Work Breakdown Structure Research Articles

Conceptualising China’s approach to ‘Internet Plus Government Services’: A content analysis of government working plans

This study aims to discern China’s approach to the development of ‘Internet Plus Government Services’ (IPGS) through the systematic search, collection, and analysis of IPGS working plans issued by provincial-level government entities in China. Eighty-one IPGS working plans were retrieved and analysed by applying a qualitative content analysis approach. The analysis identified 16 work packages in four main themes: development of supporting infrastructure; development of IPGS platforms and applications; development of IPGS legislation, regulations, and standards; organisational change and management. A conceptual model was developed and represented by a work breakdown structure diagram. The conceptual model can be used as critical evidence for the management and coordination of IPGS projects across China and offers an important theoretical base for further research of IPGS. This paper provides a comprehensive perspective on China’s IPGS development, which certainly is not flawless and fraught with problems and challenges, and offers useful insights and lessons for the development of digital government services worldwide.

Quantitative similarity assessment of construction projects using WBS-based metrics

Lessons learned from completed projects are valuable resources for planning of new projects. A quantitative similarity measurement between construction projects can improve knowledge reuse practices. The information and documents of a similar past project can be retrieved to resolve the challenges in a new project. This paper introduces a novel method for measuring the similarity of construction projects based on semantic comparison of their work breakdown structure (WBS). WBS of a project should theoretically encompass a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of project’s works, thus it could be used as an appropriate representative of the projects. The proposed method measures the semantic similarity between WBS of projects by means of natural language processing techniques. This method was implemented based on three metrics: node, structural, and total similarity. Each of these metrics calculate a quantitative similarity score between 0 and 1. The method was assessed using fifteen test samples with promising results in compliance with similarity properties. In addition, precision and recall of the method were evaluated in retrieving similar past projects. The results illustrate that the structural similarity slightly outperforms the other metrics.

Development of dictionary and checklist based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) at seaport project construction for cost estimation planning

A construction project consists of many activities. To be more easily managed, activities are divided into smaller called work packages. The elements of construction project work are relatively similar, and these can be standardized and used as a basis for a universal program for construction project. The WBS standards can be developed into a dictionary and checklist that will help the project planning process and is expected to minimize the occurrence of cost management errors on the project. The purpose of this research is to develop a dictionary and checklist standard based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for planning cost estimates for seaport project construction, identifying sources that can potentially have an impact on a project’s cost overrun. This research method uses a survey method to seaport expert’s validation and interviews using questionnaires to find the WBS-based dictionary and checklist standards. This research is expected to be a standard reference dictionary and checklist based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) at seaport construction projects for cost estimation planning. The importance of this research to knowledge is to know the steps of construction work especially at seaport project and to know WBS dictionary and checklist as a format that can be used as a reference base and easy-to-understand guide for seaport project, which provide work methods, activities, and resources.

Development of risk-based standardized Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to improve time performance on high-speed railway construction project

In Indonesia plans and studies for High Speed Railway (HSR) are not a new idea as they have been conducted before 2010. However, the plan to build HSR was just recently announced in 2015. Specifically, for the high-speed railway construction project in Indonesia, there is no standards that contains details of work activity packages and their methods for carrying out work in the field. This resulted in every railway-based construction project still using several methods from both overseas and Indonesian domestic experiences. Therefore, it is now necessary to standardize both the methods and work activities and suggested to be implemented for any highspeed railway project so that the work breakdown structure (WBS) can be standardized for any future rail and rail-based construction project. This can also minimize any potential risks and ensure the project is completed according to the targets in terms of quality, cost, and time. The methodology used in this study are to identify risks at construction project with a WBS matrix (observation and questionnaire). Analysis data in this study used statistical analysis. The result of this study is 15 risks selected from the 3 highest risks and 1 risk representing each category. The 3 (three) highest are Delay in issuing designs by the planner / designer, Delay in land acquisition by the project owner, Work activity has stopped due to weather factors. Risk representing each category are The subcontractor’s productivity does not match planning (Work packages), Delay in issuing designs by the planner / designer (Method/design), Work activity has stopped due to weather factors (Activity), Delay from suppliers in delivering material (Material resources), The planned productivity of equipment is not as needed (Equipment resources) and Human productivity is lower than demand (Human resources).

Work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary and checklist development of stadium architectural and interior works for safety planning

Nowadays, architectural and interior works in stadium construction have become the most critical elements. The stadium is required not only to have excellent sports facilities but also to have a high-level architecture and interior. Therefore, the works need to be more managed and planned so that the stadium project can run better and more effectively. The project planning phase has a crucial role which is when the project plans are documented, the project deliverables and requirements are defined, and subsequently, the project schedule is created, which means the development of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and its associated WBS dictionary with the checklist is undoubtedly imperative. The development is defining and breaking down the work into smaller components, which finally become such a project implementation reference in order to minimize the errors and ensure the project’s implementation can be in accordance with the plan. The results of this study describe the details of the development of WBS dictionary and checklist of architectural and interior work in stadium construction for safety planning that includes six (6) levels such as project name, division, sub of work, work package, activity, and resource and other information related.

A unified work breakdown structure-based framework for building asset management

PurposeAsset inventory is an essential part of any building asset management system and is needed by such functions as condition assessment and deterioration prediction. Previous studies in asset management systems have suggested the use of one of the many standard construction classification systems, such as UniFormat or MasterFormat, in achieving the goals of asset management. However, each classification system has its unique features, and it has been developed for different purposes and may not necessarily be directly adaptable to asset management. A proper classification system is thus needed to achieve the goals of building asset management effectively. Such a system must take into consideration the objectives and functions of asset management. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to establish a unified work breakdown structure (WBS)-based framework for building asset inventory.Design/methodology/approachThe WBS-based framework aims to cover the entire lifecycle of an asset so as to provide the unified classification system for asset inventory. The proposed framework is developed based on appropriate building standards. Also, comprehensive levels of details are included for space functions and locations for all assets in any type of building. Furthermore, this framework takes into consideration utilities in any kind of building project. As such, the WBS-based framework proposed in this research endeavor provides the basis for effective asset management. An educational building case study is presented and discussed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for asset management.FindingsThe unified WBS-based framework for building asset management effectively classifies asset inventories and facilitates decision-making in asset management during the lifecycle of an asset.Originality/valueThis research synthesizes a unified WBS-based framework for building asset management, which allows for a more effective lifecycle building asset management.

Big data platform of traffic violation detection system: identifying the risky behaviors of vehicle drivers

Since the traffic data has a high volume, high diversity and high speed of production, the traditional systems cannot process them accurately. In this paper, a big data based system was designed and implemented for identifying the offenders’ behaviors. The proposed Traffic Violation Detection System (TVD system) included four main phases which were described using the MAPE methodology. In the monitor phase, unstructured data, such as videos captured by traffic control cameras as well as the images and the descriptions provided by traffic officers, were collected. In the analysis phase, the knowledge base of unsafe driving behaviors was created and classified. In this phase, a standard Work Breakdown Structure for unsafe behaviors was created by the experts in traffic control. In the Plan phase, in order to detect unsafe driving behaviors related to police descriptions for collected images, and to detect unsafe behaviors from video cameras, Behavior-Based Safety process with Map/ Reduce technique and Vector Space Model (VSM) were employed. In the last phase, all types of data, including the structured data and the multimedia/unstructured data, along with the types and details of violations, were stored on the Hadoop Distributed File System. The prototype of the proposed TVD system was successfully implemented for a few common violations. The results showed that by applying big data technologies, the driving violations could be detected more accurately using the combination of the structured and unstructured data. The results indicate that compared to the sequential program, Hadoop only with a single slave-node decreases the processing time of big data by more than 70%. Also, by increasing the number of slave nodes from 1 to 7 in the police descriptions and images of surveillance cameras, the processing time reduces by 60.87% and 70%, respectively. Thus, the TVD performance increases by more than 75% as the number of data nodes boosts. Based on the results, it can be concluded that by identifying unsafe driving behaviors, it is possible to diminish traffic accidents and the damage caused by them at a satisfactory level. Also, the authors decided to compare these studies in terms of qualitative criteria, such as fieldwork and behavioral identification, and quantitative criteria.

Development of Preventive Maintenance Guidelines for Architectural Components on Government Building Based on Work Breakdown Structure

To reduce the occurrence of damage to government buildings, the efforts for preventive maintenance work must be made. In a building's preventive maintenance work process, the scope of work can be arranged using Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), so that it becomes structured and activity-oriented. However, in the application of government buildings, there are no guidelines for preventive maintenance work that is standardized by WBS. Therefore, developing guidelines for preventive maintenance work is important to improve maintenance and upkeep on a work package. The purpose of this research is to develop the guidelines for preventive maintenance work based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) on the architectural components of government buildings. The research methodology comprises several steps, named the literature study, analysis of archives with data and information from previously related research and projects, case studies, as well as through the validation of experts. The results of this study are WBS-based preventive maintenance work guidelines for architectural components of government buildings that can improve the quality of buildings and the effectiveness and efficiency of building maintenance and upkeep.

Building production management practice in the construction industry in Nigeria

Abstract Growing demands for building projects result from economic development. The building industry is dynamic and multifaceted. Efficient and effective practice of building production management (BPM) is required to successfully execute projects and achieve project goals upon completion as well as functionality aims for the lifespan of a building. This research aims to determine factors that influence the BPM practice in the Nigerian construction industry, particularly; during the project execution phase. A cross-sectional survey used; a questionnaire to identify 73 factors, which were grouped into 12 categories and assessed. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify 20 construction organisations specialising in building production management in Lagos, Nigeria. 114 questionnaires were distributed to the pool of stakeholders, which included 31 clients, 34 consultants and 49 contractors of current and past building production projects carried out by the selected firms in Lagos. The research used a selection of statistical tools for SPSS v.23, including the chi-square test, the Kruskal-Wallis test and Kendall's coefficient of concordance. The obtained result revealed the factors that mostly influence the BPM practice namely, architectural drawings, the construction programme document, the work breakdown structure, the adequacy of communication and coordination between the parties, the adequacy of raw materials and equipment, the availability of the competent team, the implementation of the safety management system, regular maintenance of project equipment, clear and timely inspections, the availability of funds as planned throughout the project duration, the availability of skilled personnel, and the aesthetics of the completed work. The research resulted in the development of the BPM implementation framework and recommendations for the improvement of the BPM practice in Nigeria.

Development of Safety Plan Based on Work Breakdown Structure to Determine Safety Cost for Precast Concrete Bridge Construction Projects. Case Study: Girder Erection with Launching Gantry Method

In Indonesia, there have been many accidents happening in the precast bridges projects. Separate budgets are not specifically provided in implementing OSHMS or Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems. The main purpose of the study is developing safety plan based on work breakdown structure to determine safety cost for precast concrete bridge construction projects. This research is using a survey research method. The respondents are construction safety experts. Descriptive analysis is selected to analyse the variables. The results of the study are safety plan to each hazards and activity, finding the safety costs components based on WBS in order to improve the OHSMS and reduce the rate of accidents. The safety plan is developed based on WBS and can be adapted to determine safety cost components and it can be easier in calculating the real safety costs.

A new approach to determine the weights of project activities using data envelopment analysis: a case of Mobarakeh steel company

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach to determine the project activities weight factors using data envelopment analysis. Afterward, the model is applied in Mobarkeh Steel Company as a case study. Accordingly, the project schedule and plans can be written on the basis of the gained weight factors.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposed an approach to determine the weights of activities using Data Envelopment Analysis. This approach consists of four phases. In the first phase, project activities are extracted based on the work breakdown structure. In the second phase, the parameters affecting the importance of activities are determined through a review of the related literature and based on the experts' opinions. In the third phase, the proper data envelopment analysis model is chosen and the inputs and outputs are signified. Then, the activities' weights are determined based on the efficiency numbers. Finally, the model is solved for the case of Isfahan Mobarakeh Steel Company.FindingsThe proposed method aimed to calculate the project activities weight factor. Thus, influential parameters on project activities importance include activity duration, activity cost, activity importance which includes successors and predecessors, activity difficulty which includes skill related (education and experience), safety, communication rate, intellectual effort, physical effort, unfavorable work conditions and work related hazards, have been recognized. Then, Projects' data were extracted from the organizational expert's opinions and recorded data in documents. Thereupon, applying DEA, the activities weight factor were calculated based on the efficiency numbers. The results show that the model is applicable and has promising benefits in real-world problems.Originality/valuePlanning is one the most fundamental steps of project management. The ever-growing business environment demands for more complex projects with larger number of activities wants more efficient project managers. Organizational resources are limited; therefore, activities planning is a critical from the perspectives of both managers and researchers. Knowing the importance of the activities can help to manage activities more efficient and to allocate time, budget, cost and other resources more accurate. Different elements such as cost, time, complexity, and difficulty can affect the activity weight factor. In this study, the proposed approach aims to determine the weights of activities using Data Envelopment Analysis.

The Combination of Project Construction Management and Lean Construction Techniques in the Architectural Project

Main goal of Project Construction Management and Project Management is to delivery a project within scope, times and costs planned, obtaining a high quality standard. Instead, Lean Construction is focused on minimizing waste, in favor to creating maximum value for the client. The question to which this empirical research wants to answer is following: the integration of Project Construction Management and Lean Construction techniques could affect positively the respect of times and costs planned? To answer to the question it ideated a method that integrates the techniques of two methodologies. Then it applied in the architectural project of simulation in order to show the potentiality of the method. The workflow divided into three stages. At first stage, they identified the individual assegnments through Work Breakdown Structure. At second stage, it defined the Organizational Breakdown Structure. At last stage they planned the construction times and costs through Priced Bill of Quantity, Cost Breakdown Structure, Gantt Chart and Last Planner® System. The hypothesis on expected results deriving from the application of the method and they could led to thinking an improvement of project performance in terms of times and costs planned, respect to only Project Construction Management techniques. Future researches could be experimental, involving enterprises ed implementing the methodology in real study cases, using also the Building Information Modelling.

Assessment of the biological contamination risks depending on the design of aseptic environment in cell manufacturing

Background & Aim Aseptic processing is one of the most important issues in the production of cell-based products which are handled by opening the culture vessels. The practical level of aseptic processing depends on the design of aseptic environment where the equipment for research are installed in the cell manufacturing facility. An aseptic environment where biosafety cabinet (BSC) is installed as the aseptic processing area (Grade A) has vulnerability due to manual operations crossing between aseptic processing area and its surrounding area. Though robustness of an aseptic environment where isolator system is installed is much higher than that in the BSC, the facility cost of the isolator system may be more expensive. On the other hand, the facility with BSC has more lot out risks in production due to biological contamination, resulting in higher manufacturing cost. When the cost of goods for a cell-based product is calculated, it must be considered adding on the required resources with the failure probability of cell manufacturing caused by biological contamination. Methods, Results & Conclusion In this study, biological contamination risks depend on the design of aseptic environment construction has been assessed by introducing the method of work breakdown structure (WBS). Then the failure probability of cell manufacturing caused by biological contamination was simulated with consideration of the possibilities which is based on the particle contamination in the product depending on the equipment usage in facility. It is expected that the established assessment model will be useful for design of cell manufacturing facility.

An overview and a WBS template for construction planning of mid-rise buildings

The construction of small houses was started many years before Christ, and the development of this field has led many architects and engineers to a higher level of buildings. Mainly the buildings in terms of height are classified into three types: low-, medium- and high-rise buildings. In this particular study, medium or med-rise buildings are investigated. Reaching the fully finished building stage is not easy, and it requires many steps. Taking into account the step-by-step tasks for proper performance completion, economical point of view, performance period estimation and other considerations, it is essential to organise (plan) the work before it starts accurately; that is why a work breakdown structure (WBS) template is vital in the planning, design and construction of buildings. In this paper, an overview and a WBS template for construction planning of the med-rise buildings are submitted. It was seen that for the successful construction of a mid-rise building, 14 steps are required prior completion, and among all steps, construction step takes more time for completion.

Landscape and housekeeping government building preventive maintenance guidebook based on work breakdown structure

Buildings suffer deterioration and function failures during its lifecycle even for landscape and housekeeping components in government buildings. Maintenance includes cleaning, inspecting, repairing, and replacing can provide buildings the ability to maximize the utilities of the building’s lifecycle. Corrective maintenance is the most used maintenance method in Indonesia although there are several alternatives, such as preventive maintenance that prevents any occurrences of building failures without neither repairing nor replacing any components throughout its lifecycle. Work breakdown structure (WBS) is an effective method to define preventive maintenance activities. However, in Indonesia there is still lack of preventive maintenance based on WBS activities guidebook and preventive maintenance policies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a guidebook of preventive maintenance landscape and housekeeping activities based on WBS to improve maintenance performance. The Research Method used is activities defined from policies, literature studies, and case studies drawn into WBS and validated by maintenance expertise. Experts validate the preventive maintenance activities using questionnaires and provide any maintenance activities to improve the guidebook. Result of the research showed that landscape and housekeeping preventive maintenance activities guidebook based on WBS government buildings maintenance. The guidebook is validated by experts and will be used building maintenance managers.

Analysis of safety cost structure in infrastructure project of precast of precast concrete bridge based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The Indonesian construction industry has increased due to the policy of infrastructure projects acceleration. Construction is a dangerous industry that often takes casualties. In recent years there have been many accidents in the precast bridge projects, which have caused moral and material losses, projects were stopped and delayed. Separate budgets that are not specifically prepared in implementing the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OHSMS) is one of the causes of the poor implementation of OHSMS and create high rates of accidents. Thus, the financing of OHSMS was taken from the project budget, which led to a reduction in the profits. The aims of the study are determining the work breakdown structure (WBS) in precast bridge project, identifying hazards and risks, developing safety plans, identifying safey costs components and calculating of safety cost. This research is a survey research with respondents of experts in construction safety, descriptive analysis is used to determine variables. A case study approach is also used to calculate safety costs. The results of this study are the precast bridges standardized WBS, safety plan to each hazards and activity, finding the safety costs components based on WBS, and the percentage of total safety cost Kundur Bridge is 3,21%.

Analysis of safety cost structure in infrastructure project of cable stayed bridge based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The development of infrastructure in Indonesia is currently quite massive, in accordance with the Government of Indonesia’s policy in accelerating infrastructure developments. However, along with the increase in the construction sector, work accidents in the construction sector also increased. Cable Stayed Bridge is one of the excellent technologies in connecting islands but has a high potensial hazards and risks and it can cause fatal accidents. Accidents can be prevented through a good occupational safety and health management system (OHSMS). The application of OHSMS financing in Indonesian construction sector, especially in the cable stayed bridge has not been clearly and measurably regulated. In its implementation, the existing regulations have not yet been fully followed by the construction actors. This study aims is to develop the safety cost based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The research method are survey research and descriptive analysis. The study results are the cable stayed bridge standardized WBS, potential hazard sources, the preventive action to each potential hazards in each activity, finding the safety cost components based on WBS and the calculation of safety cost percentage in order to improve the OHSMS quality and reducing work accidents in the cable stayed bridge projects.

Optimizing maintenance of electrical components with BIM and web-based inputs to improve safety performance in government green building

A green building with proper maintenance will have higher energy efficiency and longer lifetime, as damages to building utilities can be minimised. One of the vital utilities are electrical components. Damages to electrical components may have fatal consequences such as short circuit or fire. This research aims to improve the maintenance of electrical components of green building. A case study is taken from a government green building for electrical components, in order to meet the building reliability requirements which consist of safety, health, comfort, and convenience. Maintenance system which is Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) level 4 of building maintenance integrated with information systems and Building Information Modeling (BIM) are influential factors for building maintenance performance. The research methods used are archival analysis, case study, survey, expert judgement, and statical analysis. This research generates product of web based information system integrated with BIM, and also mathematical model that enhance the maintenance performance of government green building for electrical components would become more effective and efficient especially for safety performance.

Information system development using BIM on wall work packages of government green building to improve the convenience of maintenance performance

Comfort is one indicator in the performance of building maintenance. This performance can be achieved by carrying out maintenance work on the building architecture components. The maintenance of government green buildings in Indonesia has not been done in an optimum manner due to constraints in maintenance work to government green buildings such as non-digitized data, poorly documented data, substandard maintenance work, and poor or slow identification of damages. Impacts resulted from the poorly maintained building are the increasing operational cost and ineffective maintenance work done to the building. The aim of this study is to increase the comfort of maintenance performance of the architectural component of government green building, especially the wall work package. The case study taken is the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing Building which is considered as a representation of government green building in Indonesia. The method used are literature research, case study, and survey. The result of this research is the information system development using Building Information Modelling (BIM) integrated into building maintenance systems such as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), SOP, and building maintenance guidelines for architectural components.

Preventive maintenance of mechanical component development guideline on government building based work breakdown structure

Building is a physical form of construction work which is integrated with its domain, partly or fully on the surface and / or underneath the land and / or water, which functions as a place for people to carry out their activities. Buildings must be able to fulfill their functions. However, over the course of time and utilization, they will suffer from damage caused by various aspects, such as the mechanical components of the building. One of the efforts that can be done to reduce the damage is by doing preventive maintenance work. Preventive maintenance work includes tasks or measures taken to prevent the need for repairs. In the buildings preventive maintenance process, the scope of work can be arranged by using Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), hence a structured and activity oriented grouping can be achieved. However, in the application of government buildings there are no guidelines for WBS-based preventive maintenance work yet. Therefore, developing preventive maintenance work guidelines to improve care and maintenance performance is an important task in project management. The research methodology consisted of several stages, namely the literature study, archives analysis with data and information from previous research and related projects, case studies, and Delphi techniques through the validation of experienced experts. The result of this research was that WBS-based preventive maintenance work guidelines for mechanical components of government buildings could improve the quality of buildings and the effectiveness and efficiency of building maintenance.