Risk Analysis Related to Cost and Schedule for a Bridge Construction Project

The construction sector is subject to more risk than many other sectors. Managing risk is the hottest topic of discussion for engineers within the construction sector. It is difficult to imagine managing of projects without risk management in construction. Risk management is concerned with risk management planning, identification, analysis, responses, monitoring and controlling project risk. Risk analysis is an evaluative process that establishes the magnitude of risks on projects. This work is planned to identify and analyze risks in the construction of a bridge project. The data are collected through a survey approach by administering a questionnaire. Professionals involved in the construction of bridges identify the project risks. A case study is utilized to determine the impact of cost and schedule risks. The analysis is carried out using the Monte Carlo simulation. The findings of the Monte Carlo simulation are compared with the actual times and costs of the case-study project. The results show the actual times and costs fell within the expected distribution of the simulation. The results indicate that risk analysis is helpful in managing costs and schedule risks. Additionally, this work documents guidelines for risk analysis

BIM for construction safety improvement in Gaza strip: awareness, applications and barriers

The objectives of this paper are to elicit the perception of contracting parties regarding building information modelling (BIM), the most important safety-related applications of BIM and the barriers to adopting BIM in the local construction industry. Data for this study were collected through a questionnaire survey. A total of 75 questionnaires were randomly distributed to contractors, owners and consultants, and 37 were returned, representing a 49% response rate. The findings indicated that 33% of the respondents had no knowledge of the concept of BIM, 28% of the respondents’ organizations are not using BIM and if used it was implemented to a limited extent. The results indicated that ‘hazard identification and minimization’ and ‘safety training and education’ are the most important safety-related applications provided by BIM tools to improve safety performance in construction. Lack of universal use in the construction

Contractors’ perception towards causes of claims in construction projects

The construction industry is an important sector for the development of the Gaza Strip. A key factor to a successful construction project is to complete the project without any claims occurrence. Nonetheless, claims are very common in the construction industry of Palestine. The aim of this paper is to identify and rank the existing causes of claims according to their relative importance in the construction industry from the perspective of the local contractors. The paper reports on a questionnaire-based research investigation targeting local contractors by analyzing their perception towards causes of claims. The results found the main causes of claims and they are: awarding bid to the lower bidder; border closures; residents’ interference during project implementation; road blockage and difficulties in passing between cities and governorate It was found that owners may not award the contract to the lowest responsive bidder

Safety performance of subcontractors in the Palestinian construction industry

Subcontractors perform most of the construction works and their effect on industry are apparent in different activities of construction. Therefore, subcontractors need more attention from government and contractors union. The aim of this paper is to identify, evaluate, and rank factors that influence safety performance of subcontractors in the Gaza Strip (Palestine) according to their relative importance. The study concluded that reported accident rates will decrease among subcontractors and their workers if new workers are trained well in the work site and they are informed about dangerous places, and if a workable safety plan is well preplanned. The results also showed that reported accident rates increased among subcontractors when using old, unsafe equipment and due to the complexity or difficulty in the construction sites features. Owners and general contractors need to stipulate strict clauses for safety in the contract for improving safety record of subcontractors. Construction workers must receive proper job related safety and health training with a safety logbook. It is recommended that the subcontractors and workers should attend continuing safety programs on regular basis as part of their perquisite to work in construction sites

Perception of contracing parties on construction safety in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries in developing countries. Understanding the safety climate or culture of a workplace, the perceptions and attitudes of the workforce are important factors in assessing safety needs. The construction industry in Palestine, by its inherent nature, is susceptible to potentially dangerous conditions that affect the safety of all personnel working in construction projects. This paper reports, based on a questionnaire survey, the perception of owners, consultants, and contractors towards safety in constructions in the Gaza Strip. The results showed that, most of the participants in the survey had accidents in their construction projects. The findings indicated that, the main causes of fatalities and injuries are falling from heights, dropped objects and materials, and being caught under excavations. Carelessness of workers, lack of safety knowledge, and lack of safety training are the main three reasons that contributed to the increase rate of accidents among construction workers in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, contractors should prepare safety training programs which help personnel to carry out various accidents accidents preventive activities effectively. Training material should discuss the costs of accidents, the influence of good safety performance, and should stress the safety objectives of the company, the relevant laws and legislation, and contractual relationships with clients regarding safety matters

Safety Performance Of Subcontractors In The Palestinian Construction Industry

Subcontractors perform most of the construction works and their effect on industry are apparent in different activities of construction. Therefore, subcontractors need more attention from government and contractors union. The aim of this paper is to identify, evaluate, and rank factors that influence safety performance of subcontractors in the Gaza Strip (Palestine) according to their relative importance. The study concluded that reported accident rates will decrease among subcontractors and their workers if new workers are trained well in the work site and they are informed about dangerous places, and if a workable safety plan is well preplanned. The results also showed that reported accident rates increased among subcontractors when using old, unsafe equipment and due to the complexity or difficulty in the construction sites features. Owners and general contractors need to stipulate strict clauses for safety in the contract for improving safety record of subcontractors. Construction workers must receive proper job related safety and health training with a safety logbook. It is recommended that the subcontractors and workers should attend continuing safety programs on regular basis as part of their perquisite to work in construction sites

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

Proactive Approach to Measure Safety Management on Building Projects in Saudi Arabia

Safety management is important throughout the world specifically on building projects, which are prone to accidents due to their unique operations, dynamic and ever-changing nature. In every country, contractors implement safety management systems (SMSs) to avoid accidents and comply with applicable laws, regulations and to provide safe work environments for their workers. Nonetheless, accidents still happen on many building projects in the country. The objective of this work is to measure safety management as perceived on building projects by employing a proactive approach in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to improve site safety. A survey instrument is utilized to gather data from building projects. Another questionnaire is used to conduct interviews with the key managers on the same projects. Analysis of the questionnaire survey is performed after entering the data into SPSS software by applying factor analysis and multiple linear regression. Factor analysis extracted two significant factors, including “management commitment, employee involvement, and safety training”—factor 1, and “project safety plan, safety committee, and safe use of equipment”—factor 2, which proactively measure the implementation of safety management on the building projects. The safety model obtained by multiple regression analysis identifies two significant contributors to the performance of the SMS. Analysis of the interviews complemented and validated the results of the questionnaire survey. The findings provide in-depth understanding of proactively measuring safety management on building projects for the construction industry practitioners to make project sites safer

Calidad y seguridad en la industria de la construcción en Palestina Quality and safety in the Palestinian construction industry

La industria de la Construcción es una de las más grandes e importantes industrias en Palestina. La calidad y seguridad en la industria aún sufre por la ignorancia y la falta de supervisión y el porcentaje de accidentes en los proyectos de construcción es muy alto. El objetivo de este trabajo es la identificación de los factores de calidad y seguridad relacionados con la seguridad, y determinar su importancia relativa según la perciben los contratistas para ayudar en la reducción de accidentes. Se realizó un estudio utilizando un cuestionario que incluía 55 ítems el que fue agrupado en 15 grandes categorías. El análisis de las respuestas encontró los factores mas importantes los cuales incluían: "la organización de seguridad formada por la cultura comunitaria considera que la seguridad es una necesidad vital para la gente", "se requiere que todos los gerentes/administradores pasen por un proceso de entrenamiento en el manejo de la seguridad", "todos los ingenieros deben pasar por un proceso de entrenamiento importante en manejo de seguridad", "la falta de un entrenamiento orientador de los nuevos trabajadores disminuye la calidad y significa un aumento de riesgo para ellos", y "la organización de seguridad debe estar formada de tal modo que los trabajadores y la directiva ejerza un comportamiento positivo con respecto a la seguridad". Los resultados arrojaron que el grupo con entrenamiento en seguridad fue considerado como el más importante dentro de 15 categorías.Construction industry is one of the largest and most important industries in Palestine. Quality and safety in the industry still suffers from ignorance and lack of supervision and accident rate on construction projects is very high. The objective of this paper is to identify the quality and safety factors that relate to safety, and determine their relative importance as perceived by contractors to help reduction of accidents. A survey was conducted by using a 55 item questionnaire which was grouped into 15 major categories. Analysis of the responses found the most important factors that included: "safety organization formed with community culture considers safety is a vital need for people", "all managers are required to go through proper safety management training", "all engineers are needed to go through relevant safety management training", "lack of orientation training of new workers decreases quality and increases risks for them", and "safety organization formed in such a way that workers and top management exercise positive behavior towards safety". The results found that safety training group was categorized as the most important among the 15 categories

Risk management in construction projects

Risk management is an important field of construction industry and has gained more importance internationally due to the latest researches carried out on a large scale. However, this relatively new field requires more attention to bring some benefit. Construction projects are facing a number of risks which have negative effects on project objects such as time, cost and quality. This study is based on findings of a questionnaire-based survey on risk management in construction projects in Pakistan, reporting the significance of different type of risk, ultimate responsibility for them and the effectiveness of some most common risk management techniques practiced in the industry. Two types of risk management techniques were considered: preventive techniques which can be used before the start of a project to manage risks that are anticipated during the project execution; and remedial techniques that are used during the execution phase once a risk has already occurred. The study revealed that financial issues for projects, accidents on site and defective design are the most significant risks affecting most of construction projects. As further reported, the contractor is responsible for management of most risks occurring at sites during the implementation phase, such as issues related to subcontractors, labour, machinery, availability of materials and quality, while the client is responsible for the risks such as financial issues, issues related to design documents, changes in codes and regulations, and scope of work. Further reported results of the analysis demonstrate that the production of proper schedule by getting updated data of the project and guidance from previous similar projects are the most effective preventive risk management techniques while close supervision and coordination within projects are the most effective remedial risk management techniques. It may be concluded that the most significant risks must be managed with greater effort to reduce/eliminate their effects on the project. As the study concludes, preparation of a proper schedule and good coordination during the implementation stage are very important as they may help project managers to focus on critical areas for better management of projects in Pakistan