Arazi Idrus

Investigating building maintenance practices in Malaysia: a case study

Purpose – There have been complaints and criticisms of the conditions and performance of university buildings in Malaysia. The purpose of this paper is to report research looking into building maintenance practices in Malaysia.Design/methodology approach – To achieve its objectives, the research combined a literature review and a case study. The case study aimed to provide a details and factual information on the maintenance procedures of a university.Findings – It was found that the maintenance procedures on the case studied were corrective and budget driven. It was also found that the university favours out‐sourcing to in‐sourcing their maintenance service.Research limitations/implications – The findings of this study are based on a case, therefore the findings may not represent the maintenance practices of other public universities in Malaysia or elsewhere.Practical implications – Some universities may adopt some of the good maintenance practices of the university studied. Some of the observations coul...

Methodology for Multi Criteria Group Decision and Negotiation Support on Value-Based Decision

This paper presents a methodology for multi agent negotiation in value-based decision on building system selection. It consists of methods and knowledge acquisition, negotiation protocols, and model of the agent negotiation. The project management of research including review of research positioning in domain of computer application in value engineering, data necessary and analysis, agent methodology. Results presented are knowledge of building system (roof system) with a model of decision-making using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) based on three-stakeholder preferences and concept of protocol negotiation. This methodology combines value analysis method, decision method and multi agent development method. FAST analysis is a tool for value analysis. AHP is a tool for decision process. Prometheus model has been used for developing a negotiation agent.

Analysis of Time and Cost Overrun in Malaysian Construction

The construction industry in Malaysia is very important for creating employment, both directly and indirectly. It faces two repeated problems during the construction stage: slippage of project-schedules, i.e. time overrun and overrun of project cost; to the dislike of owners, contractors and consultants. This paper studies the time delay and cost overrun factors for Design and Build D&B projects in Malaysia. A Questionnaire was used to collect data from practitioners and analyse the responses and rank the factors and groups on overall view of the contracting parties. Identified risk factors from the theoretical domain were used to prepare 79 time related question and 18 cost related question categorized in 9 groups and 1 group respectively. Total of 136 respondents recorded their ratings to the factors in the questionnaire. Labour-related group has the top 1 rank with RII 0.684. The results can be used as a guideline to successfully handle construction projects in Malaysia; contributing for better project performance and lead to positive risks, opportunities.

Automated Multi-agent Negotiation Framework for the Construction Domain

In this paper, we propose an automated multi-agent negotiation framework for decision making in the construction domain. It enables software agents to conduct negotiations and autonomously make decisions. The proposed framework consists of two types of components, internal and external. Internal components are integrated into the agent architecture while the external components are blended within the environment to facilitate the negotiation process. The internal components are negotiation algorithm, negotiation style, negotiation protocol, and solution generators. The external components are the negotiation base and the conflict resolution algorithm. We also discuss the decision making process flow in such system. There are three main processes in decision making for specific projects, which are propose solutions, negotiate solutions and handling conflict outcomes (conflict resolution). We finally present the proposed architecture that enables software agents to conduct automated negotiation in the construction domain.

The Cost Monitoring of Construction Projects through Earned Value Analysis

Abstract : In construction industry, the term ‘procurement’ is considered as a project based job where clients and contractors are always keen to observe performance indicators. These indicators represent financial and non-financial efficiency of project activities. Among these, the monitoring of financial indicators such as cost monitoring is an ongoing process and its importance cannot be undermined during the project life cycle. It can be monitored by using traditional approach of direct reporting of actual cost against budget. However, the comparison of budget versus actual spending does not indicate the worth of the work which is completed at any given time. This approach does not represent the true cost performance of the project. Because of these limitations, this paper discusses the applications of Earned Value Analysis (EVA) for cost monitoring of construction projects in Malaysia. Besides traditional approach, EVA is a three-dimensional approach that compares three cost indicators i.e. the budgeted value of work scheduled with the earned value of physical work completed and the actual cost of work completed. Therefore, cost monitoring by EVA is an objective measure of actual work performed. This paper uses a case study, an example application of EVA as a cost monitoring tool. This case study reaffirms the benefits of using EVA for project cash flow analysis and forecasting. Keywords: Cost monitoring, Earned Value Analysis, Construction cost management.

Cooperative coalition formation on value-based decision

This paper presents the core of the negotiation support model for Value Management in construction. Coalition formation was presented in a logical manner and in the form of a mathematical model. It consists of the process of identifying agreement options, analysis and coalition formation. The objective of the research is to find an agreement options model and coalition algorithms for value-based decision. This objective was attained by model of satisfying game as a basis for two main preferences of value which are function and cost and provide a set of analysis on cooperative game theory to get an algorithm of coalition and the coalition formation for agreement option.

Risk factors influencing time and cost overrun in multiple D&B projects in Malaysia: A case study

Currently Design and Build (D&B) has gained popularity in the construction industry due to its attractive financial aspects. The development projects are implemented by D&B because of its special nature, crucial time requirements and size. Many D&B projects ended in the hands of contractors lacking knowledge on the other major constraints of this procurement method. They are basically committed by judgement and inadequate experience and unable to execute the project within the agreed time and price. The risk is more while committing to multiple simultaneous projects. This paper is a part of the research involving seven (7) case studies on actual multiple D&B projects. Site visits and project documents provided the core data for the case studies. The characteristic background of each project is presented with contractors, consultants and owners opinions. From the collected information, data on the factors influencing time and cost overruns were summarized. The researchers opinions on each case study are provided in conclusions.

Aggregation and Coalition Formation on Value-based Decision

Value-based decision is very complicated since many parties involved. Where a number of stakeholders are involved in choosing a single alternative from a set of solution alternatives, there are different concern caused by differing preferences, experiences, and background. Therefore, a negotiation is required to enable each stakeholder to evaluate and rank the solution alternatives before engaging into negotiation with the other stakeholders. Decision techniques applied to determine the relative value of the alternative solutions for performing the function. The results demonstrate a comparison of aggregation and coalition formation in a multi criteria group decision and negotiation. It further emphasizes the importance of performance evaluation in the design process and value-based decision.

Environmental implications of onsite mechanization in the Malaysian construction industry

In Malaysia, there has been a growing need for mechanization in recent years due to the high construction demand under the Economic Transformation Programme. Onsite mechanization in construction implies the use of equipment and machinery that are powered by fossil fuels with the aim of reducing the dependency on manual labour and to increase productivity, quality and efficiency. However, this heavy equipment and machinery are also responsible for issues pertaining to environment, health and safety of human beings. All nonroad diesel engine machinery emits hazardous gases, particulate matters, solid waste and contaminate land, water and the environment. Prior research on environmental impacts of construction works was more focused on raw materials, its manufacturing and operational phase of the facility. Therefore, the aim of this research is to focus on environmental concerns that are important during construction and mainly due to the operation of onsite heavy construction equipment. Data for the analysis was collected through a questionnaire survey from Malaysian G7 class ‘A’ contractors. The results of the survey show that despite the good awareness of Malaysian contractors towards a green environment, their practices for controlling energy consumption and greenhouse gases (GHG) are still in their infancy stages. It was also found that environment management systems are not highly implemented by the contractors. The survey results further indicate that energy saving, GHG and black smoke emission are the top ranking concerns of contractors when operating onsite equipment and Environmental Impact II 147 www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 181,

Structures of maintenance organisations in Malaysian universities

The size of university maintenance organisation depends on the size of the university and the procurement strategy the university uses for the maintenance services. The absence of a well-structured maintenance organisation leads to poor service delivery, unnecessary increases in maintenance costs and increases in maintenance backlogs. However, there are many complaints in the media and research literature concerning the performance of university buildings in Malaysia. This paper aims to investigate and describe the maintenance organisations of universities in Malaysia. The survey questionnaire conducted indicates that most universities in Malaysia outsource their maintenance services. However, there is a need for organisational changes in maintenance service delivery in order to shift towards value added initiatives. The paper concludes with the recommendation that those occupying top management roles in the maintenance organisation who do not possess knowledge of maintenance should return to university to obtain degrees in maintenance or related disciplines.