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

Managing intellectual capital : individual rights and the public interest

Managing intellectual capital and intellectual property is a challenging task, especially for knowledge-based organisations vested with a public interest. Scientific ethics and freedom of information may clash with copyright law or with other intellectual property enactments, thereby engendering conflicts of interest. International law and treaties make for a complex regulatory framework. World-wide advocacy of the open access principle has led to some statutory changes, but its proponents mostly assume that copyright owners will act voluntarily. The implications for knowledge management are elucidated

Project pathogens: The anatomy of omission errors in construction and resource engineering project

Construction and engineering projects are typically complex in nature and are prone to cost and schedule overruns. A significant factor that often contributes to these overruns is rework. Omissions errors, in particular, have been found to account for as much as 38% of the total rework costs experienced. To date, there has been limited research that has sought to determine the underlying factors that contribute to omission errors in construction and engineering projects. Using data derived from59 in-depth interviews undertaken with various project participants, a generic systemic causal model of the key factors that contributed to omission errors is presented. The developed causal model can improve understanding of the archetypal nature and underlying dynamics of omission errors. Error management strategies that can be considered for implementation in projects are also discussed

Investigating the technology catching-up trajectory of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs: an integrated framework from industry-, resource-, and institution-based view

Accepted for WLICSMB 2010Purpose This paper intends to review the literatures on the technology catching-up trajectory of latecomers in order to understand the innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs (Gu & Tse, 2010; Xie & White, 2006; Chen & Qu, 2003; Lee & Lim, 2001; Kim, 1997). It also tries to construct an integrated framework to investigate their innovation strategies and the impact on organizational performance from the Industry-, Resource-, and Institution-based view (Peng, Wang, & Jiang, 2008). Design/methodology/approach The authors have reviewed papers published in the leading journals in the R&D field and proposed an integrated conceptual framework of innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech firms based on Peng, Wang and Jiang (2008)’s institution-based view framework to examine the innovation strategy from Industry-, firm-specific Resource-based, and Institution-based View Originality/Value This paper pays attention to the institution factors in shaping Chinese SMEs to develop innovative capabilities. Chinese firms have comparative advantages, such as better comprehending Chinese local market, better understanding of local business environment comparing to MNEs. Our paper argues that by developing effective innovation strategies and improving innovative capabilities, Chinese SMEs will be able to survive from the severe competitions from state-owned enterprises and foreign firms in China

National flood damage evaluation methods: A review of applied methods in England, the Netherlands, the Czech Republik and Germany

The focus of this guidance document is decision making under uncertainty in river basin management. Our purpose is to give hints for the analysis of decision situations in the HarmoniRiB case studies. The background of HarmoniRiB and thus of the case studies is the implementation of the EU-Water Framework Directive. The directive states the goal that all waters3 in the EU should reach a good status4 by 20155. In order to achieve this goal the member states need to set up river basin districts, each one having a management plan that includes a programme of measures which will achieve good status in the most costeffective manner. We conceptualize this management problem as a decision problem: Which measures should be selected for the programme of measures? The HarmoniRiB case studies are not able to cover all problems of the implementation of the EU-Water Framework Directive in all their complexity. They only investigate certain aspects of this problem. Therefore, we concentrate in this guidance document on a certain type of decision, the selection of management measures to reach a certain goal (this would usually be good status) for the case study river basins. Thereby we put a special focus on uncertainties. --

Heat-Ready: heatwave awareness, preparedness and adaptive capacity in aged care facilities

AbstractThis study identifies the current policies and strategies Australian ACFs use to keep residents well, and highlights the barriers to heatwave adaptation and maintaining wellness in the residential aged during periods of extreme heat. As the Australian population ages, planning for the health effects of extreme heat in elderly residents is critical to ensure wellness in this population group is maintained.Aims were to: 1) investigate current heat-wave planning, policies, staff knowledge and heat prevention strategies and 2) identify barriers to adaptation and successful implementation of adequate heat-wave health care in ACFs in three Australian states (NSW, Queensland and South Australia).Residential ACFs were identified across three states using Department of Health and Ageing databases, white pages and internet searching. After removal of duplicates, 1,561 facilities were invited to participate in the study. Each participating facility was asked to provide informed consent and invited to select one administrative and one clinical staff member to participate in a 15 minute Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI). Participants were asked about their knowledge of the effects of heat on the elderly and to detail current plans and policies which addressed residents’ health during heat-waves, and barriers to care during periods of extreme heat. Data was entered into a purpose-built database and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 19.Two hundred and eighty seven (287) facilities (18%) participated in the telephone interview. The ACFs enrolled represented 20,928 Australian aged care residents.  Ninety percent of facilities had a current ACF emergency plan, although only 30% included heat-wave emergency planning. Heatwave policies were not routine in all ACFs in any state. Staff used a range of strategies to keep residents cool in extreme heat, although strategies were not consistent across all states or facilities. The issues raised in relation to clinical care in this group can be synthesised into four key messages; cooling, hydration, monitoring and emergency planning, which, at a practical level are essential to maintain the health of older people in very hot weather.Please cite this report as: Black, DA, Veitch, C, Wilson, LA, Hansen, A 2013 Heat-Ready: Heatwave awareness, preparedness and adaptive capacity in aged care facilities in three Australian states: New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, 47 pp.AbstractThis study identifies the current policies and strategies Australian ACFs use to keep residents well, and highlights the barriers to heatwave adaptation and maintaining wellness in the residential aged during periods of extreme heat. As the Australian population ages, planning for the health effects of extreme heat in elderly residents is critical to ensure wellness in this population group is maintained.Aims were to: 1) investigate current heat-wave planning, policies, staff knowledge and heat prevention strategies and 2) identify barriers to adaptation and successful implementation of adequate heat-wave health care in ACFs in three Australian states (NSW, Queensland and South Australia).Residential ACFs were identified across three states using Department of Health and Ageing databases, white pages and internet searching. After removal of duplicates, 1,561 facilities were invited to participate in the study. Each participating facility was asked to provide informed consent and invited to select one administrative and one clinical staff member to participate in a 15 minute Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI). Participants were asked about their knowledge of the effects of heat on the elderly and to detail current plans and policies which addressed residents’ health during heat-waves, and barriers to care during periods of extreme heat. Data was entered into a purpose-built database and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 19.Two hundred and eighty seven (287) facilities (18%) participated in the telephone interview. The ACFs enrolled represented 20,928 Australian aged care residents.  Ninety percent of facilities had a current ACF emergency plan, although only 30% included heat-wave emergency planning. Heatwave policies were not routine in all ACFs in any state. Staff used a range of strategies to keep residents cool in extreme heat, although strategies were not consistent across all states or facilities. The issues raised in relation to clinical care in this group can be synthesised into four key messages; cooling, hydration, monitoring and emergency planning, which, at a practical level are essential to maintain the health of older people in very hot weather.&nbsp