINUDDIN AMIR LUWUK BANGGAI AIRPORT

The Regional Government of Banggai Regency is currently building the Banggai Amiruddin Amir Luwuk Banggai Thanksgiving Airport with the goal of enhancing facilities and infrastructure to support air transportation, and one of the things being done is to continue the construction of the talud. According to PPRI No. 22 Th. 2021 and PermenLHK No. 18 Th. 2021, waste material management can be done utilizing the 4R approach, which stands for (1) Reduce, (2) Reuse, (3) Recycle, and (4) Repair, respectively. Formwork, excavation, building an embankment, installing reinforcement, casting, and talud plastering are the stages of the project. The identification's findings demonstrate that errors in construction management and budget management commonly result in residual materials including cement, wood, dirt, iron, sand, and gravel at all stages of the job. Utilizing the reduction technique, project implementers minimize the existence of residual material by managing the construction process and project budget effectively. While cement can only be minimized through the reduce process, management of the ensuing residual materials, such as wood, soil, iron, sand, and gravel, is carried out using the reuse and recycle approach.

Seasonal dynamics and annual budget of dissolved inorganic carbon in the northwestern Mediterranean deep-convection region

Abstract. Deep convection plays a key role in the circulation, thermodynamics, and biogeochemical cycles in the Mediterranean Sea, which is considered to be a hotspot of biodiversity and climate change. In the framework of the DEWEX (Dense Water Experiment) project, the seasonal and annual budgets of dissolved inorganic carbon in the deep-convection area of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea are investigated over the period September 2012–September 2013 using a 3D coupled physical–biogeochemical–chemical modeling approach. At the annual scale, we estimate that the northwestern Mediterranean Sea's deep-convection region was a moderate sink of 0.5 mol C m−2 yr−1 of CO2 for the atmosphere. The model results show the reduction of oceanic CO2 uptake during deep convection and its increase during the abrupt spring phytoplankton bloom following the deep-convection events. We highlight the major roles in the annual dissolved inorganic carbon budget of both the biogeochemical and physical fluxes, which amount to −3.7 and 3.3 mol C m−2 yr−1, respectively, and are 1 order of magnitude higher than the air–sea CO2 flux. The upper layer (from the surface to 150 m depth) of the northwestern deep-convection region gained dissolved inorganic carbon through vertical physical transport and, to a lesser extent, oceanic CO2 uptake, and it lost dissolved inorganic carbon through lateral transport and biogeochemical fluxes. The region, covering 2.5 % of the Mediterranean, acted as a source of dissolved inorganic carbon for the surface and intermediate water masses of the Balearic Sea and southwestern Mediterranean Sea and could represent up to 22 % and 11 %, respectively, of the CO2 exchanges with the Atlantic Ocean at the Strait of Gibraltar.

Exploring the rate of adoption and implementation depth of building information modeling (BIM): A case of Kuwait

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry in the State of Kuwait has witnessed a decline in efficiency with most projects going above budget and past project deadlines. Building Information Modeling (BIM) creates a collaborative common-data working environment between various stakeholders leading to improved productivity and efficiency while also minimizing technical challenges, and reducing design errors. Moreover, adding the concept of time to the model (4D BIM) for the purposes of planning and scheduling further optimizes inter-disciplinary collaboration. The first phase of this research aims to evaluate current BIM adoption rates and implementation depth in Kuwait through a survey distributed to organizations in the Union of Kuwait Engineering Offices and Consultant Houses. The results indicated that the rate of BIM adoption, represented by whether or not organizations have used BIM in previous/current projects is relatively high. Implementation depth, represented by the percentage of projects for which BIM is being used, is concluded to be low. In terms of willingness to adopt BIM, most organizations use and are considering using BIM as a visualization tool. The second phase aims to examine the applicability of generating predefined process templates for Tract Houses in the northwest Sulibikhat area constructed by the Public Authority of Housing Welfare (PAHW) used for 4D BIM. The Process Pattern Recognition approach is applied to a BIM-based construction schedule where the schedule is extracted, decomposed, processed, and filtered. Relevant and potentially relevant processes are identified and verified leading to defined process templates. This research contributes to the AEC industry by aiding in transitioning from current Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) practices to BIM technology.

Quality-Induced Impacts on Time Overrun, Cost Overrun, Dispute, and Litigation in EPC Contracts

Abstract: This research paper delves into the intricate relationship between quality assurance measures and their consequential effects on time overrun, cost overrun, disputes, and litigation within Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts of National Highway. Through an extensive qualitative study and in-depth analysis in SPSS, this paper aims to shed light on the critical high risk contract clauses which make project delays, budget overruns, and legal conflicts impacted by quality. The findings presented herein offer valuable insights for stakeholders in the construction industry seeking to enhance project performance and minimize legal liabilities through effective quality control mechanisms. Contractors, consultants, and employees of the authority were handed a questionnaire survey as part of this investigation. Google Forms was used to gather 161 replies. Principal component analysis was used in SPSS to analyse the aforementioned data. The result shows that there are a number of crucial (high risk) contract elements in EPC contracts that could lead to litigation.

Application of Information Economics and New Information Economics

New Information Economics (NIE) is a method used to assess and plan investment systems and information technology withina company. The concept applied to this measurement is the New Information Economics concept. The role of Information Technology has become a very important factor that can help companies improve their company performance. The purpose of writing Information Economics and New Information Economics is to analyze and find out the benefits of applying Information Economics and New Information Economics on companies based on sources obtained. With the help of the informationeconomy and the new information economy, all ongoing project budget calculations, etc., can be evaluated. Be able to calculate which projects are important and which are not. The Information Economy and the New Information Economy help companies estimate the budget needed to implement a project. Can take into account the company's finances so as not to experience big losses.

Economic Analysis of Construction Equipment in Public Projects in Jordan

Escalating project costs in Jordan is a great challenge for public project managers and decision-makers. This research aims to calculate the financial feasibility of owning versus renting heavy equipment. Real data were collected from 12 public construction governorates in Jordan. The data covered rental and ownership costs of construction equipment over two years 2021& 2022. Present worth analysis over a 10-year service life showed that The ownership option is found economically feasible over the year-long rental option at a monetary saving of 30,000 JD per equipment per year. The cumulative curve for the year-long rental breaks even with the equipment ownership curve in the eighth year. After eight years of life, the ownership option becomes economically favored over the year-long rental option. On the other hand, the on-call rental option is found economically feasible compared to the ownership option with over 120,000 JD savings per equipment per year. Finally, research conclusions provide insight for government decision-makers to save substantial costs from the public project budget.

Implementasi Metode Topsis dalam Pemilihan Lokasi Batching Plant Proyek Jalan Tol Trans Sumatera Ruas Indrapura-Kisaran

Rigid pavement is one of the main works in the construction of toll road projects, which has a large volume and a certain work time. This requires high productivity in ready-mix concrete to support the work. PT. PP Presisi (Tbk), as one of the subcontractors for the Indrapura-Kisaran Trans Sumatra Toll Road Project, uses a Batching Plant (BP) to produce ready-mix concrete. It is hoped that establishing a Batching Plant (BP) will not only be able to supply concrete but also reduce the planned project budget. One of the factors that supports achieving this is selecting the right location. This study uses the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method to determine the most appropriate location by determining five criteria, 14 sub-criteria, and three alternative locations. This method uses a decision matrix where the best alternative result is the one with the closest distance to the positive ideal solution and the farthest distance to the negative ideal solution. Based on the calculation results, the weight of each alternative is obtained, namely location 1 (0,810), location 2 (0,900), and location 3 (0,159), so that the best alternative location is location 2.

Forecasting Construction Cost Index through Artificial Intelligence

This study presents a novel approach for forecasting the construction cost index (CCI) of building materials in developing countries. Such estimations are challenging due to the need for a longer time, the influence of inflation, and fluctuating project prices in developing countries. This study used three techniques—a modified Artificial Neural Network (ANN), time series, and linear regression—to predict and forecast the local building material CCI in Pakistan. The predicted CCI is based on materials, including bricks, steel, cement, sand, and gravel. In addition, the swish activation function was introduced to increase the accuracy of the associated algorithms. The results suggest that the ANN model has superior prediction results, with the lowest Mean Error (ME), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Theil’s U statistic (U-Stat) values of 0.04, 28.3, and 0.62, respectively. The time series and regression models have ME values of 0.22 and 0.3, MAE values of 30.07 and 28.3, and U-Stat values of 0.65 and 0.64, respectively. The proposed models can assist contractors, project managers, and owners through an accurately estimated cost index. Such accurate CCIs help correctly estimate project budgets based on building material prices to mitigate project risks, delays, and failures.

Life-cycle thinking-based decision support framework for multispan simply supported bridges under typhoon-induced wave, current and surge conditions

Coastal bridges usually suffer from wave, current, and storm surge hazards simultaneously under typhoons. Comprehensive mitigation measures can reduce the structural failure probability under these hazards but usually lead to a conservative structural design and a significant increase in the project budget. With the recent development of sustainable structural design, the multicriteria decision-making method can assist engineers in incorporating the life-cycle investment and probability of hazards in the design selection. In this paper, a life-cycle thinking-based decision support framework that considers multicriteria trade-offs and sustainable design was proposed for the design of coastal bridges under typhoon-induced wave, current and surge conditions. The simulation of the typhoon-induced wave, current and surge conditions was developed using SWAN + ADCIRC model, joint probability and environmental contours. The multispan simply supported (MSSS) bridge was then used to illustrate the framework. The main findings include that the void slab girder is better than the other girder types in the equal-weighted, risk-averse and pro-economic scenarios for the example bridge, but the change in girder types has a small impact on the economic cost index score. The increase in the girder height can increase the failure probability when deck shifting dominates the superstructure's failure.

How do I want the city council to spend our budget? Conceiving MaaS from a citizen's perspective … (as well as biking infrastructure and public transport)

While several governmental and research efforts are set upon mobility-as-a-service (MaaS), most of them are driven by individual travel behavior and potential usage. However, considering only individuals’ preferences carries the risk of neglecting societal benefits going beyond individual travel behavior. This study addresses the valuation of different features of MaaS-services from a social desirability perspective as compared to social investments in biking infrastructure and in public transport, and aims at eliciting trade-offs between different features of such projects. This analysis is conducted on the basis of Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE). In PVE-experiments, individuals select their preferred portfolio of government projects given a constrained public budget and societal preferences for (the impacts of) government projects can be determined based on these choices.The results show that the population of Rotterdam exhibits a willingness to allocate public resources to all types of investment projects considered in the analysis. However, the willingness to allocate resources to bike infrastructure projects and public transport seems to be higher than the willingness to dedicate resources to MaaS subsidies. Within the different types of MaaS subsidies considered, subsidies aimed at sustainability exhibit a larger social valuation. Strong negative synergies among similar projects exist, signalizing that individuals prefer diversifying the use of public resources across different types of investment projects.

Assessment of the Public - Private Partnerships Cost Efficiency on Meeting Project Budget Targets in MSAMVU Project

Assessment of the Public - Private Partnerships Cost Efficiency on Meeting Project Budget Targets in MSAMVU Project

Authorities’ Fiscal Forecasts in Latin America: Are they Optimistic?

Do governments in Latin America tend to be optimistic when preparing budgetary projections? We address this question by constructing a novel dataset of the authorities’ fiscal forecasts in six Latin American economies, using data from annual budget documents over the period 2000–2018. We compare such forecasts with the outturns reported in the corresponding budget documents of the following years, to understand the evolution of fiscal forecast errors. Our findings suggest that: (i) there is no general optimistic bias in the forecasts for the fiscal balance-to-GDP ratio; (ii) over time, fiscal forecasts have improved for some countries and worsened for others; (iii) forecast errors for the fiscal balance-to-GDP ratio are positively correlated with GDP growth and terms-of-trade changes, and negatively correlated with GDP deflator surprises; (iv) forecast errors for public debt-to-GDP ratios are negatively associated with surprises to GDP growth; and (v), budget balance rules may help contain fiscal forecast errors. JEL Classification Codes: E6, H50

Early implementation learnings on acceptability and feasibility of “V”: a multi-level PrEP intervention designed with and for adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe

IntroductionAdolescent girls and young women (AGYW) remain disproportionately affected by HIV in Zimbabwe. Several HIV prevention options are available, including oral tenofovir-based pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), however AGYW face unique barriers to PrEP uptake and continuation and novel approaches are therefore needed to empower AGYW to use PrEP. The objective of this study was to characterize early learnings from implementing a multi-level intervention consisting of fashionable branding (including a “V Starter Kit”), service integration, and peer education and support throughout a young woman's journey using oral PrEP across four phases of implementation, from creating demand, preparing for PrEP, initiation of PrEP, and adherence to PrEP.MethodsA mixed methods implementation research study was undertaken, including site observations and interviews to explore the acceptability of “V” and its relevance to target users, as well as the feasibility of integrating “V” with existing service delivery models. Interviews (n = 46) were conducted with healthcare workers, Brand Ambassadors, and young women purposively sampled from four implementation sites. Interview data was analyzed thematically using the framework method for qualitative data management and analysis. Project budgets and invoices were used to compile unit cost and procurement data for all “V” materials.Results“V” was acceptable to providers and young women due to attractive branding coupled with factual and thought-provoking messaging, establishing “a girl code” for discussing PrEP, and addressing a gap in communications materials. “V” was also feasible to integrate into routine service provision and outreach, alongside other services targeting AGYW. Cost for the “V” branded materials ranked most essential—FAQ insert, pill case, makeup bag, reminder sticker—were $7.61 per AGYW initiated on PrEP.Conclusion“V” is a novel approach that is an acceptable and feasible multi-level intervention to improve PrEP access, uptake, and continuation among AGYW, which works through empowering AGYW to take control of their HIV prevention needs. In considering “V” for scale up in Zimbabwe, higher volume procurement and a customized lighter package of “V” materials, while still retaining V’s core approach, should be explored.

Examining the voice verification system resistance developed for banking to attacks employing the voice cloning

The developed system for verifying the speaker identity in banking branches is based on voice biometrics employing DeepSpeaker neural network model. The testing of its resistance to a potential attack using voice cloning also employed neural networks, such as SV2TTS, Tacotron, WaveRNN, and GE2E. Subjective listening tests indicated that people might easily get confused and point out cloned recordings as an original sample. Nearly 50% of respondents pointed to the wrong answer, confusing the synthesized recording with the original one. Subjects in most cases declared that the quality of cloned and original recordings is similar (Good or Fair according to ITU-R BS.1534 recommendation) and, in some cases, even better than the original (graded as Good for synthesized sample, Fair for original one). Meanwhile, nearly all verification attempts with cloned samples failed (98.8% of samples were rejected). It proves that voice biometrics based on deep neural networks can identify cloned samples better than human listeners. Methods and results of testing the resistance of the developed voice biometrics system to voice cloning attacks are discussed in thepaper. This research was funded from the budget of project No.POIR.01.01.01-0092/19 subsidized by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).

Evaluation of Project Budget Due to Price Fluctuations Based on Digital Technology in Factory Construction Projects

The development of industrial construction requires adequate resources to avoid the failure and risk of the project. The resources required are materials (building materials), human resources (human resources), machines (equipment), capital (money), methods (methods of implementation), timing, and information on the implementation of the construction. According to data from the Central Statistical Agency (BPS), wages of labor in Indonesia of Rs. 2.89 million increased by 1.12% by 2022. In addition, the price of construction materials has also increased, such as steel, steel bones, concrete, and other construction materials. Especially steel price increases, starting in the second year of the pandemic, have risen about 30%–40%. Generally, the construction of factory buildings uses more steel profiles for the construction of warehouses—storage of raw materials or warehousing of production sites. This has a huge impact on the project budget that has been estimated prior to material price fluctuations. Therefore, the re-evaluation of the project budget in PT. XYZ, which has been estimated by the company at Rp. 219.5 billion, has a total budget change to Rp. 276.1 billion.

ФІНАНСОВИЙ КОНЦЕПТ БІХЕВІОРИСТИЧНОГО ПІДХОДУ ПРИ ФОРМУВАННІ ДОХОДІВ ДЕРЖАВНОГО БЮДЖЕТУ УКРАЇНИ

This study draws attention to a novel approach to shaping the revenues of the State Budget of Ukraine. To shed light on the situation concerning revenue formation, a quick analysis of Ukraine's key macroeconomic indicators, including budget revenues from 2017 to 2021, was conducted. As a result, trends in the dynamics of GDP, essential social standards, inflation, average wages, and the unemployment rate were revealed. It was highlighted that in some years, the minimum pension level was lower than the inflation rate, which is a concerning development. The behavioral approach, with specific reference to the application of its individual provisions in the budgeting process, is explained in detail. An interpretation of the key concepts of this approach, encompassing economic activity and economic interests, is provided. It is argued that the application of the behavioral approach allows for the identification of motives behind inefficient income planning at various stages of State Budget preparation. Furthermore, it enables the consolidation of the motivational interests of specific participants in the budget project. An important advantage of this approach is the potential to formulate preventive measures to mitigate corruption issues during the various stages of the budget process. The primary components of the financial concept were developed utilizing relevant theoretical constructs in revenue formation for the budget. This concept consists of six parts, which include fundamental theoretical constructs, taking into account the psychological traits of the Ukrainian populace, identifying reserves in State Budget revenues, risk mitigation, enhancing the revenue mechanism, and increasing the involvement of public organizations in the budget process. The rationale for employing fundamental theoretical constructs in the budget preparation process, notably new monetarism, sustainable development, neoclassical synthesis, and the theory of happiness, is discussed. Special attention is given to considering the psychological characteristics of the Ukrainian people, which can aid in the development of optimal budget revenues. To mitigate potential revenue shortfalls, preventive measures are proposed. Notably, there's a strong emphasis on improving the mechanism for revenue formation and collection, underscoring the need to enhance the accountability of regulatory body personnel. The wisdom of increasing the participation of public entities in the budget process is justified. Furthermore, it is recommended that reasoned proposals regarding budget revenues be submitted by scientific institutions, sector-specific public organizations, and analytical agencies. In conclusion, it is posited that the proposed financial concept, grounded in a behavioral approach and accounting for the realities of the Postmodern era, will contribute to an increase in revenues for the State Budget of Ukraine.

Integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Big Data in China: Recent Application and Future Perspective

The integrated application of building information modeling (BIM) and big data (BD) has received widespread attention, and has been involved in smart construction sites, construction project management, and construction project budgeting. Nevertheless, research on the integrated implementation of BIM and BD in China mainly concentrates on a project stage or profession, the exploration of technology integration mostly focuses on the theoretical level, and the research distribution is scattered. As such, the intention of this paper is to reveal the research history of BIM and BD in China, as well as to study the research methodologies and research fields for a more thorough knowledge of the BIM and BD research and development status in the Chinese construction sector, which adopts a mixed research method that uses a quantitative research via two analytical software tools, i.e., CiteSpace version of 6.1.R6 and the Statistical Analysis Toolkit on line edition for Informetrics software packages, to conduct a macro bibliometric analysis on BIM and BD research in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, and provides a follow-up micro qualitative research with content analysis. To ensure the comprehensiveness of the research, the core articles of the topic in the web of science database have been sorted out and analyzed for fully understanding the development of BIM and BD in the field of Chinese construction, resulting in identifying the current research hotspots and trends in China. The results suggest that the popular research keywords on BIM and BD in China since the year 2015 have mainly been focused on informatization, the internet of things, and rail transportation. Three fruitful research themes in BIM and BD research in China have been identified, including smart construction, smart operation, and bridge informatization.

Transparency in the planning for the use of mining royalties in Brazilian municipalities

This article aims to contribute to the debate on public governance and planning for the use of mining royalties revenue in Brazil. A classification methodology according to levels of transparency was proposed to evaluate the transparency of mining royalties used in Brazilian municipalities' budget planning. Four levels of transparency were defined and built in alignment with the legal framework regulations on the information that should be available in the municipal budget projections. This methodology was applied by case studies with the thirty leading Brazilian mining municipalities that received the highest transfer of mining royalties in the last five years. The analysis of this sample consisted of evaluating the Annual Budget Laws from 2019 to 2022. It was found that in most of these municipalities, the share of royalties in total revenue was greater than 30%, reaching as much as 75% in the annual budget forecast. Regarding transparency, the results show that in sixteen of the thirty municipalities, it was not possible to assess which expenses and areas of public administration the revenues from mining royalties were allocated, worth US$ 5.6 billion between 2019 and 2021. The results point out that only 38% of the municipalities in the sample meet the most basic criteria of public budget transparency, such as periodic publication of data and clarity in the presentation of information. In general, there is no tendency of compliance with the transparency criteria in the 4-year analysis, while some municipalities kept or improved their standard, others reduced their levels of transparency in budget planning, revealing a gap to be overcome for mining municipalities to comply with legal regulations.

Cost Forecasting for Building Materials under Conditions of Uncertainty: Methodology and Practice

Most large construction projects face the problem of cost overruns and failures to meet deadlines mainly due to changes in the cost of building materials. A lot of studies proved the high importance of the cost of building materials for the project budget and highlighted a number of factors that determine the cost of materials. However, modern unstable economic dynamics lead to the need not only to observe sufficient accuracy of quantity and cost calculations regarding primary building materials but also to carefully predict the cost, taking into account uncertainty factors (changes in the geopolitical situation, the impact of the pandemic, changes in the technological structure, etc.). This article proposes the use of a calculation and expert methodology for forecasting the cost of building materials on the example of building bars for two regions of the Russian Federation. This study includes a review of literature, which showed the dependence of the dynamics of the cost of construction on the prices of building materials, confirmed the impact of economic and noneconomic factors of the dynamics of prices of building materials and the impact of risk and uncertainty. Based on the literature review, it is also concluded that it is necessary to expertly adjust the results of the economic and mathematical modeling of the building materials’ price trend line under the influence of noneconomic factors of uncertainty. The statistics of the prices of building materials in Russia were analyzed, and the main causes of price dynamics (economic and noneconomic) were identified. The ARIMA model was selected to build a series of dynamics of prices of reinforcement steel, an expert adjustment of the forecast was made taking into account uncertainty factors. The method of calculation and expert forecasting of prices of building materials was proposed, and the forecast of prices of steel reinforcement in the regions of Russia was calculated on its basis. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the algorithm and practical results of forecasting the cost of building materials under the conditions of uncertainty, as well as recommendations for the implementation of predictive analytics tools in construction practice.