Influencia de la metodología de diseño en los parámetros emocionales del diseñador y en los resultados del diseño

This paper presents the results of an experiment carried out on 21 subjects, all of whom had an engineering background, with the aim of determining the influence of the designer s attitude on the design process and on the finished design. The participants were asked to solve a range of design problems by employing different methods while their emotional response parameters were being registered by a noninvasive neuroheadset. The recorded data was used firstly to compare the different reactions of the subjects when using different design methods. A second analysis was carried out to determine whether the variations in the emotional parameters bore any direct relation to the creativity of the outcomes. The results obtained indicate a relation between emotional parameters, individuals and the design method used. However, there does not appear to be any direct association between emotional parameters and the creativity of the results.Chulvi Ramos, V.; González-Cruz, M. (2016). The influence of design methodology on a designer's emotional parameters and on design results. DYNA. 83(196):106-112. doi:10.15446/dyna.v83n196.49783S1061128319

Abnormally Low Tenders in Non-pricing Criteria: the Need for Control

[EN] As public procurement accounts for approximately 10 to 15% of gross domestic product (GDP) in developed countries, tendering mechanisms should be clearly defined in order to avoid any actions that could endanger the basic principle that all bidders should be on equal terms. An Abnormally Low Tender (ALT) is defined as an offer too low to provide a normal level of profit and that cannot be explained on the basis of construction methods, the technical solution chosen, the originality of the work, or the favorable conditions of the tenderer. Public bodies are well aware of the risk of accepting an offer that cannot be carried out and despite the difficulty of detection recommendations for their prevention usually focus on the price criterion. Most tenders are awarded to the economically most advantageous tender (EMAT), which is assessed by various criteria (including price), though other criteria often have equal or greater weight in the final decision. The method used in this research study is divided into two main phases. First, the score of the bidders is obtained for criteria evaluated by formulae other than price, based on the contract terms of three case studies, after which new scores for these award criteria are obtained from ALT formulae, then, the results of both scoring methods are analyzed. This paper defends the need to control abnormally low tenders by means of award criteria evaluated by formulae other than those of price.Fuentes Bargues, JL.; González-Cruz, M.; González-Gaya, C. (2016). Abnormally Low Tenders in Non-pricing Criteria: the Need for Control. Universal Journal of Management. 4(12):659-669. doi:10.13189/ujm.2016.041202S65966941

First order transitions by conduction calorimetry: Application to deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate ferroelastic crystal under uniaxial pressure

The specific heat c and the heat power W exchanged by a Deuterated Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate ferroelectric-ferroelastic crystal have been measured simultaneously for both decreasing and increasing temperature at a low constant rate (0.06 K/h) between 175 and 240 K. The measurements were carried out under controlled uniaxial stresses of 0.3 and 4.5±0.1 bar applied to face (110). At Tt=207.9 K, a first order transition is produced with anomalous specific heat behavior in the interval where the transition heat appears. This anomalous behavior is explained in terms of the temperature variation of the heat power during the transition. During cooling, the transition occurs with coexistence of phases, while during heating it seems that metastable states are reached. Excluding data affected by the transition heat, the specific heat behavior agrees with the predictions of a 2-4-6 Landau potential in the range of 4–15 K below Tt while logarithmic behavior is obtained in the range from Tt to 1 K below Tt. Data obtained under 0.3 and 4.5 bar uniaxial stresses exhibit the same behavior.Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica. Gobierno de España-PB91-60

Mathematical relationships between scoring parameters in capped tendering

[EN] Mathematical relationships between Scoring Parameters can be used in Economic Scoring Formulas (ESF) in tendering to distribute the score among bidders in the economic part of a proposal.Each contracting authority must set an ESF when publishing tender specifications and the strategy of each bidder will differ depending on the ESF selected and the weight of the overall proposal scoring.This paper introduces the various mathematical relationships and density distributions that describe and inter-relate not only the main Scoring Parameters but the main Forecasting Parameters in any capped tender (those whose price is upper-limited).Forecasting Parameters, as variables that can be known in advance before the deadline of a tender is reached, together with Scoring Parameters constitute the basis of a future Bid Tender Forecasting Model. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. APM and IPMA.Ballesteros Pérez, P.; González-Cruz, M.; Cañavate-Grimal, A. (2012). Mathematical relationships between scoring parameters in capped tendering. International Journal of Project Management. 30(7):850-862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.01.008S85086230

Non-linear time-cost trade-off models of activity crashing: Application to construction scheduling and project compression with fast-tracking

[EN] When shortening a project's duration, activity crashing, fast-tracking and substitution are the three most commonly employed compression techniques. Crashing generally involves allocating extra resources to an activity with the intention of reducing its duration. To date, the activity time-cost relationship has for the most part been assumed to be linear, however, a few studies have suggested that this is not necessarily the case in practice. This paper proposes two non-linear theoretical models which assume either collaborative or non-collaborative resources. These models closely depict the two most common situations occurring during construction projects. The advantages of these models are that they allow for both discrete and continuous, as well as deterministic and stochastic configurations. Additionally, the quantity of resources required for crashing the activity can be quantified. Comparisons between the models and another recent fast-tracking model from the literature are discussed, and a Genetic Algorithm is implemented for a fictitious application example involving both compression techniques.This research was supported by the CIOB Bowen Jenkins Legacy Research Fund (reference BLJ2016/BJL.01) and by NERC under the Environmental Risks to Infrastructure Innovation Programme (reference NE/R008876/1) at the University of Reading.Ballesteros-Pérez, P.; Elamrousy, KM.; González-Cruz, M. (2019). Non-linear time-cost trade-off models of activity crashing: Application to construction scheduling and project compression with fast-tracking. Automation in Construction. 97:229-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2018.11.0012292409

Critical Duration Index: Anticipating Project Delays From Deterministic Schedule Information

[EN] Classical scheduling techniques are well-known to underestimate the average project duration, yet they remain widely used in practice due to their simplicity. In this paper, the new Critical Duration Index (CDI) is proposed. This index indirectly allows anticipation for the probability of a project ending late, as well as the average project duration extension compared with a deterministic project duration estimate. The accuracy of two simple regression expressions that use the CDI was tested on two representative data sets of 4,100 artificial and 108 empirical (real) projects. Results show that these regression expressions outperformed the only alternative index found in the literature. Besides allowing enhanced forecasting possibilities, calculating the CDI only requires basic scheduling information that is available at the planning stage. It can thus be easily adopted by project managers to improve their project duration estimates over prior deterministic techniques.This research is supported by the National Social Science Fund projects (No. 20BJY010); National Social Science Fund Post-Financing Projects (No. 19FJYB017); Sichuan-Tibet Railway Major Fundamental Science Problems Special Fund (No. 71942006); Qinghai Natural Science Foundation (No. 2020-JY-736); List of Key Science and Technology Projects in China's Transportation Industry in 2018-International Science and Technology Cooperation Project (Nos. 2018-GH-006 and 2019-MS5-100); Emerging Engineering Education Research and Practice Project of Ministry of Education of China (No. E-GKRWJC20202914); Shaanxi Province Higher Education Teaching Reform Project (No. 19BZ016); and Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of the Ministry of Education (21XJA752003).González-Cruz, M.; Ballesteros-Pérez, P.; Lucko, G.; Zhang, J. (2022). Critical Duration Index: Anticipating Project Delays From Deterministic Schedule Information. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 148(11):1-12. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.00023871121481

A methodology to select the price criterion in public procurement

The construction sector is a key driver for economic growth in any nation and public procurement is one of its pillars - hence the importance of the study and investigation of its mechanisms, especially tendering criteria. Price is the main deciding factor for most tenders and projects must have an appropriate base price relative to market price to avoid problems during the execution of the project. Most research on price criteria has been developed from the point of view of bidders and has discussed the development of tools and methodologies for determining the optimal bid price. In this paper we propose a methodology for public procurement procedures from the point of view of the administration. The methodology enables setting all aspects of the price criterion based on the size of the project budget, the nature of the work, and the number of bidders

A methodology to detect the deviations of the project´s budget compared to market prices

The budget of a project reflects the cost of the investment needed to build an infrastructure, install a system or acquire new materials or supplies. A well-formulated budget in accordance with market prices, allows contractors to prepare offers according to their technical, economic and financial characteristics. On the other hand, it avoids current philosophies that aim to get the contract at any price. Philosophies subsequently used to point out problems and claims during the execution of the project (contradictory prices, delays, etc.) in order to recover some or the entire economic bid carried out during the tendering. In this paper a simple and fast methodology is developed to check if the tendering price is in accordance with market prices, so that the economic viability of the project is not at risk. The application of the methodology on a sample of projects allows us to check the influence of the type of project (civil or building) on the characteristics of the budget. It also allows us to point out the insufficient economic endowment of the projects as the start of the subsequent problems during the execution of the work

Stability and satisfaction at work during the spanish economic crisis

This paper analyses temporary work and job satisfaction among salaried workers during the Spanish economic crisis of 2008. Using data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) 2013 Economically Active Population Survey (EAPS), we find that temporary workers lost their job more than others during this period. However, salaried workers have higher average levels of satisfaction in 2007–2010, possibly due to the lower requirements of workers. We find a positive relationship between the unlikeliness of keeping a job and low job satisfaction levels in data from the Survey of Quality of Life at Work (2010) through a correspondence analysis. A linear model with a level of job satisfaction as a dependent variable shows negative coefficients for a level of job satisfaction if the probability of keeping the job is somewhat unlikely or very unlikely. Finally, an ordinal probit regression finds that the estimated likelihood to reach high job satisfaction is lower in temporary workers