Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2018 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
In the last decade, construction industry has witnessed a huge transformation\nin term of the use of digital technologies, and particularly Building Information\nModeling (BIM). BIM is a revolutionary digital technology and process\nthat is reshaping the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.\nThough, internationally, BIM has gained a great reputation for boosting\nproductivity in AEC industry, but it holds undeveloped possibilities for\nproviding and supporting AEC industry in Jordan. This study aims at exploring\nthe adoption of BIM within the Jordanian construction industry. To\nachieve this objective, the research commenced by carrying out an intensive\nliterature reviews on the implementation of BIM world-wide and in Middle\nEast, which was utilized to identify the benefits and challenges of BIM in construction\nindustry. An exploratory study was then conducted using an on-line\nsurvey to identify the current level of BIM experience, and to define the perceived\nbenefits and challenges facing BIM implementation. Findings reveal\nthat the adoption of BIM in Jordan is still in a very primitive phase and it faces\nnumbers of critical barriers such as, but not limited to, the absence of government\nincentives, the lack of BIM standards, lack of BIM awareness, lack of\nBIM need, cost and resistance to change. Similarly, the study identified the\nmain perceived potential benefits of BIM that were: ââ?¬Å?clash detectionââ?¬Â, ââ?¬Å?minimizing\nconflicts and changesââ?¬Â and ââ?¬Å?reducing reworkââ?¬Â. This research represents\na first step towards understanding the current situation of BIM implementation\nin Jordan. It can help AEC practitioners in Jordan recognize potential\nareas in which BIM can be useful in AEC practice. However, it provides a\nbenchmark for future studies that should tackle several other avenues further....
Successful companies are strongly committed to marketing management. However, marketing is either misunderstood or\ncompletely neglected in many construction companies, mainly due to the difficulty of applying conventional marketing in the\nindustry, accompanied by the lack of sufficient research on the nature of marketing and tailored marketing theories and strategies\nfor the construction. This study attempts to fill a part of this gap by examining the nature of the construction industry from the\nmarketing viewpoint and developing a comprehensive framework. A systematic investigation into the nature via a combination of\nKotlerââ?¬â?¢s product classification system and Lovelockââ?¬â?¢s classification criteria reveals that construction is an ââ?¬Å?industrial, project-based,\nand primarily service-orientedââ?¬Â (IPS) product with specific characteristics from the marketing perspective. Based on this nature,\na reference framework for strategic marketing planning is developed through a literature review based on grounded theory and\nusing the focus group discussion as a refinement tool. The framework indicates that construction companies are involved in and\nshould plan for three working fieldsââ?¬â?project-based activities, relationship marketing, and marketing mix-related functions. The\nfindings provide a fundamental basis that helps researchers and practitioners gain a true understanding of the concepts and scope\nof construction marketing and draw a clear and practical roadmap for future work....
Buildings represent significant investment of developers and, as such, it is important to ensure value for the capital injected into\nthe construction of buildings. Unfortunately, due to neglect of proper construction practices, buildings are facing defects, and one\nof such defects is rising damp. This study sought to identify some of the construction practices contributing to rising damp in\nbuildings and their effects and suggest some remedial measures for controlling and treatment of rising damps. Snowball sampling\nand purposive sampling techniques were used to gather data from a cross section of 78 building environment professionals in\nKumasi and Ejisu who have experienced the effects ofmoisture rise. Relative Importance Index was used to rank the significance of\nthe causes. The study revealed that failure to use damp-proof membrane or course, presence of groundwater, porosity of masonry,\nand concrete element sand flooding were the main causes of rising damp. Undersetting and saw slotting, making good plumbing\nleakages, using approved waterproof chemical injection, and application of admixtures were the main measures recommended to\navert rising damp....
Cable roof structures have only become widespread in large span structures in\nthe latter part of the twentieth century. However, they still represent a relatively\nnew form of roof construction, especially as in the present case of a\nsmall span innovative structural solution. The contribution of this text to the\nstructural engineering community lies in the increased interest in building\nsimple cable roof structures. Since its completion in September 1996, this\nsmall cable roof structure has been recognized as an interesting architectural\nand structural example. The text describes aspects of the design and construction\nof a small cable roof that was designed as a roof for an open-air theater\nstage for the city of Sao Jose do Rio Pardo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. A cable network,\nin the shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid surface, is anchored in a reinforced\nconcrete edge ring. The projection of the ring�s axis onto the ground plane is\nan ellipse. Workers with specialized training were employed in the various\nstages of the construction, which was completed in September 199...
Extensive growth in the developing countries due to infrastructure development\nis resulting into massive consumption of concrete thereby increasing the\ndemand on concrete materials. Quite large amounts of fine aggregates are required\nfor concrete in developing countries thus shortages of quality river\nsand is putting pressure on availability of fine aggregates. To fulfill the high\ndemand of fine aggregates, a search for alternative materials is in process.\nStone crushing and processing industry is a large industry which generates\nlarge amounts of stone dust and slurry which is a waste produced from this\nprocess. Tons of such waste generated has no useful purpose except as landfill\nmaterial. Some preliminary studies have been conducted into use of marble/\nlimestone waste for use in concrete [1] [2]. This study aims at using stone dust\nas partial replacement of sand in concrete to observe its effects on workability\nand other mechanical properties. This would result in useful consumption of\nthis waste product thereby eliminating environmental issues related to its\ndisposal. Partial replacement of 10% and 20% sand replacement with stone\ndust is carried out with the use of self-compacting concrete with blended cement.\nBlended cement used contains 50% rice husk ash and 50% Portland\ncement. Such high strength SCC with blended cement containing 50% rice\nhusk ash and 50% Portland cement has already been tested to provide better\nquality concrete [3]. Wide ranging investigations covering most aspects of\nmechanical behavior and permeability were carried out for various mixes for\ncompressive strengths of 60 MPa & 80 MPa. Compressive strengths of high\nstrength SCC with blended cements and 10% and 20% replacement of sand\nwith stone dust for 60 MPa and 80 MPa were observed to be higher by about\n10% to 13% than the control specimen. Higher elastic moduli and reduced\npermeability were observed along with better sulphate and acid resistance.Better strengths and improved durability of such high strength SCC make it a\nmore acceptable material for major construction projects thereby reducing the\nburden on environment and use of such waste product for a useful purpose\npromoting sustainable construction....
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