ABSTRACT Competitive bidding is the main mechanism for the allocation and price determination of construction services in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industry. Quantitative bidding methods have received considerable attention in the literature. The validity and reliability of these methods (particularly Freidman and Gates) have been explored using mathematical and statistical analysis

ABSTRACT Long-span timber-concrete composite (TCC) floor systems have the potential to address the design challenges for conventional wooden floors in residential multi-storey timber frame buildings. The aim of this paper is to develop a design approach for long-span timber-concrete composite floor system of 6–9 m. A framework based on value-driven design approach has been developed for integration

ABSTRACT The supply chain plays an essential role in the cost reduction of offshore wind energy. Supply chain complexity is a major driver of end-to-end supply chain costs and at the same time a source of competitive advantage. In this study, a strategic complexity management approach is suggested for analysing and controlling the complexity of the supply chain in offshore wind energy. The adoption

(2020). Discussion of ‘Bias and decision making – an overview systems explanation’ by David G. Carmichael, Civil engineering and environmental systems 2020, v. 37, nos. 1-2, 48–61. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems: Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 143-145.

(2020). Author's reply to: David Elms’ discussion of ‘Bias and decision making – an overview systems explanation’. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems: Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 146-148.

An engineer can be greatly helped in dealing with complex and unusual systems by taking a specific attitude to the world of reality: The Systems Stance. It involves an attitude of personal engagement and in which one relates to almost all reality by means of models. Of the many forms of model, the most important distinction is between generic and specific models. Modelling is discussed generally including

The paper outlines what is believed to be a robust systems framework, suitable for the development of a Body of Knowledge in Civil Engineering Systems (BOK-CES). The proposed framework is structured in six parts, which are amplified and explained in the paper. The framework embodies, or is common to, all people's views on systems, provided terminology is revisited. The six parts are System; System

All professions are facing some formidable challenges including the ‘big three’ – climate change, pandemics and increasing computerisation. The potential threats include new uncertainties about unexpected extreme events, widespread predictions of job losses and the dangers of inappropriate unsafe automation. The opportunities include new types of jobs and new understanding of what civil engineers do

A new approach for sewer regulation with remote-control systems in case of intense meteorological events is presented. A run-time multi-objective decision method was developed and applied to a case study with the aim of minimising water overflow and electric energy consumption of the upstream water collection system of a wastewater treatment plant. Strategy optimisation makes use of genetic algorithms

People are continuously making decisions, most of a minor nature, but also some of significance. Few people seem to enquire as to the basis of their decisions or as to why one decision is chosen over another, while in some cases people may not be fully cognisant of how decision making is happening. For any given situation, provided it is not over-constrained, everyone reaches a different decision.

The construction industry is ranked the first in terms of accidents. Use of appropriate construction safety equipment helps reduce accidents. This study utilises the structural equation modelling to examine relationships among key factors affecting construction safety equipment selection. The approach considers measurement- and structural-models. The measurement-model confirms key factors and their

Large-scale bridge projects (LSBPs) have emerged due to the gradually increasing transportation needs of the connections between isolated regions. In planning, construction or completion of today’s LSBPs, responses are applied to risks arising in areas such as financial, design, environmental and managerial. The main objective of this study is to prioritise the risk responses from the contractors’

On 12th November 2017, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 Richter scale in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab took place that caused lots of human casualties and devastation. After the incident, issues related to the probability of an earthquake with equal intensity and extents of similar building destruction were raised in Kermanshah city. Therefore, a seismic microzonation map of Kermanshah city has been

Environmental risk assessments are routinely carried out in the Norwegian petroleum industry. As this industry is moving north, towards the Arctic and into areas with differing vulnerabilities and new risk sources compared to the now well-developed areas, previous operational experience and analytical practice may become less relevant. Reflecting the lack of knowledge (i.e. the uncertainty) that exists

Green building (GB) rating systems are developed to measure the level of extent or sustainability of buildings. It is very important to focus on the attributes that require more cost and are contributing more to decreasing the negative impact of construction on the environment or nature. This analysis presents an idea-based conceptual model for prioritising the GB attributes by considering the environmental

(2019). Editorial – special issue IFED 2018. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems: Vol. 36, New Challenges in Decision Making: A Collection of Papers from the Tenth International Forum on Engineering Decision Making (IFED), May 2018, Lake Louise, Canada, pp. 1-1.

To date, our built environment is broadly developed and maintained on the basis of structural design standards. Most design standards contain simplified semi-probabilistic safety concepts that help daily structural engineering decision making using simple calculus. For few projects, the semi-probabilistic safety concept is replaced by advanced probabilistic methods that allow for reliability-based

(2018). Perspective: organisations as complex systems. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems: Vol. 35, Organisations as Systems, pp. 1-5.

The availability of data sources has greatly increased due to advances in technology and data sharing. With these new data sources and significantly larger volume of data, engineers have been presented with a unique opportunity to create more realistic and informative models that can be used in real world applications. This paper presents a probabilistic framework for using big data to assess and predict

Risk methods are powerful and versatile, but they have limitations and subtle traps. The paper explores the nature of risk. There are three main difficulties. First, there is a problem with quality and completeness of information. Lack of precise information means that likelihood and consequences have to be estimated, so the information is vulnerable to biases: some are explored. Secondly, there is

Most formal engineering approaches to uncertainty use risk-based methods. Because risk formulations have a number of limitations there are situations where a resilience approach is preferable. A problem with resilience is the difficulty of measuring it. The paper discusses the issue and shows how a resilience formulation was used to prioritise actions to improve infrastructure resilience in an extensive

In this paper, a weighted cellular automata (CA) is proposed to solve bi-objective reservoir operation optimisation problem considering two objectives of water supply and hydropower production. A mathematically derived updating rule is used contributing to the efficiency of the proposed CA method. The updating rule of the problem is derived by converting the bi-objective problem to a single-objective

Norway is the largest hydropower producer in Europe and provides currently 96% of domestic electricity supplies. Hydropower is a renewable and climate friendly source of energy, but causes an impairment on local environmental conditions, recreational use and aesthetics in and along impacted watercourses and lakes. Around 70% of the larger Norwegian watercourses and half of the country`s total water-covered

Support for high-level technical and environmental risk assessment and for large-scale decision making in general is typically provided by qualified experts. Often praised, but also reviled and blamed, the expert dwells in a cocoon of models and expertise and is armed with algorithms, regulations, and technical procedures to justify the support provided. At the end of the day experts often find themselves

Decision making subject to uncertain information, whether fake or factual, in the context of management of socio-technical systems, is critically discussed from both philosophical and operational perspectives. In dealing with possible fake, incorrect and/or factual information we take the perspective that any information utilised as basis for supporting decisions, has to be dealt with in exactly the

Variations in quality or quantity of reservoir discharges and of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are typical sources of uncertainty in controlling and management of river water quality downstream. This study evaluates and discusses the impacts of these operation-based uncertainties on waste load allocation (WLA) policies, like water quality trading (WQT), by Monte-Carlo simulation. For this purpose

Seismic response analysis of layered soils which is gained from earthquake motion must be considered in practical engineering simulations. In order to predict this nonlinear dynamic response, artificial neural network (ANN) models were used in this research. The white noise earthquake was used as an induced earthquake to train and test a neural network against a numerical model (also subjected to the

To capture a big picture of construction safety, system dynamics modelling has been increasingly applied. Despite the popularity, there have been confusion and inconsistencies in variables and their interrelationships at the conceptual level. This paper aims to propose a generic system dynamics model which can be used as a theoretical framework to investigate safety problems at the macro level. The

Metropolitan regions have diverse governance systems comprised of many organisations. In western North American cities, networks of water supply agencies are highly complex. Agencies face future challenges, especially promoting alternative water sources to cope with imported water scarcity and population growth. How might such operational changes affect existing management structures? Answering this

The quantitative analysis of organisations as systems can only proceed with confidence if the underlying models are truly representative and have been validated. Without such models, the outcomes of any quantitative analysis can be criticised. This paper contends that organisations are perhaps one of the most confronting systems to model, and validation of any models proposed by researchers is fraught

A novel approach for the identification of the optimal strategy for building retrofit is presented and applied to a case study in northern Italy. Increased envelope insulation, more efficient heat-generating systems, thermal distribution and terminal units, heating control systems, electric distribution systems, and renewable energies exploitation were considered as possible measures. A tailored multi-criteria

Rework is a pervasive problem that stymies practice in construction. A considerable amount of research has been undertaken to address rework, but there has been limited progress made in reducing its occurrence and adverse consequences. Many such studies have identified singular causal factors and have not acknowledged the interdependency and complex relationships that contribute to rework. To understand

In this paper, decision trees machine learning algorithms, namely Random Forest (RF), Alternating Decision Tree (ADT), and Logistic Model Tree (LMT), were applied for modelling of susceptibility of landslides at the Luc Yen district, Northern Vietnam. These methods were evaluated to compare the performance of models and for selection of the best model for landslide susceptibility mapping and prediction

Modern societies are increasingly dependent on interconnected infrastructure networks. The vulnerability of these networks to complex, and potentially cascading, interdependency-related failures is also increasing. Infrastructure networks face multi-faceted risks at the confluence of many emerging societal and environmental pressures. Navigating pathways through these risks necessitates resilience-based

A risk-based robustness assessment approach of a steel frame structure affected by unforeseen events is developed. The approach quantifies both the failure consequence index and failure probability index and assesses the structural robustness of real steel frame structures. The separateness is used as the failure consequence index and determined by identifying the key components and possible collapse

In the past few decades, sustainability has become one of the world's most important but also controversial subjects. The construction industry, in particular, has a significant impact on societies’ sustainability, prompting the creation of certifications and standards designed for mitigating the impact of buildings on the natural environment. However, despite the efforts to clearly quantify a sustainable

The workplace accidents in Singapore’s construction sector continue to dominate among occupational fatalities. In order to improve the overall safety performance of firms, it is critical to evaluate and eliminate the root causes of such incidents. This study aims to identify and assess the systemic lapses as the main causes of accidents in the construction industry. The study introduces a framework

This research paper focuses on evaluating the performance of the Great Wall of China in Jinshanling using the Fuzzy Performance Tree Analysis (FPTA), Baldwin’s fuzzy-set rotational model, and defuzzification using the centroid and mean methods. The inputs for the performance tree analysis and Baldwin’s model are derived from the knowledge base of the authors’ earlier study. The outputs from the defuzzification

Booster disinfection stations are the solution alternative to maintain required disinfectant residual concentration in water distribution networks. In the present study, an optimisation problem to determine the optimum injection rates is solved. The minimisation of the total injected mass is considered as the objective function which is subjected to bound constraints on chlorine concentration. Two

Urban renewal programmes offer an opportunity to improve the environmental sustainability of urban areas by creating well-designed and well-constructed built environments. In this study, the contributions of built environment design elements to environmental sustainability were evaluated through a questionnaire survey with the participation of 323 people who previously worked in urban renewal projects

Infrastructure development is a long term process, which cannot easily adapt to sudden change; and infrastructure assets can have long lifetimes. Poor investment choices risk locking in poor policy choices for substantial periods of time. The ‘need’ for a new infrastructure asset arises due to demographic, economic or policy changes. But historically Ireland’s infrastructure investment has also been

Linked simulation-optimisation (S–O) models need to simulate the physical processes either by using a rigorous numerical model, or a trained surrogate model approximating the physical processes. A methodology is proposed to evolve Pareto optimal management strategies for a multi-layered coastal aquifer system using a trained and tested Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline (MARS) surrogate model

(2017). The future of national infrastructure: a systems-of-systems approach. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems: Vol. 34, No. 3-4, pp. 324-325.

This research intends to evaluate the influence of structural nonlinearity on the seismic risk of an offshore wind turbine with respect to linear analysis. The structural nonlinearity is presented into the structure, as materially nonlinear, by calibrating plastic hinge at the end of the elastic beam-element of the structure. To guarantee ideal circumstance for seismic analysis, this study includes

In this study, a cutting-edge methodology for measuring the performance of water utilities based on two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was applied to individual districts of a California-based water utility. A bootstrap technique involving the construction of confidence intervals was implemented to overcome the deterministic nature of conventional DEA, and a number of exogenous variables were

In this study, computational algorithms for the simulations of the operations of pumps for water distribution storage tanks were developed. The developed algorithms include pump operating rules for different electricity price schemes and operating situations such as normal and emergency conditions. The algorithms were programmed into System Dynamics modelling modules that can be used as basic building

The past decade, practice and literature have shown an increasing interest in Systems Engineering (SE) in the civil engineering industry. The aim of this study is to analyse to what extent SE is applied in six civil engineering SE projects of a Dutch water board. The projects were analysed using a framework that was developed from existing SE literature. The projects that scored highest on the application

Global developments in construction give sustainability a crucial role in overall healthy functioning of society as well as the whole environment. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) represent a response to the sustainability trend, since they bring faster construction and better environmental, energy and economic parameters. The aim of this article is to analyse and evaluate the benefits of MMC in

Vulnerability indices at the global or national scales require considerable data aggregation where local economic and social impacts remain unnoticed. The goal of this study was to analyze the extent of inundated land from sea level rise and its economic impacts to residential property in coastal communities. Geographic data were integrated with economic and social data at parcel level resolution through

The aim of this article was to characterise and compare the level of environmental intelligence among university students from selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This was done using empirical data collected by the author in 2015. In the introduction and theoretical part of this text, the term ‘environmental intelligence’ is defined, and issues raised by modern sociologists such as M

The nature of risk needs to be more clearly understood. Risk management could be tightened as a discipline, particularly by adopting an underlying foundation of systems thinking. Risk management, even when well done, has inherent limitations, and these should be well understood, particularly those arising from modelling, completeness, correlation effects, and the often-great uncertainties in estimates

A revolution in engineering education is coming, but is civil engineering ready? Students learn differently from how they did a few generations ago and the rapid pace of technology change means that the goals of education need to change as well as the method. New engineering degree programmes are arising, and though they aspire to teach a new generation of interdisciplinary engineers, they do not seem

The author is to be congratulated on attempting to institute a discussion of an important subject. Unfortunately his paper does not do justice to the literature since it is severely incomplete. In this discussion first I will set out points where I agree with him, second those where I disagree and through that thirdly indicate some of the missing topics and researchers.

Dam failures are catastrophic accidents resulting in property damage and loss of life. Risk prioritisation systems should be used in accordance with dam safety regulations to prevent these disasters. The purpose of this paper is to develop a risk assessment software which can be used by the decision makers for ranking of dams. Risk assessment was conducted on three embankment dams from Turkey to obtain

This paper discusses the sustainability performance of the ancient construction method and the service life during the Ming Dynasty on the Great Wall of China in Jinshanling. Jinshanling section of the Great Wall is located in Luanping County, approximately 150 km northeast of Beijing, China [“Beijing China to Jinshanling China.” 2015. Google Maps, October 10. Accessed October 10, 2015]. To determine

The main assumption in seismic design procedures for structural systems is to provide the building with a high level of structural performance, subjected to earthquake loads. Such demand for higher performance needs additional investment on the project. In this work by taking into account the socio-economical aspects of the project, a value-based design approach is used to rationalise the structural

(2016). Editorial Board. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems: Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. ebi-ebi.

Green building rating systems have been developed to measure the level of sustainability of buildings. Existing methods can be applied to different regions by addressing additional aspects such as varied climatic conditions and regional variations. This paper investigated the most widely used environmental building assessment methods, namely BREEAM, LEED, SB-Tool, CASBEE, LEED-India, GRIHA and Eco-housing

A large amount of natural resources and energy is wasted during and after the building construction process which might cause environmental problems such as climate changes. In order to achieve higher standards of environmental protection a range of building assessment systems has been established. However, they are mostly connected with the efficiency of an environmental protection and consumption

Urban development projects carry major issues and are also subject to significant risks. Soil (surface and underground) can be the source of uncertainties that may induce risks. Soil risks are often reduced by experts to geotechnical issues. The SORIA method (SOil RIsk Analysis for urban planning project) was developed into the ANR-D2SOU project to integrate a more comprehensive analysis related to