Advanced ICT and smart systems for innovative "engineering, construction and architectural management

Citation

Sutrisna, M. and Kumaraswamy, M.M. (2015), "Advanced ICT and smart systems for innovative "engineering, construction and architectural management", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 22 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-07-2015-0120

Advanced ICT and smart systems for innovative "engineering, construction and architectural management"

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Volume 22, Issue 5.

Scholars in the “Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management” field have long advocated holistic, integrated and collaborative management support systems that can help construction organisations break through productivity barriers and optimise solutions to challenges from growing construction industry complexities and dynamics. Integrated procurement has been regarded a necessity that influences the execution and potentially the outcome of a construction project (Sutrisna, 2008). Kumaraswamy et al. (2010) advocated an integrated common best value focus in building better relationships, which are then together shown to boost performance levels. In reporting their case study, Barrett and Sutrisna (2009) concluded the need for synchronisation across the construction project lifecycle. Potential synergies have also been identified in a proposed integrated management support system (Kumaraswamy et al., 2006b). The development of such integrated management support systems in many cases has been enjoying benefits from the continuous advancement of ICT (Kumaraswamy et al., 2006a; McCaffer and Hassan, 2002).

The latest ICT and knowledge-based “smart” systems, including, but not limited to building information modelling (BIM), provide a platform for innovations that can transform ways of thinking and working, to reshape the way construction projects are managed. The integrative use of BIM within the building lifecycle for instance has been considered instrumental in facilitating integration of the stakeholders and practices (Love et al., 2013; Khosrowshahi and Arayici, 2012). Other advanced ICT and smart systems have been developed to further support management functions, decision making, optimisation, modelling/predictive functions or minimisation of potential issues (e.g. Singhaputtangkul et al., 2013; Arditi and Pulket, 2009; Dawood and Sriprasert, 2006; Kumaraswamy et al., 2004; Sutrisna et al., 2004; Li and Love, 2000). In reviewing the application of ICT in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction projects in the last ten years, Xue et al. (2012) concluded that despite the advancements of IT-related technologies during that period, more advanced and smarter technologies are employed and/or needed in this dynamic field. Still, the persisting academic/intellectual challenge lies in developing sound conceptual frameworks, a core body of principles and related strategies that would underpin new good practices and help propel productivity in the AEC sector, while the “multi-million dollar” industry-related question is in what approaches and processes would get the “best bang for the buck”.

This special issue brings together six papers reporting on the development and applications of innovative management systems using such contemporary advanced ICT and smart technologies from various parts of the world.

The first paper by Khosrowshahi explores the feasibility of automating briefing processes and proposes a client-designer communication interface model based on System Analysis and Design Methodology. Inspired by the success of such methodology in the computer industry as the platform for software development, it is proposed here to adopt a similar concept in the construction industry in developing the framework. The proposed system is presented in its conceptual stage, which also envisages the incorporation of both client strategy and project-based strategy. Whilst the importance of direct communication between client and designer is recognised as paramount, the intended automation of the briefing process is argued to inject the potential to improve the briefing process by minimising the subjective and non-quantifiable elements of the briefing process.

The second paper by Algobamy and Dawood looks into enabling risk management from a client perspective during the early design stage. The main contribution from their research presented here is a robust methodology to help construction clients during the early stage of a project to identify delay risks, develop suitable mitigations strategies and better manage the critical risks factors in order to achieve the more desired impact towards the outcome of the project. The proposed methodology was developed within the construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and it uses the probability of the project duration and the delay risks to measure the impact of simulating various potential mitigation strategies. The key inputs to the developed methodology includes the list of client risk factors identified at the design stage using the risk assessment form, ranking scores of the listed risks gathered in the comparison matrix table, as well as project durations suggested by risk experts. The outputs include the correlation coefficient and the probability distribution graphs, along with a range of possible project durations accompanied by their respective confidence levels.

The subsequent paper by Akanmu and Anumba focuses on the importance of bi-directional coordination between visual model and physical construction process. This can be perceived as the bridge between the pre-construction and construction phase. Bi-directional coordination between virtual models and the physical construction has been considered important as it holds the potential to improve real-time progress monitoring and control of the construction process, tracking of changes and model updates, information exchange between the design office and the job site, real-time documentation of the as-built status of high-value components and improved sustainability practices. Their investigation demonstrated the potential application of the cyber-physical systems approach in enhancing bi-directional coordination between virtual models and the physical construction through the development of system architectures, scenarios and prototype systems.

Li et al. report the development of a 4D simulation tool to simulate and optimise construction resource planning with a particular emphasis on the user friendliness of the tool that can be operated easily, even by a user without any 4D visualisation experience. The proposed tool has been developed by combining virtual prototyping and a game engine in simulating relationship between construction space, resources and schedule. Further parameters, including the construction sequence, selection of equipment and their location, can be inputted into the tool to improve the accuracy. The implementation of the developed tool in a case study in Hong Kong reported in this paper revealed its potentials to save costs as well as reduce both the time needed for communication and the probability of miscommunication.

Das et al. propose an ontology-based web service framework using construction supply chain domain ontologies to combine heterogeneous data from different stakeholders in the construction supply chain to minimise data conflicts and duplication. Whilst the construction supply chains are inherently fragmented with multiple stakeholders and involve active communication of information, it is common knowledge that currently there is a lack of mature or common ontologies in the construction supply domain. The proposed framework is also based upon a distributed database architecture that has been considered advantageous for implementation in the construction industry. It is also envisaged that the proposed framework can be used as the platform to perform ontology-based BIM information exchange and integration of construction supply chain with BIM to support construction processes such as layout planning and scheduling.

The final paper by Maghrebi et al. investigate the implementation of machine learning techniques to automatically evaluate the feasibility of exploiting it for ready mixed concrete (RMC) dispatching. RMC dispatching can be considered a human-intensive job and because of its inefficiency, it has been considered an obstacle for the development of the RMC industry. In practice, the mixing stage in RMC is automated. However, the rest of the process is carried out by human experts. This job becomes more complicated when a human dispatcher needs to make calculated decisions for supplying concrete for a certain project that is located between two or more batching plants. The dispatcher needs to consider many parameters. Representing the complexity of this decision process, six different machine learning techniques were utilised in this research to predict the behaviour of dispatchers. The simulation, based on the queue theory and discrete-event simulation, was developed to replicate optimising decisions taken by human experts in RMC dispatching situations.

The six papers presented in this special issue incorporate lessons learned from the development and implementation of advanced ICT and smart systems for innovative “Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management” across various project phases, including planning, design, and construction. It is hoped that the special issue serves as the platform to draw out and disseminate a set of break through principles and practices that could impact the future of “Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management” worldwide. The guest editors would like to acknowledge the contribution of all reviewers of the manuscripts submitted to this special issue in critiquing, selecting and improving the quality of the final six papers. Finally, the guest editors also express their gratitude to both the founding (previous) and present Editors-in-Chief of this prestigious Engineering Construction and Architectural Management journal, Professor Ron McCaffer and Professor Chimay Anumba for their support to this special issue, as well as to Emerald for their logistical assistance.

Associate Professor Monty Sutrisna - Department of Construction Management, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Professor Mohan M. Kumaraswamy - Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

References

Arditi, D. and Pulket, T. (2009), “Predicting the outcome of construction litigation using an integrated artificial intelligence model”, Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 73-80

Barrett, P. and Sutrisna, M. (2009), “Methodological strategies to gain insights into informality and emergence in construction project case studies”, Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 27 No. 10, pp. 935-948

Dawood, N. and Sriprasert, E. (2006), “Construction scheduling using multi-constraint and genetic algorithms approach”, Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 19-30

Khosrowshahi, F. and Arayici, Y. (2012), “Roadmap for implementation of BIM in the UK construction industry”, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 610-635

Kumaraswamy, M.M., Anvuur, A.M. and Smyth, H.J. (2010), “Pursuing relational integration and overall value through RIVANS”, Facilities, Vol. 28 Nos 13/14, pp. 673-686

Kumaraswamy, M.M., Palaneeswaran, E., Ng, S.T. and Rahman, M.M. (2006a), “Towards an integrated management support system for large clients”, Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon), Vol. 11, Special Issue, pp. 197-210

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Sutrisna, M. (2008), “Editorial: ‘integrating design into procurement packages – issues, challenges and further potentials’ ”, special issue, Journal of Construction Procurement, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 86-87

Sutrisna, M., Proverbs, D., Potts, K. and Buckley, K. (2004), “A knowledge based system for valuing variations in civil engineering works: a user centred approach”, International Journal of IT in Architectural, Engineering, and Construction, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 285-302

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