Social sustainability in public-work procurement

[ES] La contratacion pública ha sido destacada como el elemento clave para impulsar las tres principales dimensiones de la sostenibilidad (económica, ambiental y social) en la industria de la construcción. Sin embargo, a pesar de los esfuerzos llevados a cabo por las administraciones públicas a nivel internacional, en la actualidad, existen importantes limitaciones que están obstaculizando la implementación efectiva y eficiente de la sostenibilidad social en la contratación de obra pública. Las limitaciones más importantes son: la falta de conocimiento sobre cómo implementarla en el sector de la construcción; la escasez de definiciones claras, consistentes y prácticas sobre qué es la sostenibilidad social para esta industria; y, la necesidad de determinar los criterios sociales a tener en cuenta, así como el mejor método para evaluarlos y medirlos. En base a esto, la literatura científica destaca la necesidad de estudiar cómo la sostenibilidad social podría implementarse de manera más efectiva en la industria de la construcción a través de la contratación pública, y alega la necesidad de desarrollar una metodología que ayude a las administraciones públicas en la implantación de dichos criterios, al mismo tiempo que se garantiza su evaluación objetiva. A la vista de estos antecedentes, el presente trabajo propone dos preguntas de investigación. Por un lado, esta investigación busca caracterizar la situación actual respecto a la inclusión de la sostenibilidad social en la contratación de obra pública a nivel internacional. Para ello, se analizan 451 licitaciones procedentes de diez países con el objeto de estudiar el uso de estrategias de contratación y estrategias de licitación a nivel internacional, identificar los principales criterios de sostenibilidad social, estudiar cómo se definen estos criterios según la etapa de la licitación y determinar las variables que influyen en la implementación de dichos criterios en la contratación de obra pública. Por otro lado, esta investigación analiza cómo debería mejorarse la integración de los criterios de sostenibilidad social en la contratación pública respecto al escenario actual. Por tanto, se establecen los indicadores que deberían utilizarse para evaluar la sostenibilidad social en la contratación pública de obras de ingeniería civil; y se desarrolla una metodología que favorezca la correcta implementación de dichos criterios a nivel internacional, especificando dónde deberían ser incluidos según la estrategia de licitación. Este estudio define un alcance específico para cada pregunta de investigación. En lo que respecta a la caracterización de la sostenibilidad social en la contratación de obra pública, se busca un alcance internacional que cubra cada etapa del ciclo de vida de la infraestructura. En dicho estudio se analizan licitaciones relativas a proyectos tanto de edificación como de ingeniería civil. Por otra parte, a la hora de desarrollar la metodología para integrar los criterios sociales en la contratación de obra pública, el alcance se limita únicamente a la etapa de construcción de proyectos de ingeniería civil. El estudio de la caracterización del escenario actual concluyó que existe una falta de comprensión sobre cómo hacer que los indicadores sociales sean cuantificables; se necesitan mayores esfuerzos para aumentar el número de categorías sociales en las estrategias de licitación; y, existe una fuerte dependencia del contexto nacional en la inclusión de criterios sociales en la contratación pública. En base a estos resultados, se abordó el desarrollo de una metodología holística en la que se destaca que para garantizar una efectiva implementación de los criterios de sostenibilidad social se deben diferenciar tres grupos: 1) derechos fundamentales; 2) responsabilidad social corporativa; y, 3) compromiso social en el proyecto. Se definió un enfoque metodológico para cada uno de ellos[CA] La contractació pública ha sigut destacada com l'element clau per a impulsar les tres principals dimensions de la sostenibilitat (econòmica, ambiental i social) en la indústria de la construcció. No obstant, a pesar dels esforços duts a terme per les administracions públiques a nivell internacional, en l'actualitat, hi ha importants limitacions que estan obstaculitzant la implementació efectiva i eficient de la sostenibilitat social en la contractació d'obra pública. Les limitacions més importants són: la falta de coneixement sobre com implementar-la en el sector de la construcció; l'escassetat de definicions clares, consistents i pràctiques sobre què és la sostenibilitat social per a esta indústria; i, la necessitat de determinar els criteris socials a tindre en compte, així com el millor mètode per a avaluar-los i mesurar-los. Basant-se en açò, la literatura científica destaca la necessitat d'estudiar com la sostenibilitat social podria implementar-se de manera més efectiva en la indústria de la construcció a través de la contractació pública, i al·lega la necessitat de desenrotllar una metodologia que ajude a les administracions públiques en la implantació d'estos criteris, alhora que es garantix la seua avaluació objectiva. A la vista d'estos antecedents, el present treball proposa dos preguntes d'investigació. D'una banda, esta investigació busca caracteritzar la situació actual respecte a la inclusió de la sostenibilitat social en la contractació d'obra pública a nivell internacional. Per a això, s'analitzen 451 licitacions procedents de deu països amb l'objecte d'estudiar l'ús d'estratègies de contractació i estratègies de licitació a nivell internacional, identificar els principals criteris de sostenibilitat social, estudiar com es definixen estos criteris segons l'etapa de la licitació i determinar les variables que influïxen en la implementació d'estos criteris en la contractació d'obra pública. D'altra banda, esta investigació analitza com hauria de millorar-se la integració dels criteris de sostenibilitat social en la contractació pública respecte a l'escenari actual. Per tant, s'establixen els indicadors que haurien d'utilitzar-se per a avaluar la sostenibilitat social en la contractació pública d'obres d'enginyeria civil; i es desenrotlla una metodologia que afavorisca la correcta implementació dels criteris a nivell internacional, especificant on haurien de ser inclosos segons l'estratègia de licitació. Este estudi definix un abast específic per a cada pregunta d'investigació. Pel que fa a la caracterització de la sostenibilitat social en la contractació d'obra pública, es busca un abast internacional que cobrisca cada etapa del cicle de vida de la infraestructura. En el estudi s'analitzen licitacions relatives a projectes tant d'edificació com d'enginyeria civil. D'altra banda, a l'hora de desenrotllar la metodologia per a integrar els criteris socials en la contractació d'obra pública, l'abast es limita únicament a l'etapa de construcció de projectes d'enginyeria civil. L'estudi de la caracterització de l'escenari actual va concloure que hi ha una falta de comprensió sobre com fer que els indicadors socials siguen quantificables; es necessiten majors esforços per a augmentar el nombre de categories socials en les estratègies de licitació; i, hi ha una forta dependència del context nacional en la inclusió de criteris socials en la contractació pública. Basant-se en estos resultats, es va abordar el desenrotllament d'una metodologia holística per a incloure els criteris socials en la contractació pública d'obres d'enginyeria civil. Este treball va destacar que per a garantir una efectiva implementació dels criteris de sostenibilitat social, s'han de diferenciar tres grups: 1) drets fonamentals; 2) responsabilitat social corporativa; i, 3) compromís social en el projecte. Es va definir un enfocament metodològic per a cada un d'[EN] Public procurement has been claimed as the key element to drive the integration of the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) in the construction industry. However, important drawbacks are hindering the effective and efficient implementation of social sustainability in public-works procurement. Currently, a lack of knowledge exists about how social sustainability is considered in the construction industry. There is also a lack of consistent, clear, and practical definitions about what is social sustainability in the construction industry, what factors should be used to define it, and how social sustainability in this industry should be measured and assessed. Based on this, scientific literature highlights the need to study how social sustainability could be implemented more effectively in the construction industry through public procurement, claiming the need for developing a methodology to assist agencies in the effective inclusion and objective assessment of social criteria in public-works procurement. According to these needs, two research questions are defined. On the one hand, this research seeks to characterize the current scenario regarding the inclusion of social sustainability within public-works procurement at the international level. To that end, the analysis of 451 tendering documents from ten countries is performed in order to: determine how public-works procurement procedures and project delivery methods are considered at the international level; identify the main social sustainability criteria; study how these criteria are defined depending on the stage of the tendering procedure; and, identify the variables that influence the implementation of social sustainability criteria in public-works procurement. On the other hand, this research analyzes how the integration of social sustainability criteria in public-works procurement should be improved to overcome the current scenario. The indicators that should be used to assess the social sustainability criteria in public procurement of civil engineering construction projects are established; and a methodology is developed to improve and strengthen the correct implementation of the social criteria in public-works procurement at the international level, specifying where the social criteria should be included depending on the procurement procedure. This study has established a specific scope for each research question. To characterize the inclusion of social sustainability criteria in public-works procurement, the scope has been defined considering an international approach; and every stage of the infrastructure life cycle of building and civil engineering projects covered. To integrate the social criteria in public-works procurement, the methodology focused only on the construction stage of civil engineering projects. The characterization of the current scenario concluded that there is a lack of understanding regarding how to quantify social indicators; more significant efforts are needed to increase the number of social categories in procurement procedures; and, a strong dependence of the national context on the inclusion of social criteria in public procurement exists, emphasizing the consideration of location-dependent aspects in the development of methodologies to assess social sustainability in public procurement. Based on this, the development of a holistic methodology to include social criteria in public procurement of civil engineering construction projects was addressed. This work highlighted that, in order to guarantee their effective implementation, three groups of social criteria should be differentiated: 1) human rights; 2) corporate social responsibility; and, 3) social commitment in the project. A methodological approach was established for each of these groups.Gracias a la Generalitat Valenciana y el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad por ayudar económicamente en el desarrollo de la presente investigación a través de los proyectos “Contratación eficiente de infraestructuras considerando la sostenibilidad social y medioambiental (CONSOST)” y “Diseño y mantenimiento óptimo robusto y basado en fiabilidad de puentes e infraestructuras viarias de alta eficiencia social y medioambiental bajo presupuestos restrictivos (DIMALIFE)”.Montalbán Domingo, ML. (2019). Social sustainability in public-work procurement [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/131204TESI

Competitive Advantages and Barriers in International Construction: An Origin-Host Market Approach

[EN] The growing importance of international construction activity forces companies to find out what competitive advantages to provide and barriers to overcome to achieve success, considering the particular characteristics of their origin and destination countries. Seventy six articles regarding success in the international construction market in the period 2008-2017 are reviewed to identify the barriers and the competitive advantages that most affect the international success of contractors. The Chi-Square (chi(2)) statistical test is used to verify the influence of the origin and destination countries on these variables. The literature identifies the provision of trained human resources as the most important competitive advantage and cultural differences and political risks as the main barriers. 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Study of Social and Environmental Needs for the Selection of Sustainable Criteria in the Procurement of Public Works

This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, grant number BIA2017-85098-R and the Valencian Regional Government, grant number GV/2018//085Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Aguilar-Morocho, M.; García-Segura, T.; Pellicer, E. (2020). Study of Social and Environmental Needs for the Selection of Sustainable Criteria in the Procurement of Public Works. Sustainability. 12(18):1-21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187756S1211218Xia, B., Chen, Q., Xu, Y., Li, M., & Jin, X. (2015). Design-Build Contractor Selection for Public Sustainable Buildings. Journal of Management in Engineering, 31(5), 04014070. doi:10.1061/(asce)me.1943-5479.0000295Ruparathna, R., & Hewage, K. (2015). Sustainable procurement in the Canadian construction industry: current practices, drivers and opportunities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 109, 305-314. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.07.007Testa, F., Grappio, P., Gusmerotti, N. M., Iraldo, F., & Frey, M. (2015). Examining green public procurement using content analysis: existing difficulties for procurers and useful recommendations. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 18(1), 197-219. doi:10.1007/s10668-015-9634-1Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 On Public Procurement and Repealing Directive 2004/18/EChttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024&rid=1Montalbán-Domingo, L., García-Segura, T., Sanz, M. A., & Pellicer, E. (2018). Social sustainability criteria in public-work procurement: An international perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 198, 1355-1371. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.083Sourani, A., & Sohail, M. (2011). Barriers to addressing sustainable construction in public procurement strategies. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, 164(4), 229-237. doi:10.1680/ensu.2011.164.4.229Ugwu, O. O., Kumaraswamy, M. M., Wong, A., & Ng, S. T. (2006). 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A differential multi-criteria analysis for the assessment of sustainability performance of European countries: Beyond country ranking. Journal of Cleaner Production, 165, 213-220. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.131Phillis, Y. A., Kouikoglou, V. S., & Verdugo, C. (2017). Urban sustainability assessment and ranking of cities. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 64, 254-265. doi:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2017.03.002Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., & Le, K. N. (2017). Environmental, Economic, and Social Parameters in International Green Building Rating Tools. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 143(2), 05016010. doi:10.1061/(asce)ei.1943-5541.0000313Cook, D., Saviolidis, N. M., Davíðsdóttir, B., Jóhannsdóttir, L., & Ólafsson, S. (2017). Measuring countries’ environmental sustainability performance—The development of a nation-specific indicator set. Ecological Indicators, 74, 463-478. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.12.009Walker, H., & Brammer, S. 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New Third Rail Implementation System for Conventional Railroad Tracks in Service

[EN] Two track gauges coexist in Spain, the Iberian gauge (1668 mm) and the international gauge (1435 mm). Solutions applied on the track were considered to improve the interoperability in Spain. First solution proposed was tracks with two-gauge-ready sleepers. This solution allows changing the gauge from Iberian to International gauge or from International to Iberian gauge. The need of two gauges evolved this solution to the third rail system with two-simultaneous-gauge sleepers. In this paper, a new third-rail track solution is proposed. This solution is a novel system based on the introduction of special concrete blocks between the existing sleepers to fasten the third rail. Thus, the conventional railroad track becomes in a double-simultaneous-gauge lines without needing change existing sleepers and make long traffic interruptions of the track like in common third-rail systems. In the present study, threedimensional numerical models are generated using finite-element method. The analysis of the vertical displacements of the top head of the rails, vertical stresses transmitted to the substructure layers and vertical track stiffness, demonstrate the good vertical performance of the new system compared to the conventional lines with dual-gauge-ready sleepers and the common third rail tracks.Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Zamorano-Martín, C.; Real Herráiz, JI.; Gomez Del Rey, L. (2018). New Third Rail Implementation System for Conventional Railroad Tracks in Service. KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering. 22(2):622-628. doi:10.1007/s12205-017-0251-4S622628222Banimahd, M., Woodward, P., Kennedy, J., and Medero, G. (2013). “Three-dimensional modeling of high speed ballasted railway tracks.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers–Transport, Vol. 166, No. 2, pp. 113–123, DOI: 10.1680/tran.9.00048.Choi, J. (2013). “Influence of track support stiffness of ballasted track on dynamic wheel-rail forces.” Journal of transportation engineering. Vol. 139, No. 7, pp. 709–718, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)TE.1943-5436.0000543.Cuadrado, M., Zamorano, C., González, P., Nasarre, J., and Romo, E. (2008). “Analysis of buckling in dual-gauge tracks.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers–Transport, Vol. 161, No. 4, pp. 177–184, DOI: 10.1680/tran.2008.161.4.177.Dahlberg, T. (2010). “Railway track stiffness variations–consequences and countermeasures”. International journal of civil engineering. Vol. 8, No. 1, pp.1–12Drucker, D. C. and Prager, W. (1952). “Soil mechanics and plastic analysis or limit design.” Quarterly of Applied Mathematics, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 157–165.Gallego, I. and López, A. (2009). “Numerical simulation of embankmentstructure transition design.” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, Vol. 223, No. 4, pp. 331–343, DOI: 10.1243/09544097JRRT234.Gallego, I., López, A., Vieira, E. and Rivas, A. (2012). “Design of embankment-structure transitions for railway infrastructure.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Transport. Vol. 165, No. 1, pp. 27–37, DOI: 10.1680/tran.8.00037.Gallego, I., Muñoz, J., Rivas, A., and Sánchez-Cambronero, S. (2011). “Vertical track stiffness as a new parameter involved in designing highspeed railway infrastructures.” Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 137, No. 12, pp. 971–979, DOI: 10.1243/09544097JRRT234.Ministerio de fomento/Secretaría de estado de Infraestructuras y Transportes (1999). Recomendaciones para el proyecto de plataformas ferroviarias, Centro de publicaciones, Madrid.Montalbán, L., Real, J., and Real, T. (2013). “Mechanical characterization of railway structures based on vertical stiffness analysis and railway substructure stress state.” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, Vol. 227, No. 1, pp. 74–85, DOI: 10.1177/0954409712452348.Montalbán, L., Real, J., Zamorano, C., and Real, T. (2014). “Design of a new high lateral resistance sleeper and performance comparison with conventional sleepers in a curved railway track by means of finite element models.” Latin American Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 11, No. 7, pp.1238–1250.ORE committee D-117 (1983). Adaptation optimale de la voie classique au traffic de l’avenir, Rapport nº 27, Comportament des structures d’assise de la voie sous changes répétées. E.T.F., Paris.Pita, A. L., Teixeira, P. F., and Robusté, F. (2004). “High speed and track deterioration: the role of vertical stiffness of the track.” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, Vol. 218, No. 1, pp. 31–40, DOI: 10.1243/ 095440904322804411.Puzavac, L., Popovic, Z., and Lazarevic, L. (2012). “Influence of track stiffness on track behaviour under vertical load.” PROMETTRAFFIC & TRANSPORTATION. Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 405–412Real, J., Gómez, L., Montalbán, L., and Real, T. (2012). “Study of the influence of geometrical and mechanical parameters on ballasted railway tracks design.” Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, Vol. 26, No. 9, pp. 2837–2844, DOI: 10.1007/s12206-012-0734-7.Santamaría, J., Herreros, J., Vadillo, E., and Correa, N. (2013). “Design of an optimized wheel profile for rail vehicles operating on two track gauges.” Vehicle System Dynamics, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 54–73, DOI: 10.1080/00423114.2012.711478.Teixeira, P. F. (2003). Contribution to the reduction of track maintenance costs by optimizing its vertical stiffness, PhD. Dissertation, Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona

Influence of the experience of the project manager and the foreman on project management's success in the context of LPS implementation

[EN] Production planning is a key element for success in building project management. Last Planner System (LPS) has emerged as an alternative proactive management method through the commitment of the different stakeholders involved in the project; however, further research is required to determine the factors that can affect the success of LPS implementation. This research aims to analyze how the implementation of LPS and the construction management experience of the project manager and the construction site foreman individually influence project management's success, getting minimum time and cost deviations. In this work, newly built single-family house projects were analyzed. Quantitative and qualitative analyses, based on the Mann-Whitney U test and qualitative comparative analysis method, respectively, were performed to constrain both the individual and combined effects of LPS, the project foreman, and the project manager in terms of cost and time deviation as measures of project management success. The results highlight that LPS implementation is significant in terms of time deviation and combined LPS implementation and the foreman's experience in construction management are sufficient to maintain time deviations below 10%. However, among the studied variables, only the foreman's experience is a required condition to maintain cost deviations under 10%. Overall, this study may help construction organizations to improve their managerial practices at construction sites. (c) 2023 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/4.0/).Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Casas-Rico, JE.; Alarcón, LF.; Pellicer, E. (2024). Influence of the experience of the project manager and the foreman on project management's success in the context of LPS implementation. Ain Shams Engineering Journal. 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2023.10232415

Social Sustainability in Delivery and Procurement of Public Construction Contracts

[EN] Boosting sustainability in public construction procurement implies new challenges associated with incentivizing integrated approaches and the inclusion of sustainability criteria in tendering procedures. Thus, the choice of project-delivery method and procurement procedure is a key decision to ensure project success for sustainable outcomes. This study focused on the social dimension of sustainability and analyzed 451 tendering documents from 10 countries to assess the influence of procurement procedures and delivery methods on the inclusion of social criteria in public construction procurement. Content analysis, descriptive statistics, and logistic regression were applied. The results show the international trends in delivery methods and procurement procedures. Country and contract size were found to be the most influential variables for the inclusion of social criteria in tendering procedures. There were no significant differences between project-delivery methods and between procurement procedures with respect to the inclusion of social criteria. However, criteria associated with employment and cultural heritage were mainly considered in traditional delivery methods, whereas professional ethics and cultural heritage were associated with the lowest price procurement procedures. Finally, subjective methods were predominantly used to assess social sustainability.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, along with FEDER funding (Project BIA2017-85098-R) and the Valencian Regional Government (Project GV/2018//085). Furthermore, the valuable commentaries and suggestions of three anonymous reviewers are highly appreciated.Montalbán-Domingo, L.; García-Segura, T.; Sanz-Benlloch, MA.; Pellicer, E. (2019). Social Sustainability in Delivery and Procurement of Public Construction Contracts. Journal of Management in Engineering. 35(2):04018065-1-04018065-10. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000674S04018065-104018065-1035

Social sustainability criteria in public-work procurement: An international perspective

[EN] Scientific literature highlights the need to engage social sustainability more effectively in the construction industry through public procurement. Previous contributions have been focused on establishing strategies and defining guides to encourage and facilitate the inclusion of social criteria in public procurement. However, to reach effective results, the characterization of the current scenario needs to be clarified. With this aim, this research analyzes 451 tendering documents from 10 countries in terms of social sustainability. Three research questions are stated to characterize what the current main social criteria are, how these are defined, and what the differences and similarities are with respect to the inclusion of social criteria in tendering procedures at the international level. To analyze tendering documents, a quantitative content analysis that combines inductive and deductive approaches is developed. Descriptive statistics and statistical analysis based on correspondence analysis and the chi-square contingency table analysis are performed. The results show a lack of metrics to assess social sustainability objectively, the predominance of health and safety as the main social criteria that are included in public procurement, and the importance of the contract size in the number of social categories considered in procurement procedures. However, the main result of this research is focused on showing the important role that the variable "country" plays when the behavior regarding the inclusion of social sustainability is compared at the international level since significant differences are found between Anglo-Saxon and Spanish-speaking countries. Policies should be implemented to promote the use of social criteria and metrics in the award of projects and in the evaluation and monitoring of social performance in the construction industry. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, along with FEDER funding (Project: BIA2017-85098-R).Montalbán-Domingo, L.; García-Segura, T.; Sanz-Benlloch, MA.; Pellicer, E. (2018). Social sustainability criteria in public-work procurement: An international perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production. 198:1355-1371. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.083S1355137119

Enhancing a Comprehensive View of the Infrastructure Life Cycle through Project-Based Learning

[EN] This paper describes a teaching innovation project that adopts the project-based learning approach to introduce civil engineering students to their future professional roles and tasks throughout the infrastructure life cycle. The successful development of the whole process and completion of the infrastructure in the best technical and sustainable conditions require a comprehensive view of the infrastructure life cycle. Courses on Project Design and Project and Business Management at the B.Sc. in Civil Engineering simulated practical experiences in bidding, design, estimation, preliminary analysis, and construction planning, linking theory to professional practice. This study describes the organization of both courses to implement the simulations. To analyze the experience from the student¿s point of view, a survey examined the students¿ perceptions of the achievement of higher-order learning and their comprehensive view of the infrastructure life cycle. In addition, the learning results were compared with the students¿ perceptions. Results indicated that students are aware of the learning improvement after performing the proposed activities. In addition, this approach helps the students to develop the professional competencies needed for the curricula. The coordination of the courses to align the learning activities with the life cycle phases enables students to deepen their understanding of the phases of the infrastructure life cycle while they acquire a comprehensive view of the process. In addition, this approach has improved the motivation and engagement of the students. This teaching innovation project is easily adaptable to other engineering curricula.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Universitat Politècnica de València (Teaching Innovation Project PIME/18-19/84).García-Segura, T.; Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Sanz-Benlloch, A.; Domingo Cabo, A.; Catalá Alís, J.; Pellicer, E. (2023). Enhancing a Comprehensive View of the Infrastructure Life Cycle through Project-Based Learning. Journal of Civil Engineering Education. 149(1):1-13. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.2643-9115.0000072113149

Sustainable Decision-Making Module: Application to Public Procurement

[EN] Universities are preparing future professionals to face real problems. Sustainable development is a challenge that requires particular attention from educational programs. In their profession, civil engineers address many decisions that can compromise the sustainability of infrastructure. This paper proposes a sustainable decision-making module to promote student competencies relevant to solving real engineering decision-making problems while meeting sustainability criteria. The module is tested in a project management course for a master¿s in Planning and Management in Civil Engineering program. Students were placed in a procurement process scenario with the objective of designing a sustainable decision-making layout for selecting the best construction company to construct a highway. The assessment of the student performance revealed that most students acquired higher-order cognitive skills, and the perception survey showed that this learning method has been widely accepted for developing competencies related to both decision-making and sustainable thinking. This study could serve as an example for engineering education to promote sustainable practices through the active exploration of decision-making in real professional situations.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Valencian Regional Government (Project No. GV/2018//085) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, along with European Regional Development Fund (Project No. BIA2017-85098-R).García-Segura, T.; Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Sanz-Benlloch, MA.; Lozano-Torró, A. (2020). Sustainable Decision-Making Module: Application to Public Procurement. Journal of Civil Engineering Education. 146(3):04020004-1-04020004-11. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.2643-9115.000001404020004-104020004-11146

Integration of deep learning techniques and sustainability-based concepts into an urban pavement management system

[EN] Pavement management systems (PMS) were typically developed to manage interurban networks. This paper presents an urban pavement management system (UM-PMS) that integrates all the modules of a PMS considering the particularities of the urban context. The tool uses a Geographic Information System (GIS) to import, analyze, and manage the data of the urban road network. The inspection data is obtained by an automatic equipment composed by a video camera installed on a vehicle. Images are analyzed by deep learning techniques based on Convolutional Neural Networks. Further, appropriate decisions on maintenance treatments are made by integrating multi-objective optimization and multi-criteria decision-making methods to plan efficient maintenance strategies considering economic, environmental, social, and performance objectives. Finally, the tool is applied to an urban case study to illustrate its applicability. Outcomes indicate that the proposed framework can obtain a sustainable short-term plan without losing sight of the long-term efficiency.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with the European Regional Development Fund (RTC-2017-6148-7) . The authors also acknowledge the support of partner companies Pavasal Empresa Constructora, S.A. and CPS Infraestructuras, Movilidad y Medio Ambiente, S.L., as well as the Valencia City Council.García-Segura, T.; Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Llopis-Castelló, D.; Sanz-Benlloch, A.; Pellicer, E. (2023). Integration of deep learning techniques and sustainability-based concepts into an urban pavement management system. Expert Systems with Applications. 231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2023.12085123