Matching Items (86)
Description
This paper describes the research done to quantify the relationship between external air temperature and energy consumption and internal air temperature and energy consumption. The study was conducted on a LEED Gold certified building, College Avenue Commons, located on Arizona State University's Tempe campus. It includes information on the background of previous studies in the area, some that agree with the research hypotheses and some that take a different path. Real-time data was collected hourly for energy consumption and external air temperature. Intermittent internal air temperature was collected by undergraduate researcher, Charles Banke. Regression analysis was used to prove two research hypotheses. The authors found no correlation between external air temperature and energy consumption, nor did they find a relationship between internal air temperature and energy consumption. This paper also includes recommendations for future work to improve the study.
ContributorsBanke, Charles Michael (Author) / Chong, Oswald (Thesis director) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The Chinese Construction Industry has grown to be one of the largest construction markets in the world within the last 10 years. The size of the Chinese Construction Industry is on par with many developed nations, despite it being a developing country. Despite its rapid growth, the productivity and profitability of the Chinese Construction Industry is low compared to similar sized construction industries (United States, United Kingdom, etc.). In addition to the low efficiency of the Chinese Construction Industry, there is minimal documentation available showing the performance of the Chinese Construction Industry (projects completed on time, on budget, and customer satisfaction ratings).
The purpose of this research is to investigate potential solutions that could address the poor efficiency and performance of the Chinese Construction Industry. This research is divided into three phases; first, a literature review to identify countries that have similar construction industries to the Chinese Construction Industry. The second phase is to compare the risks and identify solutions that are proposed to increase the performance of similar construction industries and the Chinese Construction Industry. The third phase is to create a survey from the literature-based information to validate the concepts with the Chinese Construction Industry professionals and stakeholders.
The purpose of this research is to investigate potential solutions that could address the poor efficiency and performance of the Chinese Construction Industry. This research is divided into three phases; first, a literature review to identify countries that have similar construction industries to the Chinese Construction Industry. The second phase is to compare the risks and identify solutions that are proposed to increase the performance of similar construction industries and the Chinese Construction Industry. The third phase is to create a survey from the literature-based information to validate the concepts with the Chinese Construction Industry professionals and stakeholders.
ContributorsChen, Yutian (Author) / Chong, Oswald (Thesis advisor) / Kashiwagi, Dean T. (Committee member) / Badger, Willliam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
In a world where everything is drifting away from the intellectual into materialistic, and where everyone is rushing on the daily basis to provide their basic needs, everything is getting more expensive except the human life’s worth. Construction sites can be some of the clearer examples that show how the technical work, the communication skills, team work and management relate to one another. However, lately, the safety of the labor is neither being prioritized nor considered an important aspect to even consider at sites. Lebanon is, unfortunately, one of the countries where most construction sites are aimed to increase production and decrease cost as much as possible, on behalf of labor safety measurements. The high occurrence of such cases are the result of the lack of government control and accountability, as well as other reasonings.
Similar to the majority of countries, falls are the number one cause of fatalities and serious injuries on construction sites, especially building sites, where working on higher elevations is a must.
This thesis focuses on the topic of “Techniques and technologies for reducing fall hazards in use on Lebanese building construction projects”. The main goal behind it is to shed light on whether there are any traditional, technical or modern mechanisms used for safety on the Lebanese construction sites, however statistically few they might be. On the other hand, Casting the deficiencies, weaknesses and flaws are also discussed by indicating some solutions and pointers on possible methods to improve. Hence, this thesis would demonstrate the high importance of this topic and consequently help construction managers and workers realize that safety should become a priority on all sites in the country.
Researches done and interviews conducted show that fall hazards prevention/protection techniques are only implemented by large scale companies, and totally ignored by other companies which constitute the highest percentage of the active companies in the market now. Several causes are behind this and the result is one: More lives are put in danger due to lack of education, absence of audits and sanctions, and insufficient budgets
ContributorsMdawar, Hikmat (Author) / Gibson, George Edward (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The management of underground utilities is a complex and challenging task due to the uncertainty regarding the location of existing infrastructure. The lack of accurate information often leads to excavation-related damages, which pose a threat to public safety. In recent years, advanced underground utilities management systems have been developed to improve the safety and efficiency of excavation work. This dissertation aims to explore the potential applications of blockchain technology in the management of underground utilities and reduction of excavation-related damage. The literature review provides an overview of the current systems for managing underground infrastructure, including Underground Infrastructure Management (UIM) and 811, and highlights the benefits of advanced underground utilities management systems in enhancing safety and efficiency on construction sites. The review also examines the limitations and challenges of the existing systems and identifies the opportunities for integrating blockchain technology to improve their performance. The proposed application involves the creation of a shared database of information about the location and condition of pipes, cables, and other underground infrastructure, which can be updated in real time by authorized users such as utility companies and government agencies. The use of blockchain technology can provide an additional layer of security and transparency to the system, ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the information. Contractors and excavation companies can access this information before commencing work, reducing the risk of accidental damage to underground utilities.
ContributorsAlnahari, Mohammed S (Author) / Ariaratnam, Samuel T (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Czerniawski, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The construction industry has struggled with a disappointing safety record, with workers often failing to identify hazards on construction sites. While virtual reality (VR) training has shown promise in improving hazard recognition skills, it is essential to address not only the ability to identify hazards but also the factors influencing workers' decision to report them. Research has revealed that workers often fail to recognize hazards when they perceive them as low-risk, leading to unreported hazards and persistent safety risks. Anticipatory emotions play a crucial role in driving risk aversion, but construction novices lack the emotional experiences necessary for developing such anticipatory emotions. Consequently, they may engage in careless and risk-friendly behavior. To address this issue, hazard recognition training should incorporate immersive and emotionally arousing VR experiences. This dissertation focuses on the development of emotionally arousing and realistic construction-specific simulations to assess their impact on construction novices. The research explores the aspects of a simulation that facilitate emotional arousal and identifies features that enhance the sense of presence for construction practitioners within a virtual construction environment. Subsequently, the developed VR experience is tested on construction novices. The results indicate that the VR experience, based on the findings of this research, effectively elicits significant arousal in participants, as evidenced by galvanic skin response (GSR) data. Thematic analysis of participant feedback further supports the physiological data, with participants reporting a realistic and emotional experience that immersed them in hazardous conditions on a construction site. Ultimately, this research contributes by identifying the crucial aspects necessary for developing construction-specific VR experiences that elicit arousal from participants, ensuring an immersive and emotionally engaging hazard recognition training. By incorporating such training methods, the construction industry can improve workers' hazard identification and reporting behaviors, thereby enhancing overall safety in construction sites.
ContributorsPatil, Karan Ravindra (Author) / Ayer, Steven K. (Thesis advisor) / Hallowell, Matthew R. (Committee member) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Bhandari, Siddharth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Although Saudi Arabia is moving towards a sustainable future, Existing residential buildings in the country are extremely unsustainable. Therefore, there is a necessity for greening the existing residential building. Mostadam green rating systems was developed by the Saudi ministry of housing in 2019 to address the long-term sustainability vision in residential buildings in the country. By setting Mostadam requirements as an objective of the retrofit process, it will ensure that the building achieve sustainability. However, Mostadam is new and there is a lack of knowledge of implementing its requirements on existing buildings. The aim of this research is to develop a framework to green existing residential buildings in Saudi Arabia to achieve Mostadam energy and water minimum requirements. The framework was developed based on an extensive keyword-based search and an analysis of 92 relevant research. The process starts with assessing the building against the minimum requirements of energy and water of Mostadam. After that, optimization phase is conducted. Building information modelling is used in the optimization phase. Energy and water efficiency optimization measures are identified from the analysed literature. Revit is used in the base model authoring and Green building studio cloud is used to simulate the energy and water efficiency measures. Then, payback period is calculated for all the efficiency measured to assess the decision making. A case study of a villa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is provided. result shows that the implemented efficiency measures led to an increment of 37.5% in annual energy savings and 26.1% in the annual water savings. Results shows that the application of the proposed framework supports evaluating energy and water efficiency measures to implement it on the buildings to achieve Mostadam minimum energy and water requirements. Recommendations were made for future work to bridge the knowledge gap.
ContributorsMohamed, Sara Murad (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Thesis advisor) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Hurtado, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
An Earned Value Management System (EVMS) is an organization’s system for project/program management that integrates a defined set of associated work scopes, schedules and budgets, allowing for effective planning, performance, and management control. A mature EVMS that is compliant with standards and guidelines, and that is applied in a positive social environment is critical to the overall success of large and complex projects and programs. However, a comprehensive and up-to-date literature review revealed a lack of a data-driven and consistent rating system that can gauge the maturity and the environment surrounding EVMS implementation. Therefore, the primary objective of this dissertation focuses on the EVMS maturity and environment, and investigates their impact on project performance. The author was one of the 41 research team members whose goal was to develop the novel rating system called Integrated Project/Program Management (IP2M) Maturity and Environment Total Risk Rating (METRR). Using a multi-method research approach, the rating system was developed based on a literature review of more than 600 references, a survey with 294 responses, focus group meetings, and research charrettes with more than 100 subject matter experts from the industry. Performance data from 35 completed projects and programs representing over $21.8 billion in total cost was collected and analyzed. The data analysis showed that the projects with high EVMS maturity and good EVMS environment outperformed those with low maturity and poor environment in key project performance measures. The contributions of this work includes: (1) developing definitions for EVM, EVMS and other research related terms, (2) determining the gaps in the EVMS literature, (3) determining the EVMS state of the practice in the industry, (4) developing a scalable rating system to measure the EVMS maturity and environment, (5) providing quantified evidence on the impact of EVMS maturity and environment on project performance, and (6) providing guidance to practitioners to gauge their EVMS maturity and environment for an enhanced project and program management integration and performance.
ContributorsAramali, Vartenie Mardiros (Author) / Gibson Jr., George Edward (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Dubai has emerged as an important center for international business attracting significant inflows of the foreign workforce. Dubai’s population is unique as nationals represent only 15% of the total population, with 200 other nationalities comprising the other 85%. Thus, Cultural Diversity is unavoidable. Cultural Diversity refers to cultural heterogeneity such as differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, and religion. As it is a characteristic of Culturally Heterogeneous Workgroups (CHWs), cultural diversity affects how they interact with each other. Since the core concepts of leadership are dealing, inspiring, and motivating teams, the team member’s diversity directly connects with the leadership concept.While many researchers argue whether (CHWs) suffer or benefit from cultural diversity, it is agreed that such diversity has its challenges. Diverse workgroups have been shown to suffer from poor cohesion and social integration. People who are different from their co-worker’s report feeling uneasy and having less organizational commitment. Miscommunication, the development of obstacles, and improper adaptation behaviors are all possible negative impacts.
In the absence of local studies on how cultural diversity is related to leadership, this thesis questioned the connection between cultural diversity and leadership level through a quantitative research approach. This would help understand how different leaders at different levels perceive cultural diversity challenges, which would help focus on specific level(s) in future and research practical ways to address cultural diversity issues of cultural diversity. Measurement scales for leadership levels and cultural diversity challenges were developed. A survey was used to collect data from skilled workers in the construction industry in Dubai, and non-parametric statistical methods were used to analyze the collected data and answer the research question. Whereas a strong correlation was initially expected between work experience, whether in total or within UAE, and leadership level, this was not the case. Most importantly, no significant evidence was found to support a relationship between cultural diversity challenges and both participants’ leadership level and their UAE work experience.
ContributorsSalama, Anas (Author) / Ariaratnam, Samuel (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Czerniawski, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
As the construction industry in Saudi Arabia was on its way to thriving again. Their growth was due to the unprecedented volume of planned projects such as large-scale and unique projects. Suddenly, the world was faced with one of the most disrupting events in the last century which had a devastating impact on the construction industry specifically. This paper explores mainly the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction projects in Saudi Arabia. Particularly, this paper explores how the pandemic and its related events contributed to the projects' schedule disturbances. This is because most of the projects rely on manpower and supply chains which were heavily disrupted due to the protective measures. For that, a study was conducted to evaluate the impact on the construction projects in Saudi Arabia, to what extent the schedule projects were affected, and what were the main reasons for the schedule delays. The research relied on a field survey and schedule analysis for 12 projects which resulted in identifying several causes of delays and the delayed durations that the projects in Saudi Arabia were facing. This research allows those in construction fields to identify the main causes of delays in order to avoid or minimize the impact of these issues on future projects.
ContributorsObeid, Muhammad Hasan Hani (Author) / Ariaratnam, Samuel (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Alaska has some of the richest mineral deposits on Earth and many of them remain untouched by humans. Exploration initiatives have the potential to greatly change “The Last Frontier’s” environment in the near future. These effects need to be considered now. There are many people chasing these deposits and with the use of new technologies, it has never been easier to access these remote locations. Alaska is called The Last Frontier because of its unforgiving climate and landscape and it is considered one of the few remaining places on earth that has been minimally touched by the modern age.
One mineral deposit in particular that has been drawing attention lately is the Alaskan Pebble Mine. The Pebble Mine sits on top of a massive amount of precious minerals such as gold, copper, and molybdenum. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., based out of Vancouver, Canada is the main driving force behind the Pebble Mine. This specific mine has been debated amongst The Environmental Protection Agency, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the U.S. Congress for multiple years. This mine has the potential for drastic impacts, not only on the environment, but also with the local and native Alaskans. The main issue with the Pebble Mine is that it is located in the Bristol Bay watershed which is home to nearly half the world's remaining wild sockeye salmon supply. This fishery employs thousands of workers, and brings in billions of dollars to the region every year. Heavy consideration must be given to the environment by the USACE when deciding on whether or not the Pebble Mine’s impact is reasonable.
ContributorsOwens, William (Author) / Deniger, Jack (Co-author) / Ariaratnam, Samuel (Thesis director) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Del E. Webb Construction (Contributor)
Created2022-05