bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ASSESSMENT OF LEVEL OF STUDENTS' SATISFACTION WITH QUALITY OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN PRIVATE STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
Authors: Mampuru Getrude , Aigbavboa Clinton
Published: February 2025

This paper presents findings on students' satisfaction with one of the biggest private student accommodation in Johannesburg, South Africa. Management services play an important role in the level of student satisfaction. Without good management services and a poor interaction between student and management, the quality of services provided will have an adverse effect on the level of student satisfaction. In assessing overall student satisfaction, the quality of services offered to students is the significant element to be considered. Hence the purpose of this study was to determine the level of student satisfaction with the quality of management services provided to them in private student accommodations. Data that was received was analyzed by means of frequencies and tables, which employed the use of descriptive statistical procedures and Mean Item score. Analysis was based on the 58 useable questionnaires obtained from students out of 60 questionnaires issued. Findings from the study revealed that electricity supply, Wi-Fi connection, and general rules are among the most important aspect of student satisfaction/dissatisfaction with quality of management services. Thus, the study recommends that the management engages with students regarding their problems, and timely deal with arising complains. Furthermore, management should provide high quality Wi-Fi connection that will be suitable for all student accommodated, and also provide proper supply of electricity as well as increase the supply of hot water.
KEY KNOWLEDGE ENABLER FACTORS FOR EFFECTIVE BIM IMPLEMENTATION IN CONSTRUCTION ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: Likhitruangsilp Veerasak , Kiet Tran Tuan
Published: February 2025

Building information modeling (BIM) is an innovative approach that is widely used to overcome various challenges in the construction industry. Current BIM implementation mainly focuses on information management, but puts very limited effort on knowledge. That is, the current BIM practice is information-centered, but it is not mature enough to generate and capture experiential knowledge. In addition, knowledge management (KM) is limitedly adopted for BIM implementation. Based on this paper's rigorous literature review as well as a survey questionnaire, nine knowledge enablers and 52 knowledge enabler factors for BIM implementation (KEFBIs) are identified. In this paper, we deploy ISM fuzzy MICMAC to identify and classify the key KEFBIs that influence BIM implementation by contractors. The results can guide contractors to avoid difficulties while adopting BIM so that they can plan and allocate their resources optimally.
QUANTIFYING THE IMPACT OF CONGESTION ON CONSTRUCTION LABOR PRODUCTIVITY USING AGENT-BASED MODELING
Authors: Rahal Mohammad , Khoury Hiam
Published: February 2025

Several findings from the construction field stipulate that productivity falloffs are primarily management-related; however, this notion does not consider the direct impact of these same management decisions on the workers themselves. For instance, the planning of the workspace layout delves in a spatial configuration which if not properly managed can potentially result in congestion that, in turn, directly affects labor productivity. Previous research efforts developed models to analyze the effect of congestion on labor productivity but failed to capture all the complexities of this mechanism and its dynamics. Therefore, this paper puts forward the groundwork of an agent-based simulation model (ABM) and presents work targeted at quantifying the impact of congestion on the productivity of construction crews. More specifically, the ABM model takes into account two construction trades working in the same area and tackles five scenarios each depicting different congestion and interaction levels. At the heart of this simulation is a quantitative model that defines essential congestion metrics and outputs space interference values. Experiments were conducted and results highlighted that the higher the space interference values the less productive the crews become. Additionally, these values will constitute an integral part in future work when studying the impact of congestion on the crews' learning curve, whereby the latter being a major gauge for levels of productivity.
IMPROVING MARKETING FUNCTIONS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE AMONG CONSTRUCTION SMEs
Authors: Afolabi Adedeji , Ojelabi Rapheal , Tunji Olayeni Patience , Omuh Ignatius , Oyeyipo Opeyemi
Published: February 2025

With over 3.5 billion people connected to the internet, small and medium-scale (SME) construction businesses have the opportunity to enhance their customer base. The study assessed ways by which marketing functions of SME construction businesses can be improved through social media presence of the firms. The study used a quota-purposive sampling of construction businesses in Nigeria's mega city, Lagos State. The small and medium scale construction businesses comprised of consulting and contracting firms. Using a questionnaire instrument, the social media arm of the marketing unit of SME construction businesses was measured. Presentation of the data was carried out using pie charts and principal component analysis. The study identified two main critical success factors (CSFs)-Firm/Social Media characteristics and Security/Investment factor enabling the Social Media infrastructure for SME construction businesses. A focus on these entities would ensure the successful integration of social media marketing strategies in the traditional marketing functions of construction SMEs. The survival of SME construction business is hinged on the availability of customers which social media exposure helps attract and interact with potential customers. SME Construction businesses of the 21st century must align with the 'global village' trend of incorporating social media applications in their traditional marketing functions.
APPLICATION OF LEAN METHODS FOR PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT IN STEEL FABRICATION SHOPS: A CASE STUDY
Authors: Dufresne Manuel , Mok Ho-Yan , Shakeri Reza , Elbarkouky Mohamed , Sharma Vishal
Published: February 2025

The objective of this paper is to identify tools and methodologies to increase productivity in commercial steel fabrication shops. The effectiveness of these tools and methodologies has been demonstrated through a case study in a Canadian steel fabrication shop. Three different productivity improvement concepts were identified as suitable for the steel fabrication environment. Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Lean was retained as being the most suitable to steel fabrication due to its low cost, focus on quality, and built in continuous improvement process. In the case study, Lean tools were identified and applied to address three top productivity issues. A baseline was established for existing productivity for a fitting station over a period of two weeks. Selected tools were implemented, and a session was conducted to educate the workers on the new processes and tools. Lastly, the productivity was recalculated, the results were analyzed, and recommendations were made.
IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE USING DATA MINING TECHNIQUES
Authors: Fan Su-Ling , Chai Chang-Saar , Vikram Kumar
Published: February 2025

Critical Infrastructure (CI) is a term used to describe important national assets for producing or distributing a continuous flow of essential goods or services. They are marked by immense complexity, characterized predominantly by strong intra and interdependencies as well as hierarchies. These interconnections take many forms, including flows of information, shared security, physical flows of commodities, and others. Previous research has illustrated the relationship between the physical impacts of natural disasters and the social and economic factors on CI. Some research emphasized more the role of CI interdependencies and their importance and influence over the functioning of industries while others have looked the impacts due to disruption of CI after disasters. Nowadays comprehensive identification of all interdependency relationships of CI remains a challenge. As the complexity and interconnectedness of a country's CI evolve, threats and vulnerabilities increase. Thus, investigating how a set of CI interacts and identification of criticality of CI becomes an important topic. This research has made utilization of data mining techniques and proposes a method to identify the criticality of Critical Infrastructure so that to develop better disaster protection and prevention management.
PRACTICE EXPERIENCE IN ASSESSING THE PROJECT MANAGERS' LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Authors: Mazzetto Silvia
Published: February 2025

In construction, the achievement of a project is mainly due to the work of the project manager and the contribution they make, as team leader, of knowledge, experience, and coordination skills. This paper presents a practical approach in assessing the students' leadership skills at the College of Engineering at Qatar University, by running a multidisciplinary collaborative project. The students acted as the project managers, involved in leading several working groups. The main aim of the exercise was to propose a practical approach to assessing the extent to which the knowledge and skills of a leader are important for ensuring that a project is completed successfully. The project manager's ability to lead a team through the different work stages of a project is seen as a fundamental contributor to its success. This practical approach to the appraisal of leadership brings the theoretical teaching of Project Management closer to its practical applications, by encouraging students to learn the leadership techniques and tools commonly used in the professional setting. The paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need to focus more attentively on assessing leadership skills when selecting a project manager, in either an academic or a professional context.
THE POTENTIAL OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ON CONSTRUCTION SITES
Authors: Ninaus Cornelia , Knapp David
Published: February 2025

Knowledge management is the process of creating, sharing, using, and managing knowledge, one of the most valuable organizational resources. This approach is well-known in Austria's industrial sector, but applied only in major construction companies. It is mainly used to share knowledge between different departments, but it is not commonly found on construction sites. During the construction phase a variety of separate firms build a temporary multidisciplinary organization, to produce investment goods. To show the potential of knowledge management on building sites in Austria, 78 interviews were conducted. Construction sites of different types (new construction and refurbishment of buildings) were taken into account in order to guarantee a representative outcome. The highest cost-benefit ratio for knowledge management can be seen in knowledge intensive processes. The execution phase is characterized by craftwork which often includes many routine steps. But the survey shows that almost a quarter of the daily business is about knowledge intensive processes while the amount doesn't correlate with the working experience. Furthermore, on construction sites with many trades the lack of information and knowledge transfer is the cause of nearly a quarter of the problems faced. The findings indicate the need for knowledge management on construction sites and the potential grows with the number of trades. The teambuilding process can be seen as the most important step for an efficient knowledge management during the execution phase.
STRATEGIC SYNERGY OF SERVICE OFFERINGS WITHIN A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM
Authors: Kuprenas John A. , Jennings Lara H.
Published: February 2025

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has traditionally been structured based upon a firm concentrating on select markets and specific service offerings. More recently, however, the industry has moved away from the piece by piece process of developing a project into a more holistic view. This paper suggests the concept that holistic strategies can create positive business synergies. Two types of synergies are identified-synergies related to practice and knowledge and synergies related to service and delivery. Examples of these synergies are provided with cases provided for engineering, architecture, and management firms. The increase in strength of the firm as a result of the strategy is more than the net additive growth or change; hence, it is deemed synergistic. Conclusions identify the synergies outcomes and discuss the need for future research in this area, particularly data-based research to test the theory.
CHANCES AND RISKS OF COMBINED PRICING
Authors: Kummer Markus , Hofstadler Christian
Published: February 2025

Appropriate costing creates a plausible, reliable basis for determining the bid price. One of the key requirements that applicable laws, standards, and guidelines stipulate for (structural) specifications is that works should be specified clearly, completely and objectively so as to ensure bid comparability. Furthermore, cost estimates should be possible for the specified works (excluding non-quantifiable risks). The specifying party usually requires combined pricing because works related to various structural components, construction trades, subsoil types, rebar diameters etc. that necessitate a variety of types and combinations of production factors are merged into a single item. Combined pricing occurs whenever a unit price is to be derived from different cost estimates with respect to the utilization of production factors. This means that bidders intending to develop an activity-based costing model would have to know the type of work or service, the underlying conditions for performing the work, and the associated timeframe (i.e. project start, binding milestones, project end). This paper investigates if combined pricing items meet these requirements whilst putting a particular focus on the relevance of combined pricing to construction management and economics, including construction expert opinions on the chances and risks of this approach. For this purpose, this paper primarily deals with reinforcing works.
MULTISYSTEMIC MODELING TO IMPROVE FORECAST ACCURACY IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Authors: Hofstadler Christian
Published: February 2025

Process modeling and simulations provide indispensable support during project preparation, construction process planning, and execution. Realistic correlation modeling in construction management and/or economics is crucial to inform meaningful, beneficial process simulations. Inductive approach to reflecting reality in a (computation) model enables prospective consideration of the object or process under study and related analyses. This method aids decision making in construction management related projects and contributes to developing new computation models. Linking the management of chances and risks to construction process modeling is thus an essential tool for systematically making and implementing decisions in construction management and economics. Forecast-based conclusions regarding future developments or events require computation models to be developed based on hands-on experience and practical feasibility whilst relying on sound theoretical assumptions, required abstraction levels, simplifications, and considering their mathematical implementation. The resulting model is linked to model objects for which it was developed and to which it is applied. Model objects may include entire buildings or structures, contract sections, or individual structural components, such as those for which construction processes and logistics as well as construction times and costs are determined. Monte Carlo simulations are applied to systematically account for uncertainties. Derived models should be closely related to the aspects and societal challenges of interdisciplinarity, simulation, and digitization. This paper outlines the requirements that a multisystemic model should fulfill to increase forecast accuracy.
CHALLENGES AND RISKS RELATING TO MEP ENGINEERING IN LARGE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Authors: Monsberger Michael
Published: February 2025

MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) systems are integral parts of modern buildings. Adequate conception, design, and installation of MEP systems are an essential prerequisite for a successful project. Experience has shown that the practical implementation of this aspect is often a challenge for the involved project stakeholders due to the increasing complexity of MEP systems. This raises the question of whether the field of MEP engineering is particularly sensitive to potential conflicts and disruptions in complex construction projects compared to other trades. In order to investigate these questions, a survey based on a standardized questionnaire was carried out among Austrian experts with experience in large building construction projects. Overall, 515 experts participated in this survey, with 365 completely answering the questionnaire. The results show that the participants consider proper project integration of MEP engineering as a critical success factor in complex construction projects. They also show that inadequate consideration of this aspect poses a substantial risk for project disruptions.
LOOKING FOR PROJECT SUCCESS IN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS: HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE IT?
Authors: Spang Konrad , Ehrbar Heinz , Elbaz Ahmed
Published: February 2025

Even though the main aim of project management (PM) is to assure successful projects, the PM literature still lacks a clear definition of project success (PS), since it highly depends on the stakeholders' expectations and the point in time in which the project was evaluated. In this context and due to their specialties e.g. long duration or a large number of stakeholders, the infrastructure projects are subjected to time delays and cost overruns and therefore, criticized in the society and described as failed or unsuccessful projects. This paper hypothesizes the need to adapt our PM approach to follow more systemic methods and presents the main principles of systematic project management (SPM) as a success factor (SF) for infrastructure projects. In addition, a case study about the Gotthard Base Tunnel is presented to verify the literature findings.
ESTIMATING THE RUNNING COSTS OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS: ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK MODELING
Authors: Geekiyanage Devindi , Ramachandra Thanuja
Published: February 2025

Running costs of a building is a substantial share of its total life-cycle cost (LCC) and it ranges between 70-80% in commercial buildings. Despite its significant contribution to LCC, investors and construction industry practitioners tend to mostly rely on construction cost exclusively. Though the early stage estimation of running costs is limited due to the unavailability of historical cost data, several efforts have been taken to estimate the running costs of buildings using different cost estimation techniques. However, the prediction accuracy of those models is still challenged due to less quality and amount of data employed. This study, therefore, developed an artificial neural network (ANN) model for running costs estimation of commercial buildings with the use of building design variables. The study was quantitively approached and running costs data together with 13 building design variables were collected from 35 commercial buildings. The ANN model developed resulted in a 96.6% perfect correlation between the running cost and building design variables. The testing and validation of the model developed indicate that there is greater prediction accuracy. These findings will enable industry practitioners to make informed cost decisions on implications of running costs in commercial buildings at its early stages, eliminating excessive costs to be incurred during the operational phase.
TEAMWORK IN SUCCESSFUL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT OF ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
Authors: Seniwongse Sinit
Published: February 2025

This paper addresses the methodology and the art of construction management of road infrastructure projects from the viewpoint of practicing engineers using teamwork amongst organizations, which include owners, design engineers, consultants, construction managers, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, local residents, publics, and owners of other utilities. The author points out that most construction management text books and research papers have been written by academia without actual construction or management experience, and that successful construction management of infrastructures is not a simple task. To demonstrate this point, the collapse of the roof of the tunnel in the Big Dig project in Massachusetts and the collapse of the pedestrian bridge during installation in Florida in 2017 are mentioned. Both collapses cost the lives of road users and millions of dollars in litigations. The paper gives the factors contributing to successful teamwork as leadership, communication, collaboration, trust, transparency, common goal and mutual benefits. Using these traits, the author describes the construction management using teamwork concept in the successful completion of many road restoration projects in Chicago. It is concluded that the approach can be used equally well in other infrastructure projects of any sizes in USA or any other countries.
NEURAL NETWORK AND PROBABILTY BASED COST EXPECTATION LIMIT MODEL FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING COST
Authors: Amusan Lekan , Opeyemi Joshua , Ebuoluwa Adeyemi , Omuh Ignatius
Published: February 2025

The aim of this study is to develop a Cost Expectancy Limit Model that could assist clients in having proactive information about construction cost expectation of a particular building type with a view of assisting the client in proactive determination of expected construction cost of a building under predetermined conditions. Two population frames were used in this context. First, a population frame of 1500 samples of actual construction cost of residential building in Lagos state Nigeria out of which 1000 samples of As-built cost (Actual cost) of residential buildings were used, in artificial neural network data training and model development using MATLAB Neuro tools. The second population sample was 250 samples of construction professionals, out of which 200 samples was picked for purpose of questionnaire administration to capture data on factors that could influence building cost expectancy. Mean Item Score, Simple Percentage, and Relative Agreement Index of SPSS package was used to analyze and process the data. Cost expectancy limit was developed with parameters trained with Artificial Neural Networks, while factors that influence the accurateness of the expectancy model were articulated, such as economic factors, political factors, activity of maestros, macro and micro economic variables, and corruption factors, among others. The study recommends the use of the model and strategy for effectiveness in accurate prediction of construction cost among other things.
BUILDING INFORMATICS NEURAL NETWORK AND REGRESSION HEURISTICS PROTOCOL FOR MAKING DECISIONS IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Authors: Amusan Lekan M. , Omuh Ignatius O. , Mosaku Timothy O.
Published: February 2025

Building Informatics is a body of knowledge that uses the ICT computer system, digital systems, building information modeling, and state-of-the-art software in solving technical and management issues in building and construction fields. One of the modern methods used in data forecasting and modeling is Artificial Neural Networks, considering its advantage over traditional regression method. A data sample was taken of 1500 residential building projects' completion costs. Regression analysis was carried out and model validated with functionality and Jackknife re-sampling technique. 150 Questionnaires were used to capture data on factors influencing application of heuristics protocol for decisions in residential building construction projects and data samples were analyzed using severity index, ranking, and simple percentages. Analysis of data brought up some factors that influence effective application of heuristic protocol in solving decision problems in construction decision process. The linearity analysis was carried out on the model and results indicated high level of tolerance and-0.0876 lowest variation prediction quotients to 0.9878 highest variation quotients. Also, 0.069 regression model fitness coefficient (R-square) was generated with 0.9878 highest variation quotients with standard error of 0.045. The results data attests to the stability of the model generated and the model is flexible in accommodating new data and variables, thus, allows for continuous updating.
CONCEPTUAL STAKEHOLDER THEORY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Authors: Tchumtcha Wembe Paulin
Published: February 2025

Stakeholder management is an important part of management notion particularly in project management today. In recent years, the concept of stakeholder grows comprehensively among academics and professionals. Despite the widespread stakeholder management, the theory is not straightforward to understand and apply. One of the reasons is the number of theories in literature. Literature reviews reveal the following as stakeholder management theories: normative, instrumental, descriptive, convergent stakeholder and social science stakeholder theories. The research employs existing literature to develop a contemporary understanding of stakeholder management theory of stakeholder management. This paper contributes to the stakeholder management theory by presenting the new concept of stakeholder management theory using two cultures (Western and Chinese cultures in Africa). These management approaches can be classified as Western and Chinese models. The Western model is contractual by nature, while the Chinese model is characterized by informality (guanxi). The new stakeholder management theory called "Accustom theory". The new stakeholder management theory developed-"Accustom theory"-had a lot to do with the stakeholder management in project management. It deals with hard skills, soft skills, and the power structure skills. This paper contributes to stakeholder management theory by presenting accustom theory as a new perspective of stakeholder management theory. The new theory aims to improve the practice of project management by presenting how formality, participation and communication levels in projects improve stakeholders' satisfaction.
STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF INCENTIVES FORM STATE-OF-THE-ART NET-ZERO ENERGY HOUSES
Authors: Rafsanjani Davoud Sahban , Sharma Deepak , Tran Tung , Nguyen Phoung
Published: February 2025

Over the past several years, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported that buildings consume about 40% of the total energy produced. As a consequence, buildings emit high volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2). The ever-increasing population demand implies that buildings will continue their consumption and emit gasses in high proportions if appropriate steps are not taken. Federal and state agencies offer various financial incentives to motivate homeowners to adopt energy efficient alternatives. In this research, major cash inflows and outflows are identified for Net Zero Energy Houses (NZEH) and breakeven analysis is conducted by considering that the houses are constructed in two US states having significantly different climatic conditions. The cash inflows considered in this research are from Federal and State incentive programs and savings generated by adopting NZEH. Sensitivity analysis is also conducted to determine the impact of variation in in government incentives, market interest rate, electricity rates and rate of construction. Results show that when some of the incentives are utilized the breakeven for a NZEH construction could be less than 4 years. Sensitivity analysis shows that the breakeven is most sensitive to changes in government incentives and market interest rate.
PROJECT MANAGERS' RESPONSIBILITIES IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY IN EDUCATION
Authors: Mazzetto Silvia
Published: February 2025

The success of a project is not only built upon the performance of the team involved but also on the contribution of the project manager and the other participants such as the client, stakeholders, consultant, suppliers, and authorizing bodies. In particular, the project managers' contribution in coordinating and leading the participants is fundamental to the project success. The research hypothesis addressed in this paper is to investigate how a multidisciplinary collaboration experience between two departments, using a Work-Based Learning (WBL) method, can improve students' training while handling responsibilities in project management. This paper presents a practical approach to the teaching of Project Management, based on multidisciplinary collaboration protocol developed by the College of Engineering at Qatar University. Collaboration between two Project Management courses was repeated for two years, involving students of both disciplines in a joint assignment (a collaborative project). During the experience, the project managers' responsibilities were analyzed and evaluated by the students. Outcomes of the study show that because there is a close correspondence between project manager's skills, interpersonal action, and readiness to take responsibility, the success of a project is strongly influenced by the capabilities of its leader. The paper meditates on the contribution of the multidisciplinary experience in developing students' capabilities and responsibilities when working on a collaborative project, improving entrepreneurship's performance and building new ways of collaboration in higher education.
OPTIMISING COLLABORATIVE LEARNING AND GROUP WORK AMONGST TERTIARY STUDENTS
Authors: Arashpour Mehrdad , Lamborn Julia , Farzanehfar Parisa
Published: February 2025

Team work and group assessments have become very common in the higher education context with the aim of enhancing communication skills and student engagement. However, group member accountability introduces a new challenge and constraint to groups in achieving their best performance. To investigate this issue, the current research analyzes the relationship between performance of individual members and group composure to test their relationship and dependency. Towards this research aim, individual and group marks in several units in were analyzed statistically. Empirical results show that there is tendency amongst same-gender students to team up together and this has a significant impact on group results. The current research contributes to improvement of theory and practice in higher education and identifies opportunities to enhance effectiveness of group work.
CURRENT PRACTICES OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
Authors: Abdelaty Ahmed , Shrestha K. Joseph
Published: February 2025

Construction education is dynamic and practice oriented. As such, effective construction programs require significant collaboration with the construction industry. This collaboration, in the form of internship or cooperative programs, increase the student readiness for the job market by providing valuable field experience. Construction programs in the United States (US) established several internship requirements that range from being optional to multiple required internships. This study focuses on scanning the current internship requirements set by construction and engineering technology programs in the US by gathering information including; 1) Number and length of required internships, 2) Internship prerequisites, 3) Internship deliverables, 4) assessment method. The outcome of this study is expected to help construction programs improve their internship or cooperative requirements by considering the prevailing practices developed by other schools. Additionally, the study provides recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of internship for positive experiential learning.
ASSESSMENT OF BLENDED LEARNING EDUCATION MODEL: UPTAKE AND REASONS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION
Authors: Ojelabi Rapheal Abiodun , Afolabi Adedeji Olushola , Omuh Ignatius Owoicho , Tunji-Olayeni Patience Fikiyemo
Published: February 2025

The emergence and integration of information technology in modern age education training have changed the face of education across the globe. The need for the blend of information and communication technology tools in construction education training is of the high essence as it enhances students learning capacity through visuals and other means. Therefore, the study investigates the level of the blend of ICT with the traditional method of learning among lecturers within the built environment departments in Covenant University in Nigeria and reasons for its use were also examined. A survey method was adopted for the study; 125 structured questionnaires were administered to the randomly selected lecturers and 100 were retrieved. The data collected was analyzed with Mean item score, percentage, and Mann-Whitney U respectively. The result revealed that the adoption of the ICT tools, which include interactive whiteboards PowerPoint, a learning management system, and video clips among the lecturers is very high. The reasons attributed to its use is due to the visual platform it provides for the students while weblogs, web conferencing, and mobile phone were the lesser used tools. In conclusion, the study recommends that Covenant University management should increase the funding of ICT tools and also enhance the lecturers training in the use of blended learning style.
ADOPTION OF CLOUD BASED LEARNING IN INSTITUTES OF HIGHER LEARNING
Authors: Kukoyi Olawale , Aigbavboa Clinton
Published: February 2025

Every developing nation is moving away from the typical classroom teaching to the evolution of the 21st century. Most developed countries and nations have progressed beyond traditional learning methods in classrooms to virtual environment means of learning, which includes cloud-based learning. However, the same cannot be said of the academic system in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria. Based on this knowledge, this study would aim to look at the challenges faced in the adoption of cloud-based learning and teaching service delivery in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria. It will also consider the benefits and drivers for cloud-based learning in the country. This study shall be conducted using systematic reviews from relevant literature published on cloud-based learning and indexed on top rated databases like Springer, Emerald insight and Scopus. Findings from this study would show the benefits and drivers for adopting cloud-based learning and its impact on those promoting academic productivity in the country, which includes the learners in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria. Further findings from this study will highlight ways to deal with challenges observed from the adoption of cloud-based learning in institutes of higher learning in the country and how governmental support can aid in using cloud-based learning to improve the quality of education delivered in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria as benefited by developed nations across the world.
ROLE OF INDUSTRY EMPLOYERS IN FOSTERING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Authors: Aliu John , Aigbavboa Clinton , Thwala Wellington
Published: February 2025

Graduate skills and employability discussions have continued to be a contentious issue for both international and local employers. The concerns of industry employers stem from their inability to acquire graduates with the requisite skills and competencies to effectively solve arising industry problems. This concern has led employers to cast blames on higher education institutions (HEIs), who they feel are responsible for the development of these skills which employers continuously seek from fresh graduates. Subsequently, present-day employers have sought innovative ways to train and re-train new employees to help ease their transition into the world of work. This paper identifies the various approaches and ways by which industry employers develop the required skills of graduates. An extant review of literature was conducted from databases such as Academic Search Complete, ASCE conference proceedings, EBSCOhost, Emerald, ERIC, Science Direct, Scopus, Springer, Taylor and Francis online, amongst others. One of the primary findings stemming from this study revealed that in-house training, job rotation, coaching and mentoring, and cross-functional teams are some of the key approaches by which industry employers can develop skills and competencies among fresh graduates. This study concludes that HEIs are not solely responsible for the development of employability skills among graduates, but reckons that both the employers of labour and graduates themselves have a crucial role to play in the construction education discourse.
KNOWLEDGE ENABLED TECHNOLOGY SELECTION FOR SEWER CONDITION ASSESSMENT
Authors: Zeb Jehan
Published: February 2025

To improve the quality of life of communities, local government provides municipal services, including the sewer collection, effectively and efficiently employing asset management best practices. The condition assessment of assets (including the sewer collection system) is one of the core elements of implementing effective asset management across the utility organizations. Availability of sophisticated and complex condition assessment technologies, lack of common understanding about them and related high cost associated with sewer condition assessment requires the technologies and related knowledge to be explicitly defined in a neutral format-the ontology, to support the development of applications for technology selection. An ontology of condition assessment technologies for sewer network, CATS_Onto was developed following a seven-step approach at two levels of abstraction: meta-model and detailed ontology. This paper presents the development and verification of the meta-model. The proposed ontology will be used to develop a tool for the selection of the most appropriate technology for sewer condition assessment. The knowledge representation was verified while validation is underway.
ANALYSIS OF THE MAINTENANCE WORK ORDER DATA IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Authors: Besiktepe Deniz , Ozbek Mehmet E. , Atadero Rebecca A.
Published: February 2025

The growing number of aging buildings is of critical importance to the economic and social well-being of a country. For institutional organizations, particularly those with large building portfolios, an effective facility management approach is required to ensure these buildings function properly for their missions. As a part of facilities management, building maintenance activities occupy a significant role in reaching the goal of delivering an acceptable level of performance while minimizing costs and failures. Historical work order data may potentially include a substantial value for assessing the condition of building systems by helping to identify frequent and common building maintenance activities. As an exploratory study on building maintenance activities in educational institutions, this paper conducts an analysis of historical work order data collected from six educational institutions in the State of Colorado and Connecticut in the United States between 2008 and 2018. Within this context, a total of 877,668 work orders have been analyzed to identify possible trends of the maintenance activities with building age and building type. The results of this study provide a preliminary understanding of the frequent maintenance activities in the data sets with their relations of building age and building type. The need for the comprehensive statistical analysis is apparent to better understand any possible trends in the maintenance activities and their correlations between building age and building type.
COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATION OF TWO DESIGN METHODS FOR SLAB-ON-GRADE FOUNDATIONS SUBJECTED TO CONCENTRATED LOADS
Authors: Jlilati Mohamad Nazieh , Brown Vicki Lee , Tang Xiaochao
Published: February 2025

The concrete slab-on-grade is a type of shallow foundation commonly used in warehouse and other industrial facilities. The slab is constructed in formwork set into the ground with concrete poured directly onto compacted subgrade. Slab-on-grade foundations designed by the traditional linear elastic method may have overly conservative slab thicknesses. As the slab-on-grade foundation can account for up to 15% of construction costs for the projects in which they are employed, reduction in the slab thickness can result in significant cost savings. An alternate design method (Shentu et al. 1997) has been proposed but has not been widely accepted due to lack of confidence in its correlation with test results. The objectives of this study were to experimentally define a reasonable factor of safety for the Shentu method and compare with the traditional design method. Test slabs of varying thicknesses, 5 ft by 5 ft in area, were built on top of compacted local soils and aggregates inside a testing box and tested to failure under static loads to simulate storage rack post loads; companion slabs were constructed on top of compacted soils and aggregates and field-tested. Concrete mixes with and without fibers were used in the study. Factors of safety were determined. Test results indicate that the Shentu method is too liberal in its computations while the traditional design method is overly conservative.
CLAYEY SOIL TREATED BY CEMENT AND QUICKLIME BY MICROSTRUCTURE: A MINERALOGICAL ANALYSIS
Authors: Baqir Husam Hikmat , Al-Adili Aqeel , Al-Soudany Kawther , Shareef Ali
Published: February 2025

Soft clayey soil was treated by a combination of cement (PC) and Quicklime (LQ) in order to modify and stability. This study shows an improvement of clay soil brought from Garma Ali site in the Al Basra governorate, Iraq. The PC was added in percentages of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10%, and LQ was added to 2 and 4%, of dry weight. Also, this research used Microstructure Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) testing and Mineralogical Analysis by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) testing on the examination soil treated with mix between cement (PC) and Quicklime (LQ) for the purpose of knowing the reasons for the increase in the shear strength and decrease maximum dry density. Through the micrographs that result from the scanning electron microscoping and the curves of X-ray that demonstrate presentence, the formation of the hydration reaction product (CSH gel) shows tiny bristle (rod) crystals. The CSH gel and the tiny bristle (rod) crystals worked on coating and contact the particles together. The micrographs for soils treated with (2% LQ + 10% PC) show an increase in the amount hydrated gel (CSH) compared to the soil treated with 6% PC and 2% LQ and 8% PC and 4% LQ, but the number of bristle-like crystals decreases compared to soil treated by 8% PC and 4% LQ.
SLOPE STABILIZATION USING LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE
Authors: Varma Harshit , Shah Darshan , Sharma Deepak , Wadhwani Saahil
Published: February 2025

Landslides still concern transportation agencies. In 2017, the Big Sur coastline roadway in Monterey, California was buried under a landslide that displaced over 6 million cubic yards of mud. Though slope stabilization techniques have been successfully used in the past, the Big Sur landslide has highlighted the necessity for innovation. Through this paper, a new slope stabilization technique is proposed using Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) pins, used tires and vetiver grass. The paper includes a comparison of a retaining wall (a traditional slope stability alternative) with the proposed new technique. This includes stability analyses considering traditional and the proposed method. The analysis includes checking for overturning, sliding and bearing capacity failure for retaining wall and slope stability analysis for the proposed slope stabilization. The paper also includes cost comparison between the two alternatives. The results indicate that the proposed technique is stable and very comparable to traditional methods. Because the method uses waste material the proposed method costs significantly less than traditional approaches.
CALCULATION OF THE NATURAL VIBRATIONAL FREQUENCY OF THE PULSE-LOADED EMBEDDED FOUNDATION
Authors: Kolesnikov Aleksey , Popov Vladimir , Kostiuk Tatiana
Published: February 2025

Applicability of formulas obtained within the framework of wave model and Russian design code SP 26.13330.2012 were considered to determine the dynamic stiffness in respect to vertical and horizontal vibrations of shallow and pile embedded foundations. The target is to calculate the system’s varying natural vibrational frequencies regarding the deepening. Obtained results are compared with experimental data of a series of pulse dynamic loadings under half-full-scale conditions on foundation models. Values of transversal wave velocities are found directly on test section from test results. It is found that deepening results in natural vibrational frequencies growth, both in case of pile and shallow foundations. Full deepening of more than 1.6 times increases frequencies at horizontal vibrations, and up to 1.4 times at vertical vibrations; the effect is stronger for shallow foundations. Benefit of the results obtained by wave model against the SP 26.13330.2012 method is demonstrated, as well as the good agreement between calculation and experimental results, which permits finding reliable amplitude-frequency characteristics of the foundations. Results obtained in accordance with SP 26.13330.2012 show lower values of natural vibrational frequencies and do not completely regard the deepening effect. Maximal discrepancy with experimental data is 33% for vertical vibrations on shallow and pile foundations. In case of horizontal vibrations, the maximal discrepancy is from 20% for shallow foundation to 27% for shallow and pile foundation.
BIOCLIMATIC ANALYSIS OF MECHE'S HOUSE: A CONSTRUCTION ALTERNATIVE
Authors: Ortiz Mauro Cepeda , Flores Santiago Morales , Villacis Enrique
Published: February 2025

Meche's House is an alternative post-disaster construction, and this is the study of its bioclimatic approach showing that social and post-disaster buildings also need this kind of research. Tropical climate conditions lead to buildings having a high energy consumption for cooling loads. In Ecuador, the energy consumption of the residential area is 28.78% of final demand. Also, there is very little relevant information on the analysis of bioclimatic design in buildings, as well as specific analysis of interior comfort. The carried-out analysis process considered methods of bioclimatic evaluation, which mainly focuses on building the user's comfort. For this reason, in the first place, the site climatic conditions and possible passive intervention strategies were determined. Followed by the evaluation of natural ventilation with which it was possible to evaluate the effectiveness of natural ventilation through simulations in Computational Fluid Dynamics program. Furthermore, thermal comfort analysis using an Energy Plus program is used for comparing the internal temperature ranges versus indoor natural ventilation. Finally, the data is discussed under an adaptive comfort and user perception of satisfaction. This research confirms the need to carry out bioclimatic evaluations of projects conceived under a good line of architectural design, since only in this way will it be possible to demonstrate that the proposed considerations and strategies have positive or negative outcomes.