Climate and construction delays: case study in Chile

Purpose – Construction projects usually suffer delays, and the causes of these delays and its cost overruns have been widely discussed, the weather being one of the most recurrent. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of climate on standard construction work activities through a case study. Design/methodology/approach – By studying the extent at which some weather variables impede outdoor work from being effectively executed, new maps and tables for planning for delays are presented. In addition, a real case regarding the construction of several bridges in southern Chile is analyzed. Findings – Few studies have thoroughly addressed the influences of major climatic agents on the most common outdoor construction activities. The method detailed here provides a first approximation for construction planners to assess to what extent construction productivity will be influenced by the climate. Research limitations/implications – Although this study was performed in Chile, the simplified method proposed is entirely transferable to any other country, however, other weather or combinations of weather variables could be needed in other environments or countries. Practical implications – The implications will help reducing the negative social, economic and environmental outcomes that usually emerge from project delays. Originality/value – Climatic data were processed using extremely simple calculations to create a series of quantitative maps and tables that would be useful for any construction planner to decide the best moment of the year to start a project and, if possible, where to build it.

Design and assessment of a large commercial Photovoltaic System in Barbados

One of the main aims of this thesis is to design an optimized commercial Photovoltaic (PV) system in Barbados from several variables such as racking type, module type and inverter type based on practicality, technical performance as well as financial returns to the client. Detailed simulations are done in PVSYST and financial models are used to compare different systems and their viability. Once the preeminent system is determined from a financial and performance perspective a detailed design is done using PVSYST and AutoCAD to design the most optimal PV system for the customer. In doing so, suitable engineering drawings are generated which are detailed enough for construction of the system. Detailed cost with quotes from relevant manufacturers, suppliers and estimators become instrumental in determining Balance of System Costs in addition to total project cost. The final simulated system is suggested with a PV capacity of 425kW and an inverter output of 300kW resulting in an array oversizing of 1.42. The PV system has a weighted Performance Ratio of 77 %, a specific yield of 1467 kWh/kWp and a projected annual production of 624 MWh/yr. This system is estimated to offset approximately 28 % of Carlton’s electrical load annually. Over the course of 20 years the PV system is projected to produce electricity at a cost of $0.201USD/kWh which is significantly lower than the $0.35 USD/kWh paid to the utility at the time of writing this thesis. Due to the high cost of electricity on the island, an attractive Feed-In-Tariff is not necessary to warrant the installation of a commercial System which over a lifetime which produces electricity at less than 60% of the cost to the user purchasing electricity from the utility. A simple payback period of 5.4 years, a return on investment of 17 % without incentives, in addition to an estimated diversion of 6840 barrels of oil or 2168 tonnes of CO2 further provides compelling justification for the installation of a commercial Photovoltaic System not only on Carlton A-1 Supermarket, but also island wide as well as regionally where most electricity supplies are from imported fossil fuels.

Modelling direct and indirect water requirements of construction

Water consumed directly by the construction industry is known to be of little importance. However, water consumed in the manufacture of goods and services required by construction may be significant in the context of a building's life cycle water requirements and the national water budget. This paper evaluates the significance of water embodied in the construction of individual buildings. To do this, an input-output-based hybrid embodied water analysis was undertaken on 17 Australian non-residential case studies. It was found that there is a considerable amount of water embodied in construction. The highest value was 20.1 kilolitres (kL)/m2 gross floor area (GFA), representing many times the enclosed volume of the building, and many years worth of operational water. The water required by the main construction process is minimal. However, the water embodied in building materials is considerable. These findings suggest that the selection of elements and materials has a great impact on a building's embodied water. This research allows the construction industry to evaluate design and construction in broad environmental terms to select options that might be cost neutral or possibly cost positive while retaining their environmental integrity. The research suggests policies focused on operational water consumption alone are inadequate.

The design and implementation of an active replication scheme for distributing services in a cluster of workstations

Replication is the key to providing high availability, fault tolerance, and enhanced performance in a cluster of workstations (COWs). However, building such a system remains as a difficult and challenging task, mainly due to the difficulty of maintaining data consistency among replicas and the lack of easy and efficient tools supporting the development procedure. In this paper we propose an active replication scheme in which data consistency can be maintained. Based on the active replication scheme, we present an object-oriented design pattern and a constructing tool to simplify the design and implementation of service replications in COWs.

Design of a distributed power system stabiliser

A new design method for a distributed power system stabiliser for interconnected power systems is introduced in this paper. The stabiliser is of a low order, dynamic and robust. To generate the required local control signals, each local stabiliser requires information about either the rotor speed or the load angle of the other subsystems. A simple MATLAB based design algorithm is given and used on a three-machine unstable power system. The resulting stabiliser is simulated and sample results are presented.

Design and analysis of hull configurations for a low-cost, autonomous underwater robot as an enabling technology for system of system applications

The objective of this research is to model and analyze candidate hull configurations for a low-cost, modular, autonomous underwater robot. As the computational power and speed of microprocessors continue to progress, we are seeing a growth in the research, development, and the utilization of underwater robots. The number of applications is broadening in the R&D and science communities, especially in the area of multiple, collaborative robots. These underwater collaborative robots represent an instantiation of a System of Systems (SoS). While each new researcher explores a unique application, control method, etc. a new underwater robot vehicle is designed, developed, and deployed. This sometimes leads to one-off designs that are costly. One limit to the wide-scale utilization of underwater robotics is the cost of development. Another limit is the ability to modify the configuration for new applications and evolving requirements. Consequently, we are exploring autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) hull designs towards the goal of modularity, vehicle dexterity, and minimizing the cost. In our analysis, we have employed 3D solid modeling tools and finite element methods. In this paper we present our initial results and discuss ongoing work.

Evaluation of an environmental rating tool for commercial building design

This research examined the inclusion of environmental rating tools in the design of commercial buildings. Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important for designers and the results of the study suggest that rating tools can be an asset to design teams, provided they are integrated and reinforced throughout the design process.

Parthenon's main design proportion and its meaning

Defines the geometrical proportion that was used to design the Classical Parthenon of Athens. Through the exploration of Pythagorean theories, the symbolism of the numbers 4, 6, and 9, which make up the temple's geometrical proportion, is unraveled in order to reveal the meaning of the temple's design.

Developing reflexive capability for successful joint ventures between Australian and Malaysian property and construction professionals

Increasingly Malaysian property and construction firms are seeking to work internationally. Firms enter international markets through various strategies and typically property and construction professionals rely on developing various forms of cooperative and collaborative arrangements. The common modes of entry include international alliances, project joint ventures, partnerships, company joint ventures and large consortiums; which arise as a response to clients seeking expressions of interests from the international community or the firms seeking to internationalise approaching clients and/or potential host country partners. Increasingly project teams on international mega projects are composed of multiple key partners from different countries coming together to achieve a higher level of strategic flexibility. Establishing and maintaining local connections and business networks are therefore critical to ensure the success of exporting firms. This paper reports the findings of a project which explores factors affecting the performance of Malaysian property and construction professionals working internationally through effective joint ventures. The project seeks to develop a performance measurement framework to examine the extent to which Malaysian firms are developing sustainable business models internationally which adapt and respond to changing conditions. A generic framework was initially developed prior to this study through a grounded theory approach merging theory from internationalisation, design management and market knowledge literature followed by a case study empirical investigation and then further literature review based upon the themes which emerged from the case study analysis. A reflexive capability model for firms in managing both economic and non-economic capital; including social, cultural and intellectual capital was developed. This project seeks to build upon the reflexive model by adapting it to the unique contexts related to the specific geographic localities of exporting Malaysian firms. Specifically, the project explores the extent to which the performance measurement framework can be used to map capabilities Malaysian construction firms have and Which they need to develop in relation to developing and maintaining international collaborative partnerships. The preliminary results of one case study Malaysian architectural firm are discussed.

Design and delivery of undergraduate IT security management course

Information technology has become the core tool of business organisations’. External and internal threats as well as legal, regulatory and contractual compliance requirements are all combining to make effective information security a key information technology management challenges. This paper describes an undergraduate information technology security management course that provides comprehensive knowledge and skills necessary to manage both strategic and operational aspects of information security. The course covers a broad range of managerial topics in information technology security and makes use of a number of security tools and techniques to complement the theory taught. In this paper, we describe our approach, our experiences and lessons learned for teaching information technology security management course. The paper details the content of the course and outlines how it is taught and assessed.

Proposal of a tiered conceptual framework for sustainable design and planning of large-scale development projects in the metropolitan context

The overwhelming threat posed by climate change means that increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the need to integrate sustainability considerations into all areas of policy making, planning and development. Actors in the built environment are progressively considering environmental and social issues alongside functional and economic aspects of development projects. However, to date in Australia and internationally, there have been few practical examples of integrated applications of sustainability principles in the built environment across design, planning, construction, operation and de-construction phases. Notable initiatives have tended to be narrow in scope, focusing on either mitigation or adaptation strategies. Integrated considerations of impacts from component and building scales to city and regional scales and across physical and socio-economic dimensions are urgently needed, particularly for long-life major infrastructure projects. This paper proposes a conceptual framework based on the principal that early intervention is the most cost-effective and efficient means of implementing effective strategies for mitigation and adaptation. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) approach is forwarded as an umbrella analytical framework, assembled from analytical methods which are strategically ‘tiered’ to inform different stages of the planning and decision-making process. Techniques such as Ecological footprint, Life cycle costing and Risk analysis may be applied to integrate sustainable design, construction and planning considerations which address both mitigation and adaptation dimensions, results of each analysis ultimately being collated into the overall SEA. This integrated conceptual framework for sustainable, resilient and cost-effective infrastructure development will in practice be applied to assess selected case-studies of major development projects in Australia, focusing on the area of stadium development. Practically applied and timed accordingly, the framework would allow assessments to be targeted towards appropriate decision making levels and enable better decision-making and more efficient resource allocation for major infrastructure development projects.

Computation and construction of vault geometry prototypes

Physical models and scaled prototypes of architecture play an important role in design. They enable architects and designers to investigate the formal, functional, and material attributes of the design. Understanding digital processes of realizing scaled prototypes is a significant problem confronting design practice. This paper reports on three approaches to the translation of Gaussian surface models into scaled physical prototype models. Based on the geometry of Eladio Dieste’s Gaussian Vaults, the paper reports on the aspects encountered in the process of digital to physical construction using scaled prototypes. The primary focus of the paper is on computing the design geometry, investigating methods for preparing the geometry for fabrication and physical construction. Three different approaches in the translation from digital to physical models are investigated: rapid prototyping, two-dimensional surface models in paper and structural component models using CNC fabrication. The three approaches identify a body of knowledge in the design and prototyping of Gaussian vaults. Finally the paper discusses the digital to fabrication translation processes with regards to the characteristics, benefits and limitations of the three approaches of prototyping the ruled surface geometry of Gaussian Vaults. The results of each of three fabrication processes allowed for a better understanding of the digital to physical translation process. The use of rapid prototyping permits the production of form models that provide a representation of the physical characteristics such as size, shape and proportion of the Gaussian Vault.

From design for ecologically sustainability to facilities management through building intelligence and knowledge management

Ecological sustainability basically concerns environmental protection and social benefits. An ecologically sustainable development is based upon reduced energy usage, increased efficiency, and upheld social responsibility; and it should be properly evaluated by financial, environmental and social aspects. Council House 2 (CH2) is claimed to change the way of Australia approaches in ecologically sustainable design and construction. This is the ‘Six-Star design and built’ green star facility assessed by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), and the 10-story city council building was completed and opened in 2006, totally A$11.3 million was invested for the sustainability features. CH2 protects the environment, when it compares with the old council house, and is expected to reduce electricity consumption by 85%; reduce gas consumption by 87%; produce only 13% of the emissions; and reduce water mains supply by 72%. In this paper, the author examines its design reports and the researches paper, in the form of knowledge base, to case-study how the sustainability, effectiveness and efficiency of CH2 work. By leveraging the existing CH2 sustainability knowledge, design and building professions can learn and imitate it in further ‘green’ design without ‘re-inventing the wheel’; facilities executives can also use the existing knowledge to identify steps to boost up the facilities’ operating efficiency.

Gaussian vault geometry : integrated approach in design and fabrication of physical prototypes

This paper reports the second part of a study on the digital design and fabrication of scaled architectural prototypes. The first paper reported techniques in the realization of a double curved vault surface, the Gaussian Vault. The aims of the research here further extend this body of knowledge to a better understanding of constructible components. It addresses the problem of fabricating complex curved forms through the integration of the basic building elements, skin and structure, to achieve a scaled physical prototype. The focus of the experimentation is to investigate the process from which a digital surface form is conceived, to its preparation for fabrication and eventual construction in the fashion of a scaled model or workable prototype.