Engineering Commons^™

Digital Challenges And Opportunities Of Addressing On-Site Productivity And Safety On Construction Job Sites: An International Perspective, Ahmed Hassan, Ankur Mitra, Mark Mulville, Alan Hore

Conference papers

The slow pace of digital transformation in construction remains an impediment to the industry’s evolution. Despite rapid developments in digital technologies, the vast bulk of data generated on construction job sites remains underutilised due to the limited use of real-time data capture. The diffusion of digital solutions in construction depends on successfully capturing critical real-time data that can inform and contribute to more productive work patterns and safer job sites. Nevertheless, the construction industry’s fragmented nature has segregated the digital solutions offered by technology providers from the volatile challenges facing on-site construction practitioners.

This paper will present the early development …

Public Sector Bim Adoption: Development And Evaluation Of Government Policy Interventions: A Systematic Literature Review, Shiyao Kuang, Alan Hore, Ahmed Hassan, Barry Mcauley, Roger West

Conference Papers

Rapid technological advancements in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector have provided a significant opportunity for improving the industry's efficiency, performance and sustainability. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an innovative approach to information management in construction that provides a structured methodology for storing and analysing building information exchanged between project stakeholders. However, successful interventions and supports introduced by the public sector in accelerating BIM adoption can be seen through BIM mandates, promotion of information management ISO standards, guidance, funding and procurement integration. In this study, a systematic literature review is adopted to identify BIM policy interventions. The study aims …

Residential Building Flood Risk Assessment And The Benefits Of Home Elevation, Ayat Al Assi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Evaluating flood risk is an essential component of understanding and increasing community resilience. A robust approach for quantifying flood risk in terms of average annual loss (AAL) in dollars is needed to provide valuable information for stakeholder decision-making inside and outside the special flood hazard area (SFHA, which corresponds to the 100-year floodplain). To further inform flood mitigation strategies, quantifying flood risk reduction with home elevation above an initial first-floor height (FFH₀) and the cost effectiveness of federal mitigation assistance for elevation are important steps to enhance awareness of the effect of elevation in reducing flood risk. …

Development Of Reduced Cementitious Materials Concrete (Rcmc) Mixtures For Bridge Decks And Rails, Soumitra Das

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Right after construction, drying shrinkage of restrained concrete bridge decks and rails causes early-age cracking that eventually leads to delamination and spalling of concrete due to insertion of water and chemicals, and corrosion of reinforcing steel. The main objective of this research is to control early-age shrinkage cracking by reducing cementitious material content in the bridge deck and rail concrete mixtures. Several reduced cementitious materials concrete (RCMC) mixtures were developed by optimizing aggregate particle packing and conducting overall performance evaluation. This evaluation was carried out in three phases: The first phase investigated the feasibility of new RCMC mixtures by testing …

Building Services Engineering July/August 2023

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Construction Semantics And Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (Gpt) Language Models, Ankur Mitra, Ahmed Hassan, Mark Mulville

Articles

The article explores the impact of ChatGPT, a powerful language model developed by OpenAI, on the construction industry. ChatGPT, with its ability to provide contextually accurate responses to a wide range of queries, has the potential to enhance safety, scheduling, and knowledge dissemination in construction. While it shows promise in tasks like hazard recognition and project scheduling, the article emphasizes the need for cautious optimism and human oversight. The construction industry could benefit from ChatGPT's digital assistance to boost productivity and address skills shortages, but it is essential to recognize the value of human expertise alongside AI advancements.

Mechanical And Durability Properties Of Fly Ash Geopolymer Concrete – A Review, Ali Shebli, Jamal Khatib, Adel Elkordi

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Geopolymers have emerged as a promising alternative for Ordinary portland cement (OPC) in construction industry, due to their potential to minimize the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and improve the efficiency of waste recycling. This paper aims to study the fresh and hardened properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete (GPC), as well as to review the raw materials used in the production of geopolymers. Several factors impact the mechanical and durability properties of fly ash GPC, including the specific type of fly ash utilized, the curing temperature, the alkaline activator (AA) concentration, and the type of AA used. …

Construction And Preliminary Application Of The Carbon-Based Spatial Governance Performance Evaluation System ——Taking Zhejiang Province As An Example, Lin Qu, Ganlin Xia, Cunkuan Bao Prof.

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

Carbon is generated through human socio-economic activities, with territorial space serving as the medium for these activities. Variations in spatial governance result in differences in the scale, intensity and efficiency of social and economic activities, as well as energy and resource consumption and carbon emissions across diverse functional spaces. Consequently, spatial governance performance should be evaluated using carbon-related indicators. This study initially established a theoretical model for assessing spatial governance performance based on carbon and an evaluation method encompassing three dimensions or indices "level-progress-gap". Zhejiang Province and its 11 prefecture-level cities were selected as the research area for preliminary application …

Optimizing Repayment Strategies For Egyptian Construction Companies With Multiple Loans, Moataz Elkady

Theses and Dissertations

Optimizing Repayment Strategies for Egyptian Construction Companies with Multiple Loans is of utmost importance to efficiently allocate monthly income for loan repayment. The conventional practice of paying the minimum balance due each month leads to increased interest charges and prolonged repayment periods. In response, this research proposes a model for multiple loan repayment that considers the computational complexity involved.

The model is built on the foundation of mixed integer linear programming and aims to establish an optimal repayment schedule by minimizing the total cash required to repay the loans, prioritizing the repayment of loans before personal expenses. The implementation of …

Developing Sustainable Smart Cities To Improve Citizen's Quality Of Life And Well-Being, Mohammed Ali Berawi, Mustika Sari, Perdana Miraj

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

In the wake of urbanization and environmental challenges, cities nowadays face multiple issues related to uncontrolled urban growth, insufficient public infrastructure, and inadequate citizen participation in the management of public affairs. Sustainable urban development cannot be achieved without addressing these challenges, necessitating a paradigm shift in urban space management. Therefore, urban development needs to shift traditional concepts and focus on incorporating smart and environmentally friendly practices that allow cities to adapt and implement intelligent solutions to meet the needs of their citizens while continuing to protect the environment.

To achieve sustainability, cities should prioritize a balance between economic activity, population …

Gender Analysis Of Sustainable Housing Choices Of Rental Household Heads In Abuja Municipal Council, Nigeria, Amos Chom Haruna, Stephen Mukiibi, Assumpta Nnaggenda-Musana

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

Households' income and other concerns constitute important sustainable housing choices factors that play vital roles in influencing rental housing affordability decisions. The study determined both male and female households can make economic, social, and environmental housing choices to meet their affordable rental needs. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and a questionnaire was administered to a sample of 285 households obtained from a random sampling of 450 households living in private rental housing in Trademore estate in the Lugbe district of Abuja. Among the 285 households, 226 were household heads representing 79.3% of the respondents' households. The household heads consist of …

People-Centric And Inclusive Approach To Planning Of Smart Cities, Olli Jakonen

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

The smart city continues from intelligent, creative, and sustainable urban development imaginaries and started as a technologically oriented urban development framework. Since its conception, debates between academics, planning practitioners, and private firms have expanded and questioned original notions of ‘smart’ to consider people-centeredness, participation, and inclusion themes broadly. These discussions in smart cities have pointed to a need to question and revise many of the aims, approaches, and methods related to smart urban development. This review asks what elements and factors could be required for a city to be considered smart and people centric. The participatory design enabled by digital …

Evaluating Insurance Funds As A Financing Source For Infrastructure Development: A Case Study Of Indonesia, Mohammed Ali Berawi, Suyono Dikun, Ristu Bintoro, Mustika Sari, Suci Indah Susilowati

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

There is a funding deficit that cannot be covered by relying solely on government money to build Indonesia’s Infrastructure; consequently, additional sources of financing are engaging the private sector to fill the gap. Insurance funds are an alternative funding source in many countries, although their application is still at an early stage. By assessing the risks faced by insurance companies involved in infrastructure investment, this paper attempts to evaluate the use of insurance money as an alternative funding source for infrastructure investment in Indonesia. The analytical hierarchical process (AHP) technique was used in the quantitative methodology of this study to …

Empowerment Of Increasing Economic Resilience Post Covid-19 Janjang Wulung Village Community Through Creative Economic Village Planning, Alvian Wardhana, Muhammad Ramayuda, Faza Farhan Muhammad, Acyuta Putri Nariswari, Salsa Dwi Cahya Arifin, Garin Ardi Wicaksono, Dani Rizky Dianafi, Muhammad Ivan Riyandhika Saad Psf

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

Janjang Wulung Village is one of seven villages located at a highland of 593.73 meters above sea level in Puspo District, Pasuruan Regency, East Java. Janjang Wulung Village has natural resource potential from coffee, apples, avocados, and forest products supported by the plantation area, reaching 280.1 and farmers of 1,072 people. The livestock sector is also one of the superior productions in Janjang Wulung Village, with each household having 3-6 dairy cattle with a population of 602 people who work as breeders. However, the condition of COVID-19 limiting social activities resulted in a 20% to 40% decrease in income. So, …

An Assessment Of Urban Change And Its Drivers In Suleja Local Government Area Of Niger State, Nigeria, Bamiji Michael Adeleye, Kenneth Ssemwogerere, Paul Isolo Mukwaya, Amin Tamale Kiggundu, Fredrick Omolo-Okalebo, Lydia Mazzi Kayondo

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

The knowledge of urban change is critical to the management and planning of urban areas. Robust geospatial technologies have increasingly enhanced our understanding of urban change. This paper employs remote sensing and GIS data from the earth explorer data archive to assess the character and pattern of urban change in Suleja Local Government Area (Niger State in Nigeria) and its drives from 1987 to 2019. The nature and character of urban change are examined from the lens of the urban intensity index and the urban land use/cover change. Data from the geospatial techniques were corroborated with secondary data from the …

Automated Reinforcement In Construction 3d Printing: An Investigation Of Mechanical And Macrostructural Performance Of Reinforced 3d-Printed Structures, Hassan Ahmed

LSU Master's Theses

Conventional construction with steel reinforcement is widely accepted and utilized worldwide for its proven strength, durability, design flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and due to available standards and design codes. Integration of reinforcement in construction 3D printing, however, presents multi-faceted challenges that may influence the structural properties of printed components and have hindered the widespread adoption of reinforced 3D-printed structures. This study explored two complementary reinforcement techniques, namely, steel fibers and threaded reinforcement, to reinforce 3D-printed structures. This study explored both the fresh and hardened properties of 3D-printed mixtures that contain very high steel fiber dosages of up to 2.5% by volume. Additionally, …

Spatial Autocorrelation Analysis For Construction Sites, Raghda Moharram

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the usefulness of spatial autocorrelation analysis in construction sites. The objective is to provide construction managers with insights into the site's performance, identify potential areas for improvement, and ultimately lead to cost and time savings and improved project quality. To achieve this objective, the study identifies significant spatial autocorrelation variables for various applications in construction and analyzes their impact on the site's efficiency and potential problems.

The potential applications where spatial autocorrelation analysis could be useful were identified, including schedules, progress, earned value measures, safety incidents, workers' densities, equipment densities, energy expenditure, and quality non-conformity. A framework …

Influence Of Organizational Culture And Leadership Style On Disputes In Construction Projects – A Contractor’S Perspective, Omneya Nader Mekhaimer

Theses and Dissertations

Over the recent decades, studies on organizational culture and leadership practices have gained global attention across business management literature given their implicit influence on the organization’s success. However, very few studies tackled these practices in the construction industry research especially in Egypt. Unlike other industries, the construction industry is known to be a complex, dynamic, and adversarial industry sector due to its project-oriented nature where various stakeholders are involved and each have their own objectives. Consequently, construction disputes are inevitable to occur whereby previous studies revealed that the level of disputes have propagated throughout the years.

This research aims to …

Resources Based Planning Framework For Infrastructure Maintenance And Rehabilitation Projects, Heba Gad

Theses and Dissertations

Infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation projects involve activities scattered over a large geographical area (e.g., scattered road segments maintenance, telecom towers maintenance program, etc.). Planning such projects require a resource-based approach that accounts for the implications of resource mobility between activities’ locations in terms of time & cost. Existing scheduling techniques fall short of addressing the unique challenges of the scattered nature of these projects in combination with organization's limited resources availability. To address this need, this research presents a resources-based planning framework for infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation scattered projects with the objective of enhancing resources utilization achieving time and cost …

Recent Developments In Timber Design & Its Impact On Carbon Emissions, Raquel Jackson

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper explores recent developments in timber building designs and its potential towards reducing carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions are a growing issue worldwide as urbanization and industrialization continues to increase. The rising concentration of carbon dioxide emissions pose significant concerns towards public welfare and environmental health. Despite current methods to reduce greenhouse gasses, carbon emissions remain difficult to reduce from steel and concrete industries. Increasing timber use in building design is a possible solution. Increasing more timber in building design can help reduce carbon emissions due to the carbon-absorbing properties of the construction material. Timber as a construction material …

Toward Low Carbon Footprint And Lightweight Masonry Alkali-Activated Material, Zina Ebrahim, Mohammad Mastali, Marc Maguire

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

The portland cement concrete industry and the masonry industry are undergoing changes in response to skilled labor shortages and concerns over climate and pollution. There may be interest from parts of the industry in lower carbon footprint and lightweight masonry products. Toward this aim, the use of hemp shiv--the woody core of the hemp plant--in alkali-activated concrete was investigated herein and shown to have a wide range of impacts on the hardened state characteristics of a material suitable for structural concrete masonry units (CMUs) in accordance with ASTM C90 requirements. Hemp shiv is well known for its use in hempcrete, …

French Drain Project At Woods Humane Society, Thomas Douglas Collins

Construction Management

The Woods Humane Society is a prominent animal care facility that aims to rehabilitate, rescue, and assist in the adoption of dogs and cats in the greater San Luis Obispo area. The property contains multiple dog playpen areas which consist of a concrete slab surrounded by a chain link fence, designed for the animals to have an open space to run around throughout the day. Employees are required to hose down the slab hourly to maintain a clean environment for the animals. When employees hose down the playpen areas, a considerable amount of water runs off the slab and into …

The Center For Centering Dome, Olek Piechaczek, Ryan M. Scharf

Architectural Engineering

The Center for Centering seeks to create a large-scale healing center, conducive to individual centering of the mind and body. This mobile installation provides a relaxing, enclosed space while still maintaining a connection to the outdoors. The clients liked the idea of having a pop-up installation that could be easily set up as a touring display. With a deadline for installation looming in June 2022, a team of students had five months to design and manufacture the structure.

In winter 2022, the students developed custom geometry to minimize the number of individual parts and built a ¼ scale model of …

Tandem Crane Lifts Of Long Span Ppcgs Case Study, Giovana Sousa

Construction Management

The goal of this research is to compile the data from tandem crane lifts, specifically of long span girders, to determine the proper configuration for this type of work. There have been numerous failed attempts at lifting long span girders, and these failures are all unique. Much of the findings until recently have tended to be job-specific and never became widely available for public knowledge. In learning about these cases and understanding the reasons for these failures, I hope to provide concise information so that future people can avoid repeating the same mistakes. The objective is to provide insight on …

Pcra-Icra Pre-Construction Risk Assessment/Infection Control Risk Assessment Course, Devin Alan Deiranieh

Construction Management

The Preconstruction Risk Assessment and Infection Control Risk Assessment (PCRA/ICRA) course is a collaboration between Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Construction Management Department, Cal Poly’s California Center for Construction Education, Green Advantage, LLC and Thomas Kommer, J.D. The goal is to create a certification course in which industry professionals become certified, signifying their knowledge and understanding of PCRA/ICRA practices associated with construction in the environment of patient care. The project began with the PCRA/ICRA manual authored by Stellar Performance, LLC. Working with Nicholas Schorno, the author developed the learning material for the course. The learning material consists of power point …

Well Pump Enclosure Upgrade & Custom Gate For City Farm Slo, Joey Martin

Construction Management

City Farm SLO sits on seventeen acres of the Calle Joaquin Agricultural Preserve. The non-profit organization aims to enable farmers, educate youth, engage the community, and promote regenerative farming. One of the prevailing issues on the farm was a lack of security for their well pump system on site. The existing fence was loose, flimsy, and wrapped around the pump’s control panels. Additionally, there was no locking gate to secure the enclosure and prevent vandalism. The main goals of this project were to provide an enclosure that was more secure, visually appealing, and would last a long time. To accomplish …

The Benefits And Intricacies Of Self-Performing Work For General Contractors, David Steven Economos

Construction Management

In the construction industry, the trend regarding self-performing services ebbs and flows as a result of the ever-evolving market and new patterns that influence the industry. Recent studies have indicated that contractors plan to increase the amount of work they self-perform in the future, however research on the analysis of benefits, intangible and tangible, and intricacies self-perform services provide for a company is scarce and minimal. This case study analyzed the perception, experience, and knowledge of three various contractors of different sizes who procure different sectors of work in different geographical locations of the United States. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, …

Mep Comparison Of 3d Printed Homes And Stick Framed Homes, Carsen Quick

Construction Management

New construction technology is one of the most intriguing subjects in the construction industry, and new technologies are constantly being developed and improved on. In recent years, 3D printing has been developed and introduced into the residential construction industry. The content of this report aims to showcase the promising new technology of 3D printing in residential construction. In order to create new knowledge on this subject, an MEP comparison between 3D printed homes and traditional stick framed homes will be analyzed. This project was done in collaboration with a Northern Californian construction company, Emergent 3D. A site visit with Emergent …

Comparative Analysis Of Construction Scheduling: Consultant-Led Vs. Project Team-Led Approaches, Elijah J. Stennett

Construction Management

Efficient and accurate construction scheduling plays a pivotal role in the successful completion of construction projects. Most construction companies understand this importance, and they heavily rely on their schedulers. This research paper investigates the advantages and drawbacks of employing a consultant-led scheduling approach compared to a scheduling process managed solely by the project team. To assess the effectiveness of the two scheduling approaches, two companies and their scheduling practices were analyzed, and project management individuals were interviewed from each company. The findings reveal that a consultant-led approach brings specialized expertise in scheduling software, provides advantages in court litigation, and provides …

The Torii Project: Installation Manual, Jorge Armando Lara-Gonzalez

Construction Management

Serving as a symbolic gateway that establishes the entrance to a sacred space, is known as a Torii. The Torii is a traditional Japanese gate that holds great significance in Japanese culture. Our team is inspired to create a respectable and culturally appropriate Japanese torii in hopes of honoring the Japanese, Japanese-American community within the campus and the central coast. This Torii is meant to serve as a token of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Cal Poly community. The scope of manual for the Torii project explores what it takes for the installation process of the Torii after manufacturing …