Evaluation of the Effects of Independent Data Assignment (IDA) Method as a mean of Enhancing the Competence of Nigerian Engineering Students

Understanding basic principles of engineering by students requires practise by hand calculation of simple problems which is usually accomplished through assignments.  This paper reports the results of a method called Independent Data Assignment (IDA) which enables the teacher to generate multi-variables independent data for every student, many times in a teaching period, irrespective of the student population, in such a way that no two students have the same data set for any given assignment, by using the MS-Excel software package. Structural engineering was used as case study. The responses from the questionnaire administered were analysed from which it was found that 91.7% of the students agreed that it helped them in doing independent work and 95% said the method encouraged learning. It can thus be concluded that IDA is an effective tool for effective course delivery, and a model for teachers of courses in engineering with large clas

EVALUATION OF APPLICATION OF ECO FRIENDLY SYSTEMS IN BUILDINGS IN NIGERIA

The study evaluated the application of eco-friendly systems in some selected buildings in Nigeria with a aim of taking advantage of natural resources for building efficiency. Qualitative and Quantitative research methods were employed in this study. Data was obtained by the administration of questionnaires to occupants of residential buildings and the designs of their building were also assessed against sustainable standards. Findings showed that the buildings of sampled respondents were not sustainable and the natural resources available in the environment were not properly utilized. In addition, the residents pay more for energy consumption because the natural resources in the environment were not adequately integrated in the building. The study therefore recommended that a green building rating system like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) suitable for Nigeria should be designed to guide new projects and renovation

ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSICAL QUANTITIES IMPACT ON EMERGENCE OF SICK BUILDING SYNDROME ON USERS OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

The harmful impact of constructed facilities on human wellbeing is serious phenomenon in the built environment. Empirical evidence from literature revealed that sick building syndrome (SBS) is among the significant causes of increased health care cost, loss of employee’s productivity and users discomfort. SBS is recognized as a condition in which the building users bear awful health or uneasiness that appear to be accompanying to the time used in the building with no clinical definition or an identifiable cause. This study therefore, focuses on investigating the impact of environmental physical quantities on emergence of SBS symptoms on staff and worshippers in selected public buildings in Lagos, tropical climate. A hybrid research approaches of one-time survey and field measurement was utilized. Descriptive statistics was carried out on the data obtained and are presented on tables and figures. The results signposted that among all the dynamics appraised, higher room temperature (˃25oC) relates to the establishment of SBS symptoms among study respondents. The import of this study hinges on offering understanding and cognizance of SBS symptoms to facilities management departments of tertiary and financial institutions in Nigeria. The study also showed the environmental physical quantities ranks that can be relatively felt in public buildings in tropical region of Nigeria

A comparative analysis of construction workers’ mental health before and during COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria

Purpose – Because of the sort of working environment and the nature of construction jobs, a high rate of poor mental health has been recorded in the construction industry. The aim of this study is to compare construction workers' mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire was developed and administered online to building environment professionals working on construction sites. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. An independent sample t-test was also conducted to determine whether there was a significant difference in the mean before and during the COVID-19 infection. Findings – The results show that mental health challenges were more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic. The result of the independent sample t-test revealed that there exists a significant difference in all the mean before and during COVID-19 except sleeping too much or too little; having low or no energy and lack of emotion that shows no significant difference. Originality/value – This study is the first to compare the mental health of construction workers before and during COVID-19 in Nigeria. The significance of this study was that it would provide an insight for construction managers and other decision-makers on the most critical mental health challenges on construction sites, which will help in an attempt to improve the mental well-being of construction workers

BUILDING INFORMATICS: REVIEW OF SELECTED INFORMATICS PLATFORM AND VALIDATING SYSTEMS FOR INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS

Automation has introduced new dimension to the advent of project and construction execution in construction field. Virtually all aspect of construction is being innovated with cutting edge technology. In this study cutting edge technologies were evaluated and their various validation platforms were evaluated. The following objectives were set and achieved in this study: Establishing different tests that could be carried out to ascertain functionality of an informatics platform, review of features present in available informatics platforms, exploratory study of platform validity system through functionality tests and developing a semantic icon functionality test. Ten (10) informatics platforms were selected for case study, while 40 structured questionnaires was used to collate respondents data as related to on the critical factors that influences the effective use of system usability test on ICT Informatics platform and parameters for newly generated Icon functionality rating scale(IRS). A new test protocol was designed that could be used for carrying out Icon functionality rating evaluation tagged”IRS”

Survey dataset on professional's perception on site supervision and project performance

Effective site supervision plays an important role in construction project delivery. This situates site supervisors in taking the responsibilities of coordinating and controlling all physical aspects of the day-to-day task in construction projects. A cross-sectional design approach was adopted by administering a well-structured questionnaire to selected built environment professionals. Descriptive statistics was performed on the data obtained and are presented on figures and tables. The data was also subjected to inferential statistics using Kruskal Wallis test to analyze the perceptions of respondents on effects of site supervision of construction works on completion time and quality respectively. The significance of the analyzed data is on identifying the effects of site supervision on project completion time and quality delivery. The analyzed data will also guide project stakeholders in selecting competent personnel in executing construction projects

Survey dataset on professional's perception on site supervision and project performance

Effective site supervision plays an important role in construction project delivery. This situates site supervisors in taking the responsibilities of coordinating and controlling all physical aspects of the day-to-day task in construction projects. A cross-sectional design approach was adopted by administering a well-structured questionnaire to selected built environment professionals. Descriptive statistics was performed on the data obtained and are presented on figures and tables. The data was also subjected to inferential statistics using Kruskal Wallis test to analyze the perceptions of respondents on effects of site supervision of construction works on completion time and quality respectively. The significance of the analyzed data is on identifying the effects of site supervision on project completion time and quality delivery. The analyzed data will also guide project stakeholders in selecting competent personnel in executing construction projects