Common problems encountered by Malaysian dredging stakeholders, the recommendation and relation to the environment

Kajian deskripsi ini dijalankan untuk mengenalpasti masalah yang dihadapi oleh pihak yang terlibat didalam sesebuah projek pengerukan di Malaysia serta cadangan mereka dalam menyelesaikan masalah berdasarkan pengalaman masing-masing. Sesi temubual telah dilaksanakan dengan pengurus pelabuhan, wakil kerajaan, kontraktor pengerukan, environmentalis dan ketua kampung. Hasil daripada sesi temubual tersebut, masalah kebiasaan yang dihadapi adalah pencerobohan tanah rezab, kadar gantirugi yang tinggi, kekurangan pengalaman dalam operasi pengerukan, aduan orang aw am yang tidak berasas, pengawalan keija subkontraktor, pemilihan kapal korek yang bersesuaian, kepupusan hidupan laut serta kekurangan punca pendapatan nelayan. Beberapa cadangan telah dikemukakan berdasarkan pengalaman pihak yang terlibat serta berdasarkan kajian literatur yang telah dijalankan. Antaranya adalah; melaksanakan komunikasi matrix, membentuk organisasi pengerukan dengan mengambil contoh organisasi di Eropah, mengadakan jurnal pengerukan khusus untuk projek pengerukan di Malaysia serta mengikut garispandu Eropah

Strength and water absorption rate of concrete made from palm oil fuel ash

Concrete is one of the most important materials for construction industry. The material in the mixture of concrete includes cement, sand and coarse aggregate. Production of cement causes the air pollution from the emission of carbon dioxide to the air. This research studies the replacement of cement with palm oil fuel ash (POFA) in the concrete mixture. The objective of this research is to investigate the compressive strength of concrete and water absorption rate of concrete made from POFA and to compare the strength and absorption rate between conventional concrete and concrete made from POFA. This is to indicate whether the compressive strength and absorption rate are equivalent to the strength of conventional concrete. The methodology used in this research is experimental method and the palm oil fuel ash was taken from palm oil mill in Cha’ah, Johor, Malaysia. The results of this research are the specimens which contain 20% POFA has a compressive strength and water absorption rate comparable to conventional concrete

Strength and water absorption rate of concrete made from palm oil fuel ash

Concrete is one of the most important materials for construction industry. The material in the mixture of concrete includes cement, sand and coarse aggregate. Production of cement causes the air pollution from the emission of carbon dioxide to the air. This research studies the replacement of cement with palm oil fuel ash (POFA) in the concrete mixture. The objective of this research is to investigate the compressive strength of concrete and water absorption rate of concrete made from POFA and to compare the strength and absorption rate between conventional concrete and concrete made from POFA. This is to indicate whether the compressive strength and absorption rate are equivalent to the strength of conventional concrete. The methodology used in this research is experimental method and the palm oil fuel ash was taken from palm oil mill in Cha’ah, Johor, Malaysia. The results of this research are the specimens which contain 20% POFA has a compressive strength and water absorption rate comparable to conventional concrete

Decision-Making Method Employed at Construction Planning Phase of Housing Development

A correct decision made by decision-makers, at the planning phase, determines the success of a housing development project. Detailed decision supporting data is needed to provide specific guidance to private housing developers. The purpose of this paper is to define a decision-making method to be employed at the construction planning phase of a housing development project in Malaysia. Survey method is implemented using a questionnaire that was distributed to 67 private housing developers. The collected data was then analysed via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The outcomes of the analysis show that for Malaysian private housing developers, discussion and market/economic report are the most important methods that are applied while making a decision for a housing development project. Thus, this paper is supposed to guide private housing developers as well as governments in making decisions at the construction planning phase of housing development projects in Malaysia

Preparation of Vocational College Graduates as Skilled Workforce in the Local Construction Industry

Construction industry is growing rapidly along with the development of a country. This situation caused a high demand of workforce in this industry until the hiring of foreign workers becomes a necessity, as seen in Malaysia’s scenario. To overcome this issue, the government of Malaysia established many Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes that have potential to produce local workforce as highly skilled workers in construction industry. However, the preparation of these institutes for their students have never been analyzed, as the involvement of students from TVET institutes in local construction industry as skilled workers is still low, making their preparation method as an issue. Therefore, this research will identify the types of preparation method by TVET institutes for students pursuing programmes related to construction industry, and to assess teaching strategies for programmes related to construction industry to improve student preparation to become skilled workforce. To achieve the main objectives of this research, data collection is performed by interviewing teachers from three Vocational Colleges (VC) namely VC Kluang, VC Klang and VC Taiping, which are teaching Construction Technology programmes. It can be concluded that VCs have adequate preparation to produce graduates that can become skilled workforce in the construction industry. The results conclude that there are two types of preparation method made by the VCs; preparation method in the classroom and preparation method outside the classroom. The classroom preparation method includes laboratory training and teaching using modules designed to fit industrial needs. The results from outside classroom preparation include extra-curricular activities and construction site visits. As for results of the second objective, the teaching strategies to improve student preparation for skilled workforce is through the emphasis of safety during construction to students and the raising of student interest in Construction Technology programmes through industry participation. However, actions need to be taken in order to solve the issues that include a lack of equipment and no large area for computers. This study can help VCs to enhance the student preparedness to work in the construction industry

Analysis of Trace Metal Contamination in Pahang River and Kelantan River, Malaysia

The primary objective of this study is to determine trace metal contamination in environmental samples obtained from Pahang River and Kelantan River, Malaysia which may help to identify the risk of sustainable dredging in these areas. This research also proceeds to compare the trace metal concentration with the National Water Quality Standards of Malaysia, Interim Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines and Malaysian Food Act 1983 to determine its limits and risks. Samples of water, sediment, snails and fishes were collected and analyzed for As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Fe, Pb, Ni, Mn, and Hg by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. It was found that the concentration of trace metals namely As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Hg in river water, sediment, snail and fish samples in Pahang River were lower than the maximum allowable limits, except for Fe and Mn. In Kelantan River, the concentration of trace metals indicating that it is contaminated with Fe, Mn, Pb, Cr, Cu, Hg, and As as all trace metals exceeded the maximum allowable limits. Negative impacts may arise, and the river may contaminate more in future if there is no proper management to tackle this issue during execution of dredging activities

Polyvinyl alcohol-alginate adsorbent beads for chromium (vi) removal

Chromium pollution has been an increasing concern worldwide because of its high toxicity and carcinogenic properties, and it requires an efficient purification technique. In this study, adsorbent beads containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate were prepared by crosslinking with boric acid and calcium chloride for adsorbent of the hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)]. Batch adsorption studies were conducted to evaluate Cr (VI) adsorption rates of PVA-alginate beads from aqueous solution under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination. The surface morphology and elemental composition of beads were examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), respectively. This study revealed that the Cr (VI) adsorption rates increased remarkably with dosages of PVA and sodium alginate. This occurred mainly due to the increasing number of the active sites for adsorption. The results revealed that adsorbent beads with 12 g of PVA and 2.5 g sodium alginate beads exhibited superior Cr (VI) adsorption efficiency at which it is completely removed after 1.5 hours. The findings of this study indicate that PVA-sodium alginate beads are a viable option for Cr (VI) removal from industrial wastewater

An investigation on current green design practices towards net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs) application in Malaysia healthcare projects

These days, the topic on the sustainable building has become one of the most important concerns in the academic studies, construction industries, as well as governmental agencies. Sustainability in the building sector has raised the attention towards a new concept called net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs). With regards to the development of Malaysia’s buildings sectors, the government has realised the undesirable effects of inefficient of energy usage by demonstrating their efforts in Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP) 2016-2020. Commonly, healthcare buildings are among the greatest energy consumers of any institution and the extensive use of various medical equipment, mechanical ventilation of this building has caused a high level of carbon emission. Hence, by concentrating on these issues, NZEBs become an important concept to be implemented in healthcare buildings. However, the awareness of NZEBs in Malaysia is still low and the construction industry in Malaysia still unaware of NZEBs. This paper aims to investigate the current design practices of healthcare buildings in Malaysia as well as the architect’s understanding of NZEBs through preliminary investigation among architects. Literature was reviewed and pilot studies by using semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results uncover that some green practices related to the design practices in healthcare buildings has been carried out and some of these practices are similar to the NZEBs design practices even though the term of ‘NZEBs’ is not being used. It is predicted that the paper will provide a basic knowledge for future research in NZEBs for healthcare buildings, challenges of NZEBs implementation and designing NZEBs for healthcare buildings in Malaysia

Price Prediction Model of Demand and Supply in the Housing Market

Over recent years, the imbalance between housing demand and supply, particularly in the high-cost housing segment, led to the rapid increase in the house prices. This paper has applied the standard theory of consumer demand and supply supplemented using content analysis method to explain the trend of housing demand and supply of housing market in Malaysia. Sampling in the quantitative content analysis is carried out to achieve the objective. Property Market Status Report in the NAPIC website provide a series data for total housing demand and supply for any house type of terrace, detached, cluster and townhouse in the price range between RM50,000 to RM300,000. All data provided cover from the first quarter until the fourth quarter across the year 2006 to 2015 specifically in Peninsular Malaysia only. Each level of the house price has a different equilibrium price so that developers can use it as an indicator based on the housing type. This research will promote ways to achieve the sustainabiliy in construction output overall so that the scholars can improve the equilibrium price model proposed in order to make the Malaysian housing become an affordable

Examining the Influence of Passive Design Approaches on NZEBs: Potential Net Zero Healthcare Buildings Implementation in Malaysia

Nowadays, net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs) concept has gained considerable attention not only between the developed countries, but also among the developing countries including Malaysia. The rapid development in Malaysia, especially in the construction of healthcare buildings needs to be given due attention since these developments lead to all sorts of environmental problems. As the number of healthcare buildings increases, the energy consumes to operate these buildings will increase. The consequences of uncontrollable energy consumption may result in the increased volume of carbon dioxide emissions as well as depletion of natural resources. Thus, NZEBs has emerged as a proactive concept to confront with these issues. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of passive design approaches on NZEBs as well as the potential of net zero healthcare buildings implementation in Malaysia based on a review of the existing literature and by utilising semi-structured interviews with 3 experienced architects. The result of this paper indicates that there are four main passive design components has strong influences on NZEBs which are building orientation, shading devices, ventilation, and thermal insulation. These practices are being actively practiced in Malaysia construction industry; thus, it shows that net zero energy healthcare buildings are potential to be designed in Malaysia. The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of the significance of passive design approaches towards net zero healthcare buildings for future implementation in Malaysia context