Moheeb El-Said

Feasibility study of industrial projects using Simos’ procedure

Abstract Feasibility study is conducted in a stage prior to design, procurement and construction stages in order to determine the viability of project undertaken by an investor. This helps investors to decide whether to proceed with the project or not. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) process can be utilized in the feasibility study stage to avoid wrong decisions might cause undesired losses. In industrial projects, wrong decisions might lead to bankruptcy of crucial economic entities. Private investors might have good initiative and the capital to establish economically successful projects but they might either select the inappropriate type of industry that might turn the investment to a failure or might not include some important/crucial considerations into account. This paper presents a key-list of gathered factors that are considered the important factors and affect the selection of industrial projects. Importance, relative importance and weights of these factors are determined using Simos’ proce...

Dispute resolution aided tool for construction projects in Egypt

Abstract Contract relationships in construction projects in Egypt have become increasingly strained in recent years. Working relationships, communications, and contractual commitments are often not carried out in good faith. Hence, adversarial approaches to public and private sectors of the construction industry in Egypt generate a substantial increase in the use of binding arbitration and the judicial system for the settlement of contractual disagreements. In this research, a survey questionnaire was designed to obtain the relative weights of the factors that influence the Dispute Resolution Strategy (DRS) Decision. Twenty six combinations of project situations were established based on ten factors, established after studying the causes of disputes with the aid of literature and unstructured interviews, which affect the DRS-Decision. Experts were asked to perform pair-wise comparisons for the ten factors and advise on the recommended resolution methodology for the different status of DRS-Decisions facto...

Modeling Microtunneling Projects using Computer Simulation

Tunnels projects are constructed to facilitate the execution of underground works with minor disturbance on surface structures and traffic. This is deemed important especially in downtown cities where disturbances should be minimized to assure flowability on surface and underground infrastructures. Microtunneling involves the use of a remotely controlled, guided pipe-jacking process in order to support excavation face. Microtunneling aids in avoiding the need of open trench for pipe laying, which causes extreme disruption to the surrounding. This paper presents a tool for planning microtunnels projects using computer simulation. The proposed tool aids contractors in planning microtunneling by estimating their associated time and cost of construction. There are six models that are coded in the proposed tool in order to capture the construction of microtunnels and shafts. The tool breaks down microtunnels projects into microtunnels segments and shafts which constitute several construction zones. An application example is presented to demonstrate the features of the proposed tool.

Tunnel_Sim: decision support tool for planning tunnel construction using computer simulation

Tunnel construction are essentially infrastructure projects that includes many interfered and sophisticated tasks. This paper presents a decision support tool, Tunnel_Sim, for planning tunnel construction projects using computer simulation. The proposed tool assists contractors in estimating time and cost, required for the construction of tunnel projects. Five construction techniques are coded in the proposed tool to capture the construction of open/closed rectangular cross-section tunnels and circular cross-section tunnels. The decision support tool divides the construction of tunnels into working zones. It estimates the total duration and cost for each zone. The proposed tool selects the best construction technique from a set of alternatives based on a decision making method that utilizes fuzzy numbers. An application example is presented to demonstrate the characteristics of the proposed Tunnel_Sim.

A methodology for prioritizing water mains rehabilitation in Egypt

Abstract Water distribution systems are aging and deteriorating over time. Deterioration of water mains causes reduction in the structural capacity and the hydraulic capacity of the water distribution systems. Municipalities face the greatest challenges to define the deterioration processes and the factors that can affect the rate of deterioration. To face these challenges municipalities need to define methodologies and technologies for water distribution systems planning, design, construction, management, assessment and rehabilitation, that consider local economic, environmental and social factors. Therefore, it is important to implement mitigation measures in a timely manner to extend the useful service life of water distribution systems. This paper presents a model that prioritizes the rehabilitation of water mains as well as assists in rehabilitation technology selection. A series of interviews and questionnaire surveys are conducted to identify the most important factors that affect water mains deterioration and selection of the rehabilitation technology. The weighted factors scoring model is carried out using the Simos’ procedure to develop the priority index model and the alternative evaluation model. The priority index model is integrated with the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to visualize the condition severity of the water pipes to help the decision maker to decide the course of action. A case study of water mains sample of a set of the collected data for this research has been used to implement the proposed model.

Developing green bridge rating system using Simos’ procedure

Abstract Sustainable development principles have been implemented in various sectors including construction. Proper development and operation of infrastructure projects, such as bridges and highways, can contribute significantly to the mission of sustainable development. In this respect, there is little existing work on appropriate methods to assess the sustainability performance of bridge projects. This paper introduces a key-list of gathered important criteria that affect the sustainability of bridge projects. Various construction industry standards have been reviewed in order to decide the criteria that influence sustainability of bridge projects. The initial list of criteria has been identified by unstructured interviews. Then, structured interviews and questionnaire survey have been conducted to identify the final list that is deemed important in rating green bridges. Various construction industry standards have been reviewed to decide on the criteria that influence sustainability of bridge projects. Final criteria results from this paper are used to develop a green bridge rating system to achieve sustainable development. Degree of importance and weights of these criteria are determined using Simos’ procedure. Five classes of bridges are proposed to judge their status with respect to sustainability, with these being Non-Green, Certified, Green, total Green, and Evergreen.

Assessing design process in engineering consultancy firms using lean principles

The aim of this research is to provide a tool for assessing the impact of applying lean principles to the design process at construction consultancy firms. Through several interviews, a comprehensive model was built to simulate the design process, using data from a leading consultancy firm in Egypt. The model contains the main processes and activities that form different phases of the design process and depicts the interconnectivity of processes and activities needed to create a complete design package upon client request. The research describes how the five main lean principles are integrated in the model. A case study is considered to demonstrate the effect of using the proposed model on the design process and to illustrate how the design process performs differently when lean principles are introduced. Case study output analysis reveals 40% improvement in the lean process performance measured in terms of activity utilization rates.

A systems engineering approach for realizing sustainability in infrastructure projects

Abstract Sustainability is very quickly becoming a fundamental requirement of the construction industry as it delivers its projects; whether buildings or infrastructures. Throughout more than two decades, a plethora of modeling schemes, evaluation tools and rating systems have been introduced en route to realizing sustainable construction. Many of these, however, lack consensus on evaluation criteria, a robust scientific model that captures the logic behind their sustainability performance evaluation, and therefore experience discrepancies between rated results and actual performance. Moreover, very few of the evaluation tools available satisfactorily address infrastructure projects. This paper introduces a systems model that abstracts the environment, the construction product, and its production system as three interacting systems that basically exchange materials, energy and information. The model utilizes this setup to capture and quantify essential flows exchanged between such three systems, with the objective of evaluating sustainability. The paper walks through the development of a generic case of the model, and then demonstrates its utility in evaluating the sustainability performance of civil infrastructure projects using a typical water pipeline installation project that uses horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technology as a trenchless installation method. The developed model addresses an identified gap within the current body of knowledge by considering infrastructure projects. Through the ability to simulate different scenarios, the model enables identifying which activities, products, and processes impact the environment more, and hence potential areas for optimization and improvement.

MEASURING SENSITIVITY OF PROCUREMENT DECISIONS USING SUPERIORITY AND INFERIORITY RANKING

Wrong decisions or inappropriate selection of equipment may lead to increase in cost and reduction in efficiency and effectiveness. Selecting right equipment has always been a key factor in the success of the process it is used for. In this study, superiority and inferiority ranking (SIR) methodis utilized for evaluation of most suitable offer for procurement of equipment installed inside a facility, whereas, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used to calculate the weights of factors that influence procurement decision. To achieve this target, a methodological framework of a series of interviews are conducted, then two questionnaire surveys are developed for identifying the important factors affecting the selection process of equipment and determining their relative importance. A solution of the problem is then designed in a model using AHP and SIR methods in addition to using the simple additive weighting (SAW) and technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) procedures to generate the superiority and inferiority flows. The model is generic and flexible and is used for the application of the multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) methods in the procurement process. The model also offers an efficient and convenient tool that aids its users to act in an orderly and methodical thinking, and guides them in making logical and robust decisions. A case study is presented to demonstrate the use of the developed model and sensitivity analysis is carried out to measure the robustness of the model in different scenarios.

System Dynamics Approach for Forecasting Performance of Construction Projects

Accurate and reliable prediction of project performance is critical to the success of construction projects and companies alike. Such prediction assists in obtaining early warnings against potential problems. Existing project performance forecasting models are fragmented, especially regarding the consideration of interdependency between multidimensional performance indicators. To address these limitations, a system dynamics (SD) model was developed to simulate the complexities that exist among interdependent variables and forecast their dynamics over time. The proposed model integrates eight construction project performance indices, which have been identified through literature review and interviews with domain experts. Performance dimensions include cost, schedule, quality, profitability, safety, environment, team satisfaction, and client satisfaction. This model focuses on the construction phase of projects under unit price contracts and is intended for use by contractors. The model was tested on a road construction project to assess its practicality and accuracy. Results demonstrate general agreement between actual and forecasted performance indices. The model was also used to simulate four possible intervention scenarios by the project manager. Results of various scenarios show overall agreement with expected impacts of the interventions. The research advances the state of practice and knowledge of project performance forecasting through the creation of a more holistic and interdependent model of project performance metrics.