How Much Did the Liberty Shipbuilders Learn? New Evidence for an Old Case Study

This paper uses previously unavailable historical records to show that several assumptions central to a learning by doing explanation of productivity growth in the construction of Liberty ships during World War II are mistaken. Impressive increases in output per worker recorded at one of the largest shipyards in the program, Calship, are shown to be strongly associated with increases in capital intensity and with a reduction in quality, where the latter is measured by the probability of a ship developing serious fractures that threatened the lives of its crew. Capital deepening and quality change, in conjunction with changes in production technologies and capacity utilization, account for virtually all the increase in labor productivity.Economic Growth Learning by doing, Liberty ships

Prison Bed Profiteers: How Corporations Are Reshaping Criminal Justice in the U.S.

Examines concerns with the role and performance of private prisons, including reports of abuse and neglect, low pay and limited training for staff, poor government oversight, and lack of cost savings and community economic benefit. Makes recommendations

Simulation framework of port operation and recovery planning

This study proposes a framework of simulation tool suites for ports to evaluate their response to disaster crisis and port security policies. The focus is containerized cargos that are imported through ports in the U.S. with final destinations also in the U.S. A crisis, such as a man-made or natural disaster, may cause a delay at the seaport. The down time of ports may result in severe economic losses. Thus, when a seaport cannot normally operate, it is important to minimize the impact caused by the disrupted freight flow. Port security policies also have a significant impact on the port operation efficiency. This model developed in this study evaluates the performance of re-routing strategies under different crisis scenarios and can help the user to find an effective re-routing decision and analyze security policies of a port. This model also analyzes security policies of the simulation port

Cable-driven parallel robot for curtain wall module installation

A cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) was developed for the installation of curtain wall modules (CWM). The research addressed the question of whether the CDPR was capable installing CWMs with sufficient accuracy while being competitive compared to conventional manual methods. In order to develop and test such a system, a conceptual framework that consisted of three sub-systems was defined. The tests, carried out in two close-to-real demonstration buildings, revealed an absolute accuracy of the CWM installation of 4 to 23 mm. The working time for installing a CWM was reduced to 0.51 h. The results also show that the system is competitive for a workspace greater than 96 m2 compared to conventional manual methods. However, improvements such as reducing the hours for setting up the CDPR on the one hand and achieving a faster and more robust MEE on the other hand will be still necessary in the future.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 73251

THE ACME BUILDING FIRE HAZARDS ANALYSIS

This Fire Hazards Analysis (FHA) was written using modern fire protection engineering principles to characterize the Applied Chemistry Management and Enrichment (ACME) Building at the Pacific Northwest National Research Area (PNNRA) using both a prescriptive-based and performance-based analysis to ensure the building and occupants can be safe in fire conditions. Recommendations are made as part of this analysis to improve the survivability of this structure if a fire were to occur. This building was found to be compliant with the prescriptive code requirements from the 2018 International Building Code except for a few minor issues that are currently being repaired. The requirements from the international building code that were reviewed include but are not limited to the following: 1) Area and height specifications from Chapter five; 2) Fire rated construction from Chapter seven; 3) Interior finish requirements as found in Chapter eight; 4) Sprinkler and fire alarm stipulations as discussed in Chapter nine- review from the 2019 NFPA 13 for sprinkler systems and review from the 2019 NFPA 72 for fire alarms; 5) Means of egress designations as found in Chapter 10 that include but are not limited to: travel distance limitations, exit placement, emergency signage and lighting, corridor, door, and stairway sizing, and exit discharge; 6) Retroactive applicability from Chapter eleven of the 2018 International Fire Code was also reviewed. The performance analysis portion of this report involved several design basis fires. These involved gasoline and diesel pool fires, vehicle fires, and workstation fires used to estimate the time for sprinkler activation, determine the time requirements for safe egress, and the capability of the building contents to resist fire spread. The main finding was that the west high bay location used for loading shipping trailers has the potential for serious consequences for fire spread if a truck fire were to occur and combustible storage was not adequately controlled. The sixty foot high ceilings require a significant fire to trigger sprinklers and the suppression will likely not control fire growth. The results from the remainder of the design basis fires show acceptable performance for the structure and occupants in fire conditions. The ACME Building is acceptable for continued operations. With minor exceptions, it meets current code requirements. Personnel can safely egress if a worst-case fire scenario occurs. Recommendations include changes in the storage configuration in certain areas, minimization of the use of wood pallets and caution regarding the use of trucks that are parked within the facility during offloading

DfMA: Towards an integrated strategy for a more productive and sustainable construction industry in Australia

Design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) is an important part of the future of the construction industry due to the promise of speed of project delivery, quality control, worker safety, and waste minimization onsite via the purposeful design for manufacture and assembly offsite. However, the adoption of DfMA in Australia has been slow. This paper investigates the barriers prohibiting widespread uptake and how digital construction will be a catalyst for improving use on commercial-scale projects. A total of six leading experts were interviewed to elicit their opinions, and seven recent case studies of high-rise modular apartment and hotel buildings constructed by Hickory were cross-referenced as evidence of DfMA capability. The experts suggested that the reasons for slow adoption in Australia were community mindset, government regulations and incentives, planning and building codes, unionization and business politics, finance, and supply chain management. The case studies suggest that compatible building type and transportation distance are also factors. These barriers can be addressed by the clever integration of building information modelling tools with lean construction processes as part of a proposed strategy leading to smarter (more productive) and better (more sustainable) outcomes predicated on growth in digital construction practices. The paper concludes with a proposed framework for change that conceptualizes the ‘ecosystem’ needed to support widespread DfMA in the Australian context, including the paradigm shift from building to manufacturing/assembly, the displacement of workers from onsite to offsite activity, and the expansion of interdisciplinary design and construct collaboration