• Title/Summary/Keyword: Innovation in construction

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RESPONDING TO GLOBAL ISSUES: SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION IN THE AUSTRALIAN SME RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

  • D.S. Thorpe;N. Ryan
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2007.03a
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    • pp.684-693
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    • 2007
  • The construction industry is a significant component of many economies and typically contains a high proportion of small and medium enterprises. However, it is generally understood that this industry is fragmented, adversarial, not highly innovative and not quick to respond to change. At the same time, the industry is under pressure to continue to embrace new technologies and methods, and to adapt better to current and emerging global issues such as sustainability. In order to meet these challenges, firms in the industry need to understand the issues involved and manage their practices accordingly. This paper describes exploratory research into the role of innovative and environmentally sustainable design and construction practices in one group of construction firms, viz., smaller residential building firms in Queensland, Australia.

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CONSTRUCTION FINANCING AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

  • Yat-Hung, Chiang
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2009.05a
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    • pp.962-969
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    • 2009
  • The market of building construction has been competitive in Hong Kong, perhaps as anywhere else in the world. The barrier to entry is low because there are relatively low requirements on the three factors of production - technology, manpower and finance. The prevailing building technology is traditional and labour-intensive. There is also not much need of capital because clients' periodic payments have been the main source of project finance. Further, capitalizing on trade sub-contracting, contractors have been able to keep their direct labour-force small and to transfer much of their business risk to the sub-contractors. Based on interviews to solicit the perception of a sample of building contractors on the particular issues of construction finance, we present the findings in this paper and discuss the various implications. We believe that the current practice of construction financing is both the cause and effect of the competition within, and the competitiveness of, the building construction sector in Hong Kong. We conclude that the building construction sector is "locked or stuck" in this "equilibrium" of traditional technology, reliance on clients' finance and exploitation of sub-contracting. In this "equilibrium" state, there is hardly any motivation for contractors to engage themselves in product or process innovation. Consequently, any talk of industry reform or innovation could only remain just that. We believe that this problem is not unique in Hong Kong. The building construction sector in many other developed and developing economies is posed with similar if not the same problems and constraints. We conclude that there has to be some "external forces" to bring this "equilibrium" state to a higher level "equilibrium" one where higher value-added building construction services are supplied and demanded. This is a state where building contractors possessing innovative technology, better financial and manpower resources could thrive to build better buildings with innovative building methods and processes.

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Analysis on the Curriculum Operation and Educational Innovation in Building Construction of Domestic Universities (국내대학의 건축시공 교육과정 운영 및 교육혁신 실태 분석)

  • Kim, Jae-Yeob
    • Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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    • v.19 no.5
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    • pp.457-465
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    • 2019
  • Technology and society have undergone continued progress and improvement. Thus, constant changes are required for university education, which then directs social development. This study analyzed the current status of educational innovations in the field of building construction at domestic universities in South Korea. The major findings of this study are as follows. Lectures on educational innovations have been introduced in the field of building construction at domestic universities. Five out of 50 universities were found to offer lectures on innovation. Notable innovative teaching methods being introduced were team-based learning and flipped learning. The biggest difference between innovative and traditional teaching methods was whether to encourage students to perform self-directed learning. In this manner, there were also differences in evaluation methods, weekly lecture schedules and learning support tools. Thus it is determined that continuous research and efforts for innovation in university education are necessary to respond to the ever-present changes in society.

Improvement of Emissions from Diesel Engine according to the Korean Standard Test Cycle in the Construction Equipment (건설기계용 엔진의 국내 표준시험모드에 따른 배출가스 특성 및 개선)

  • Joo, Taeheun;Yu, Seunghun;Lee, Chang-Eon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.42-48
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    • 2014
  • The emission standard of diesel engine on the construction equipment has been rapidly enhanced in advanced countries, because most of air pollutions was caused by construction equipment. So, all of the construction equipments will be tested for emission with standard measurement mode. But, the standard measurement mode of construction equipment is different for non-road and one for the road in korea. This study was conducted to measure emission characteristics of the construction equipment with changed standard measurement mode and to improvement the emissions experimentally.

Introduction of Team-Based Learning Based Building Construction Hybrid Curriculum (팀기반학습 기반 건축시공 하이브리드 교육과정 도입방안)

  • Kim, Jae-Yeob
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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    • 2023.05a
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    • pp.351-352
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    • 2023
  • In order to respond to changes in the industrial environment such as the 4th industrial revolution, university education also needs active educational innovation efforts. This study proposed a construction construction hybrid curriculum that can actively utilize online education in the direction of educational innovation in domestic universities. The hybrid curriculum was based on online learning through lecture videos used in team-based learning. The hybrid curriculum additionally allows learners to choose their learning methods. In a hybrid class, learners can choose the class participation method they want from offline classroom or online real-time. Hybrid classes are considered to strengthen learners' options and take a step forward in learner-centered education.

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The Use of Bituminous Subballast on Future High-Speed Lines in Spain: Structural Design and Economical Impact

  • Teixeira, P.F.;Ferreira, P.A.;Pita, A. Lopez;Casas, C.;Bachiller, A.
    • International Journal of Railway
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2009
  • The development of structural solutions for high-speed or very high-speed tracks that minimize total life cycle costs of the system is a key issue to improve the operational profitability of new investments. In opposition to conventional ballasted tracks, slab track solutions can be a cost-effective solution, but only in the cases where the benefits due to the increase in track availability and the reduction of track maintenance offsets its much higher construction costs. In the cases where such investment is not feasible, it is worth to evaluate possible structural improvements to ballasted track that allow reducing its maintenance needs without increasing too much its construction costs. This paper evaluates the design requirements and the impact of improving conventional high-speed ballasted tracks by using a bituminous subballast layer. It is divided into two main parts: first the design requirements of the structural solutions with bituminous subballast and its possible benefits on high-speed track deterioration, and secondly the evaluation of the economic impact, in terms of construction costs, of using this structural solution material in future Spanish high-speed lines.

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A Simulation Model Construction for Performance Evaluation of Public Innovation Project

  • Koh, Chan
    • 한국디지털정책학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2006.06a
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    • pp.87-109
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    • 2006
  • The purpose of this paper is to examine the present performance evaluation methods and to make Monte Carlo Simulation Model for the IT-based Government innovation project. It is suggested the proper ways in applying of Monte Carlo Simulation Model by integration of present evaluation methods. It develops the theoretical framework for this paper, examining the existing literature on proposing an approach to the key concepts of the economic impact analysis methods. It examines the actual conditions of performance evaluation focusing on the It-based Government Innovation project. It considers how the simulation model is applied to the performance management in the public innovation project focusing on the framework, process and procedure of performance management.

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Problems Related to Construction and Building Materials in Libya

  • Salah, Abuzaid;Bloomer, Steve
    • Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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    • v.4 no.4
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    • pp.1-8
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    • 2014
  • The broad aim of this paper is to provide a detailed understanding of the post-war problems associated with materials for reconstruction in Libya, and to identify key problems and obstructions. Theoretical and empirical studies are being conducted in Libya. The theoretical study focuses on materials for construction and the key issues such as sources, transport and storage of materials, as well as their impact on the national economy, the nation's socio-economic development and the environment. This empirical study employed questionnaires, observations and a series of interviews with researchers, academics, suppliers and manufacturers, supported by the researcher's three decades of experience of working in the construction industry and its associated processes and operations. The empirical study illustrated that materials for post-disaster reconstruction in Libya suffer from external problems related to policies and decision-making in terms of availability of materials, fluctuation of prices of materials, specifications, building codes, legislation and regulations, and internal problems related to the construction and building material's key players: construction companies, consultancy firms, manufacturers and suppliers.

A Study on Terrain Construction of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Simulator Based on Spatial Information (공간정보 기반의 무인비행체 시뮬레이터 지형 구축에 관한 연구)

  • Park, Sang Hyun;Hong, Gi Ho;Won, Jin Hee;Heo, Yong Seok
    • Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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    • v.22 no.9
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    • pp.1122-1131
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    • 2019
  • This paper covers research on terrain construction for unmanned aerial vehicle simulators using spatial information that was distributed by public institutions. Aerial photography, DEM, vector maps and 3D model data were used in order to create a realistic terrain simulator. A data converting method was suggested while researching, so it was generated to automatically arrange and build city models (vWorld provided) and classification methods so that realistic images could be generated by 3D objects. For example: rivers, forests, roads, fields and so on, were arranged by aerial photographs, vector map (land cover map) and terrain construction based on the tile map used by DEM. In order to verify the terrain data of unmanned aircraft simulators produced by the proposed method, the location accuracy was verified by mounting onto Unreal Engine and checked location accuracy.

Mechanical properties of new stainless steel-aluminum alloy composite joint in tower structures

  • Yingying Zhang;Qiu Yu;Wei Song;Junhao Xu;Yushuai Zhao;Baorui Sun
    • Steel and Composite Structures
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    • v.49 no.5
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    • pp.517-532
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    • 2023
  • Tower structures have been widely used in communication and transmission engineering. The failure of joints is the leading cause of structure failure, which make it play a crucial role in tower structure engineering. In this study, the aluminum alloy three tube tower structure is taken as the prototype, and the middle joint of the tower was selected as the research object. Three different stainless steel-aluminum alloy composite joints (SACJs), denoted by TA, TB and TC, were designed. Finite element (FE) modeling analysis was used to compare and determine the TC joint as the best solution. Detail requirements of fasteners in the TC stainless steel-aluminum alloy composite joint (TC-SACJ) were designed and verified. In order to systematically and comprehensively study the mechanical properties of TC-SACJ under multi-directional loading conditions, the full-scale experiments and FE simulation models were all performed for mechanical response analysis. The failure modes, load-carrying capacities, and axial load versus displacement/stain testing curves of all full-scale specimens under tension/compression loading conditions were obtained. The results show that the maximum vertical displacement of aluminum alloy tube is 26.9mm, and the maximum lateral displacement of TC-SACJs is 1.0 mm. In general, the TC-SACJs are in an elastic state under the design load, which meet the design requirements and has a good safety reserve. This work can provide references for the design and engineering application of aluminum alloy tower structures.