Modeling of sound propagation in urban streets containing trees using Markovian technique

It is claimed that the trees may become a possible control method for noise in streets and hence contribute another step towards a sustainable environment. This paper examined the capability of an abatement scheme containing absorbent facades and trees in streets through a simulation model developed using the novel approach based upon Markovian techniques. The study showed that sound pressure level in a street containing trees relative to that in an empty street predicted by the Markov model was in good agreement with predictions obtained using commercial software, RAYNOISE model. Within the scope and assumptions in this study, it is shown streets containing trees and absorbent building façade result in sound reductions typically less than 1.5 dB. Hence trees in streets appear to have only a slight effect on sound attenuation, and thus make no significant contribution towards producing a sustainable environment in this respect

The green construction site index (GCSI): a quantitative tool used to assess an ongoing project to meet the green construction concept

The development of the construction industry in Indonesia has been substantially contributing to the enhancement of the social and economic development of the people. However, its expansion has also become an issue, as the development might be implicated in the abuse of environmental sustainability when the practices of conducting the construction project abandon the rules and regulations of sustainable green construction concepts. Therefore, this study attempted to introduce a quantitative assessment tool called the Green Construction Site Index (GCSI) to evaluate the performance of an ongoing project to meet the sustainable green construction concept. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of GCSI as a quantitative assessment tool to measure the implementation of the green construction concept conducted by ongoing projects. Data were collected by onsite direct observation, interviews with key personnel, and project documentation review. Data were organized and analyzed using descriptive elaboration. The results showed that three aspects, the Efficiency Index (IE), Productivity Index (IP), and Awareness Index (IA), were effective in assessing 10 ongoing construction projects, categorized as Non-Commercial Non-Residential Building, Commercial Residential Building, and Commercial Non-Residential Building. The index generated using GCSI, upon assessing 10 buildings, was 3.39 and fell into the Good category with IE = 3.51, IP = of 2.86, and IA = 3.84. Another finding shows that the Project Organizational Commitment Index (POCI) to the indicator of the GCSI was 3.31 (Good category) with IPOL = 3.36, IPRO = 3.49, and IPRAC = 2.75. The capability of the GCSI to identify three aspects within a construction project simultaneously and comprehensively suggests the importance of its function as an effective tool that gives benefits to not only the contactors, but also to the authorities that control the green construction-related performance. Therefore, the GCSI is expected to be applied as a standardized reference by both the construction industries and regulating authorities. Despite its satisfactory findings, the GCSI needs to be furthered to achieve its reliability and validity to be adopted internationally

A conceptual approach in developing a project manager's skills framework (PMSF) for improving the performance of complex projects in Kuwait construction industry

The aim of this study is to establish the conceptual of project manager's skills framework (PMSF) that is required in improving complex construction projects in Kuwait. The knowledge, skills, and experiences of the project managers in handling the various resources and processes related to project management had direct impact on the outcomes of the project. Large and complex construction project in Kuwait have been facing delayed deadlines. These escalate the cost of the project, and also negatively impact the quality of the project. The study uses mixed methodology in collecting the empirical data. The objective is to collect empirical data through survey, followed by interviews. The survey will be designed as closed-ended and using 5-point Likert scale and distributed to the project managers. The responses will then be used to carry out in-depth personal interviews with project managers currently involved in complex projects. The role of project manager as one of the most important is also understood from the findings. The literature and empirical findings are used to achieve the aim of developing the PMSF. The conceptual of Project Manager's Skills Framework (PMSF) development is also presented

Penilaian Kinerja Lingkungan pada Proyek Konstruksi

Industri konstruksi menimbulkan dampak negatif terhadap lingkungan disebabkan oleh meningkatnya volume limbah yang dihasilkan oleh aktivitas konstruksi itu sendiri. Berbagai literatur menunjukkan bahwa upaya mengurangi limbah (reducing waste) menjadi sangat penting untuk dilakukan di semua tahapan kontruksi karena sampai saat ini masih menjadi cara terbaik dalam pengelolaan dan penanganan limbah. Penelitian yang ada di seluruh dunia telah banyak mengevaluasi berbagai dampak limbah dan energi yang ditimbulkan selama kegiatan kontruksi. Paper ini membahas tentang berbagai model penilaiaan (assessment) kinerja lingkungan dari suatu penelitian sebelumnya yang telah digunakan secara Internasional. Dan paper ini menyajikan kajian kritis dari metode terbaru dalam penilaian kinerja lingkungan dari proyek-proyek konstruksi. Metode yang digunakan untuk mengukur kinerja lingkungan antara lain: Contractor’s Environmental Performance Scoring System (C-EPSS), Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA), Building Waste Assessment Score (BWAS) Waste Management Performance Evaluation Tool (WMPET) dan Environmental Performance Score (EPS)

Penilaian Kinerja Lingkungan pada Proyek Konstruksi

Industri konstruksi menimbulkan dampak negatif terhadap lingkungan disebabkan oleh meningkatnya volume limbah yang dihasilkan oleh aktivitas konstruksi itu sendiri. Berbagai literatur menunjukkan bahwa upaya mengurangi limbah (reducing waste) menjadi sangat penting untuk dilakukan di semua tahapan kontruksi karena sampai saat ini masih menjadi cara terbaik dalam pengelolaan dan penanganan limbah. Penelitian yang ada di seluruh dunia telah banyak mengevaluasi berbagai dampak limbah dan energi yang ditimbulkan selama kegiatan kontruksi. Paper ini membahas tentang berbagai model penilaiaan (assessment) kinerja lingkungan dari suatu penelitian sebelumnya yang telah digunakan secara Internasional. Dan paper ini menyajikan kajian kritis dari metode terbaru dalam penilaian kinerja lingkungan dari proyek-proyek konstruksi. Metode yang digunakan untuk mengukur kinerja lingkungan antara lain: Contractor’s Environmental Performance Scoring System (C-EPSS), Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA), Building Waste Assessment Score (BWAS) Waste Management Performance Evaluation Tool (WMPET) dan Environmental Performance Score (EPS)

An overview of knowledge management (KM) issues for implementation in consultant firms in Malaysian construction industry

In the past few years, there has been a growing interest in treating knowledge as a significant organisational resource. Thus, effective development and implementation of KM requires a foundation in several rich literatures. As a preparation for the competitive industrial nation, KM is an important countenance that should be the point of convergence for the industry players. This paper wishes to draw the attention on the current situation of KM practice, focusing on consultant firms in Malaysian construction industry. Questionnaires were distributed to about 200 respondents working in the industry, with the objective of appraising the KM implementation amongst consultant firms working in construction industry in Malaysia. This paper also gives the overview on KM definition, process, understanding and challenges in construction industry, besides the critical success factor of KM implementation. The literature is restricted on the recent KM study of 17 years research from 2000 to 2017. Finally, this paper proposes the conceptual ideas of relationship between KM process, KM understanding and KM challenges with critical success factor of KM implementation

Mapping of construction waste for eco-costs per value ratio (EVR) index using Google My Maps in Shah Alam, Malaysia

Construction waste is one of the major challenges faced in our world today. The residential, commercial and infrastructure industries in Malaysia are recognised as rapidly growing sectors that indirectly bring economic growth to our country. However, the generation of waste in the construction industry is increasing in proportion to the development of new construction. This increase has resulted in negative environmental impacts. To address these issues, the present study focused on the mapping of construction waste generation in low-rise residential construction sites in Shah Alam district, Selangor, using the Google My Maps application. Information on construction waste generation data such as coordinates, photos, types of materials, types of waste, quantity of waste, gross floor area, labour cost, material life-spans and eco-costing per value ratio (EVR) index for monitoring was gathered manually through case studies and site observations over 14 months - the contract period. The collected data was inserted into Google My Maps and AppSheet for the mapping process. The findings of this analysis were based on five selected sample sites in Shah Alam that were under construction from 2013 to 2017. The results identified a total of nine types of construction waste, i.e. rebar and BRC, concrete grade 25, timber formwork, bricks, plaster cement, tiles, drywall, metal deck roofing and ceiling. These types of waste accounted for varying values of the EVR index in the construction projects during the contract period. The system proposed by this study will help to monitor the total construction waste generated from the start of a project and will potentially result in the reduction of construction waste, thereby contributing to sustainable construction

Barriers to implement building information modeling (BIM) in construction industry: a critical review

Construction is a complex industry. A system like Building Information Modeling (BIM) has benefited many construction players in order to expedite their works effectively and efficiently in terms of design, implementation, and management of a project. As the construction industry involves many players such as clients, designers, contractors, and manufacturers, the existence of BIM can speed up planning time, minimizing resources, and even saving project costs. However, in some countries, the acceptance of BIM technology in the construction industry is still very low. This paper aims to explore and review the barriers associating with adopting BIM as a digital information tool in the construction industry. A systematic review was conducted of 26 journal articles and conference papers published between 2013 to 2019. The identified barriers were then classified and analyzed. The results of the study revealed that from the 26 selected articles, 15 categories of barriers have been successfully extracted and discussed. 15 categories of barriers are cost, law, experts, interoperability, awareness, culture, processes, management, demand, project scale, technology, skills, training, contract, and standard. The study offers significant insights for future research to overcome the barriers to the implementation of BIM

Improving Project Performance and Waste Reduction in Construction Projects: A Case Study of A Government Institutional Building Project

The construction industry plays an important role in establishing the infrastructure required for socio-economic development and directly contributes to economic growth. On the other side, it also generates severe impacts on the environment. The construction industry is one of the biggest environmental polluters and it also consumes large quantities of raw materials. Value Engineering originates from the manufacturing industry in order to deliver higher value and quality to a product by means of an increase in efficiency. ‘Lean Construction’ (LC) concepts emerged as a consequence of the application of VE philosophy, specifically for construction industry. LC extends from the objectives of a lean production system – to maximize value and to minimize waste – in relation to specific techniques and then applies them conceptually in a new project delivery process. The aims of this paper are to present practical examples of the application of Value Engineering and Lean Construction concepts within a green building construction project and to qualitatively assess its benefits in terms of environmental impact and waste minimization. A detailed case study was conducted for project execution of a new multi-storey government institutional building in the Jakarta central business district. This project adopts a Green Building and a Green Site concept in order to reduce potential environmental impact during the construction phase itself and during the occupancy phase of the building. The case study primarily concerns issues such as water consumption, power usage, etc. This project is a perfect example for the application of Value Engineering and Lean Construction philosophies in order to deliver better quality, faster completion, environmentally friendly practice, and less waste generation. The adoption of environmental awareness in the context of building design, the application of alternative and/or recycled/environmentally friendly materials, along with a number of “green” technologies and building systems featured in this building concept will deliver greater value without jeopardizing the ecology. Meanwhile, the adoption of prefabrication construction methods, intelligent excavation works, ‘Reduce-Reuse-Recycle’ principles, and simple ‘environmentally-aware’ on-site practices can minimize the waste produced and the local environmental impact emitted during project execution