Search results

This study aims to develop a novel theoretical model for predicting the users’ intention to use virtual tools designed for construction risk evaluation. Risk evaluation is a vital objective for construction managers. This paper intends to examine critical factors such as potential benefits, motivation, performance expectancy and rich sources of information that may affect users’ intention to use virtual technology.

A pile training module (PTM) was developed in a virtual environment to analyze the proposed virtual reality-technology acceptance model (VR-TAM) factors. Further, a questionnaire survey was conducted with the participation of 102 construction professionals in China to validate the proposed VR-TAM model and PTM tool. The retrieved data was computed to test the proposed model by using partial least squares structural equation modeling and the significance of the PTM tool in a virtual environment.

The results of this study reveal that high-significance paths represent five relationships between crucial factors affecting users’ intention to use a selected virtual reality (VR) module. Five of seven hypothesis paths were significant with acceptable t-values. By quantitative measurement of high-significance paths, this research has found that each factor under VR-TAM has received significant loadings, with many above the 0.7 threshold mark and others around 0.6. The top factors include “motivation” and “benefits” and have multiplier effects on “intention to use” as the source factors.

The finding of this study presents crucial factors for VR adoption, and the proposed VR-TAM model contributes to the body of knowledge toward managing construction risk using pre-optimization and understanding in a virtual environment. This study supports Chinese construction company managers in effectively using VR technology in their construction projects for risk assessment and management.

This study offered the development of a novel VR-TAM integrated with risk assessment techniques for piling processes. Further, the developed model was analyzed by using a survey of Chinese construction professionals to collect perceptions about the modified theoretical model of VR-TAM.

Deals with the issues related to the implementation, in a manual finished goods warehouse, of an ERP information system aimed at improving warehouse internal logistics efficiency. Specifically it is observed that the mere implementation of an integrated warehouse management information system does not actually guarantee the optimization of warehouse logistics. Rather, to improve the overall systems efficiency, it is required that ERP implementation be combined with the redesign and the reorganization of warehouse logistics and processes. This means that to achieve an effective synergic effect and thus effectively increase systems efficiency, both these steps have to be undertaken concurrently, grounding the reorganization and redesign phase on the implementation fallouts )in first place higher traceability levels gained(. The whole project is then applied to a real case of a finished goods manual warehouse, with pile storage systems.

An instructor could link the case to lean production principles and Kurt Lewin’s change management model, key reading materials on these theories are, namely,  Lewin, K (1947) Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method and reality in social science; equilibrium and social change. Human Relations 1(1): 5–41  Stewart, J. (2012). The Toyota Kaizen continuum: a practical guide to implementing lean. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Wickramasinghe, V. and Wickramasinghe, G. L. D. (2020). Effects of human resource management practices, lean production practices and lean duration on performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(11), 1467–1512.

This case was developed from both primary and secondary sources. The primary source included three face to face meetings with Mr CK in University Putra Malaysia (two meetings) and WSAE factory (Rawang, Malaysia – one meeting), respectively. Interviewed three workers at Rawang factory. The secondary source was taken from the company website and company reports.

Dr Wan, the Chief Executive Officer of WSA Engineering Sdn Bhd (WSAE) accepted the invitation from Small Medium Industries Development Corporation to participate in a Malaysian-Japanese Industry Cooperation program that focused on Lean Production System (LPS). Dr Wan was worried about Malaysia’s culture incompatible with Japanese-originated LPS. The case shares how the organization and behavioral change took place, for LPS buy-in. Successes and challenges WSAE faced in the 10-year journey of implementing LPS were elaborated.

This case was written for use in an operations management course, on the topic of lean production. It can also be used as a training material targeting the operation managers of a manufacturing company aiming to implement lean production or any change management process.

Accurate and rapid tracking and counting of building materials are crucial in managing on-site construction processes and evaluating their progress. Such processes are typically conducted by visual inspection, making them time-consuming and error prone. This paper aims to propose a video-based deep-learning approach to the automated detection and counting of building materials.

A framework for accurately counting building materials at indoor construction sites with low light levels was developed using state-of-the-art deep learning methods. An existing object-detection model, the You Only Look Once version 4 (YOLO v4) algorithm, was adapted to achieve rapid convergence and accurate detection of materials and site operatives. Then, DenseNet was deployed to recognise these objects. Finally, a material-counting module based on morphology operations and the Hough transform was applied to automatically count stacks of building materials.

The proposed approach was tested by counting site operatives and stacks of elevated floor tiles in video footage from a real indoor construction site. The proposed YOLO v4 object-detection system provided higher average accuracy within a shorter time than the traditional YOLO v4 approach.

The proposed framework makes it feasible to separately monitor stockpiled, installed and waste materials in low-light construction environments. The improved YOLO v4 detection method is superior to the current YOLO v4 approach and advances the existing object detection algorithm. This framework can potentially reduce the time required to track construction progress and count materials, thereby increasing the efficiency of work-in-progress evaluation. It also exhibits great potential for developing a more reliable system for monitoring construction materials and activities.

This study aims to demonstrate the importance of behavioral science in the design of ethics and compliance training.

A review of current practices in ethics and compliance training and a demonstration of the areas in which the use of behavioral science and an understanding of cognitive bias can improve these universal corporate training modules.

There are numerous areas in which the application of behavioral science could improve ethics and compliance training.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first comprehensive review of the potential application of behavioral science to ethics and compliance training.

This study aims to assess the training needs of fishermen in Oman using the concept mapping technique. This study was the part of a larger research project on the training needs assessment (TNA), where a mixed method approach was used to identify the training needs.

Perspective of 12 instructors on a focus question was taken during a brainstorming session at a Fishermen Training Institute in Oman. Using the concept mapping technique involving the multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis, the data recorded was analyzed to arrive at the need clusters, which were later rated and ranked to assign relative importance.

The identification led to a ten-clustered solution, covering a range of areas, requiring technical and behavioral skills. The top five training concerns were also identified using the participants’ ratings of the identified training-need clusters. Furthermore, the merit of concept mapping technique over purely quantitative assessments was also realized.

The study not only identified and evaluated the training needs but also observed the relevance of concept mapping technique. It was observed that the concept mapping technique struck a balance between the two extremes of subjectivity and objectivity while identifying the training needs. The application of concept mapping technique can help in covering the concerns of multiple stakeholders in TNA.

It identifies some key training areas for Fishermen Training Institutions and government bodies in Oman. The research also supports the extension of the application of concept mapping technique to decision-making situations in other areas.

Training interventions based on the needs assessment will help fishermen from the Oman’s Batinah coast in gaining additional skills, expertise and income.

This study applies the concept mapping technique in assessing the training needs of fishermen. The research also shares the outcomes of a pioneering attempt to identify fishermen’s training needs in Oman.

FOR several years training technologists and educationalists have been advocating use of the “systematic approach” method of training. British Airways Engineering Apprentice Training Centre has developed, and is practising with considerable success, a programme based on this concept. Its implementation has resulted in improved efficiency and provides advantages not available from previous “traditional” methods.

Quality assurance (QA) has been adopted by the public construction sectors in Asia since the introduction of ISO 9000 quality standards in 1987. The Governments of Singapore and Hong Kong have designed a series of quality infrastructure to promote, develop and improve the quality management system in the construction industry. Highlights the rapid development of quality systems in Singapore and Hong Kong, and the implementation of the construction quality assessment system (CONQUAS) in Singapore. Examines the performance assessment scoring system (PASS) in Hong Kong to assess the quality of building works. Discusses and compares the incentives for the construction sectors to achieve the ISO 9000 certification in both cities.

Programmed learning is scrambled books or small steps. Teaching machines are ludicrous. Educational technologists are slide projectionists who like using long words. Training is for them; not me. Students these days are different. Why don't they leave us alone! I don't know what the world is coming to. The trouble is that…

This paper aims to propose a fast machine compression scheme, which can solve the problem of low-bandwidth transmission for underwater images.

This fast machine compression scheme mainly consists of three stages. Firstly, raw images are fed into the image pre-processing module, which is specially designed for underwater color images. Secondly, a divide-and-conquer (D&C) image compression framework is developed to divide the problem of image compression into a manageable size. And extreme learning machine (ELM) is introduced to substitute for principal component analysis (PCA), which is a traditional transform-based lossy compression algorithm. The execution time of ELM is very short, thus the authors can compress the images at a much faster speed. Finally, underwater color images can be recovered from the compressed images.

Experiment results show that the proposed scheme can not only compress the images at a much faster speed but also maintain the acceptable perceptual quality of reconstructed images.

This paper proposes a fast machine compression scheme, which combines the traditional PCA compression algorithm with the ELM algorithm. Moreover, a pre-processing module and a D&C image compression framework are specially designed for underwater images.