GIS based modelling for fuel reduction using controlled burn in Australia : case study : Logan City, Queensland

Bushfire problem is a long-lasting problem which is a big threat and environmental problem in Australia. Planning to control bushfire is very important for Australian Environment. One of the most effective methods to fight bushfire disasters is planning for controlled burns in order to reduce the risk of unwanted bushfire events. Controlled burns management and planning has been always considered as important by town planners. In this study the aim is to produce a tool for prioritizing burn blocks based on diffract criteria in order to help planners have a sound scientific basis for choosing the most important blocks to have controlled burn on. In this study the following research tasks have been considered 1. Investigate criteria related to prescribed burn management and their usability to design a model for analysing long term geospatial suitability of bushfire prescribed burns. 2. Finding out suitable model for scoring blocks designated as fuel reduction bushfire prescribed burns blocks in long term 3. Testing model in a pilot area Several criteria for building up a multi-criteria analysis with GIS model were studied and the corresponding importance weight for them were debated. Research methodology used in this section was investigating literature and methods for determining weights and possibly, using experts’ ideas by interviews or small surveys or running focus groups in a stakeholder organization to find out the most relevant and the most important criteria. Finally eleven most important criteria were chosen and compared to each other by interviewees to find out their importance weight. The model developed considers all the criteria which is usable to plan and prioritize burn blocks selected in the criteria analysis phase. This model works as a basis for having a sound and robust decision on which blocks are most suitable to be burnt in long term point of view. GIS database used in this model were acquired from the pilot area’s relevant authorities. Model was developed based on the ESRI’s ArcGIS analysis tools as well as ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension. In this model Analytical Hierarchical Process Methodology was used for combining criteria importance and develop a unified value-based solution to the study’s Multi Criteria Analysis problem based on two main themes of ‘Implementation’ and ‘Safety’. Model was tested on Logan City Area in south of Queensland, Australia. The case study is an administration area within Australia that all the criteria data has been prepared and acquired from. Results: As combining the final results by overlaying can cause some bias as some blocks show a good match for safety theme but not a good match for implementation and vice versa, two main themes results were combined using an optimization methodology based on probabilistic principles for generating final prioritized blocks. The usability test of the result generated by this model was done by Logan City Council managers and Parks Department bushfire experts. The suitability of the blocks was very close to what experts had in their minds and this model results were validated completely satisfactory by them. All of the blocks ranked by the model were according to what they had a practical perception from the field visit and field knowledge. In overall and in general, the tool created by this study, will help decision makers has a good basis for deciding about long term priorities to plan for controlled burn activities. Decision makers could use this model to have a long term outlook for the budget and resources needed to be allocated to fuel reduction controlled burn practices. This will facilitate short term planning as well.Bushfire problem is a long-lasting problem which is a big threat and environmental problem in Australia. Planning to control bushfire is very important for Australian Environment. One of the most effective methods to fight bushfire disasters is planning for controlled burns in order to reduce the risk of unwanted bushfire events. In controlled burn, some patches or blocks which are risky to cause threat to environment and humans are selected and burned deliberately under a very safe and controlled condition. This way it is ensured that in real situations the ready-to-burn barks and tree canopy or simply ‘fuel load’ are eliminated from the area. This research aims to investigate different approaches to build up spatial model to aid decision makers have a rational justifications for planning controlled burns in long term. This includes finding out suitable model for scoring blocks designated as bushfire prescribed burns blocks. The target of this research is to investigate suitability criteria related to prescribed burn management and use them to design a model for analysing spatial suitability for bushfire prescribed burns. In the process of this research, first it is tried to find out how prescribed burn programs work, what characteristics a burn plan has and how different criteria may contribute in forming suitability for performing a prescribed burn. Then a model has been developed for this purpose. The model output is the prioritized blocks based on two main themes of ‘Safety’ and ‘Implementation’. A combination of these two themes has been used in order to generate prioritized blocks. In this output the higher is the rank of a block it means that it has higher priority to be burn first in long term planning. The model was tested in Logan City area in South East Queensland Australia. Finally the outcome showed a good agreement between planners suitability choice which was based on field visits and the prioritized blocks generated by model. This agreement was investigated gathering different decision makers’ opinions regarding different blocks and comparing it with the actual model outcome. In overall and in general, the tool created by this study, will help decision makers has a good basis for deciding about long term priorities to plan for controlled burn activities. Decision makers could use this model to have a long term outlook for the budget and resources needed to be allocated to fuel reduction controlled burn practices. This will facilitate short term planning as well

One-step purification of histone-like protein (HU) from Halobacillus litoralis

The histone-like protein (HU) in bacteria is a small, basic, heat-stable protein that is involved in cell division and compression of the bacterial genome into a nucleoid. HU exists as a homodimer in most gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis and as a heterodimer in enterobacteria such as Escherichia coli. The structure of HU, similar to other proteins, may change during purification, which may reduce the value of the investigation. Therefore, in this study, HU was purified in one step using an affinity chromatography column CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B matrix without using high-speed centrifugation and salting out methods. It was observed that the molecular weight and immunochemical properties of HU from Halobacillus litoralis were the same as those of HBsu (HU from B. subtilis)

The benefits of BIM use to improve information flow; making the design process more leaner

The construction industry faces many problems, such as poor productivity and efficiency, that mainly occur during the design process. Many construction problems associated with the design process are due to a lack of effective information flow management through innovative and technological strategies. As the technology matures, the amount of information and data generated and shared during the construction design process has rapidly increased. Despite the increased amount of available information in the design process, most of the shared information not only adds any value to the project but also generates waste. So, it is critically important to improve the design information by managing the information exchange effectively. Ineffective information sharing is a significant contributing factor to waste and the root cause of many construction problems. Major design problems related to information management are due to a lack of appropriate information exchange and effective information flow. Therefore, effective information flow management is crucial to project success. This can be achieved through the application of new innovative and technological approaches such as Lean and Building Information Modelling (BIM).Due to the lack of systematic exploration between the information flow management challenges, and the application of BIM and Lean, this research intends to make a number of significant and original contributions in this area of research. In identifying this gap in knowledge, this research makes a substantial contribution to the theory in understanding how information flow management could be improved by studying the implications of using the BIM/Lean approach from a cross-case studies perspective. Although the application of BIM and its benefits in the design process is commonly seen, its application with Lean construction in different BIM maturity levels and in relation to effective information flow management is seemingly very poor. The existing research suggests multiple reasons for this situation; however, the gap in theoretical grounding leaves it vulnerable to interpretation. Therefore, this study aims to explore how the information flow in the design process could be improved by applying BIM and Lean approaches in relation to the BIM maturity levels.A qualitative methodology is being followed to provide an explanation for the social phenomenon based on realist ontological and epistemological principles and assumptions. This study is structured under four phases; the first phase focuses on research design, providing a deeper understanding of the problem, and the second phase is the preparation and collection of information based on the research problem. The findings are analysed and developed in the third phase. The final phase is dedicated to discussing the findings and developing the solution to meet the research aim and objectives. Three case studies are selected to obtain in-depth information on effective information flow management, the challenges associated with the management of information flow, and the role of BIM/Lean in improving information flow management in relation to different BIM maturity levels. Semi-structured interviews are conducted within the three case studies as the data collection method, while data is analysed using thematic analysis to form the research findings. The research brings together scholarly work on effective information flow management and the role of BIM/Lean in information sharing and exchange while interrogating different value theories to develop a unique understanding of how the usage of BIM/Lean could improve information flow management in the design process and in relation to the BIM maturity levels. Value’s role as the primary dependent variable in social science has contributed to a deep understanding of the phenomenon. This research reveals how value is represented through challenges and benefits, and possibilities of value enhancement through adapting BIM/Lean to improve information flow management. This leads to a new perspective by identifying challenges of information flow management as unfulfilled expectations of users, therefore, act as recommendations for improvement required in managing information flow by the adaption of BIM/Lean approaches and in relation to different BIM maturity levels to help promote the best practice. Finally, the research contributes to the knowledge by providing a great insight into the problems and challenges of information flow management in the design process and how these challenges can be better tackled and addressed through the implementation of BIM/Lean.This study intends to make both academic and practical contributions. This research contributes to raising awareness regarding the challenges associated with information flow management in relation to projects’ BIM maturity level and how these challenges could be tackled through a set of recommendations. Therefore, the findings of this research would help academic professionals to rethink the importance of research in information flow management by the BIM/Lean and IPD application with its relation to the BIM maturity level.Also, this study would benefit the construction industry practitioners to better understand the critical information flow management challenges and how these challenges could be reduced through a set of recommendations. The beneficial role of BIM/Lean and IPD to enhance information flow would be better realised by industry professionals. This would assist them in taking logical and necessary actions to enable the practical application of BIM/Lean and IPD, thus achieving better-enhanced information flow management. A set of recommendations are designed which would help both industry practitioners and academia to realise the importance of effective information flow management and how BIM/Lean could enhance effective information flow management and to take recommended actions to better manage the information flow in practice

Development of an Experimental Waste Framework Based on Bim/Lean Concept in Construction Design

The construction industry faces many problems and challenges especially with the construction of housing which are due to the high level of non-value-adding activities (waste) that reduce the overall construction performance and productivity. In recent years, there have been investigations and research on improving the performance of construction. Lean construction is widely known as an effective process which aims to maximise customer value and the efficiency of the project by eliminating non-value-adding activities or waste. Moreover, the Building Information modelling (BIM) concept has been recognised as a collaborative process which aims to improve the overall project performance through its tools' capabilities. This paper intends to study the potential effects of integrating these two concepts in order to reduce construction waste. This paper presents a framework, named an Experimental Waste Framework based on the findings of this paper to explore how an integrated BIM and Lean concept can contribute to the practicable reduction of construction waste in the design process of construction

Development of an integrated BIM and lean maturity model

The level of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Lean adoption has been rapidly increased. The benefits of integrating these two approaches have also been identified. However, to achieve the maximum benefits of the interaction of these two approaches, there needs to be assessment tools to analyse their performances collectively. Because understanding and analysing the performances of these approaches would provide value to the entire project in terms of lessons learned, more value generation, and continuous improvements. Therefore, this paper aims to propose an integrated BIM and Lean Maturity Model based on reviewing the literature around current maturity models. This paper proposes an Integrated BIM and Lean Maturity Model named “IDEAL” which could serve as a basis in terms of assessing the performances of the projects implementing BIM and Lean together

Transforming the Productivity of People in the Built Environment: Emergence of a Digital Competency Management Ecosystem

This chapter explores how we create and support a digitally enabled, agile, competent, and ultimately, productive workforce and determines the key research questions that need to be addressed if Digital Built Britain (DBB) is to provide return on investment and succeed as the catalyst for evolving the manner in which we conceive, plan, design, construct, operate, and interact with the built environment. The proposed vision is a digital competency management ecosystem where interdependent stakeholders are incentivised to work together in coopetition to create, capture, infer, interpret, specify, integrate, accredit, apply, use, monitor, and evolve competence as a working (data) asset. This needs to be in a consistent, objective, explicit, and scalable manner, with end2end transparency and traceability for all stakeholders that overcome the challenges of competency management. Moreover, a core element must be an ecosystem organised around digital infrastructure of competency frameworks and other knowledge sources of competence, so that competency frameworks are in digital operation and dynamic context

How BIM-lean integration enhances the information management process in the construction design

The construction industry faces significant challenges due to insufficient processes. Design phase is a key process of construction project lifecycle in which many problems and challenges occur. Most of the issues within the design process are mainly due to poor information management process. Therefore, it is important to adopt new innovative technologies and processes to improve information management. Over the last decade, the number of projects implementing innovative and technological processes such as BIM and Lean has been increased. However, rather applying BIM and Lean independently, integration of BIM features with lean principles would bring more benefits to the design process in terms of improving information management. This paper studies the potential benefits of integrating BIM and Lean to improve information management in terms of reducing construction design problems associated with information management challenges