A computerized model for measuring and benchmarking the partnering performance of construction projects

Research into partnering performance measures for building and construction projects becomes crucial because a growing trend of client organizations has been observed to adopt partnering approach to procure their projects worldwide over the past decade. Although there are some related research studies and papers documented on this research area, few, if any, comprehensive and systematic research studies focus on developing a comprehensive, objective, reliable and practical performance evaluation model for partnering projects in construction. A Partnering Performance Index (PPI), which is composed of seven weighted Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), has been developed to measure, monitor, improve, and benchmark the partnering performance of construction projects in Hong Kong. A set of Quantitative Indicators (QIs) and well-defined ranges of Quantitative Requirements (QRs) for each QI have been further established using the Delphi survey technique and Fuzzy Set Theory. Evaluation of partnering success can now be based on quantitative evidences, thus tackling the subjectivity of performance evaluation. By making use of the Internet and database technology, PPI can be monitored on-line, thus saving much time, cost and efforts on data collection and retrieval than if they are done manually. As such, an Internet-based computerized partnering monitoring and benchmarking tool, namely the Computerized Partnering Performance Index System (CPPIS) has been developed. The Internet-based CPPIS enables project participants to input data at any time and location and the project administrators could perform data analysis via the Internet. The CPPIS also enables project managers to measure, monitor, improve and benchmark their partnering performances against those already stored in the database. Graphical presentations of data and various performance measures are also built in to assist various end-users to identify problematic areas and critical success factors for achieving partnering excellence.     

Image dataset development for measuring construction equipment recognition performance

The recognition of construction operational resources (equipment, workers, materials, etc.) has played an important role in achieving fully automated construction. So far, many object recognition methods have been developed in computer vision; however, they have been tested with a few categories of objects in natural scenes. Therefore, their performance on the recognition of construction operational resources is unclear, especially considering construction sites are typically dirty, disorderly, and cluttered. This paper proposes a standard dataset of construction site images to measure the construction equipment recognition performance of existing object recognition methods. Thousands of images have been collected and compiled, which cover 5 classes of construction equipment (excavator, loader, dozer, roller and backhoe). Each image has been annotated with the equipment type, location, orientation, occlusion, and labeling of equipment components (bucket, stick, boom etc.). The effectiveness of the dataset has been evaluated with two well-known object recognition methods in computer vision. The results show that the dataset could successfully identify the performance of these methods in terms of correctness, robustness, and speed of recognizing construction equipment.     

Towards quantitatively measuring the performance of construction IT systems

The author discusses the difficulties and challenges involved in establishing a quantitative method to measure the performance of information technology (IT) systems and concludes that because each construction organization has its unique circumstances for prioritizing indicators, it is difficult to provide a single formula to deal with the evaluation of all construction IT systems. Research is currently in progress to empirically validate the indicators and their surrogates defined in the paper.     

A composite indicator for measuring the environmental performance of water,wastewater, and solid waste utilities

The aim of this paper is to measure and benchmark the environmental performance of Portuguese utilities jointly active in the three sectors of water supply, wastewater collection and solid waste management. To do so, we suggest the use of a traditional (optimistic) directional distance Benefit of the Doubt index. We complement the analysis by considering also the pessimistic version of the proposed BoD and by implementing a robust and conditional approach. The obtained results show that there is space for improvement in the pressure balance of these utilities, especially for small and very large units, mostly operating in urban areas.     

某隧道施工量测数据处理方法讨论

通过对某隧道工程概况的分析,对隧道穿越F7断层时施工量测数据处理方法进行了讨论,并对量测数据进行了回归分析,表明围岩的变形规律可以用回归曲线的方法来描述。     

基于DEA的建筑业上市公司绩效评价

建筑业作为国民经济发展的支柱产业,其健康发展是构建和谐社会、加快经济发展方式转型的保证。本文基于投入产出角度,选取了27家具有代表性的建筑业上市公司近三年的数据作为样本,运用数据包络分析法(DEA)对我国建筑业公司的生产效率进行了分析与评价。研究数据表明:我国大部分建筑企业还处于效率低下、规模报酬增加阶段,公司规模和技术水平都亟待发展。为促进建筑业的良好运行,给投资者的投资决策提供数据分析上的依据,本文对造成企业效率低下的原因进行分析并提出改进意见。     

Planning linear construction projects: automated method for the generation of earthwork activities

Earthworks planning for road construction projects is a complex operation and the planning rules used are usually intuitive and not well defined. An approach to automate the earthworks planning process is described and the basic techniques that are used are outlined. A computer-based system has been developed, initially to help planners use existing techniques more efficiently. With their input, the system has been extended to incorporate a knowledge base and a simulation of the earthworks processes. As well as creating activity sets in a much shorter time, the system has shown that for a real project, the model is able to generate activity sets that are comparable to those generated by a project planner.     

Cause and effect 3-D model for measuring performance in construction acceleration: A decision support system

Despite the constant improvements in the management of building projects, the authors express concerns about the difficulties in controlling progress with construction, despite the availability of quantifiable and non-quantifiable data. They believe that a decision support system would assist managers when confronted by the consequences of arising delays, and by the decision whether and how to accelerate the remaining construction activities. The system has the advantages of providing support when facing an ill-structured decision about accelerating progress when delays occur; it also helps as a predictive management tool for minimizing or avoiding delays and their consequential claims.     

综合评标法投标施工组织设计得分技巧

基于综合评标法中施工组织设计评分占有很大比例,简述了综合评标法中施工组织设计的重要性,并对其评分特点以及一些得分技巧进行了研究,编制出了有效的施工组织文件,以增强投标竞争力。     

工程机械综合性能评价方法及其实现

在对工程机械综合性能进行系统分析的基础上,建立了工程机械综合性能评价指标体系,提出了体系评价方法,并构建了基于组件技术和模糊综合算法的评估系统。     

西流湖大桥环保施工技术探讨

针对项目建设中可能出现污染库水的情况,侧重从采取的多种环保施工措施上进行阐述分析,得出了一些有益的结论,对类似桥梁的环保施工提供了一种新思路。     

暖通空调制冷系统环境性能评价方法研究

通过对HVAC＆R系统环境性能评价方法的回顾,提出了一种新的评价方法。该方法基于专家问卷调查和层次分析法,确定各种环境影响因素的权重系数,根据各类污染物的排放总量和权重系数,计算各类污染物的当量值,将HVAC＆R系统对环境的各类影响转化为一个统一的指标--黑点,从而直观、准确地表达HVAC＆R系统对环境影响的大小。利用新方法对某办公楼空调系统的环境性能进行了模拟计算,结果表明该方法简单直观、切实可行。     

Critical factors for environmental performance assessment (EPA) in the Hong Kong construction industry

With the rise in the public concern on environmental protection, more construction firms start to apply environmental management for their construction activities. As a result, environmental management systems (EMS) have been implemented in construction. However, to improve the construction environment in Hong Kong, environmental performance assessment (EPA) has been designed for reviewing, monitoring, checking and evaluating environmental performance. A list of evaluation factors for EPA are identified and grouped into seven major factors: management and training; air and noise; auditing; waste and water; cost saving on resources; energy; and regulation. The results from a survey highlight that the most important evaluation factor is management and training and the least significant result is regulation. A voluntary approach has been promoted instead of the traditional mandatory system. Furthermore, three case studies are used to test the reliability with seven groups of evaluation factors in measuring the environmental performance for construction. The results from the case study analysis proved the effectiveness of the developed environmental performance assessment. Therefore, the developed environmental performance assessment can benefit the construction industry and help to achieve continuous improvement on environmental performance.     

Sustainable performance criteria for construction method selection in concrete buildings

The use of prefabrication offers significant advantages, yet appropriate criteria for applicability assessments to a given building have been found to be deficient. Decisions to use prefabrication are still largely based on anecdotal evidence or simply cost-based evaluation when comparing various construction methods. Holistic criteria are needed to assist with the selection of an appropriate construction method in concrete buildings during early project stages. Following a thorough literature review and comprehensive comparisons between prefabrication and on-site construction method, a total of 33 sustainable performance criteria (SPC) based on the triple bottom line and the requirements of different project stakeholders were identified. A survey of U.S. experienced practitioners including clients/developers, engineers, contractors, and precast concrete manufacturers was conducted to capture their perceptions on the importance of the criteria. The ranking analysis of survey results shows that social awareness and environmental concerns were considered as increasingly important in construction method selections. Factor analysis reveals that these SPCs can be grouped into seven dimensions, namely, economic factors: “long-term cost,” “constructability,” “quality,” and “first cost”; social factors: “impact on health and community,” “architectural impact”; and environmental factor: “environmental impact.” The resultant list of SPCs provides team members a new way to select a construction method, thereby facilitating the sustainable development of built environment.     

A framework for evaluating the safety performance of construction contractors

Improvements to contracting organisations’ safety standards could inevitably be helped by continuous monitoring and review of their safety performance. To achieve this, an objective Safety Performance Evaluation (SPE) framework is a prerequisite. Although various methods of SPE have been proposed, a more comprehensive SPE framework which takes into account factors pertinent to an organisation and its project has yet to be realised. In this paper, the importance of SPE factors is examined through a questionnaire survey conducted in Hong Kong. The results of the questionnaire survey are used to develop a SPE framework suitable for use in the construction industry and protocols for evaluating the safety performance at the organisational and project levels. Through this analytical framework, SPE scores can be computed which would facilitate the benchmarking process and various initiatives to improve the safety performance of construction contractors.     

Integrated assessment method for building life cycle environmental and economic performance

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool to identify a building’s environmental impact throughout its life cycle. However, LCA does have limits in practice because it does not consider the economic aspect of project implementation. In order to promote LCA application, a more comprehensive evaluation of building life cycle environmental and economic performance must be performed. To address these issues, we propose life cycle green cost assessment (LCGCA), a method that combines LCA with life cycle costing (LCC). In LCGCA the building’s environmental loads are converted to environmental costs based on the trading price of CO₂ certified emission reductions (CERs). These environmental costs are then included into the building life cycle cost. Subsequently an evaluation index of green net present value (GNPV) for LCGCA can be obtained. A governmental office building in Beijing was studied using LCGCA. Several design options were compared and the sensitivity of the CER price was analyzed. The research also shows that conclusions reached by LCGCA may be different from those of traditional LCC, which does not include environmental costs. The application of LCGCA needs the support of environmental policies. A sound environmental tax mechanism is expected to be established in China soon, which will enable LCGCA to be a useful tool to guide sustainable building design efficiently.     

A sensitive method for measuring organic carbon in sediment

In order to determine organic carbon in sediments, a sensitive method was devised by the combination of an ordinary wet combustion and TOC analyzer for aqueous samples. The carbon dioxide evolved by wet combustion was absorbed into 0.2 N NaOH solution and determined with a TOC analyzer. The accuracy and the determination limit of the method were determined. Carbon ranges from 0.4 to 48 mg were determined accurately without interference of chlorine and sulfur. This method was applied to the study of the composition of river sediment on the basis of extractability by various solvents.     

A method for measuring haloform formation during wastewater chlorination

An experimental methodology was developed to measure haloform formation in chlorinated wastewater samples using a flexible bag, zero-head space, reactor. A flexible reactor vessel is advantageous when the reaction products are volatile since successive samples can be collected over time without creating a head-space and thereby eliminating partitioning of volatile reaction products from the aqueous phase to the gaseous phase. Grab samples of three kinds of wastewaters; raw wastewater, nitrified secondary effluent, and partially nitrified secondary effluent, were chlorinated at two levels of chlorine doses (Cl₂). The magnitude and rate of total trihalomethane (TTHM) production was estimated based on the formation of chloroform (CHCl₃), bromodichloromethane (CHCl₂Br), dibromochloromethane (CHClBr₂) and bromoform (CHBr₃).