Prediction of government-owned building energy consumption based on an RReliefF and support vector machine model

Accurate prediction of the energy consumption of government-owned buildings in the design phase is vital for government agencies, as it enables formulation of the early phases of development of such buildings with a view to reducing their environmental impact. The aim of this study was to identify the variables that are associated with energy consumption in government-owned buildings and to propose a predictive model based on those variables. The proposed approach selects relevant variables using the RReliefF variable selection algorithm. The support vector machine (SVM) method is used to develop a model of energy consumption based on the identified variables. The proposed approach was analyzed and validated on data for 175 government-owned buildings derived from the 2003 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) database. The experimental results revealed that the proposed model is able to predict the energy consumption of government-owned buildings in the design phase with a reasonable level of accuracy. The proposed model could be beneficial in guiding government agencies in developing early strategies and proactively reducing the environmental impact of a building, thereby achieving a high degree of sustainability of buildings constructed for government agencies

Development of a data mining-based analysis framework for multi-attribute construction project information

Data mining techniques extract repeated and useful patterns from a large data set that in turn are utilized to predict the outcome of future events. The main purpose of the research presented in this paper is to investigate data mining strategies and develop an efficient framework for multi-attribute project information analysis to predict the performance of construction projects. The research team first reviewed existing data mining algorithms, applied them to systematically analyze a large project data set collected by the survey, and finally proposed a data-mining-based decision support framework for project performance prediction. To evaluate the potential of the framework, a case study was conducted using data collected from 139 capital projects and analyzed the relationship between use of information technology and project cost performance. The study results showed that the proposed framework has potential to promote fast, easy to use, interpretable, and accurate project data analysis

Information-Integration Maturity Model for the Capital Projects Industry

This paper presents an information integration maturity model for the capital projects industry. Due to the trends of construction projects becoming more globalized and their processes being conducted more concurrently, information integration has been widely imple mented in the capital projects industry. However, one issue for the planning of information integration is that the current practice tends to be ad hoc and centered on individual information integration opportunities. Also, the existing knowledge for information integration implemen tation is not helpful because different organizations have different idiosyncratic characteristics regarding work processes, culture, and in formation technology (IT) use. To address these issues, a research team consisting of 15 members from leading contractors, construction clients, and academia in the United States developed a capital projects information integration maturity model. The model can be used to assess the current state of work functions in terms of information integration. It can also be used to manage a portfolio of information integration opportunities that can help organizations make a systematic plan for further investment in information integration. The model has been applied to various real-world information integration cases. The application broadly validates the concept and utility of the model, showing it to be a useful and accurate characterization of information integration performance within the capital projects industry.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Analysis of information integration benefit drivers and implementation hindrances

This paper presents an analysis of benefits and hindrances for specific information integration implementations in the industrial construction sector. A tool, developed by a Construction Industry Institute research team, detailed 37 benefit drivers and 34 hindrances that affect information integration implementation efforts. The tool was applied to 16 test cases. Scores from the cases allow analysis of the importance and consistency of factors. Findings reveal that benefit drivers have a certain degree of consistency, particularly around justification to enhance work process benefits rather than broader benefits to project outcomes. On the other hand, there is a much wider range of important implementation hindrances. These findings suggest that each implementation requires a customized approach to address hindrances rather than reliance on generic methods. More broadly, the set of specific benefit drivers and hindrances extends and generalizes the literature on information integration implementation in construction, particularly with respect to the industrial sector.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

IOP Tool: Assessing the Benefits and Hindrances of Information Integration Implementation Opportunities

This paper presents a tool assessing the benefits and hindrances of specific information integration opportunities (IOP) identified by firms for potential implementation. Firms face numerous choices about which of many potential information integration opportunities to pursue. However, they lack guidance in selecting opportunities and preparing for successful implementation. In addition, there are many nontechnical factors that need to be considered for successful implementation of information integration. The tool, developed by an industry research team consisting of 15 members from leading contractors, construction clients, and academia in the U.S., uses 37 benefit driver and 34 implementation hindrance questions that are scored to provide an assessment of a specific integration opportunity. The questions in the tool take market/legal, organizational and process, and people-related issues pertinent to the implementation of information integration into account. The tool has been applied to 16 test cases and is shown to adequately address key benefits and challenges, helping guide implementation choices.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Pullout Resistance Of Geogrid Reinforcement With In-Plane Drainage Capacity In Cohesive Soil

This study presents the results of geogrid pullout tests conducted in wet and fine-grained soils. Failures of reinforced soil structures have often involved inadequate drainage due to the use of fine-grained soils, which has led to stringent specifications for backfill material in such structures although there are significant economic reasons for relieving the specifications. One approach to improve the issue is to reinforce fine-grained soils with geosynthetic providing both reinforcement and lateral drainage. Although using reinforcement with in-plane drainage capability is conceptually promising, transmissivity requirements for this application have not been properly evaluated. Pullout tests were conducted on cohesive soils using geogrids with the same tensile strength but with and without in-plane drainage channels. The results indicate that geogrids with in-plane drainage layers show higher pullout resistance than conventional geogrids. The finding contributes to promoting the use of poorly draining soils as backfill material

Impact of Information Technologies on Performance: Cross Study Comparison

This paper evaluates the use of information technology IT and its impact on project and company performance in the construction industry. Using project level data from 139 projects and company level data from 74 companies, the current state of IT use in the construction industry was studied and statistical analyses were performed to assess the correlation between IT use and performance. Analyses are segregated by owner and contractor stakeholder groups and findings suggest that more IT use correlates with improved performance. Schedule performance has a strong positive association with increased IT use, whereas cost performance, although positively correlated, has a weaker relationship. These findings are in line with previous studies, adding to the research that IT has a positive impact on performance. Further comparison is made to show that IT use has increased over time among projects drawn from a similar sample population.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

A multi-perspective assessment method for measuring leading indicatiors in capital project benchmarking

This paper presents a new multi-perspective assessment method for measuring leading indicators deployed in the 10-10 Performance Assessment System that the Construction Industry Institute (CII) has recently launched. The CII 10-10 Performance Assessment System adopted a multi-perspective assessment approach for evaluating leading indicators that represent various management input measures throughout capital project delivery process. The leading indicators consist of 10 input measures, including four fundamental management functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling as well as major management practices such as design efficiency, human resources, quality, sustainability, supply chain, and safety. This paper provides the theoretical background for the method through extensive review of existing benchmarking theories. Then it describes the development process for the assessment method. After this, it presents how the method was deployed to evaluate the system’s 10 leading indicators. Finally, this paper discusses how to practically utilize the input measure scores acquired from the method for performance improvement. The assessment method in the system will help project management teams to diagnose their project’s performances and thus allow them to set up proactive strategies for the subsequent phases of the project.Non UBCUnreviewedFacultyOthe

Supraglottic airway devices as a strategy for unassisted tracheal intubation: A network meta-analysis.

We aimed to compare the effectiveness of supraglottic airway devices as a strategy for unassisted tracheal intubation. Accordingly, we searched the OVID-MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, KoreaMed, and Google Scholar databases to identify all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on supraglottic airway devices as a strategy for tracheal intubation published until May 2017. The primary outcome was the overall success rate of intubation by the intention to treat (ITT) strategy. The secondary outcomes of the study were the overall success rate of tracheal intubation by the per protocol (PP) strategy and the success rate of tracheal intubation at first attempt by ITT and PP. We conducted a network meta-analysis with a mixed-treatment comparison method to combine direct and indirect comparisons among supraglottic airway devices. Of 1396 identified references, 16 RCTs (2014 patients) evaluated unassisted intubation with supraglottic airway devices. Patients were grouped according to the type of device used: LMA-CTrach, LMA-Fastrach, Air-Q, i-gel, CobraPLA, Ambu-Aura, or single-use LMA devices. Based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve, the three best supraglottic airway devices for use as a strategy for unassisted tracheal intubation were LMA-CTrach (which included video-assisted tracheal tube guidance), single-use LMA-Fastrach, and LMA-Fastrach. LMA-Fastrach showed a higher success rate of intubation than did i-gel, CobraPLA, Air-Q, and Ambu-Aura. However, this study was limited by the small number of eligible RCTs. Therefore, well-designed RCTs performed on large patient populations are required to increase the confidence of the results