Bimal Kumar

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) applications: A brief introduction

This short paper introduces the key concepts behind RFID technology and presents a brief historical perspective. Examples of RFID applications are also given to highlight the developing popularity of the technology in many sectors. This paper will provide insights into the technology for the uninitiated reader without going into the technical and mathematical details. Over the next few years, this technology is expected to become ubiquitous in various forms and it is likely that everyones lives will be affected in many innovative ways.

A Knowledge Capture Awareness Tool: An Empirical Study on Small and Medium Enterprises in the Construction Industry

Purpose – Popularity in knowledge managementhas, unfortunately, not been matched by parallel empirical research on theprocesses, challenges and benefits of knowledge capture in small and mediumenterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry, given the fact that 99 percent of firms in the UK construction industry can be classified as SMEs. Thispaper aims to discuss the output of a research study, which is focused onknowledge capture in SMEs in construction industry. The paper also aims topresent and discuss a computer-based awareness tool on knowledge captureunderpinned by Kolbs experiential learning theory. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical study involved a total of 51professionals from 26 SMEs in the construction industry. Grounded theoryapproach was adopted. Also, a content analysis was considered. Findings – The results show that there is lack of awareness of complexissues associated with an effective knowledge capture process as well asensuing benefits for SMEs in the construction industry. The effectiveimplementation of knowledge capture in SMEs is partly dependent on the visionand flair of the owner/partners of the organisation. It is also determined byculture, structure, people, finance and technology, which warrants a coherentand structured approach. Originality/value – A computer-based awareness tool which is underpinned byKolbs experiential learning theory.(Publication abstract)

Measuring Project Complexity: A Project Manager's Tool

Abstract This paper describes a framework that measures complexity within the various stages of a project, together with a measure of complexity for the complete project lifecycle in the form of a complexity index (CI). In essence, the framework provides the project manager with a tool that helps identify the possible manifestation of complexity within the project process and the ability to plan accordingly to minimize its impact. This framework was developed and evaluated based on engineering design projects. Initially, the paper provides an overview of the framework describing each of its component parts. An account of how the framework generates complexity measures is provided by means of an example. Case studies used for the evaluation of the framework are summarized.

A question answering system for project management applications

Abstract The usage of computer applications in the construction industry is increasing, as is the complexity of software applications and this makes it difficult for project personnel to maintain familiarity. Furthermore, the causes of practical problems, such as project delays and cost over-runs, are often not derivable from the output of most software. A question answering system provides a means for directly extracting knowledge from this output. This paper begins with an examination of issues involved in building such a system. An emerging industry standard, ifcXML, is adopted as the knowledge representation format, thereby reducing the effort that is necessary to build a knowledge base. We then explore the mechanisms that use information in the knowledge base for question understanding. A prototype system has been built and tested to illustrate usefulness for project management applications.

The Development of a Framework for a Design for Safety BIM Tool

The character of building design offices has changed dramatically following the widespread adoption of digital design, drawing and modelling. Simultaneously, there is a growing recognition that designers have a responsibility to produce designs with minimal hazards to constructors and operators of facilities. By revisiting the philosophy of engineering, science and design, the radical impact the digital world has upon the traditional working practices of consulting engineering is explored. Consideration is given to the consequences of these changes upon the training, knowledge acquisition and effectiveness of engineers to deliver hazard free designs. Historically, engineers used approximations and rules of thumb to produce acceptable, if not optimum, designs. Hand calculations undertaken by engineers accorded them the ability to develop a ‘feel’ for the structure allowing ‘rogue’ results to be challenged and corrected. Digital designs are produced so rapidly that the ability to gain experience can be severely impacted contributing to a blind acceptance of results. Combined with isolated working, minimal scope for collaboration exists leading to a sense of omniscience. The potential reduction in experiences of engineers raises questions about their ability to understand digital images and the ability to discern the pertinent issues. This paper outlines work being undertaken which could potentially help in the development of digital design systems, including Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools, that could educate and disseminate design for safety (DfS) knowledge, both tacit and codified, which is currently in danger of being lost.

Complexity measurement of a project activity

Project managers very often describe their projects as simple or complex when discussing management issues. This indicates a practical acceptance that complexity makes a difference to the management of projects. The purpose of this paper is to propose a workers skill-based metric for the complexity of a construction project activity using the concepts of functional decomposition and validate it. Based on a sample of 13 project activities from two construction projects, the empirical validation of the proposed metric using Spearman rank order coefficient exhibited a strong correlation between complexity of a project activity (CPA) and its completion time. The contribution of this paper is in identifying the influence of the skill of the worker(s) on the complexity of the project activity and as a support to project managers intuitive understanding about the CPA. Moreover, the findings are applicable in assigning worker(s) to different project activities, based on their complexities.

A Knowledge-directed Information Retrieval and Management Framework for Energy Performance Building Regulations

The Internet-driven world we now live in has profound implications for every aspect of our personal and professional lives. Over the past two decades or so, an enormous amount of information has been made accessible over the Internet, thanks to advanced search and retrieval technologies. Over the last five years 1200 Exabyte’s (1 Exabyte – 1 billion Gigabyte) of data have been put online. As a result, an increasing amount of professional work within the domain of sustainable design and construction is becoming dependent on retrieving regulatory and advisory information over the web quickly. Designers and builders are finding it increasingly difficult to identify this information and assimilate them in their activities. Generic search engines like Google do not retrieve relevant information for domain-specific needs in a focussed manner. Therefore, there is a need for developing smarter domain-specific search and retrieval technologies under an information management framework. This paper presents a web-based information search and retrieval application which employs domain specific ontology to identify (in particular) relevant energy performance building regulations. The paper will focus on our development of a customised, domain specific web search platform providing information on (i) the choice of technologies used within this research and the basic construction of the search application, (ii) the construction of the domain dependant ontology which is used to enhance search results, (iii) initial observations relating to ongoing experiments. Our proposed framework is being developed in collaboration with a Scottish City Council’s building control department who are actively validating the value of our approach in their daily activity of checking and approving designs for construction.

Building Information Modeling: Road to 2016

As is common knowledge now, in 2016 it will be mandatory to use BIM on all public sector projects. This has clearly spurned a lot of interest in BIM within the construction industry. However, the industry appears to be struggling to find its feet as to what it needs to have in place before BIM based projects become a reality. Uses of BIM technology and associated processes have been categorized into 3 levels and the 2016 requirement is for Level 2 implementations only. This paper outlines the requirements of level 2 BIM implementation and assesses the status of the industry as a whole as to its readiness. There are various pre-requisites that need to be in place, mostly in relation to process protocols and standards. This paper gives an understanding of the roadmap that needs to be traversed in order to be ready for BIM. This paper presents an outline of the UK Governments requirements for 2016 before discussing and assessing the UK construction industrys readiness. Finally, the paper gives an outline of what needs to be in place for the governments ambitions to be achieved as well as a summary of some of the challenges along the way and possible ways of addressing some of them.

RFID in the built environment: buried asset locating systems

The built environment encompasses all buildings, spaces and products that are created or modified by people. This includes homes, schools, workplaces, recreation areas, greenways, business areas and transportation systems. The built environment not only includes construction above the ground but also the infrastructure hidden under the ground. This includes all buried services such as water, gas, electricity and communication services. These buried services are required to make the buildings functional, useful and fully operational: an efficient and well maintained underground infrastructure is required. RFID tags (radio frequency identification devices) are in essence transceivers consisting of three components that make up a sophisticated transponder. Once activated, the tag transmits data back to a receiving antenna: the technology does not require human intervention and further benefits from the fact that no line of sight is needed to control/operate the system. The tags can have both read and write abilities and their performance characteristics can be tailored/changed to accommodate a range of situations. Within this paper we argue that utility provision (the hidden services) is an area where RFID technology may be able to identify location of buried pipes and others underground equipments. Early results from field trials carried out so far will be presented. The issues and concerns relating to developing such an application using RFID technology will also be highlighted.

A Semantic Web-Based Approach for Generating Parametric Models Using RDF

Semantic-rich 3D parametric models, like Building Information Models (BIMs) are becoming the main information source during the entire lifespan of an asset. The use of BIM in existing buildings has been hampered by the challenges surrounding the limitations of existing technologies for developing retrofit models. Some progress has been recently made in generating non-parametric models from the Point Cloud Data (PCD). However, a proper fully developed parametric model is still some way away. In this paper, challenges are addressed by reviewing the state-of-the-art before presenting our approach. The aim of our approach is to apply the Semantic Web Technologies for generating parametric models using PCD as primary data. The Semantic Web as a set of standards and technologies is used for providing an appropriate framework for storing, sharing, and reusing the semantics of information on the web. Building elements are recognized in PCD, and the concept of Resource Description Framework (RDF) as a Semantic Web technology and a standard model for interchanging the data on the web is then used to markup detected elements. The RDF data is then standardized to Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) as an open standard building data model to generate the parametric model of the asset utilizing BIM software that supports IFC. Some parts of this ongoing research are performed manually, and the future work is to implement the process automatically. Primary results are quite promising and should be of interest to the modeling of all kinds of assets, in particular, Historical Building Information Modelling (HBIM).