Building information modelling (BIM) and the CDM regulations interoperability framework

Purpose: Building information modelling (BIM) has received wide coverage within the research, academic and industry communities over the last decade. Yet, its degree of integration with various industry standards in the architecture, engineering and construction sector varies extensively. An exploratory research approach explores the interoperability between the construction design and management (CDM) regulations and BIM. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: The research design comprised: a methodical “state-of-the-art” review of extant literature – exploring some 19 variables emerging from the literature review; detailed content analyses of the current CDM regime (CDM 2015); and conducting a “test” to map and determine the degree of interoperability between BIM and CDM. The study develops several meta-matrices and a framework for BIM and CDM interoperability. Findings: New insight reveals that BIM provides a systematic approach for the discharge of CDM obligations. The framework developed is easily transferable into BIM common data environments (CDEs) and offers an expeditious discharge of CDM obligations. Research limitations/implications: Some features of the developed BIM/CDM interoperability framework invite further tests to predicate the degree of discharge of CDM obligations. Duties related to provision of pre-construction information invite further research. Originality/value: Little research provides insight into the interoperability of BIM and the CDM regulations. Therefore, this study contributes to the knowledge relating to the degree of interoperability of BIM in construction systems, processes and standards

Challenges of infrastructure procurement in emerging economies and implications for economic development: a case study of Ghana.

Infrastructure comprises the physical facilities, institutions and organisational structures or the social and economic foundations for the operation of a society (UNCTAD, 2008). The World Bank (1994) defines infrastructure in physical and economic terms as public utilities (power, telecommunications, piped water supply, sanitation and sewerage, solid waste collection and disposal and piped gas), public works (roads and major dam and canal works for irrigation and drainage) and transport facilities (urban and inter-urban railways, urban transport, ports and waterways, and airports). Whilst the 'public' tag may no longer be relevant in the light of widespread private sector participation and ownership, one can agree with the examples of infrastructure projects cited in the definition above. UNCTAD (2008) provides a similar list with a caveat that this is changing with the growth of information communication technology (ICT). Many authors such as Prud-homme (2004) and Kessides (1993) also define infrastructure projects in similar terms as the World Bank report. In Ghana, infrastructure has been defined to include 'immovable capital such as, roads, power plants, water delivery systems, sewerage treatment plants, telecommunication and transport facilities, electrification, hospitals and schools' (World Bank, 1997, p.2). All these facilities share common characteristics (UNCTAD, 2008). Firstly, they are capital-intensive. They are 'formidable undertakings' (p.88) involving huge financial outlay. Secondly, they often involve physical networks of strategic importance. Thirdly, they are also major determinants of the competitiveness of an economy; good infrastructure can play a major role in the decision of an investor to set up in a particular economy. Fourthly, in many societies, services associated with infrastructure are thorny social and political issues and, thus, subject to public interventions. Finally, infrastructure projects are relevant to economic development and global integration

An approach for determining the extent of contribution of construction project features to accident causation

In the pursuit of Health and Safety (H&S) improvement within the UK construction industry, several studies have been conducted to identify accident causal factors to enable the development of accident prevention measures. Adding to such studies, a critique of H&S literature demonstrates that construction project features (CPFs) such as the nature of project, method of construction, site restriction, project duration, procurement system, design complexity, level of construction, and subcontracting contribute to accident causation and that their contribution is through the introduction of proximal accident causal factors into the construction process. However, the extent of this contribution by these CPFs remains sparingly known and requires further investigation. The study provides this insight by indicating that the extent to which CPFs contribute to accident causation is influenced by two factors; the extent to which the proximal factors contribute to accident causation; and the extent to which the proximal factors are prevalent within the CPFs. In line with this fresh insight, an approach for determining the extent to which CPFs contribute to accident causation is put forth. The approach proposes to use a qualitative–quantitative rating scale to determine the two determinant factors and then combine them using a mathematical formula to obtain the extent to which CPFs contribute to accident causation. By this approach the grey areas in literature concerning the extent to which CPFs contribute to accident causation will be illuminated and by that contribute to improvement in construction accident prevention

An Analysis of Health and Safety Provisions in NEC Contracts

The 2015 edition of the Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations imposes statutory duties on the project client and other project supply chain members. It is the client's statutory duty to make and implement arrangements for effective management of health and safety (H&amp;S) on the project. It also created two statutory duty holders that the client must appoint to coordinate H&amp;S management. To manage the performance of the duty holders effectively, the client must enter into a contract with each of them that imposes their statutory duties as contractual obligations. This paper critically analyses two representative contracts in the NEC family of contracts to provide guidance on their H&amp;S provisions and pointers to possible review in future editions. An important finding is that the contracts state the H&amp;S duties in very general terms with the expectation that users will draft the details on the CDM duties as part of the scope contract document. This approach has the advantage of flexibility to accommodate international use of the contracts. It is recommended that the promoters consider the alternative of capturing appropriate CDM-related duties as a standard optional clause for adoption by UK users. Suggestions are made as to the terms in such an optional clause.</p

The health and safety impact of construction project features

Purpose – Despite the established significance of underlying accident causes to health and safety (H&S), and the persistent reporting of the underlying accident causal influence of construction project features (CPFs) which emanate from pre-construction decisions, no empirical research has focused on CPFs in terms of assessing their degree of potential to influence accident occurrence. The purpose of this paper is to, therefore, investigate this facet of the accident causal influence of CPFs. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method design was used involving semi-structured interviews, and a questionnaire survey of UK construction professionals. Findings – CPFs generally have a moderate or a high potential to influence accident occurrence, implying a fair or severe potential to cause harm in terms of the H&S of workers. The degree of potential of CPFs to influence accident occurrence is influenced by: the extent to which certain proximate causes of accidents are common/prevalent within CPFs;and the degree of potential of those proximate causes to influence accident occurrence. Originality/value – These findings provide insight into the H&S consequences of CPFs, awareness of which is essential if pre-construction project participants are to implement appropriate risk control measures especially in the early phases of projects to mitigate the accident causal influence of CPFs. The findings reinforce the contribution of clients and their design and project management teams to accident causation, the significance of the early planning of H&S in construction project delivery, and the importance of driving mechanisms such as the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007

Prevention through design: Conceptual models for the assessment of a Principal Designer’s skills, knowledge and experience

Purpose: The prevention through design (PtD) initiative places a duty on designers to originate designs that are inherently safe for construction, maintenance, occupation and demolition. In the UK, legislation has been introduced creating a new statutory role called the principal designer (PD) to ensure that PtD occurs during the design process. To realize this objective, PDs under the regulations must have appropriate skills, knowledge and experience (SKE) of occupational safety and health risks as they relate to construction products. However, there is a paucity of knowledge, in the extant literature and in practice, regarding what specifically constitutes PDs’ SKE of PtD and how to measure the same. Design/methodology/approach: The study undertook a systematic review of meanings of SKE and carried out content analyses to provide robust conceptualizations of the constructs SKE. This underpinned the development of nomological networks to operationalize the constructs SKE in respect of PDs’ ability to ensure PtD. Findings: PDs’ SKE of PtD are presented as multidimensional constructs that can be operationalized at different levels of specificity in three theoretical models. Practical implications: The models indicated in this study can assist project clients to clarify the PtD SKE of prospective PDs in the procurement process. Correspondingly, PDs can look to these frameworks to identify their SKE gaps and take steps to address them. Originality/value: This study contributes to the PtD literature by providing theoretical frameworks to clarify the PtD SKE of PDs. The study provides a basis for future research to empirically test the attributes of these as they relate to PDs’ competence to ensure PtD

Resolution of disputes arising from major infrastructure projects in developing countries.

Multilateral Development Banks including the World Bank have identified infrastructure development as a crucial component of any poverty alleviation strategy in developing countries. The last two decades have seen tremendous increase in the percentage of resources developing countries have invested in infrastructure development. About {pound}755 million was committed to private-public infrastructure development in the developing world between 1990 and 2001. Unfortunately, as exemplified by the Dam Construction Project in Lesotho, disputes often arise from major infrastructure projects in the developing world that are resolved at great cost by courts and arbitral tribunals constituted from the most expensive legal professionals in the developed world. This research presents a critical review of the literature on the experience of such disputes and the methods used in resolving them. It derives from the preliminary phase of a study aimed at developing the knowledge and understanding necessary for more cost effective resolution of such disputes. The key findings of the review so far are as follows. What literature exists is limited largely to resolution by international commercial arbitration. As to be expected of the size of these projects, governments or state entities are often parties to the underlying contract and, therefore, the disputes from the projects. In the overwhelming majority cases, the parties from developing countries are often the respondents and rarely the claimants. There is a perception that developing countries are always at a considerable disadvantage in the conduct of arbitration proceedings, which is a source of disaffection with the process on the part of these States. However, what is most remarkable about the literature is that, although there is a rapidly growing use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods other than arbitration to resolve similar disputes in the developed world, the literature is silent on the use of such methods on projects in developing countries. The paper also considers the implications of the findings of the review for the design of the study

The design coordination role at the pre-construction stage of construction projects

The importance of the concept of prevention through design (PtD) to the alleviation of the problem of poor health and safety (H&S) management in the construction industry is widely acknowledged. It has been adopted in the regulatory framework for H&S in the UK construction industry through the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) which place on the project client obligations with emphasis on coordination of H&S at the pre-construction stage of the project by a client-appointed ‘Principal Designer’ (PD). Unfortunately, research into the implementation of CDM 2015 into actual practice at the pre-construction stage has been patchy. The paper reports, with respect to the PD role, on part of research undertaken to respond to this gap. It involved surveys of clients and practitioners via fourteen focus group discussion sessions with over eighty participants to develop knowledge and understanding of the PD role. The research issues included: appointments to the role; structures for discharge of the role; day-to-day functions of the PD; remuneration arrangements; and common challenges regarding the PD

Prevention through design: conceptual models for the assessment of a principal designer’s skills, knowledge and experience

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-07-2020-0278 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Purpose - The prevention through design (PtD) initiative places a duty on designers to originate designs that are inherently safe for construction, maintenance, occupation and demolition. In the UK, legislation has been introduced creating a new statutory role called the Principal Designer (PD) to ensure that PtD occurs during the design process. In order to realize this objective, Principal Designers under the Regulations must have appropriate skills, knowledge and experience (SKE) of occupational safety and health (OSH) risks as they relate to construction products. However, there is a paucity of knowledge, in the extant literature and in practice, regarding what specifically constitutes Principal Designers’ skills, knowledge and experience of PtD as well as how to measure same. Design/Methodology/Approach – The study undertook a systematic review of meanings of skills, knowledge and experience, and carried out content analyses to provide robust conceptualizations of the constructs skill, knowledge and experience. This underpinned the development of nomological networks to operationalize the constructs skills, knowledge and experience in respect of Principal Designers’ ability to ensure PtD. Results – Principal Designers’ skills, knowledge and experience of PtD are presented as multi-dimensional constructs that can be operationalized at different levels of specificity in three theoretical models. Practical implications – The models indicated in this study can assist project clients to clarify the PtD skills, knowledge and experience of prospective Principal Designers in the procurement process. Correspondingly, Principal Designers can look to these frameworks to identify their skills, knowledge and experience gaps and take steps to address them. Originality/Value – This study contributes to the PtD literature by providing theoretical frameworks to clarify the PtD skills, knowledge and experience of Principal Designers. The study provides a basis for future research to empirically test the attributes of these as they relate to Principal Designers’ competence to ensure PtD

Website development of the online clothing store "SoloClothing"

Метою цього випускного проекту було створення онлайн-системи здійснення покупок, яка б автоматизувала роботу компанії одягу. Мета проекту та виконані завдання описані у вступі до дипломної роботи. Для досягнення цієї мети було виконано наступну роботу: дослідження тематичної області з подальшою побудовою технічного завдання для розробки програмного забезпечення на основі результатів дослідження. В результаті цих зусиль були створені бази даних на основі документно-орієнтованої системи управління базами даних MongoDB, сервер на основі Node.js + Express і веб-додаток на основі React.js. Результатом цього випускного проекту стало створення онлайн-магазину для замовлення одягу. The goal of this graduation project was to create an online purchasing system that would automate the job of a clothes company. The goal of the project and the tasks completed are described in the thesis's introduction. To achieve this purpose, the following work was completed: a research of the topic area, followed by the construction of a technical job for software development based on the study's findings. Databases based on the MongoDB document-oriented database management system, a server based on Node.js + Express, and a web application based on React.js were built as a consequence of this effort. This graduation project resulted in the creation of an online apparel shopping and ordering business.INTRODUCTION 9 1 WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT 11 1.1 Concept of the site 11 1.2 Steps to Build a Website 11 1.3 Website creation technology 12 1.4 PHP Code Script 12 1.5 Java Script 13 1.6 HTML 14 1.7 DBMS and MySQL 15 2 General Characteristics of a Site of A clothing Store 17 2.1 Concept of an Online Store 17 2.2 The purpose of an online store 17 2.3 Online Store Design 19 2.4 Importance of design of an online store 20 2.5 A successful design for the online store 21 2.6 Research and Analytics 22 2.7 AIDA 23 2.8 Usability 23 2.9 Design 25 2.10 Appearance and Colours 26 3 Creation of online purchasing system 28 3.1 Problem Statement 29 3.2 Terms and abbreviations 29 3.3 Psychology of buyers of Online Stores 30 3.4 Functionality 32 3.5 Technologies for the design development 32 3.6 Architecture of web applications 34 3.7 Practical Part 36 3.8 Use case diagram 39 3.9 Sequence diagram 39 3.10 The web application’s functionality 40 4 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND EMERGENCY SAFETY 50 4.1 Computers and Your Health 50 4.2 Computer health related problems and how tips on how to solve them 53 4.3 Conclusions 55 CONCLUSIONS 57 REFERENCES 58 APPENDI