bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of gambier monopoly index in West Sumatra Province
Authors: Hendri M , Fairuzi S
Published: May 2023

Gambier production in Indonesia comes from smallholder plantations. West Sumatra Province is the leading producer of gambier, with a supply of around 80-90 per cent of the total national gambier production. Based on empirical data, when the selling price of gambier exports increases or fluctuates, the selling price of gambier farmers does not increase as much as the price increase at the level of exporter traders. This condition creates marketing inefficiency. The monopoly index (MPI) is one way to measure marketing efficiency based on the performance of each marketing agency. In this regard, the current business environment is also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This study analyzed the monopoly level on the Gambier marketing channel in West Sumatra during the covid 19 pandemic. A survey was conducted in this study. The type of data used in this research is cross-section data. Respondents in this study were gambier farmers, gambier traders, and gambier exporters in Padang City, Lima Puluh Kota, and Pesisir Selatan Regency. The analytical method used in this study is using the Lerner index. Based on the analysis of the monopoly index, it is known that exporters have an enormous monopoly index value compared to other marketing institutions, where the collecting trader has a monopoly index of 4.84, inter-regional traders have 2.09, and exporters have 12.81 MDI. These values showed that exporters dominate gambier marketing in West Sumatra Province. The strong position of exporters in determining prices and marketing gambier is also influenced by cooperation with inter-regional traders (IRT).
Rice farming business risk analysis in Padang City
Authors: Azriani Z , Budiman C , Hidayat R
Published: May 2023

Based on the Area Sample Framework (KSA) results, rice production in West Sumatra has decreased by 6 per cent from 2019 to 2020. This shows that rice farming still faces various risks affecting its production and productivity. As the main farming actors, farmers receive the most significant impact and risk due to climate-related disasters. Farmers must bear risks in production, price, market, financial, technological, social, legal, and human risks. Production risk occurs due to yield fluctuations due to various factors that are difficult to predict (climate change, extreme weather, floods, droughts, and pest attacks). This study aims to (1) identify the risks of rice farming in Padang City and (2) measure the magnitude of rice farming risks faced by farmers in Padang City. Data were collected using questionnaires from 30 farmers. The results showed that the risks faced by farmers were the risk of land management, the risk of flooding, risk of drought and the risk of pest and disease attacks. The risk faced by farmers in their farming business as a whole is low. The risk of flooding and drought has a large percentage of greater risk. The flood risk mitigation carried out by farmers, in general, is to let their land be flooded, while farmers carry out drought risk management by looking for water sources.
Analysis of oil palm smallholder income during replanting in Siak Regency,Riau
Authors: Siswati L , Insusanty E , Susi N , Nizar R , Wahyudiono A
Published: May 2023

Oil palm replanting farmers lose income, and it is necessary to look for other sources of income oil Palm replanting have loss. The purpose of the study was to identify the types of food crops and to know the analysis of farming as well as the income contribution of oil palm and food crop farmers in Siak Regency. The method used was a survey method by collecting data through questionnaires, interviews and field observations. Respondents were taken using purposive sampling based on specific criteria: farmers who cultivate oil palm and food crops, Kerinci Kanan District with 37 people and Koto Gasib District with 80 people. Data analysis used farming analysis to determine the amount of farm income in 1 year and analysis of the R/C Ratio (Revenue Cost Ratio) and income contribution. The results showed that there were several types of food crops, namely sweet corn, cayenne pepper, long beans and cassava. Data be used to measuring income from palm oil and food crops. The income analysis of oil palm and food crop farming in units of ha/year is Rp24,373,057 + Rp62,327,713 = Rp86,700,770 /ha/year, and the income of oil palm and food crop farmers in ha/month are Rp2,031,088 + IDR5,193,976 = Rp7,225,064 ha/month. Based on the R/C ratio analysis of the two feasible commodities to be cultivated, the R/C values are 3.82 for oil palm farming and 1.92 for food crop farming, respectively. The contribution of food crops to the total income of farmers at the time was 71.89%, and palm oil contribution was 28.17%.
Conservation of agricultural genetic resources as an indicator of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia
Authors: Hidayatun N , Sabran M , Susilowati D , Kurniawan H , Herlina L , Dewi N
Published: May 2023

Food security and sustainable agriculture are among the priorities on the global agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indonesia adopted the SDGs and committed to implementing them at the national level. Among the priorities targeted in the implementation of SDGs in Indonesia are food security and sustainable agriculture. Indonesia’s richness in agricultural genetic resources is the potential to support the implementation of SDG 2.5.1. This paper describes the agricultural genetic resources management in Indonesia and its relevance for the implementation of SDGs 2.5.1. Data were collected from official and recommended sources. Around 20 stakeholders take a role in the management and conservation of agricultural genetic resources in Indonesia. At least 42.240 accessions of 1057 plant species including food crops, horticulture crops, estate crops, and forage were conserved ex-situ in those respective stakeholders. However, not all those conservation activities are able to support the implementation of SDG 2.5.1 due to the lack of information, less visibility, and some deficiencies in the management program. Particular efforts are required to establish better management of agricultural genetic resources at the national level, to improve their visibility, and to enable them to support SDGs 2.5.1.
Collembola community structure in two habitat types in Serang Agrotourism, Purbalingga, Central Java,Indonesia
Authors: Ambarningrum T B , Minarni E W , Pratiknyo H , Haryanto T
Published: May 2023

Collembola is a group of fauna that generally lives in the soil and has an important role as a bioindicator of soil fertility about its function as a detritivore. Habitat changes can cause the Collembola community to be disturbed. This study aims to determine the composition and abundance of Collembola on agrotourism land on the edge of the forest and agrotourism away from the forest in Serang Village, Karangreja District, Purbalingga Regency. The research was conducted by survey method with a purposive sampling technique using a pitfall trap. The enumeration was carried out in the Entomology and Parasitology Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto. The results showed that the composition of Collembola at both locations contained 9 families, namely Isotomidae, Entomobryidae, Hypogastruridae, Cypoderidae, Sminthuridae, Paronelidae, Neanuridae, Onychiuridae, and Neelidae, with abundance on forest edge areas higher (6147 individuals) than land further from the forest. (2961 individuals). The family Hypogastruridae was abundant on forest edge land (3014 individuals), while on land far from the forest the family Entomobryidae was the most abundant. There is no difference in the index of diversity, evenness, or dominance between forest edge land and land far from the forest in the agro-tourism area.
Will blockchain technology meets diffusion and adoption traceability technology of supply chain management?: a mangosteen farmers perspective
Authors: Vikaliana R , Mohd Rasi Raja Z R , Darno  , Rukmana H S , Irwansyah  , Sukarno I
Published: May 2023

Technology that suits the needs of the community can answer the problem and can be used easily and can increase economic and environmental value added. So that in its application it is needed the right pattern of technology dissemination is so that people as users can receive it physically and psychologically and mentally (accepted). This study aims to examine the acceptance of technology applications in the mangosteen supply chain management using blockchain technology. The study considers different conditions both socially, and environmentally, production capacity and products produced based on mangosteen commodity. This research was conducted with a qualitative approach by collecting primary data from 5 mangosteen farmers, 1 collector, and 1 quality controller of trader. The results show that the success of technology diffusion and adoption, especially blockchain technology, is greatly influenced by various factors such as the pattern of dissemination from technology providers, business scale, technological suitability, the readiness of the recipient or user of technology, and market response.
Phylogenetic analysis of sumatran Geocharis (Zingiberaceae) based on ITS sequences data
Authors: Zulaspita W , Syafira F , Nurainas  , Syamsuardi
Published: May 2023

The genus Geocharis is one of the genera in the ginger family. This genus is distributed in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Sabah, Sarawak, and the Philippines, where Sumatra is its main distribution. In this study, Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequence data were used to determine phylogenetic relationships among six species of Geocharis from Sumatra. A total of fourteen sequence data were analyzed in this study. Seven samples were analyzed at the Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular, Biology Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Andalas University, and seven others using sequence from GenBank. Voucher specimens are deposited at the Herbarium of Andalas (ANDA). The results showed that the Geocharis species were grouped into two main clusters, in which all species collected from Sumatra are in the same clade.
Bacterial dynamic profile in rhizosphere of Acacia mearnsii during early time transplantation
Authors: Pramudia D , Yunita R , Emalinda O , Nefilinda N , Shiddiq M M A , Syukriani L , Jamsari J
Published: May 2023

Land degradation is one of the major environmental problems in the agricultural sector. On the other hand, the increasing human population needs more and more agricultural products. For that reason, land reclamation using a plant-based approach showing fast-growing capability should be considered as one of the strategies for solving that problematic issue. Acacia mearnsii is one of the fast-growing plants and has high adaptability to some environmental stresses such as drought and fire. Furthermore, the species has shown its ability to increase soil nutrition indicated by its symbiotic capability with some nitrogen-fixing bacteria. In order to exploit and maximize such character, understanding bacterial population dynamics in the rhizosphere zone should ease the use of the species for phytoremediation purposes. A bacterial dynamic profile in the rhizosphere area was identified using the amplicon metagenome sequencing platform. The sequencing result shows Acacia mearnsii has an impact on the dynamic profile of the bacterial population in the rhizosphere, especially nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Preface for the CIB W070 Facility Management and Maintenance 2023 Conference proceeding
Authors: Klungseth Nora Johanne , Temeljotov-Salaj Alenka , Lindkvist Carmel Margaret , Lavy Sarel
Published: May 2023

1. Personal message from the editors

It has been an honor and a great experience arranging this conference, and working with the different authors, co-authors, reviewers and committees involved. We would like to thank all for the great efforts they have put into making this event successful.

We look forward to the future development of our profession and hope this conference inspires FM researchers, standardisation experts and FM professionals to pursue new paths and new collaborations ensuring our field of expertise continue to advance.

This proceeding is structured according to the sessions held at the conference.

List of About conference CIB W070 Facility Management and Maintenance 2023, Conference theme and topics in the call for abstracts, Event organisation, Overview of the conference program are available in this Pdf.
Digital transformation in facility management: An analysis of the challenges and benefits of implementing digital twins in the use phase of a building
Authors: Elyasi Navid , Bellini Alessia , Klungseth Nora Johanne
Published: May 2023

Digital transformation and the adoption of technologies in the AEC-sector can lead to efficiency gains in facility management (FM). Digital twins, that is a living representative of the physical asset building, can facilitate real-time data gathering, data monitoring, data-based decision making and support predictive management. The purpose of this study is to analyse the gap between theory and practice regarding the application of digital twins for FM and to understand the benefits and challenges connected with its implementation during the use phase of a building. Despite the growing interest in this topic in academia, the concept of digital twins in connection with FM is rarely employed in practice in the AEC-industry. The findings obtained through a literature review and a set of semi-structured interviews with experts in the field, show that the main challenges for digital twins in FM relate to the organisational culture and that a robust framework for information management is a benefit for digital twins’ implementation. The adoption of digital twins in the built environment needs to be considered in the context of digital transformation. The study supports practitioners with the adoption of digital technologies for the built asset and suggests that future research should examine in further depth the challenges of implementing digital twins.
The Norwegian proptech market – an incubator for game changers
Authors: Phan T , Boge K
Published: May 2023

Property and construction are some of world’s largest industries, but also some of the largest producers of waste and CO2-emissions. The property or real estate industry is currently undergoing a digital transformation. Property technology (proptech) is one of the driving forces for this transformation and enablers to establish a more sustainable society. This paper investigates the Norwegian market through 154 proprietary proptech established between 2013 – 2023. The aim is to understand how proprietary proptech are influencing the business practices and how the real estate industry’s overall capacity, efforts, and resources have been allocated in developing novel proptech. Three theoretical frameworks sociotechnical systems (STS), diffusion of innovation, and sustainability transitions, have been used to investigate how proptech influences the real estate industry and FM. The results suggest there are innovations coming from at least two unexpected places, namely customised modules moving faster than proprietary proptech, and game changers enabled by feedback loops from late stage and FM big data to early stage property development.
Facilities components’ reliability & maintenance services self-rating through big data processing
Authors: Piantanida P , Villa V , Vottari A , Aliev K
Published: May 2023

The availability of big data in the information modelling of buildings can be useful to improve maintenance strategies and activities that are integrated in a digital twin. In some countries, such as Italy, tender specifications for public works must avoid any reference to specific brands and models, both in building design and maintenance services: quality levels and service-life objectives must be defined solely through performance specifications with reference to national or international standards. This could be a critical issue when considering reliability and serviceability of facility components, because there are no official methods about the ratings or measurements on the aforementioned performances. To help solving this concern, a method is proposed to broaden the scope of the big data collected from IoT applied to facility components, so as to feed a general and public database capable of normalizing data on faults and the effects of maintenance interventions, e.g. by correlating them with actual running times and operating conditions. In this way, each component on the market can theoretically feed a public and accessible database that collects reports on the occurrence of faults and the maintenance results, thus statistically processing its propensity for durability, the effectiveness of maintenance, the maintainability propensity of components as well as their reliability (e.g. by assessing the interval between maintenance interventions). In this way, a standardization of reliability, maintainability and durability performances ratings for components and serviceability performance rating for facility maintenance services could boost the facility quality design and improve the maintenance management.
Future of the Facilities Management profession
Authors: Nenonen S , Lavy S , Graça M , Crepaldi R , Sandström N
Published: May 2023

The focus of facility managers used to be mostly about buildings and services. In this new post-Covid world, facility managers play an important role related to people and services. As organizations make significant transitions to hybrid and remote work, facilities management can ensure by its behalf that employees have productive and fulfilling relationships with their co-workers, their organizations, and their workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to identify short-, medium- and long-term professional challenges to facilities management profession caused by an increase in multilocational work. The short-term challenges may be temporary by nature, and they are based on the explorations of multilocational work. The medium-term challenges are based on a more permanent and stable situation. Long-term challenges are more fundamental by nature reflecting the constant transformation of people, processes, and buildings. The qualitative data were gathered from focus group discussions with Facilities Management professionals from five different continents. The data were organized in three different analyses. The short-term, medium-term, and long-term challenges were identified. The findings indicate that the role of a facility manager is becoming more prominent, and the facility manager should perceive this crisis as an opportunity to step up and support the organisation in its strategic policy. Facilities managers should position themselves as the liaison between the physical and the digital worlds so that they are valuable stakeholders in this emerging virtual space. The results of this study contribute to the development of facilities management training and professional development and shed light on future research needs for the profession.
Studying the influence of technology on the social connectedness of students: A hybrid university learning environment (HULE)
Authors: Wheele T , Lindkvist C , Weber C , Windlinger L , Haugen T
Published: May 2023

Student social connectedness is indicated to be changing as universities are becoming more digitalised. Although social connectedness is shown to have a significant influence on the learning process, little is understood about the relationship between student social connectedness and the hybrid university learning environment (HULE). This empirical study aims to develop understandings by exploring student social connectedness in a hybrid-style class at a Swiss university. The study applies theories of placemaking and socio-materiality to explore students’ self-reported and observed perceptions of individual social connectedness at the start of a university master’s level course. The qualitative study is conducted using questionnaire data and observational data collected over the first month of a new course starting in the Autumn semester. The findings indicate that although students favour flexibility to design their learning space, they require the appropriate tools and guidance in which to make effective decisions for their social connectedness. Understanding the correct implementation of co-design for the HULE is therefore deemed important to facilitate social connectedness, this is particularly necessary for the liminal space. These findings are preliminary as part of a larger research project and offer a basis for further research to be developed. This study offers an innovative perspective of the HULE based on student social connectedness, impacting the existing pedagogical approach for university courses.
Discussion of digital transition impact on the facility management sector applied to healthcare buildings.
Authors: Sampaio Rodrigo Pedral , Costa António Aguiar , Flores-Colen Inês
Published: May 2023

Since 2020, the rapid global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has generated unprecedented impacts on the management of hospital buildings, namely: (i) providing space for patients, medical staff, and equipment storage, (ii) imposition of limitations on access by the teams responsible for managing the building, (iii) adapting the space and its functionality quickly, (iv) ensuring continuous control of air quality and adequate ventilation of spaces, (v) development of digital tools for management, and (vi) assets monitoring in real-time. In addition, hospital buildings facilities’ deterioration rate is typically higher than in other buildings, enhanced by the fact that these facilities are open 24 hours a day, year-round. Thus, facilities management (FM) assumes a vital role in the future of healthcare facilities. FM is expected to grow at a 5% annual rate for 2021-2028, representing an acceleration of the industry at a global level. Furthermore, Industry 4.0 may positively impact the FM processes. As a new industrial revolution, providing a set of new approaches and tools will increase the efficiency of operations, significantly impacting the potential of optimization. These trends can improve planning and management of scope, costs, environment, and safety in the value chain of projects and assets, thus creating a more resilient and sustainable industry. Based on a literature review, this paper contributes to the discussion of the questions: How can the digital transition improve the management of the operation and maintenance of infrastructure in healthcare facilities? What is the legacy for FM teams in this post-COVID-19 management of hospital buildings?
Improving residents’ wellbeing in senior citizen homes with more individualized food services
Authors: Gerber N , Merkle T
Published: May 2023

Currently, food services in Swiss senior citizen homes heavily depend on the presence and working hours of human resources. For most residents, there is currently no possibility to eat according to their individual needs or preferences. However, trends like flexible catering, the reduction of the importance of lunch as main meal of the day or the “snackification” will influence service delivery in senior citizen homes in the future. At the same time, staff shortage and decreasing financial means force institutions to find new service designs. The goal was to find out how the wellbeing of residents in senior citizen homes can be improved by providing more individualized food services. Based on literature, a mixed-method research approach was chosen, combining expert interviews and a survey amongst management and staff representatives of Swiss senior citizen homes. It becomes clear that a more flexible food service provision needs to be thought in a holistic context encompassing the whole organisation, including not only hospitality staff but also management and care professionals.
On knowing what is inside the walls – Challenges to Asset Management from a product perspective
Authors: Mohn K , Lohne J
Published: May 2023

The purpose of the study is to understand the current state of the art for what concerns the understanding of what assets in use actually consist of. The lack of adequate laws and regulations for the operation phase of assets is well known – the reasons for and the consequences of this lack needs being understood for sustainable management of assets. The research reported on has been based on 1) a document study of key rules and regulations within the Norwegian context, 2) international standards (in particular ISO 19650-series, part 3), 3) a literature review to establish the current state of affairs within the international research literature, and 4) a series of 22 informal interviews with key actors within the Norwegian AECOO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Organisation and Operations)-sector. The interviewees include actors from different clients, consultancies, contractors, professional bodies and regulatory bodies. Current industry structures hinder improvements. Silos increase cost. The distance between parties e.g. clients and advisors, trades and (sub) contractors leads to a lack of control over the product coming out form the construction processes. The fragmented processes – from design via construction to operations – implies that there is little control over the products that are put into assets. In addition to this, the procurement processes is currently situate outside these processes – leaving little control over the actual products being procured and employed. The need for regulation of the products within assets in the built environment. This concerns both their implementation in the construction processes and for their actual use in the operations phase of assets.
A real estate life cycle meta-instrument assessing and enabling sustainable decision-making and management for real estate owners and stakeholders
Authors: Wrase Isabelle , Bernegger Heinz , Meslec Mihaela
Published: May 2023

There is a need for real estate lifecycle instruments to address the new regulations. So far, no instrument includes all sustainability dimensions in all phases of real estate, due to the heterogeneity of the underlying data. In addition, the leverage of the digital transformation in the sustainability transition is yet to be addressed. The aim of this study is how a meta-instrument should be structured to overcome the existing contradictory challenges in sustainability and to enable sustainable decision-making and management for real estate owners. This study examines this question by applying the following methodological approach: 61 literature studies were re-viewed, and concepts and systems were examined, which contain partial solutions at individual levels, be it for sustainability assessment, for the monetarization of sustainability aspects or for the maturity of technical systems. These instruments have their shortcomings as they only map individual aspects, but do not offer a comprehensive life cycle management solution for portfolio holders. Within the framework of this study, a new concept for a tool was developed, allowing to combine the various levels of real estate life cycle, sustainability, and digitalisation in a single holistic model. This multidimensional model was optimised using experts’ opinions collected in 2 workshops. The first results reveal the applicability of the developed instrument but remains difficult to manage by potential users. The novelty of the approach comes from considering the entire life cycle, technical and management processes enabled by digitalisation.
ESG monitoring and optimisation solutions and their return on investment: results of several case studies
Authors: Redlein A , Baretschneider C , Thrainer L
Published: May 2023

In 2021 the European Union defined the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) directive to foster sustainability. As the real estate sector is responsible for around 40% of the CO2 emissions, this industry has to carry out additional sustainability reporting and optimisation activities to prove its assets are fulfilling sustainability goals. Most investors concentrate on energy- and CO2 reduction, but ESG is much more. The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations give a perfect overview of the related topics but do not define KPIs. A second challenge is that the market has not honoured the additional tasks by now. Automation is necessary to reduce efforts of the activities The paper provides answers to the following research questions based on several case studies: What are the relevant parameters to prove ESG, focusing especially on the areas of “Environment” and “Social” as parts of the ESG directive? How can an IT support look like to automatise the data gathering efficiently? What is the Return on Investment of the suggested solution? The research focuses on historical buildings as they usually have a low degree of building automation. The solution is to enable efficient, automated optimisation of energy consumption and safeguard the well-being of the tenants with low investment.
Sustainability of the government policy on social housing construction in South Africa: the emerging issues
Authors: Amoah C
Published: May 2023

South Africa began constructing free affordable housing for less privileged citizens due to apartheid policies. The policy implementation has, over the years, experienced many issues. This study sought to assess the affordable housing policy’s sustainability from the construction professionals’ perspective. A qualitative research approach was used to interview randomly selected construction professionals with experience with social housing construction in South Africa. The data received were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings present some significant issues that endanger the sustainability of the government’s free social housing policy. These issues are corruption in the allocation process, poor housing quality; the economy may not be able to support, lack of job opportunities leading to migration of the beneficiaries, no plan to reduce government dependency, disregard for environmental issues and lack of framework, among others. The government’s failure to institute effective policies to guard the construction processes negatively affects the main stakeholders’ confidence in the housing implementation and threatens this noble policy’s sustainability. This study reveals the wrongs identified by construction professionals involved in the construction of the free houses, which threatens the policy sustainability. The findings will give the government insight into policy problem areas that must be examined to strengthen policy sustainability.
Urban FM and POPS – implications for UN’s SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Authors: Holsen T , Boge K
Published: May 2023

Urban FM (UFM) is usually understood as micro level Facility Management (FM) methods and tools applied on macro level challenges in communities and neighbourhoods in urban areas, among others to improve the citizens’ wellbeing. UFM is also often associated with smart cities, technology, and UN’s SDGs. However, many studies of UFM overlook property rights and other institutional matters that establish many of the ground rules. Property rights are frequently understood as a bundle of rights, i.e., the right of use (USUS), the right of enjoyment (USUS FRUCTUS), and the right of disposition (ABUSUS). UFM usually takes place across property boundaries, on properties with disparate bundles of rights, including restrictions through public zoning. Many urban transformation projects have established privately owned public spaces (POPS), leading to a restructured division of responsibilities between public authorities and private owners in the management, design, access control, and use of urban public spaces. This paper investigates whether and under which conditions UFM and management of POPS can contribute to realisation of UN’s SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, hereunder to facilitate development of inclusive, safe, robust, and sustainable cities and local communities.
Quality of Life: alignment of FM with the SDGs
Authors: Ballesty S
Published: May 2023

The ISO 41000 series of Facility Management (FM) standards, with 51 countries participating, contributes directly to the future of the FM profession and its value proposition. These FM standards, with seven (7) published plus five (5) more under development in 2022, provide a common language and framework for FM worldwide to support the consistent delivery of services, enhanced performance and the managing of risks. The United Nations 2030 Agenda has at its heart the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries, developed and developing, in a global partnership to meet the challenge. The development of ISO/TR 41019 ‘The role of FM in sustainability and resilience’ (2022 working title) will be a technical report demonstrating the alignment of FM standards with the SDGs for improved effectiveness, efficiency and wellbeing of organisations and individuals. Australia has taken the lead on the delivery of this defining project for Sustainable FM in the pursuit of a more productive, sustainable and liveable Built Environment for all.
Overcoming sustainability barriers in facilities management by a project management framework for project governance
Authors: Conedera R , Zahid A , Andersen B , Klungseth N J
Published: May 2023

The world needs to transform in sustainable ways, in large part due to the environmental hazards caused by and negative effects of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The AEC industry, including facilities management (FM), is a key stakeholder in sustainability issues and responsible for a large part (40% on average) of climate gas emissions. This concern has led to growing interest among academics and practitioners in the AEC and FM fields in the topic of sustainability. Nevertheless, many barriers to applying sustainability principles in practice remain, rendering their application difficult in fields such as project management (PM), where it has moved from the fringes toward the centre of traditional practice. This paper aims to explore a theoretical PM framework to analyse barriers to sustainability encountered in organisations with direct applications to the AEC and FM sectors through the perspective of project governance. Our findings derive from a literature review (97 articles published between 2003 and 2021) categorising types of barriers related to sustainability implementation and grouping their components. The study showcases the main factors hampering organisations in the incorporation of sustainability principles and how these can be overcome to move toward sustainable development. A total of seven categories of barriers to sustainability resulted from the study; here, we analyse two categories in detail.
Decarbonisation of the Built Environment: using integrated life cycle and carbon emissions reporting
Authors: Ballesty S , Sawhney A
Published: May 2023

The built environment sector must significantly reduce carbon emissions throughout the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life stages. As decarbonisation targets and regulations are announced, construction professionals must implement workflows that allow stakeholders to make prudent decisions. The cost of decarbonisation is one such workflow that needs to be addressed so options can be compared and capital expenditure and operational expenditure decisions can be made. The International Cost Management Standard (ICMS) 3rd edition provides an integrated taxonomy for classifying, defining, measuring, recording, analysing, presenting, and comparing entire life cycle costs and carbon emissions of constructed assets at a regional, national, or international level. With the help of two case studies, the importance of internationally agreed standards to achieve decarbonisation targets and decarbonise the construction sector cost-effectively will be discussed. The discussion will also highlight the role of downstream experts such as quantity surveyors, facility managers, and project managers in the decarbonisation efforts. ICMS-based solutions support sustainable investment strategies by bringing much-needed transparency and cross-border comparability of embodied and operational carbon across the life cycle of construction projects. The use of ICMS benefits all construction stakeholders who wish to reduce carbon for compliance, market, and societal reasons and drive innovation in alternative designs and solutions.
OC-001 THE ISOLATION, CULTURE AND CHARACTERISATION OF HUMAN RECTUS SHEATH FIBROBLASTS: THE BIRTH OF TISSUE ENGINEERING THE ABDOMINAL WALL AND A LIVING MESH?
Authors: Whitehead-Clarke T , Grillo A , Mudera V , Kureshi A
Published: May 2023

Aim

To isolate human rectus sheath fibroblasts (hRSFs) from tissue samples, and characterise those cells - establishing their capacity to contract collagen matrix.

Methods

Samples of posterior rectus sheath were taken from 3 patients undergoing stoma formation. Samples underwent collagenase digestion, and isolated cells grown in culture media. Cultures were grown to confluence at 2nd passage, then cryopreserved. Cells were successfully thawed and re-animated at 3rd passage. 3 Cell lines of hRSFs and one of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) were all studied. Cell lines were assessed for their morphology and underwent immunofluorescent staining for Vimentin and α-smooth muscle actin. Cell lines were also seeded into collagen matrices to assess stromal contraction.

Results

Our protocol produced confluent clusters of fibroblasts within 2 weeks, and healthy cultures of cells into their 3rd passage within 6 weeks. Cells were successfully cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen after 3rd passage and were thawed and reanimated thereafter. Notable differences in morphology were observed between different cell lines – all of which stained positively for vimentin and α-smooth muscle actin. All cell lines induced a different speed of contraction within a collagen matrix from the HDFs achieving 82% contraction after 5 days, to 54% in the slowest RSF group.

Conclusion

Our work is the first to describe the isolation and characterisation of human rectus sheath fibroblasts and prove the concept of their introduction into 3D tissue models. This work opens exciting future prospects of both forming 3D models of rectus sheath tissue and in vitro mesh testing.
OC-003 SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES OF A MULTICENTRE PROSPECTIVE STUDY USING POLYVINYLIDENE FLUORIDE ONLAY MESH FOR THE PREVENTION OF MIDLINE INCISIONAL HERNIA
Authors: Rodicio J , Miguel C San , Lopez-Monclus J , Moreno M , Lopez P , Amoza S , Lopez A , Bear I , Sanz L , Garcia-Ureña M A
Published: May 2023

Aim

Prophylactic meshes in high-risk patients prevent incisional hernias, although there are still some concerns about the best layer to place them in, the type of fixation, the mesh material, the significance of the level of contamination, and surgical complications. We aimed to provide answers to these questions.

Material and Methods

This is a prospective multicentre observational cohort study. Preliminary results from the first three months are presented. We included general surgical patients who had at least two risk factors for developing an incisional hernia. MRIs were performed six weeks after treatment. A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) mesh loaded with iron particles was used in an onlay position.

Results

Between July 2016 and June 2022, 190 patients were enrolled in the study with a mean age of 65.2 (13.3) years and a mean BMI of 27.3 (4.8) kg/m2. Surgery was emergent in 31.6% of cases, contaminated in 12.1% and dirty in 11.1%. A total of 5.8% of cases had postoperative wound infections, with BMI being the only significant risk factor (OR = 1.16). The formation of a seroma at 1 month of follow-up was 19% also associated with BMI (OR = 1.11), decreasing to 1.2% at 3 months with 1.8% wound infection and 2.4% of incisional hernia.

Conclusions

The prophylactic use of onlay PVDF mesh in midline laparotomies in high-risk patients was safe and effective in the short term, regardless of the type of surgery or the level of contamination.
OC-007 ATHLETES TREATED FOR INGUINAL-RELATED GROIN PAIN BY ENDOSCOPIC TOTALLY EXTRAPERITONEAL (TEP) REPAIR: LONG-TERM BENEFITS
Authors: Meuzelaar R , Visscher L , Den Hartog F , Goedhart E , Schiphorst A , Burgmans I
Published: May 2023

Aim

Inguinal-related groin pain (IRGP) in athletes is a debilitating condition with a multifactorial origin. Hence, it creates difficulties in diagnosis and treatment, demanding a multidisciplinary approach. If conservative treatment fails, totally extra-peritoneal repair (TEP) has been shown effective in pain relief within 3 months, but results of long-term follow-up are sparse. For that reason, it is important to know whether these positive outcomes are maintained with longer term follow-up. This study aimed to evaluate whether these patients still benefit many years after the procedure.

Material & Methods

Patients that participated in the initial prospective, observational cohort study (TEP-ID-study) were subjected to two telephone questionnaires. The first questionnaire aimed to detect recurrence of initial complaints and the occurrence of new groin-related complaints. Secondly, physical functioning was assessed by using the Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score (HAGOS).

Results

Out of 32 male participants in the original study, 28 patients (88%) were available with a median follow-up of 83 months (range: 69–95). Seventy-five percent of athletes were pain-free during sports (p < 0.001). At very long-term follow-up, a median NRS of 0 was observed (IQR 0-2). This was a significant decrease compared to scores pre- and 3-months post-operatively (p ≤ 0.001). Although ten patients described recurrence of symptoms, physical functioning improved on all HAGOS subscales (p ≤ 0.005).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the safety and effectivity of TEP-repair in a prospective cohort of athletes with IRGP, for whom conservative treatment had failed, with a follow-up period of over 80 months.
OC-008 NEURAL NETWORKS PREDICTING HERNIA RECURRENCE AFTER ABDOMINAL WALL RECONSTRUCTION (AWR) PERFORM BETTER WITHOUT PREOPERATIVE IMAGING
Authors: Wilson H , Ma C , Ku D , Scarola G , Polcz M , Augenstein V , Colavita P , Heniford B T
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Image-based deep learning models (DLMs) have shown promise in predicting surgical complexity and wound complications for AWR with the potential to augment other clinical information in surgical decision-making. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a preoperative image-based DLM in predicting hernia recurrence.

Methods

A prospective single-institution database was queried for open AWR patients with preoperative CT imaging. Patient demographics and hernia recurrence were collected. Patient data were batched into training (80%) and test (20%) sets. A convolutional neural network was trained to evaluate image characteristics alone. A feedforward neural network (FNN) was also trained to evaluate clinical data alone. Another FNN was designed to incorporate the outputs from both models. The primary outcome was the ability to accurately predict hernia recurrence, as assessed by the area under the curve (AUC) for each model.

Results

There were 190 patients in this dataset who underwent AWR. Overall, 28 (14.7%) had a recurrence with a median follow up of 85 [56, 113] months. Preoperative CT imaging alone returned an AUC = 0.500. Clinical data alone performed better with an AUC = 0.667. Incorporating both models resulted in an AUC = 0.604.

Conclusions

In this study, the DLM with clinical data alone outperformed an image-based DLM in predicting recurrence. Clinical data alone also outperformed the model incorporating both clinical data and preoperative imaging. DLMs have shown significant potential to predict AWR outcomes and may be used in the future to guide care and aid in patient consent for surgery.
OC-023 INCIDENCE OF TRUE CONTRALATERAL METACHRONOUS INGUINAL HERNIA ON LONG TERM FOLLOW-UP AFTER UNILATERAL INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: Vissers S , De Groof P , Fieuws S , De Raeymaeker X , Abramovich T , Van De Winkel N , Miserez M
Published: May 2023

Aim

The repair of inguinal hernias is one of the most common surgical procedures with few complications. Some patients will need a second operation because of the development of a metachronous contralateral inguinal hernia (MCIH). The suggestion has been made to strengthen the contralateral side at the same time as primary surgery. In this study we aim to determine how many patients, with a unilateral inguinal hernia will develop a MCIH.

Methods

We performed a literature review following the PRISMA guidelines. As outcome measure, the number of patients diagnosed with a MCIH were registered. A meta-analysis was performed to obtain a summary estimate of the percentage of patients with MCIH.

Results

A total of 19 articles with a combined total of 277.288 patients who underwent elective unilateral inguinal hernia repair were included. The combined estimate for MCIH equaled 8.3% (95%CI: 7.1%-9.5%). A random-effects meta-regression was performed to obtain the percentage of MCIH as a function of the median follow-up time. The percentage of MCIH at 3, 5 and 10 years was estimated as 5.2%, 8% and 17.1%, respectively.

Conclusion

We believe there is not enough clinical evidence to support the idea of prophylactic contralateral repair. We suggest a patient-specific approach in the decision to perform prophylactic repair, taking into account potential risk factors, type of surgical approach, and general risk factors for chronic postoperative inguinal pain. More long term prospective data are needed to guide the decision for prophylactic contralateral mesh placement in a clinical healthy groin.
OC-026 LONG-TERM OUTCOMES AFTER EPIGASTRIC HERNIA REPAIR IN WOMEN – A NATIONWIDE DATABASE STUDY
Authors: Willaume M , Henriksen N
Published: May 2023

Aim

Outcomes after epigastric hernia repair are rarely reported independently. Repair of an epigastric hernia is more frequently performed in women. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term outcomes after epigastric hernia repairs in women on a nationwide basis.

Methods

Nationwide database cohort study using prospectively recorded data from the Danish Hernia Database of women undergoing elective repair for epigastric hernias, during a 4-year period (2018–2021). A 100% follow-up was obtained by combining intra-operative data with data from the National Civil Register (NRC). The primary outcome was operation for recurrence, secondary outcomes were readmission and operation for complications.

Results

In total, 3031 women underwent elective epigastric hernia repair during the study period. Some 2462 were performed as open repairs and 569 underwent laparoscopic repair. Follow-up was median 4.8 years. The cumulative operation rate for recurrence for open mesh repairs was 3.3% vs. 7.7% for sutured repair (P=0.002). The risk of operation for complications was significantly higher after mesh repair vs. sutured repair (2.0% vs. 3.6%, P = 0.014) with more operations for surgical site infection in the mesh group. In multivariable analyses, risk factors for recurrence were operation for complications and sutured repair. For open vs. laparoscopic repairs there were no differences in recurrence rates (6.3% vs. 6.3%, P=0.915), but the readmission rate was higher for laparoscopic repairs 10.9% vs. 6.1 (P<0.001).

Conclusion

Mesh repair reduces the risk of operation for recurrence but at the expense of an increased risk of operation for superficial wound infection.