• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.1223-1230
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• 2005

The dynamic nature of the A/E/C industry, rapidly changing global market environments, and lowest cost competitive bidding make it difficult to survive in global design markets. To understand the global design markets, a case study has been undertaken. The top 150 global design firms represented in the ENR (Engineering News Record) from 1995 to 2003 are classified into three groups for the case study. First group is the firms which advanced in rank from 1995. Second group is the firms which maintained its rank from 1994 until 2003. Third group is the firms which went down in rank from 1995 until 2003. However, finding key factors and changing business strategies of successful top design firms are the fundamental goals in this paper. After examinations of case studies, this paper concludes and suggests that professionalization, M&A strategies, patrons of the government, and academic support are needed to be successful in the global design & engineering industry.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.157-175
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• 2012

It is difficult to evaluate the performance of process innovation of e-procurement which has large scale and complex processes. The existing evaluation methods for measuring the effects of process innovation have been mainly done with statistically quantitative methods by analyzing operational data or with qualitative methods by conducting surveys and interviews. However, these methods have some limitations to evaluate the effects because the performance evaluation of e-procurement process innovation should consider the interactions among participants who are active either directly or indirectly through the processes. This study considers the e-procurement process as a complex system and develops a simulation model based on MAS(Multi-Agent System) to evaluate the effects of e-procurement process innovation. Multi-agent based simulation allows observing interaction patterns of objects in virtual world through relationship among objects and their behavioral mechanism. Agent-based simulation is suitable especially for complex business problems. In this study, we used Netlogo Version 4.1.3 as a MAS simulation tool which was developed in Northwestern University. To do this, we developed a interaction model of agents in MAS environment. We defined process agents and task agents, and assigned their behavioral characteristics. The developed simulation model was applied to G2B system (KONEPS: Korea ON-line E-Procurement System) of Public Procurement Service (PPS) in Korea and used to evaluate the innovation effects of the G2B system. KONEPS is a successfully established e-procurement system started in the year 2002. KONEPS is a representative e-Procurement system which integrates characteristics of e-commerce into government for business procurement activities. KONEPS deserves the international recognition considering the annual transaction volume of 56 billion dollars, daily exchanges of electronic documents, users consisted of 121,000 suppliers and 37,000 public organizations, and the 4.5 billion dollars of cost saving. For the simulation, we analyzed the e-procurement of process of KONEPS into eight sub processes such as 'process 1: search products and acquisition of proposal', 'process 2 : review the methods of contracts and item features', 'process 3 : a notice of bid', 'process 4 : registration and confirmation of qualification', 'process 5 : bidding', 'process 6 : a screening test', 'process 7 : contracts', and 'process 8 : invoice and payment'. For the parameter settings of the agents behavior, we collected some data from the transactional database of PPS and some information by conducting a survey. The used data for the simulation are 'participants (government organizations, local government organizations and public institutions)', 'the number of bidding per year', 'the number of total contracts', 'the number of shopping mall transactions', 'the rate of contracts between bidding and shopping mall', 'the successful bidding ratio', and the estimated time for each process. The comparison was done for the difference of time consumption between 'before the innovation (As-was)' and 'after the innovation (As-is).' The results showed that there were productivity improvements in every eight sub processes. The decrease ratio of 'average number of task processing' was 92.7% and the decrease ratio of 'average time of task processing' was 95.4% in entire processes when we use G2B system comparing to the conventional method. Also, this study found that the process innovation effect will be enhanced if the task process related to the 'contract' can be improved. This study shows the usability and possibility of using MAS in process innovation evaluation and its modeling.

• KIEE International Transactions on Power Engineering
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• v.5A no.4
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• pp.331-338
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• 2005

In this paper, an improved maintenance scheduling approach suitable for the competitive environment is proposed by taking account of profits and costs of generation companies and the formulated combinatorial optimization problem is solved by using Reactive Tabu search (RTS). In competitive power markets, electricity prices are determined by the balance between demand and supply through electric power exchanges or by bilateral contracts. Therefore, in decision makings, it is essential for system operation planners and market participants to take the volatility of electricity price into consideration. In the proposed maintenance scheduling approach, firstly, electricity prices over the targeted period are forecasted based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and also a newly proposed aggregated bidding curve. Secondary, the maintenance scheduling is formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem with a novel objective function by which the most profitable maintenance schedule would be attained. As an objective function, Opportunity Loss by Maintenance (OLM) is adopted to maximize the profit of generation companies (GENCOS). Thirdly, the combinatorial optimization maintenance scheduling problem is solved by using Reactive Tabu Search in the light of the objective functions and forecasted electricity prices. Finally, the proposed maintenance scheduling is applied to a practical test power system to verify the advantages and practicability of the proposed method.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.800-807
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• 2009

The limited public funds available for infrastructure projects have led governments to consider private entities' participation in long-term contracts for finance, construction, and operation of these projects to share risks and rewards between the public and the private. Because these projects have complicated risk evolutions, diverse contractual forms for each project member to hedge risks involved in a project are necessary. In light of this, Build-Operate-Transfer(BOT) model is considered as effective to accomplish Public Private Partnerships(PPPs) with a characteristic of an ownership-reversion. In BOT projects, the government has used such an incentive system as minimum revenue guarantee(MRG) agreement to attract the private's participation. Although this agreement turns out critical in success of BOT project, there still exist problematic issues in a financial feasibility analysis since the traditional capital budgeting theory, Net Present Value(NPV) analysis, has failed to evaluate the contingent characteristic of MRG agreement. The purpose of this research is to develop real option model based on option pricing theory so as to provide a theoretical framework in valuing MRG agreement in BOT projects. To understand the applicability of the model, the model is applied to the example of the BOT toll road project and the results are compared with that by NPV analysis. Finally, we found that the impact of the MRG agreement is significant on the project value. Hence, the real option model can help the government establish better BOT policies and the developer make appropriate bidding strategies.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.42-49
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• 2022

In recent years, Owner, Architects, and Contractor are increasingly collaborating with each other from pre construction phase in construction projects, which is called Early Contractor Involvement (ECI). In Japan, the ECI method has been introduced in several public building projects since 2015. The purpose of this study is mainly to clarify the characteristics of the ECI method in Japan and to compare the contract clauses of the ECI method in the UK and the USA. The results of the survey are as follows. (1) the ECI method was supposed to make it possible to achieve appropriate quality, cost, and construction period by reflecting Contractor's technology and know-how in the design documents and specifications. (2) According to the database, there were 27 cases of the ECI method in Japan from 2015 to 2021, of which 13 cases for which bidding information could be obtained had a variety of technical proposals, mainly VE proposals, depending on the project characteristics. (3), Japan's ECI method has very much in common with SBC + PCSA in the UK. On the other hand, ECI Method in Japan differs from in the UK in that Owner, Architect, and Contractor enter into a partnership agreement, which is similar to ConsensusDocs CD541 in the USA. (4) The ECI method in Japan has the following problems: Owner depends on Contractor for cost control, the division of roles among project members is complicated, and more work from Owner than the DBB method are required.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.1106-1113
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• 2022

Cost segregation helps reduce tax liabilities by reclassifying real property to personal property and accelerates tax depreciation of a property. A typical cost segregation study requires much time and high costs. This study proposed a BIM integrated cost segregation process that can be applied to any commercial building project. The proposed BIM-based cost segregation process was verified in a new commercial construction project. It approved that this approach can: (1) increase the cash flow for the owner and provide assistance to tax-paying enterprises; (2) enable the contractor to use it as an added value in the bidding process; (3) realize data sharing in a common platform to improve the cost segregation study efficiency and reduce costs and errors; (4) contribute to the asset management in the life cycle of buildings while filling in the blank of cost segregation process. Future studies will focus on the automation of cost segregation and asset management in building construction's life cycle.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.952-959
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• 2022

Active construction work zones will result in longer travel time and/or longer travel distances for road users because of reduced speed limits and/or detours. This results in increased fuel consumption and increased emissions of harmful gases such as Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), and Sulfur Oxides (SOx), which causes discomfort to the environment and road users around the work zone. The impact of such emissions should be considered while designing work zones or determining the number of days the roadway will be allowed to be closed partially or fully. This study develops a methodology to compute additional road user costs associated with such work zones. To achieve this goal, a) an extensive literature review is conducted, b) a framework to compute emission cost is developed, c) emission rates are computed for all counties (95) of the state of Tennessee, and d) a case study is conducted to demonstrate the use of the framework to estimate the additional impact of emission because of the work zone. For the case study conducted, the emission cost was computed to be $10,653.60 for the duration of the project. State DOTs can account for such road user costs while selecting contractors using A+B bidding. Accounting for such impact of emission will also indicate the agency's willingness to consider sustainability as a part of the business practices.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.399-406
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• 2011

Various construction bonds and warranties critically burden the general contractor. Also, sporadic or cumulative delays of progress payment by the owner can further trap the contractor in a financial quagmire. Facing the possibility of cash flow deficiency and callous response from the banks, most construction firms may become financially incapable of market competition, and attractive project tenders become a bidding game among few deep-pocket players. The downside of such market environment is that the depth of pocket, rather than that of professional competency dictates the choice of market winners. In Taiwan, this has been a potential crisis to the construction industry after the financial crisis which started out since 2008. To encounter this problem, this research will examine the means to better manage the construction industry. Essentially, a credit guarantee system (CGS) is the prime solution to strengthen a bank's confidence in any particular construction firm. Thus establishing a national platform which evaluates and rewards a construction firm's overall credibility is pivotal, and this third-party rated credit can help a bank to render a loan more wisely. Finally, this paper will propose the ideal operating schemes of construction-specific CGS in Taiwan and a credit scoring prototype model for construction industry, as reference for the government and banks, respectively.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.474-479
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• 2011

With Beijing's success in bidding for the 2008 Olympic Games, the increasing demand for infrastructure development and reduced public sector funding capacity has created a significant funding gap which calls for alternative project delivery methods such as Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Although the exploration of infrastructure projects using PPP model have been practiced since the late 80s, the $560 million National Stadium which served as the main venue for the Olympic Games is the first stadium project in China to be delivered under PPP operation. The project is generally considered successful despite the concession transfer in 2009 with concern of better serving the public interest. Compared to other infrastructure projects such as transportation, waste management and water management, the development of major sports facilities for mega-sports events with PPP has its own unique features and is subject to different major risks. This research identifies and analyzes critical risks in the implementation of PPP in major sports facility development through case study of the National Stadium project. A questionnaire survey and several interviews are conducted to solicit expert opinions from experienced practitioners. The purpose is to provide additional insights in risk management strategies and opportunities in China's PPP implementations in major sports facilities for policy makers and private sectors involved with investment decisions in future similar infrastructure development.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.88-92
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• 2011

Even though attempts are made to transform from 2D CAD to BIM representation for building design and construction, it were not so successful for practical implementation until recently in construction industry in Korea. However, there is a dramatic change for the use of BIM by collaboration among government, independent organizations as well as industry itself. Government reckons that BIM is an important tool for environment friendly construction and industry competitiveness. The government not only makes national BIM standards and push policies in order to make market environment. Independent organizations such as BuildingSMART Korea does active role to stimulate the transformation process successfully. They act as opinion leaders for the Government to consider BIM implementation for industry competitiveness issue. They make roadmap as well as technical standards and guidelines. It also leads technical developments and supports for its implementation. Government supports researches for the implementation of BIM. The research includes BIM standards, guidelines, linking with existing Architectural Administrative Information Systems, making libraries as well as education. Government makes policy for BIM as a compulsory data for bidding process of newly designed government buildings. Private sector not only agrees BIM as a tool to adapt but also essential methods for its survival in domestic and foreign construction market. Architectural design companies and constructions companies currently develop technical skills and implement BIM for new projects such as Dongdaemoon Plaza that cannot be successfully drawn by conventional methods.