Simplified Construction Scheduling for Field Personnel

The main purpose of this research is to determine the issues that INDOT faces with respect to schedule review/monitoring and determine the best practices by other DOTs in order to suggest improvements to INDOTs practices. Two questionnaire surveys and six interviews were conducted to gather this information. The two questionnaires were divided into four areas: (1) scheduling specifications, (2) enforcing issues, (3) field personnel skill set and understanding of the specs and scheduling methods/commercial software, and (4) ideas for scheduling technologies/tools/software. Results from these questionnaires were used to target five DOTs that showed good practices as well INDOT to gather more details about the common scheduling issues and their response to them. Outcome of this research will (1) document current INDOT practices and challenges on tracking the projects in the field; (2) Identify scheduling methods and software packages used by other DOTs that would satisfy INDOT’s project control needs (3) provide guidelines to make the tracking and analysis of scheduled milestones more effective and easy to implement for the field personnel. According to the first survey that was distributed among INDOT personnel, some of the main issues they face include lack of contractor compliance in submitting schedules and following the scheduling specifications. Another issue is INDOT personnel’s lack of training and experience using the scheduling techniques. The second survey was distributed to all DOTs with thirty-five responses received. In order to enforce contractor compliance, DOTs have delayed and withheld payments. DOTs also train their employees in scheduling techniques to help them review contractors’ submittals. They also meet with the contractor before construction starts and discuss the schedule requirements to ensure that both parties are on the same page. Phone interviews were conducted with six DOTs in order to understand their means and methods. Some of the main items discovered were related to classification of projects (based on required level of scheduling), procedure requested by DOTs from contractors with regard to time impact analysis reports and how they handle weather shutdowns in their scheduling specifications. In conclusion, the research found many suggestions that could be implemented by INDOT in order to revise/update their specifications and practices, increase contractor compliance and to simplify their scheduling and review processes

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Interactional risks associated with parties to a PPP project

Public private partnership (PPP) projects involve a variety of project governance structures. Common among all these varied structures is the long-term contractual period between multiple public and private entities. These entities include government, concessionaire and financier. The increased uncertainty of a long-term contract duration coupled with the involvement of multiple actors proves to be a challenge to developing risk mitigation strategies in PPP. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically collect, assess and frame the risks associated with these projects and explore associated dynamics. There has been a recent shift towards focusing on interactions of parties due to shared risks. Exploring the interactions among the parties in risk and renegotiation scenarios can help in understanding and mapping out the potential outcomes and multiple strategies for each party. The main objectives of this dissertation are: 1) Establish risks affecting PPPs: Macro, Market and Project level; 2) Identify timeline for the identified risks where they occur in or affect a project phase; 3) Analyze three-party interactions in the context of identified risks as well as renegotiation scenarios; and 4) Develop a model to quantify the actions/interactions between parties and the resulting outcome. This is tackled through the use of techniques such as Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and Delphi Technique to create a framework/model to assess risks in PPP projects. Following that scenario analysis, three-party interactional analysis and simulation were conducted to model the risk and renegotiation scenarios and analyze the range of potential outcomes for parties to the risk. This combined approach can help planners to prepare for a range of complex and uncertain scenarios. This dissertation extends the current literature by (i) integrating the framing of the risks with their modeling and simulation, and (ii) expanding the analysis of interactions to three parties in risk and renegotiation scenarios. Two case studies are conducted to showcase the proposed framework. This framework can be used by any party to a PPP project to assess risks and simulate risk scenarios to understand the outcome of the different strategies available. This can be used to propose mitigation strategies for each party. Interactional analysis, as proposed in this dissertation, has been introduced to simulate three-party interactions specifically in PPP risk scenarios. However, it can be further applied to other three-party situations in different project delivery methods such as for Integrated Project Deliver (IPD)

Identification of the Barriers and Key Success Factors for Renewable Energy Public-Private Partnership Projects: A Continental Analysis

The global energy demand has been increasing and posing multiple challenges across the globe, including global warming, environmental pollution, and energy-sustainability issues. Thus, multiple countries have been adopting renewable-energy (RE) sources to provide clean, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. Previously, a number of renewable energy projects has been delivered in the form of a public–private partnership (PPP) to take advantage of the private sector’s investment, technology advancements, and expertise. In general, renewable-energy projects are considered large-scale universal projects that involve expertise from different countries and require a clear understanding of the barriers and key success factors (KSFs) across the globe. Thus, this paper focuses on providing a comprehensive understanding of the main barriers and success factors of renewable-energy projects across the globe. For that aim, a comprehensive literature review was first carried out to identify and report on the barriers and KSFs of renewable-energy projects. This was followed by a questionnaire survey wherein the opinions of 60 experts with wide experience in RE PPPs in multiple countries were collected and analyzed. The analysis shows that political and regulatory barriers are the main risks globally. Additionally, well-prepared contract documentations and skilled and efficient parties are the KSFs. However, these factors change from one continent to another. Additionally, this paper sheds light on the difference between the public and private sectors’ perceptions on the severity of the risks and the importance of the KSFs to each sector

Identification of the Barriers and Key Success Factors for Renewable Energy Public-Private Partnership Projects: A Continental Analysis

The global energy demand has been increasing and posing multiple challenges across the globe, including global warming, environmental pollution, and energy-sustainability issues. Thus, multiple countries have been adopting renewable-energy (RE) sources to provide clean, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. Previously, a number of renewable energy projects has been delivered in the form of a public&ndash;private partnership (PPP) to take advantage of the private sector&rsquo;s investment, technology advancements, and expertise. In general, renewable-energy projects are considered large-scale universal projects that involve expertise from different countries and require a clear understanding of the barriers and key success factors (KSFs) across the globe. Thus, this paper focuses on providing a comprehensive understanding of the main barriers and success factors of renewable-energy projects across the globe. For that aim, a comprehensive literature review was first carried out to identify and report on the barriers and KSFs of renewable-energy projects. This was followed by a questionnaire survey wherein the opinions of 60 experts with wide experience in RE PPPs in multiple countries were collected and analyzed. The analysis shows that political and regulatory barriers are the main risks globally. Additionally, well-prepared contract documentations and skilled and efficient parties are the KSFs. However, these factors change from one continent to another. Additionally, this paper sheds light on the difference between the public and private sectors&rsquo; perceptions on the severity of the risks and the importance of the KSFs to each sector

Research on the Influence of Risk on Construction Project Performance: A Systematic Review

Knowledge on the influence of risk on project performance is an important part of risk management. Previous studies have concentrated on this area to identify risks in aspects of project performance such as cost and schedule. However, rare reviews have been conducted to fully report on the research on the influence of risk on project performance. For this reason, to identify and analyze such researches in these areas a systematic review was conducted in this paper. More specifically, 54 relevant articles were identified and classified into three groups according to their research contents; the research contents in each article and the research methods were reviewed, and the 13 most frequent research methods were also identified and discussed. It was found that most of the previous researches concentrated on developing tools or approaches to assess the influence of risk on project performance. Additionally, researches focused on risk factors’ identification or risk interdependency modeling were also common, along with researches that investigated the cause of poor project performance, evaluated risk impact on cost contingency, discussed the risk response actions, and discussed what enables high-risk projects to yield a high return. However, four gaps were identified from these researches, namely: a need for improving the accuracy in quantitative research of the influence of risk on project performance; a need for novel research methodologies for conducting more accurate risk influence assessments; taking into consideration project participants’ decision-making in their researches; and creating a framework that treats the risk influence assessment as a whole system. Besides that, since this research only focused on two project objectives (cost and schedule), recommendations for future research include expanding the focus to more project objectives

Research on the Influence of Risk on Construction Project Performance: A Systematic Review

Knowledge on the influence of risk on project performance is an important part of risk management. Previous studies have concentrated on this area to identify risks in aspects of project performance such as cost and schedule. However, rare reviews have been conducted to fully report on the research on the influence of risk on project performance. For this reason, to identify and analyze such researches in these areas a systematic review was conducted in this paper. More specifically, 54 relevant articles were identified and classified into three groups according to their research contents; the research contents in each article and the research methods were reviewed, and the 13 most frequent research methods were also identified and discussed. It was found that most of the previous researches concentrated on developing tools or approaches to assess the influence of risk on project performance. Additionally, researches focused on risk factors&rsquo; identification or risk interdependency modeling were also common, along with researches that investigated the cause of poor project performance, evaluated risk impact on cost contingency, discussed the risk response actions, and discussed what enables high-risk projects to yield a high return. However, four gaps were identified from these researches, namely: a need for improving the accuracy in quantitative research of the influence of risk on project performance; a need for novel research methodologies for conducting more accurate risk influence assessments; taking into consideration project participants&rsquo; decision-making in their researches; and creating a framework that treats the risk influence assessment as a whole system. Besides that, since this research only focused on two project objectives (cost and schedule), recommendations for future research include expanding the focus to more project objectives

Renewable energy public-private partnership projects in Egypt: Perception of the barriers and key success factors by sector

Given its location, Egypt has a tremendous potential for renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, and hydropower. On the other hand, renewable energy projects require huge upfront costs which makes it difficult for the Egyptian government to fulfill. Thus, renewable energy projects in Egypt are conducted in the form of public–private partnership (PPP) projects to take advantage of the private entity’s financial support. Thus, this study focuses on studying and analyzing renewable energy PPPs in Egypt using a questionnaire survey. First, the main barriers and keys success factors (KSFs) were identified by collecting previous studies in the area to build the survey. The survey was then created and disseminated to experts involved in renewable energy PPPs in Egypt. A total of 25 responses were collected from experts in the public and private sectors. The results show that the main barriers for renewable energy PPPs in Egypt are regulatory and political barriers, while well prepared contact documents and skilled and efficient parties are the main KSFs. Additionally, the different sectors perceive the barriers and KSFs differently. Finally, the results show that unlike the public sector, the private sector is efficient in identifying and valuing risks appropriately

Review of Digital Twins for Constructed Facilities

Technological advances have enabled the monitoring and control of construction operations and assets remotely. Digital twins, based on computational modeling, have enabled the creation of a digital map for physical structures. Research on digital twins (DTs) for constructed facilities projects has gained widespread traction in the industry. While these applications have increased over the years, there has been sparse review of them. This paper systematically reviews the applications of digital twins in construction using content analysis. We identified and analyzed 53 academic journal and conference papers, which revealed several DT applications that could be categorized into nine areas: lifecycle analysis, facility management, energy, education, disaster, structural health monitoring, DT for cities, infrastructure management, and miscellaneous. This enables the visualization of the current state of DT, comparison with the desired state, and possible integrations with other technologies. Among the observed benefits of DTs are the ability to increase engagement and collaboration, reduce construction and operating costs, reduce human error, automate energy demand, manage assets throughout their lifecycle, and apply structural health monitoring. It also enables the collection of real-time data on an asset’s status, history, maintenance needs, and provides an interactive platform for managing an asset. Future directions include addressing how to standardize data acquisition as well as the semantic interoperability and heterogeneity of data. Additionally, modeling human cognitive processes as well as spatiotemporal information would be beneficial to a smart city and other infrastructure systems, especially in disaster situations