Integration of Cost andWork Breakdown Structures in the Management of Construction Projects

Scope management allows project managers to react when a project underperforms regarding schedule, budget, and/or quality at the execution stage. Scope management can also minimize project changes and budget omissions, as well as improve the accuracy of project cost estimates and risk responses. For scope management to be effective, though, it needs to rely on a robust work breakdown structure (WBS). A robust WBS hierarchically and faithfully reflects all project tasks and work packages so that projects are easier to manage. If done properly, the WBS also allows meeting the project objectives while delivering the project on time, on budget, and with the required quality. This paper analyzes whether the integration of a cost breakdown structure (CBS) can lead to the generation of more robust WBSs in construction projects. Over the last years, some international organizations have standardized and harmonized different cost classification systems (e.g., ISO 12006-2, ISO 81346-12, OmniClass, CoClass, UniClass). These cost databases have also been introduced into building information modeling (BIM) frameworks. We hypothesize that in BIM environments, if these CBSs are used to generate the project WBS, several advantages are gained such as sharper project definition. This enhanced project definition reduces project contradictions at both planning and execution stages, anticipates potential schedule and budget deviations, improves resource allocation, and overall it allows a better response to potential project risks. The hypothesis that the use of CBSs can generate more robust WBSs is tested by the response analysis of a questionnaire survey distributed among construction practitioners and project managers. By means of structural equation modeling (SEM), the correlation (agreement) and perception differences between two 250-respondent subsamples (technical project staff vs. project management staff) are also discussed. Results of this research support the use of CBSs by construction professionals as a basis to generate WBSs for enhanced project management (PM)

Timelining the Construction in Immersive Virtual Reality System Using BIM Application

Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has been using 4D construction models (graphical illustration of the construction of a 3D building design with time as the 4th dimension) for many years to improve an existing construction schedule by identifying inconsistencies and out of sequence activities; reducing missing activities; and improving the ability to communicate construction plan information. In practice, majority of the AEC industry has been using a personal computer based monitor to view and analyze these models. A study on investigating the potential benefits and challenges of using an immersive 3D virtual environment to view 4D models proved that by interactively generating construction schedule in the immersive virtual environment, the construction professionals were able to identify design, constructability, sequencing, and interdisciplinary interfacing issues which resulted in the construction professionals being able to develop a plan that resulted in a 28% savings to their original schedule. The major shortcoming of these immersive virtual reality systems was the Building Information Models (BIM) had to be converted to a specific format before they can be visualized in the immersive virtual environments. This study is an attempt to address the shortcomings of the previous version of the BIM CAVE which had the control over the camera views for achieving an almost seamless immersive virtual environment by developing a new BIM CAVE application which synchronizes timelining of 4D construction sequence in BIM CAVE. The new BIM CAVE setup is run by a custom built application that makes use of the .Net API (Application Programming Interface) of the commercially available BIM application, Autodesk Navisworks 2012. The objective of this research is to investigate the effectiveness, potential benefits and challenges of timelining the 4D construction sequence in BIM CAVE developed at Texas A&M University by using a qualitative research methodology called phenomenological study. The findings of this research specify that timelining the 4D construction sequence in BIM CAVE has many potential benefits like better spatial perception which increases confidence of construction professionals over the schedule, better sequencing of construction activities, better communication of schedule, evaluating constructability issues, and training the work force. Thus, this research concludes that timelining the construction in BIM CAVE is effective over visualizing 4D construction on a single screen with some limitations mentioned in this research

Enhancing Planning and Scheduling Program by Using Benefits of BIM-Based Applications

2D drawings are commonly being used to present the work process of 3D objects in the construction industry. The engineers require having sufficient knowledge to interpret these drawings for use in various areas of the work especially for providing planning and scheduling programs. In the construction projects, construction managers face many problems such as over budget projects, schedule errors, omission of some activities like safety tasks that originate from poor planning methods. Therefore, the study is going to examine alternative tools for better understanding of real project tasks sequences and procedures. One of the most reliable applications is introduced by the Building Information Modeling approach (BIM) that develops four-dimension model based on a combination of three dimension models with time. The benefits of BIM-based on 4D modeling not only improving the perception of planners and construction teams but also facilitate the procedure of planning and scheduling like automatically clash detection, introduce parallel activity and etc. .This study discusses the development and implementation of this innovative approach in construction planning. The research was carried out based on questionnaire survey within construction companies in Singapore. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis and been ranked with Average Index method. Keywords: Planning, scheduling, BIM-Based Application

Enhancing Planning and Scheduling Program by Using Benefits of BIM-Based Applications

2D drawings are commonly being used to present the work process of 3D objects in the construction industry. The engineers require having sufficient knowledge to interpret these drawings for use in various areas of the work especially for providing planning and scheduling programs. In the construction projects, construction managers face many problems such as over budget projects, schedule errors, omission of some activities like safety tasks that originate from poor planning methods. Therefore, the study is going to examine alternative tools for better understanding of real project tasks sequences and procedures. One of the most reliable applications is introduced by the Building Information Modeling approach (BIM) that develops four-dimension model based on a combination of three dimension models with time. The benefits of BIM-based on 4D modeling not only improving the perception of planners and construction teams but also facilitate the procedure of planning and scheduling like automatically clash detection, introduce parallel activity and etc. .This study discusses the development and implementation of this innovative approach in construction planning. The research was carried out based on questionnaire survey within construction companies in Singapore. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis and been ranked with Average Index method. Keywords: Planning, scheduling, BIM-Based Application

Integrating BIM and Planning Software for Health and Safety Site Induction

Project management software packages have been around for quite a long time to help managers to run construction projects effectively. Building Information Modelling – also known as Object-orientated Modelling technology was used at the beginning in architectural design which has become more widespread in structural and services engineering. The development of BIM modelling has made the tool more users friendly. As a result, BIM became widely used by most practitioners in their specialist areas. For health and safety practitioners within construction project management, This tool has not been fully explored. BIM technology has the potential to be used in safety planning procedures particularly those related to tasks on construction sites. The section of the research presented in this paper intend to explore and review health and safety issues on construction site with the sole intension of using better visualisation software to meet the needs of health and safety site practitioners in understanding such H&S problems. A framework needed for better H&S practice on site that may be used actively by all practitioners will be developed. The intension is to find a way forward in addressing ‘real’ health and safety site issues that may not be easy to be understood by practitioners without the full aid of visualisation. Keywords: Health, Safety, construction site, BIM, 4D Modellin

Construction Tradespeople Perception of the Factors Motivating Labour Productivity on Construction Projects

Construction productivity defines the wealth of a nation as well as the well-being of its citizenry, because it plays a critical role in the overall economic development of a nation. However, there has been a reported decline in labour productivity which has led to poor delivery of construction projects. This issue has been among the leading causes of schedule and cost overruns, quality issues, claims and conflicts, especially in key capital construction projects globally. Poor labour productivity is attributed to the reaction of workers on certain factors.  The purpose of this study is to assess construction tradespeople perception of the factors motivating labour productivity on construction projects. To achieve this purpose, semi-structured interview and questionnaire, and a stratified purposeful sampling technique was adopted to gather data from construction tradespeople in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Data gathered through survey from 106 construction tradespeople, were analysed using frequencies, percentage and factor analysis. The data gathered from 25 interviewees were analysed using thematic analysis. The study concluded that major factors motivating construction tradespeople productivity on construction projects are knowledge and salary-related factors; job security and planning related factors; health, safety and promotion related factor; overtime and work area condition; team building and equipment factors; supervision and recognition factors; management and teamwork factors; and materials and work methods. Furthermore, the implication of the role of financial and non-financial motivators is brought to the fore in ensuring improved and sustainable labour productivity on construction projects. The study recommended that construction organisations should utilise a good mix of financial and non-financial productivity motivators in getting the best out of their employees, especially the site operatives

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES IN ENGINEERING INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: SELECTED SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA STATES CASE STUDY

It is an undeniable fact that production of maintenance- free infrastructure is not feasible. The reality is that all the elements and components that make up an engineering infrastructure unavoidably, deteriorates with time due to inherent defects in design and construction, and the effects of environmental agents and users activities. All engineering infrastructures are subject to aging, wear and tear in the performance of their functions and deterioration by exposure to outside operating environment. Hence, left to themselves, engineering infrastructures will eventually become inefficient, unreliable and fail. The issue then is how the existing infrastructure can be sustained to the extent that the functions they are designed to perform will not be compromised. To this end, this study will researched into sustainability strategies that can be adopted in engineering infrastructure maintenance. Data will be collected for purpose of extracting information on deployable strategies, including the use of Public engineering infrastructure in Southwestern part of Nigeria as case study. The study will later recommend strategies than can be adopted to aid this present generation provide solution to their environmental needs without compromise ability of future generation to meet their needs, which concept of sustainability has birthed

Work Stress among Professionals in the Building Construction Industry in Nigeria

This study was undertaken to identify key stress factors among professionals in the building construction industry in Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that to date, very little is known about work stress among professionals in the building construction industry in this country. The study involved the administration of a questionnaire to 107 professionals including architects, builders, civil/structural engineers and quantity surveyors randomly selected from 60 ongoing building projects in Anambra, Ogun and Kaduna States, Nigeria. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and findings show that the principal sources of stress were high volume of work, uncomfortable site offices, lack of feedback on previous and ongoing building projects, and variations in the scope of work in ongoing building projects. The paper suggests that taking responsibility for work which one has adequate capacity to handle, establishing realistic budgets and time frames for project delivery, provision of spatially adequate, visually and thermally comfortable site offices, adoption of appropriate job design practices and education of professionals in stress management will reduce the incidence of stress among professionals in the building industry in Nigeria

Emerging cad and bim trends in the aec education: An analysis from students\u27 perspective

As the construction industry is moving towards collaborative design and construction practices globally, training the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) students professionally related to CAD and BIM became a necessity rather than an option. The advancement in the industry has led to collaborative modelling environments, such as building information modelling (BIM), as an alternative to computer-aided design (CAD) drafting. Educators have shown interest in integrating BIM into the AEC curriculum, where teaching CAD and BIM simultaneously became a challenge due to the differences of two systems. One of the major challenges was to find the appropriate teaching techniques, as educators were unaware of the AEC students’ learning path in CAD and BIM. In order to make sure students learn and benefit from both CAD and BIM, the learning path should be revealed from students’ perspective. This paper summarizes the background and differences of CAD and BIM education, and how the transition from CAD to BIM can be achieved for collaborative working practices. The analysis was performed on freshman and junior level courses to learn the perception of students about CAD and BIM education. A dual-track survey was used to collect responses from AEC students in four consecutive years. The results showed that students prefer BIM to CAD in terms of the friendliness of the user-interface, help functions, and self-detection of mistakes. The survey also revealed that most of the students believed in the need for a BIM specialty course with Construction Management (CM), Structure, and Mechanical-Electrical-Plumbing (MEP) areas. The benefits and challenges of both CAD and BIM-based software from students’ perspectives helps to improve the learning outcomes of CAD/BIM courses to better help students in their learning process, and works as a guideline for educators on how to design and teach CAD/BIM courses simultaneously by considering the learning process and perspectives of students. © 2018 The autho