Delays and disruptions on construction projects within the public sector integrated project delivery system as an alternative.

Masters in of science of construction management university of KwaZulu-Natal Howard campus.Durban. South Africa,2017.The South African construction industry has earned a reputation for poor project delivery, particularly within the public sector. Successful project delivery has been identified as attaining the project objectives with regards to time, cost, quality and scope within the constraints as outlined by the client. Research and statistical data has highlighted key causes for project delivery failure, with delays and disruptions being identified as a primary reason. The consequences of these delays and disruptions are severe and frequently and if not always, lead to cost overruns. The reasons for these delays vary on projects and circumstances. Constructability on projects has been found to be lacking. The sequence of processes on a project is known as the constructability or more commonly, buildability. There is a significant lack of consideration of constructability on projects which results in variations, cost overruns, poor communication and ultimately delaying the project. This study aimed to examine the existing procurement methods which determine the processes, sequence of operations and communication channels within the public sector and investigated whether an alternative procurement method, namely Integrated Project Delivery System (IPDS), could serve as a potential solution to the existing issues. The research was conducted on key project professionals who have great influence on the procurement methods implemented on public sector projects. The processes, sequence of operations and communication channels on a project are determined by the procurement method implemented. The selected procurement method provides a framework for the project and the project team. The current options available within the public sector are structured according to guidelines provided by legislative framework, the Construction Industry Development Board and The National Treasury. The guidelines are aligned with the specific requirement of the country. The findings revealed that the Traditional Procurement method is implemented by default or due to familiarity and is therefore not always the appropriate system. The research found that the Traditional Procurement system possesses adversarial relations and the industry is in agreement that a more relational system could harness greater results. In additions, the TPS unfortunately restricts contractor involvement during the implementation stages which is potentially to the detriment of the project. The findings further suggested that the contractor has valuable input which should be considered during the design stages in order to improve the ease of construction and possible reduce construction time and effectively diminish delays and disruptions. The research revealed that the consequential impact of this change will be significant. The study recommends that the South African construction industry within the public sector should display greater versatility when considering the implementation of alternate procurement systems such as ` 1 Integrated Project Delivery as opposed to adopting the default conventional method which fosters adversarial relations

Measurements, Models, Systems and Design

531 s.

Generating whole body movements for dynamics anthropomorphic systems under constraints

Cette thèse étudie la question de la génération de mouvements corps-complet pour des systèmes anthropomorphes. Elle considère le problème de la modélisation et de la commande en abordant la question difficile de la génération de mouvements ressemblant à ceux de l'homme. En premier lieu, un modèle dynamique du robot humanoïde HRP-2 est élaboré à partir de l'algorithme récursif de Newton-Euler pour les vecteurs spatiaux. Un nouveau schéma de commande dynamique est ensuite développé, en utilisant une cascade de programmes quadratiques (QP) optimisant des fonctions coûts et calculant les couples de commande en satisfaisant des contraintes d'égalité et d'inégalité. La cascade de problèmes quadratiques est définie par une pile de tâches associée à un ordre de priorité. Nous proposons ensuite une formulation unifiée des contraintes de contacts planaires et nous montrons que la méthode proposée permet de prendre en compte plusieurs contacts non coplanaires et généralise la contrainte usuelle du ZMP dans le cas où seulement les pieds sont en contact avec le sol. Nous relions ensuite les algorithmes de génération de mouvement issus de la robotique aux outils de capture du mouvement humain en développant une méthode originale de génération de mouvement visant à imiter le mouvement humain. Cette méthode est basée sur le recalage des données capturées et l'édition du mouvement en utilisant le solveur hiérarchique précédemment introduit et la définition de tâches et de contraintes dynamiques. Cette méthode originale permet d'ajuster un mouvement humain capturé pour le reproduire fidèlement sur un humanoïde en respectant sa propre dynamique. Enfin, dans le but de simuler des mouvements qui ressemblent à ceux de l'homme, nous développons un modèle anthropomorphe ayant un nombre de degrés de liberté supérieur à celui du robot humanoïde HRP2. Le solveur générique est utilisé pour simuler le mouvement sur ce nouveau modèle. Une série de tâches est définie pour décrire un scénario joué par un humain. Nous montrons, par une simple analyse qualitative du mouvement, que la prise en compte du modèle dynamique permet d'accroitre naturellement le réalisme du mouvement.This thesis studies the question of whole body motion generation for anthropomorphic systems. Within this work, the problem of modeling and control is considered by addressing the difficult issue of generating human-like motion. First, a dynamic model of the humanoid robot HRP-2 is elaborated based on the recursive Newton-Euler algorithm for spatial vectors. A new dynamic control scheme is then developed adopting a cascade of quadratic programs (QP) optimizing the cost functions and computing the torque control while satisfying equality and inequality constraints. The cascade of the quadratic programs is defined by a stack of tasks associated to a priority order. Next, we propose a unified formulation of the planar contact constraints, and we demonstrate that the proposed method allows taking into account multiple non coplanar contacts and generalizes the common ZMP constraint when only the feet are in contact with the ground. Then, we link the algorithms of motion generation resulting from robotics to the human motion capture tools by developing an original method of motion generation aiming at the imitation of the human motion. This method is based on the reshaping of the captured data and the motion editing by using the hierarchical solver previously introduced and the definition of dynamic tasks and constraints. This original method allows adjusting a captured human motion in order to reliably reproduce it on a humanoid while respecting its own dynamics. Finally, in order to simulate movements resembling to those of humans, we develop an anthropomorphic model with higher number of degrees of freedom than the one of HRP-2. The generic solver is used to simulate motion on this new model. A sequence of tasks is defined to describe a scenario played by a human. By a simple qualitative analysis of motion, we demonstrate that taking into account the dynamics provides a natural way to generate human-like movements

A review of the effectiveness of lower limb orthoses used in cerebral palsy

To produce this review, a systematic literature search was conducted for relevant articles published in the period between the date of the previous ISPO consensus conference report on cerebral palsy (1994) and April 2008. The search terms were 'cerebral and pals* (palsy, palsies), 'hemiplegia', 'diplegia', 'orthos*' (orthoses, orthosis) orthot* (orthotic, orthotics), brace or AFO

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 153)

This bibliography lists 175 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in March 1976

MINIMISATION OF REWORK IN UK HOUSING CONSTRUCTION: CONTRIBUTION OF SUBCONTRACTORS

The housing supply chain includes a plethora of privately owned trades, and a high level of fragmentation is driven by a significant number of micro businesses in the UK housing construction. The construction industry has been recognised as one of the major industries with a high level of waste and rework, particularly among different contributors in housing construction. Rework is an endemic and chronic issue and has been recognised as a symptom that has afflicted the workflow process and the productivity in housing construction projects in the UK. Traditionally, the root cause of rework in the housing supply chain has been identified as a poor performance of subcontractors. However, there is very limited research into the elimination of rework in the housing supply chain. Subcontractors play an important role in delivering successful projects. There has been less attention paid to the importance role of subcontractors in housing supply chain, given the high level of fragmentation associated with the large number of subcontractors in housing development projects. The research method is based on a literature review, semi-structured interview, and questionnaire survey. A pragmatic sequential exploratory approach (i.e., the qualitative research followed by quantitative investigation) was used to address the research questions. For the qualitative research a semistructured interview was carried-out to gauge industry experts’ perspectives and understanding of the root causes of rework. A quantitative research method, using a questionnaire survey, was employed from wide range of practitioners within housing development projects. The finding of the study suggests and highlights the importance role of subcontractors for rework minimisation in housing construction projects. Also, several key findings that have emerged from the study include cooperative working to foster trust among subcontractors, collaboration improvement among practitioners, creating incentive mechanism, and learning mechanism, improving site management team, different strategies to minimise rework, employing offsite manufacturing techniques, using digital tools, and adopting communication tools to improve collaboration and minimise rework onsite. To help subcontractors achieve a sustainable rework minimisation practice, a best framework has been developed based on the findings from the study and evaluated by employing a focus group. The content of the study can be used by practitioners who are involved in housing development projects

Impact of irrigation on poverty and environment in Ethiopia. Draft Proceeding of the Symposium and Exhibition held at Ghion Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 27th -29th November, 2007

Poverty, Crop management, Irrigated farming, Rainfed farming, Irrigation systems, Food security, Water harvesting, Institutions, Environmental effects, Public health, Malaria, GIS, Remote sensing, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Exploring the relationship between hemi-inattention and functional recovery in the first six months after stroke: a longitudinal study with a multilevel modelling approach to data analysis

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonIn recent years, the functional outcomes of patients with right hemisphere stroke (RHS) received considerable attention due to their impact on disability, independent living, quality of life and economic burden. Hemi-inattention (HI) is a complex condition which often accompanies RHS. It is characterised by reduced alertness, attention and low spatial awareness levels. Past studies reported poor outcomes in patients with HI and inconsistent findings in regard to the relationship of HI with functional outcome. Literature review of 13 relevant studies highlighted poor research methodology which complicated interpretation of previous results. Aims: The aim of this study was to address the clinically important question “What is the relationship between early HI status (HI±) and functional change in the 1st six months after right hemisphere stroke?” by improving on research methodology from past studies. Methods: An all-inclusive stroke severity RHS sample (58 with and 35 without HI) were recruited from two stroke units and assessed on motor and cognitive factors with validated measurement tools on four occasions; baseline, hospital discharge, 6 weeks after discharge, and 6 months after stroke. A multi-level modelling approach was used to analyse change in functional progress over time with potential explanatory motor and cognitive factors. Results: HI status was only statistically significant when modelled alone. Its predictive importance greatly diminished when modelled with other factors e.g. stroke severity, time since stroke and age. Conclusion: On average, HI group membership at baseline is unrelated to functional recovery when other influential factors are also considered. The findings extend current knowledge in stroke recovery research and provide suggestions for optimal therapeutic and rehabilitation outcomes. In contrast with traditional methods of regression analysis, multi-level modelling techniques enabled important relationships to be studied in depth. This resulted in new insights into the data which can be used to inform patient management and future research in the field

Parkinson's Disease Management through ICT

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that manifests with motor and non-motor symptoms. PD treatment is symptomatic and tries to alleviate the associated symptoms through an adjustment of the medication. As the disease is evolving and this evolution is patient specific, it could be very difficult to properly manage the disease.The current available technology (electronics, communication, computing, etc.), correctly combined with wearables, can be of great use for obtaining and processing useful information for both clinicians and patients allowing them to become actively involved in their condition.Parkinson's Disease Management through ICT: The REMPARK Approach presents the work done, main results and conclusions of the REMPARK project (2011 – 2015) funded by the European Union under contract FP7-ICT-2011-7-287677. REMPARK system was proposed and developed as a real Personal Health Device for the Remote and Autonomous Management of Parkinson’s Disease, composed of different levels of interaction with the patient, clinician and carers, and integrating a set of interconnected sub-systems: sensor, auditory cueing, Smartphone and server. The sensor subsystem, using embedded algorithmics, is able to detect the motor symptoms associated with PD in real time. This information, sent through the Smartphone to the REMPARK server, is used for an efficient management of the disease