Communication framework to support more effective onsite construction monitoring

The UK construction industry has recently witnessed an increasing demand for cost-reduction strategies due to the strict government regulations on BIM implementation. This adoption will certainly lead to a continuous work improvement, better project delivery and communication. Although the UK government has set a target of 15–20% saving on the costs of capital projects by the full implementation of BIM level 2 in 2016, this figure is unlikely to be met since the majority of construction companies are still spending approximately £20 billion per year on rebuilding and repairing the construction defects caused by miscommunication. This research addresses the problem of communication using traditional methods (i.e. communication through paper-based documents and drawings) and its impact during the construction phase in relation to clash detection. Next, we will present a communication framework using advanced visualisation technique such as augmen ted reality (AR) combined with a BIM model with an easy access to the IFC f ile on site for a compliance checking between the BIM model and the actual co nstruction site. Subsequently, site inspection can be performed more efficiently, and with more reliability. Furthermore, early warning on future occu rring clashes can be given. To reach our objectives, the research has been designed using real case scenario, following two phases of implementation. The first phase include the communication study and consists of determining users requiring a ssistance with regard to site monitoring and inspection, whereas the second, built on the results of the first phase to specify and implement the mobile AR syste

Transition to Product Service Systems: methodology based on scenarios identification, modelling and evaluation

Part 4: Transition Towards Product-Service SystemsInternational audienceThe paper proposes a methodology to support the organisational shift towards product Services Systems. Its backbone is the evaluation of economic impact of such a shift. However, in order to efficiently accommodate organisational changes and include company specificities, other steps are required prior to evaluation. These are context analysis, scenarios identification and modelling. The novelty of the paper lies in (i) including organisational changes in the evaluation and (ii) managing the contextualization to company specificities

Managing construction site communication using the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) system

The construction industry in the UK wastes £1 billion per year due to construction defects that are mainly caused by a communication failure between organisations operating on the construction site. Meanwhile, the introduction of the BIM strategy has become a mandatory requirement by the government in order to reduce costs by 33% and speed up project delivery by 50% without sacrificing quality. Since then, the industry has seen a global reaction to the BIM Level 2 programme and a significant cost-saving in the UK of £1.2 billion in 2014/15, rising from £840 million in 2013/14. However, communication remains a major issue to achieve the BIM Level 3 as it requires all organisations involved to use a single platform to facilitate communication. This paper, therefore, fits within the BIM implementation programme by addressing the communication issues and construction defects on-site toward formulating a communication framework for the construction industry in the UK. This will help optimise communication and manage construction defects efficiently. The study takes advantage of the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM), the widely known management system and uses it to assign communication tools for each organisation in relation to the construction stages throughout two phases of data collection. Phase 1 involves two qualitative data collection methods of an in-depth review of the relevant literature (document analysis) and construction site observation. To facilitate site observation and data collection, the researcher collaborated with GF Tomlinson group, a Derby-based construction company, as the case study. Phase 2 involves an online survey, targeting a total number of 328 participants, including professionals and academics. Results of phase 1 are presented as the Communication Tools Assignment 1 (CTA1) and phase 2 results inform the Communication Tools Assignment 2 (CTA2). The study contribution is to develop a framework that recommends the appropriate communication tools for organisations at different construction stages, and which shows the possible types and causes of construction defects. Moreover, the study found three types of construction defects by applying 3D laser scanning for framework mentoring

Visualisation in energy eco-feedback systems: a systematic review of good practice

While adopting eco-feedback systems can lead to significant energy savings, in the region of 5–20%, research has shown that the inappropriate use of visualisation patterns and techniques decreases their effectiveness. However, existing reviews on energy feedback visualisation provide little guidance on when to use them and how to enhance their effectiveness in various scenarios. The uncertainty and lack of clarity surrounding eco-feedback visualisation techniques and their impact on end-userengagement present challenges to the design of ecofeedback systems. This paper presents the first systematic review of a wide range of energy eco-feedback visualisation techniques, including, for the first time, Augmented-Reality (AR) and thermal imaging visualisation. We analysed 82 relevant studies published between 2000 and 2021 using the PRISMA protocol for systematic reviews. The visualisation techniques have been reported under five distinct categories, which we have identified: (a) statistical visualisation, (b) architectural and geospatial visualisation, (c) game-based visualisation, (d) artistic visualisation, (e) emerging visualisation. Furthermore, they have been analysed based on the following criteria: type of visualised information, the purpose of use, end-user perception, scholar suggestions, and potential impact. The findings show that statistical visualisation techniques are essential in any energy eco-feedback system. Furthermore, they suggested combining different visualisation techniques to accommodate different user profiles, but such combinations must be carefully planned based on usage scenarios. Following this analysis, a series of considerations and good practice guidelines are presented for each of the reviewed techniques to assist practitioners in this area (e.g., designers and researchers) while providing recommendations for future work

Autonomous vehicles and smart cities- future directions of ownership vs shared mobility

Over the last decade, there has been increasing discussions about self-driving cars and how most auto-makers are racing to launch these products. However, this discourse is not limited to transportation only, but how such vehicles will affect other industries and specific aspects of our daily lives as future users such as the concept of work while being driven and productivity, entertainment, travel speed, and deliveries. Although these technologies are beneficial, access to these potentials depends on the behaviour of their users. There is a lack of a conceptual model that elucidate the acceptance of people to Self-driving cars. Service on-demand and shared mobility are the most critical factors that will ensure the successful adoption of these cars. This paper presents an analysis of public opinions in Nottingham, UK, through a questionnaire about the future of Autonomous vehicles' ownership and the extent to which they accept the idea of vehicle sharing. Besides, this paper tests two hypotheses. Firstly, (a) people who usually use Public transportation like (taxi, bus, tram, train, carpooling) are likely to share an Autonomous Vehicle in the future. Secondly, (b) people who use Private cars are expected to own an Autonomous Vehicle in the future. To achieve this aim, a combination of statistical methods such as logistic regression has been utilised. Unexpectedly, the study findings suggested that AVs ownership will increase contrary to what is expected, that Autonomous vehicles will reduce ownership. Besides, participants have shown low interest in sharing AVs. Therefore, it is likely that ownership of AVs will increase for several reasons as expressed by the participants such as safety, privacy, personal space, suitability to children and availability. Actions must be taken to promote shared mobility to avoid AVs possession growth. The ownership diminution, in turn, will reduce traffic congestion, energy and transport efficiency, better air quality. That is why analysing the factors that influence the mindset and attitude of people will enable us to understand how to shift from private cars to transport-on-demand, which is a priority rather than promoting the technology

From discovering to delivering: a critical reflection on eco-feedback, application design, and participatory research in the United Kingdom

The area of Eco-Feedback has received significant attention in recent years. Whilst there have been increasing calls to move ‘beyond feedback’ and consider the wider social, organisational and cultural context that feedback sits within, the involvement of community members in the design process of eco-feedback applications, known as co-design, has been limited. This study addresses that research gap through working collaboratively with community members to develop an accessible eco-feedback interface. First, we conducted an online survey questionnaire with 151 respondents with distinct socio-economic characteristics and environmental knowledge to get insights into their preferences about different aspects of the eco-feedback interface. Secondly, based on the survey findings, 20 community members living in Nottingham, UK, worked collaboratively to develop interface design proposals. Finally, the design of the eco-feedback interface was finalised based on the community interface prototypes and suggestions. The developed interface contains multiple information panels with options for expanding to gain deeper levels of information and a community space allowing for community interactions and sharing of information and actions. This research sheds new light on the challenges of utilising co-design principles to build eco-feedback interfaces. Specifically, we highlight the potential for interactions between community members during the design stages to allow for the generation of innovative ideas (e.g. Integration of third-party applications) moving the interface beyond feedback leading to greater adoption and energy savings

Radical cystectomy (bladder removal) against intravesical BCG immunotherapy for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (BRAVO): a protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility study

INTRODUCTION: High-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (HRNMIBC) is a heterogeneous disease that can be difficult to predict. While around 25% of cancers progress to invasion and metastases, the remaining majority of tumours remain within the bladder. It is uncertain whether patients with HRNMIBC are better treated with intravesical maintenance BCG (mBCG) immunotherapy or primary radical cystectomy (RC). A definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) is needed to compare these two different treatments but may be difficult to recruit to and has not been attempted to date. Before undertaking such an RCT, it is important to understand whether such a comparison is possible and how best to achieve it. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: BRAVO is a multi-centre, parallel-group, mixed-methods, individually randomised, controlled, feasibility study for patients with HRNMIBC. Participants will be randomised to receive either mBCG immunotherapy or RC. The primary objective is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of performing the definitive phase III trial via estimation of eligibility and recruitment rates, assessing uptake of allocated treatment and compliance with mBCG, determining quality-of-life questionnaire completion rates and exploring reasons expressed by patients for declining recruitment into the study. We aim to recruit 60 participants from six centres in the UK. Surgical trials with disparate treatment options find recruitment challenging from both the patient and clinician perspective. By building on the experiences of other similar trials through implementing a comprehensive training package aimed at clinicians to address these challenges (qualitative substudy), we hope that we can demonstrate that a phase III trial is feasible. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has ethical approval (16/YH/0268). Findings will be made available to patients, clinicians, the funders and the National Health Service through traditional publishing and social media. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN12509361; Pre results

Direct identification of the damage behaviour of composite materials using the virtual fields method

In the present work the virtual fields method (VFM) has been used to extract the whole set of material parameters governing a nonlinear behaviour law for composite materials. The nonlinearity considered here is due to the damage inherent to the in-plane shear response. The identification method is performed by applying the principle of virtual work knowing the whole strain field onto the surface of a tested specimen. The test chosen here is a shear bending test using a rectangular coupon loaded in a Iosipescu fixture. To illustrate the capabilities of the method, the identification is performed on data provided by finite element simulations. First, the nonlinear finite element model is described. Then, numerical aspects of the VFM are discussed, in particular the stability of the technique with respect to noise in the data. Finally, first elements of test optimisation are given by studying the effect of the length of the active area and the effect of the material anisotropy. This work contributes to the development of the VFM as a tool adapted to the processing of full-field measurement to identify parameters from general constitutive equations.<br/

Identification directe du comportement élastique endommageable de matériaux composites par la méthode des champs virtuels

L'objectif de ce travail est de proposer une procédure d'identification directe de paramètres pilotant une loi de comportement de matériau composite dans le cadre d'un couplage élasticité-endommagement. Cette procédure est basée sur la Méthode des Champs Virtuels (MCV) utilisée ici avec des champs virtuels dits “ spéciaux et optimaux ”. Cette méthode permet de traiter les champs cinématiques hétérogènes. L'implémentation de loi de comportement dans le code de calcul par éléments finis ABAQUS a permis de simuler les cartographies de déformations hétérogènes exploitées par la MCV afin d'identifier le comportement global d'une structure composite sollicitée selon la configuration de l'essai Iosipescu (cisaillement). Une analyse des sensibilités a contribué à étudier les performances de la procédure en termes de précision et de stabilité vis à vis d'un bruit de mesure aléatoire