Integrated reliability centred maintenance approach in public sector facilities management.

Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) is focused on ensuring an asset continues to provide its designed function in its present operating context. Through a number of stages, RCM allows for thorough and constant monitoring of assets to maintain their level of performance, expand life cycle and improve efficiency. A conceptual holistic framework was developed embedding RCM approach and assessing the impact of maintenance strategies in four dimensions: business, functional, legal and context requirements to ensure optimum level of maintenance. A prototype spread-sheet model was developed encapsulating the concept and the model was evaluated using a case study. The preliminary evaluation has shown the potential of the model to realise benefits and improve reliability of the services of the assets to the clients/users. Further research and development is essential in order to calibrate model parameters to specific company requirements as well as to develop a database of assets with failure patterns and monitoring methods

Building with Employers: An evaluation of Built Environment Courses

This study was carried out to evaluate the delivery of Built Environment (BE) programmes which have long history and credibility from the employers, however, evidence justify the relevancy and effectiveness of the courses was lacking. In line with strategic plan (Southampton Solent University, 2008-13), it was essential to look into the current provisions, students and employer perception of the courses, and gather information to support development of new courses and enhance the existing portfolio to provide high quality learning and teaching in the courses. This study was funded by the Strategic Development Programme with an aim to establish the currency and relevancy of the BE courses. An online survey of employers and alumni was carried out followed by two workshops. A desk study of 25 Universities with similar course provisions was carried out. The finding of the study suggest that employers and alumni are satisfied with the course provisions in terms of the delivery teaching, course content, and what the student learn; there are some opportunities for the broaden the provision but no specific high demand areas were identified. Alumni were happy with the course and have suggested areas of enhancement of the course provision. The current 1 day part time day release model for part time learners was by far the most preferable form of part time delivery and employers were unsure any other alternative form of delivery would be effective for their businesses. However, some employers would consider options if more business specific courses are developed. Employers have expressed their interest for support the course through guest lectures, providing access to construction sites and participating in university events. Solent has the lowest UCAS entry tariff points for BE course by far at 120 compared to the majority of our competitors who range between 220-260. This has highlighted an urgent need to increase entry points to maintain credibility and widen the appeal of the Built Environment courses

EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE OF PROCUREMENT METHODS ON LAST PLANNER® SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

Previous studies have examined various factors that influence the implementation of the Last Planner System (LPS) in construction projects. However, there is limited documented evidence on the influence of procurement methods on the implementation of the LPS. The aim of this study, therefore; is to understand the influence of some selected procurement methods on the implementation of the LPS using case study approach. Three in-depth case studies were conducted on building and highways projects in the UK. The projects were managed with the LPS principles with dissimilar procurement methods. In addition to document analysis and physical observation, 28 in-depth-interviews were conducted. The investigation shows that the prevailing traditional mindset exhibited by the designers in the traditional design bid build (DBB) influences the quality of promises and commitments that could be made during the lookahead planning. From the study, it seems no single procurement method is a sure way to the full application of the LPS process on a project. The study observes that irrespective of the procurement route used, a mindset change towards collaboration among the different stakeholders on the project is fundamental to successful LPS implementation. For instance, on projects where DBB was used and the subcontractors were in framework agreement, the LPS implementation worked well among the subcontractors. The study recommends that the procurement approach to be used on LPS projects should not be too firm, but lithe enough to integrate collaborative working among the different stakeholders on the project for a smooth workflow

Formulating sustainability policies for middle-and low-income countries: A case study of Nepal. Proceedings of 5th SONEUK Conference.

Countries with different income levels need different policies for sustainability and therefore sustainability policies cannot be generalized. The sustainable development policies used by the developed countries require adaptation and contextualisation whilst developing the sustainability policies and priorities on middle- and low-income countries. This paper through, the literature review, introduces a sustainability framework for developing countries, which embeds United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and proposes a policy formulation strategy by categorising policies into manageable sub-divisions. A sustainable framework as has been presented using a case study of a low-income country, Nepa

Weathering of plastic SODIS containers and the impact of ageing on their lifetime and disinfection efficacy

This work aims to study the ageing of plastic materials suitable for manufacturing solar water disinfection (SODIS) containers, such as PET, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and polypropylene (PP) with and without UV-stabiliser. The evolution of mechanical and optical properties, and disinfection rates were studied over different weathering periods. PMMA and PP with a 1% content by weight of UV-stabiliser were shown to be excellent candidate materials for manufacturing SODIS devices, since they presented stable optical and me- chanical properties, and both transmit UVB radiation. Since PMMA is a UV resistant but fragile, easily scratched material with a lifetime above one year, it should be selected for static SODIS devices, while PP with 1% of UV- stabiliser should be chosen for portable devices because of its great resistance and elasticity for up to nine months of solar exposure. Both materials were considered profitable on the basis of their lifetime/costs ratio. PET showed great mechanical properties for one year but, in contrast, suffered of a deterioration of its optical properties and disinfection rates. PP without UV-stabilisers suffered a dramatic degradation after a very short exposure of 2 months. Finally, a kinetic model that considers the radiation spectral distribution (thus, the transmittance spectra of the plastics as a function of the ageing time) is proposed to estimate the required solar exposure time to achieve water disinfection for the proposed plastic SODIS containers. A good agreement between predicted and experimental data was achieved, especially for containers manufactured with PET and both PPs (errors below 25%)

Indocyanine-type Infrared-820 Encapsulated Polymeric Nanoparticle-Assisted Photothermal Therapy of Cancer

Organic small-molecule photosensitizers are well-characterized and known for the light-responsive treatment modality including photodynamic therapy. Compared with ultraviolet−visible (UV−vis) light used in conventional photodynamic therapy with organic photosensitizers, near-infrared (NIR) light from 700 to 900 nm is less absorbed and scattered by biological tissue such as hemoglobin, lipids, and water, and thus, the use of NIR excitation can greatly increase the penetration depth and emission. Additionally, NIR light has lower energy than UV−vis that can be beneficial due to less activation of fluorophores present in tissues upon NIR irradiation. However, the low water stability, nonspecific distribution, and short circulation halflife of the organic photosensitizers limit its broad biological application. NIR responsive small-molecule fluorescent agents are the focus of extensive research for combined molecular imaging and hyperthermia. Recently a new class of NIR dye, IR-820 with excitation and emission wavelengths of 710 and 820 nm, has been developed and explored as an alternative platform to overcome some of the limitations of the most commonly used gold nanoparticles for photothermal therapy of cancer. Herein, we synthesized a core−shell biocompatible nanocarrier envelope made up of a phospholipid conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol) as a shell, while poly(lactic glycolic acid) (PLGA) was used as a core to encapsulate IR-820 dye. The IR-820-loaded nanoparticles were prepared by nanoprecipitation and characterized for their physicochemical properties and photothermal efficiency. These nanoparticles were monodispersed and highly stable in physiological pH with the hydrodynamic size of 103 ± 8 nm and polydispersity index of 0.163 ± 0.031. The IR-820-loaded nanocarrier showed excellent biocompatibility in the dark, whereas remarkable phototoxicity was observed with breast cancer cells (MCF-7) upon NIR laser excitation. Therefore, the IR-820-loaded phospholipid mimicking biodegradable lipid-polymer composite nanoparticles could have great potential for cancer theranostics

An analysis of diversity management in the construction industry: a case study of a main contractor

In recent times there is an increasing argument for diversity and inclusivity in work places. Although the construction industry is moving forward to improve diversity, there is still a long way to create a more inclusive workforce. Not only are there legal requirements that organisations must adhere to following the release of the Equality Act 2010, there is also a moral and business case for managing diversity. It has been speculated that improving diversity and reaching out to wider talent pools could help improve the skills shortage that is currently affecting the industry. However, there is limited evidence to substantiate this claim in the construction industry context. The aim of this study is to establish a theoretical perspective on how diversity management would improve the construction industry and evaluate whether main contractors are managing diversity effectively. A theoretical framework was developed through the review of the literature to monitor the effectiveness of the DM strategies. A case study of one of the top ten major contractors in the United Kingdom has been carried out to see the extent to which the company is applying the diversity management requirements. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with senior management mainly Director, Project Manager and Diversity Manager to understand their current approach to manage diversity, document analysis and observations. Following these interviews, a questionnaire was issued to all employees of the company to identify if the approach taken from senior management is working. The case study findings highlight that there are policies and tools in place to comply equality legislation and to improve and enhance diversity. There is a positive attitude to implement and maintain steps to improve diversity with some incentives. However, the results of the questionnaire survey reveal that the main contractor lacks diverse workforce as the employment of women or ethnic minorities; majority of women in the organisation are on lower level positions. There is limited evidence to quantify the productivity improvements, nevertheless majority of the respondents believed that diverse workforce enhances productivity

Control of set-up dominant multivariate manufacturing processes

A practical control chart is introduce, called multivariate Set-Up Process Algorithm (m-SUPA), which can be used to signal when a process is statistically off-target. This control chart uses a traffic light system to provide simple information to an operator about how close a measured part is to its global target. The chart works with a simple rule set resulting in process adjustments at a calculated point, rather than relying on rule-of-thumb methods. A final consideration is calculating the size of process adjustment, when one control adjustment has multiple effects on different design features. Simple feedback controllers are suggested for calculating process adjustments, providing consistency to an action taken. Simulation results suggest that m-SUPA with adjustments based on this kind of controllers is able to steer the process to a desired performance region