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The returns from public investment, especially during periods of scaling up, are often lower than expected. To understand the mechanisms behind this regularity we exploit original information on investment projects obtained from World Bank project reports to document the extent and the drivers of time delays in project implementation. We find that almost 60 percent of investment projects are delayed by at least one year. Time overruns are common across sectors and countries. A sound planning and preparation matter for the timing of project execution. Country characteristics also play a role, as projects undertaken in countries with weaker institutions and in periods of public investment scaling up are completed with longer delays.

Project construction is a dynamic and complex system that involves many parties from the planning stage to the project handover stage. The problems that arise are varied and generally vary from one project to another, but these problems affect project performance. Project performance is assessed from the time of project execution, the quality or quality of the project and the costs used in the construction project. Problems that arise in a project often lead to an extension of the project implementation time, additional project costs and work results that do not match the quality of the agreement. This study aims to determine the influence of the internal and external environment on project performance, especially the electricity system development project in Borneo. Internal and external environmental factors are taken from related studies as well as previous research that has been carried out in various countries and regions. It can be concluded that economic and financial factors (X1), technology factors and construction resources (X2) and project organizational culture factors (X3) are the factors causing project performance problems (Y).

The focus of this study is to examine the relationship between project risk mitigation and project execution in the Nigeria oil and gas industry. Specifically, the study examines the extent of contribution of project risk mitigation in realising project budget, quality, schedule and scope during execution. In pursuant of these objectives, survey research design was used. 102 questionnaires were administered to the Managing Directors or Chief Operating Officers and project or operations managers of the selected companies. Eighty two questionnaires were validly retrieved and used for data analysis. Data obtained were analysed mean and Spearman’s rank order correlation analysis. The study found that projects risk mitigation was significantly and positively related to project execution in terms of budget, quality, schedule and scope. The study therefore recommends that there should be a holistic integration and constant improvement of project risk mitigation strategies which will help improve the quality of projects executed in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

This paper was prepared to introduce the importance of knowledge and awareness by adhering to international standards when establishing large economic projects (> 1.0 m $) through preparing a detailed feasibility study. This includes all stages of the project (from idea to operation) and identifies project outputs and indicators of success, in order to establish best projects and for the optimal use of public money, based on a comparison and clarification with some successful projects to benefit from their experience. In fact, most projects in the Sudan are not studied and implemented according to a disciplined professional hierarchy and international standards, which often leads to their failure. Therefore, defining this problem and describing the solution should be a professional duty, the greater of which is located in the economic, engineering, the administrative, and the executive sectors, but the opinion of the civil engineer still remains as a key factor from the idea to the operational (Rule of Thumb). To solve this problem, we proposed simple guidelines for establishing projects from the idea to the operating, benefiting from our experience with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Islamic Development Bank, and guidelines from consultant homes and financing institutions in this regard. Finally, we think that our suggested guidelines can be used as basic platform for all those involved and those in charge of these projects, so that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (the largest financier) can end up as binding directors (along the lines of purchase and contracting laws and regulations) to obtain the funding required to implement projects public financed with loans or grants by global or local funding agencies.

In this paper, an evolutionary game was developed and used to simulate interactions among the key stakeholders associated with the monitoring and control of environmental impact of the projects. Th...

The purpose of this research is to examine the causes of delay in airport projects in general and the King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) of Saudi Arabia in particular. The KAIA is the most strategic and busiest airport of Saudi Arabia, which transports millions of pilgrims from two hundred countries to perform Hajj and Umrah in Makkah. In general, more than 50% of construction projects fail on one more area. Our method of research is empirical based on the analysis of responses received from seventy-one respondents to our survey questions. We shall also synthesize literature that utilizes previous research and case studies on aviation and public project failures. We believe that this research will be valuable in ascertaining and mitigating direct causes for the numerous project delays in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In the resource levelling problem (RLP) under uncertainty, existing studies focus on obtaining an open-loop activity list that is not updated during project execution. In project management practic...

Managing project scope, time, and cost in an agile project planning are considered to be key influencing factors for a project's success. A large quantum of work and literature shows how agile with its iterative project execution methodology has produced a large number of successful projects over the last two decades, especially in the IT sector. However, the concern regarding applicability of this highly successful project execution methodology in industrial sectors other than IT has been a question to which researchers are trying to find an answer. The solution to this problem would require covering all aspect of project management through which an answer for its applicability could be provided. This study identifies the possible issues and proposes an agile plus limited to scope, time, and cost knowledge area of project management. The results are obtained from the extensive empirical findings gathered using literature study, interviews, and surveys. Further, the empirical findings and proposed model are quantitatively validated, which came out to be in accordance with the literature and empirical findings.

Innovation activities represented by Six Sigma (6σ) led to improvements not only in manufacturing industries but also in various business fields. In the aviation industry, Six Sigma has been used as a tool of innovation since the beginning of 2000, and it has developed into a comprehensive form of innovation activity that includes various improvement tools. In this study, the innovation activities in K company that is a representative company of aviation industry are summarized in the last 10 years, and the effectiveness of the innovation tools and the performance of the tasks are also analyzed. The results of 2,091 projects over the past decade have been analyzed from various perspectives. First, we found out the tools that were used frequently at each DMAIC step, showed their frequency, and analyzed the evaluation results for the project. The project was evaluated from grade 1 (highest level) to grade 7 (lowest level) with an average grade of 4.1 for the overall project. The evaluation grades of the projects were compared and analyzed in terms of the qualifications of the leader, the roadmap for the implementation of the project, the financial effect, the size of the financial effect, the business classification, and the project execution period. These results may suggest new perspectives for companies considering or adopting innovation programs.

Due to a lack of suitable methods, extraction of reporting requirements from lengthy construction contracts is often completed manually. Because of this, the time and costs associated with completing reporting requirements are often informally approximated, resulting in underestimations. Without a clear understanding of requirements, contractors are prevented from implementing improvements to reporting workflows prior to project execution. This study developed an automated reporting requirement identification and time–cost prediction framework to overcome this challenge. Reporting requirements are extracted using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), and stochastic simulations are used to predict overhead costs and durations associated with report preparation. Functionality and validity of the framework were demonstrated using real contracts, and an accuracy of over 95% was observed. This framework provides a tool to rapidly and efficiently retrieve requirements and quantify the time and costs associated with reporting, in turn providing necessary insights to streamline reporting workflows.

Currently, facility design standardization is a well-established and quotidian strategy, especially in the manufacturing and shipbuilding industries. Even so, the construction industry, spe...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve students’ problem-solving skills in civil engineering and construction management education. Design/methodology/approach The design includes structured role-playing as a pedagogical method in 21 project teams with a total of 82 undergraduate students at Chang’an University, China, in a nine-week Building Information Modeling (BIM) capstone course. The methodology is a teaching–learning experiment in a civil engineering education program with a detailed description of the empirical case and assessment instruments. The approach is to train project execution planning in a capstone course by role-playing with a real-world project using the procedures of the BIM Project Execution Planning Guide (PEPG) and process mapping. Findings The study finds that students can significantly improve their problem-solving skills through planning and role-specific communication during projects. Research limitations/implications The research sample needs to be expanded from senior-level undergraduate students to consider the different backgrounds and motivations of students. Practical implications This pedagogy is helpful to educators who are interested in group learning with a real-world project; the procedures of BIM PEPG; self-chosen responsibilities within a capstone course time framework; raising the awareness of the importance of planning; information exchange; and team cooperation. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to study how role-playing in information and technology rich environments can be structured.

2019 marked the start of an active phase of national projects implementation in Russia. The author uses official quantitative data from open sources to examine the features of federal support allocation among Russian regions for national project execution. The methodology and legal framework of federal transfer allocation for national project accomplishment are analyzed. The research shows that in many aspects the regime of grant financing in national projects has a number of advantages and preferences in comparison with the “standard” schemes and approaches. The author proposes formalized approaches to assess the potential impact of federal financial support for national projects on the regional budgets. The article contains recommendations for implementation of wide-purpose grant for national projects funding based on their consolidation and suggestions for optimization of administrative procedures. The author concludes that the allocation of intergovernmental transfers for national projects among regions in general reflects the fiscal capacities of regions and meets the differentiation in budget costs among them. At the same time, some regions increased the revenue base on a larger scale due to the implementation of national projects. On the other hand, it is possible to determine a group of regions with the deficit of current federal aid and preconditions for additional support.

The returns from public investment, especially during periods of scaling up, are often lower than expected. To understand the mechanisms behind this regularity we exploit original information on investment projects obtained from World Bank project reports to document the extent and the drivers of time delays in project implementation. We find that almost 60 percent of investment projects are delayed by at least one year. Time overruns are common across sectors and countries. A sound planning and preparation matter for the timing of project execution. Country characteristics also play a role, as projects undertaken in countries with weaker institutions and in periods of public investment scaling up are completed with longer delays.

Objectives/Scope: CapEx Project delivery in the Oil and Gas industry is markedly underperforming other industries. McKinsey and IHS have reported that for projects over $1BN:98% of Projects incur cost overruns or delaysThe average cost increase is 80% of the original valueThe average slippage is 20 months behind original schedule The advent of "Industry 4.0" is highlighted by the adoption of integrated technology and software tools that focus on management of data across entire projects teams. This has enabled a leap in project execution performance in Aerospace, Manufacturing, and Agriculture. This paper investigates how the current Oil and Gas project execution methodologies can also be enhanced to leverage an Industry 4.0 strategy. This approach has been dubbed EPC 4.0. Methods, Procedures, Process Through a process of dissecting existing workflows, business processes, contracting strategies, organizational structures, and information management practices used in capital project execution, the authors have proposed revised practices leveraging digital technology capabilities. These practices take advantage of systems that bring true data integration between all project tools, leveraging a single source of truth that can be visualized in 1D (data), 2D (schematics) or 3D (model), 4D (time) and 5D (cost) enabling project analytics and collaboration between all project disciplines, project teams and project stakeholders. Results, Observations, Conclusions The result is an EPC 4.0 blueprint. A series of recommended best practices that are enabled by moving to a unified data centric strategy that will enhance project outcomes. The paper will cover the impact that EPC 4.0 has onContracting Methodologies and Project Team StructuresData Management and data centric workflows/business processesConceptual/Front End Design MaturityEnhanced project oversight, reporting and managementProject collaboration within teams and between organizationsEnhanced Change ManagementPreparation for handover to operations Early adopters of an EPC 4.0 strategy are seeing immediate results. Typical savings are a 50% reduction in engineering in costs or 5% reduction in CapEx. In addition, higher quality output from engineering flows through to procurement, construction, and commissioning yielding a further 10% CapEx savings. More importantly, predictability in project outcomes have significantly increased with teams more effectively able to mitigate and manage cost overruns and schedule delays. Novel/Additive Information The key innovation at the heart of the of EPC 4.0 strategy is the stripping away of the project practices that have built up over the years to mitigate the complexity and volume of information generated during capital project execution. By centralizing and simplifying data management, project contributors can focus on their principal role. For example, engineers can focus on engineering tasks, not on information management tasks.

Typically, Owners beef up their Project Management/Controls organization and develop Project Execution concepts once a development concept has been selected and Basic Engineering gets well under-way. It is observed that Owner's Schedule & Cost influence is high, while expenditure of either is low during Concept & Planning phases as against during the Execution phase. This work proposes elaboration of a number of key project dimensions, collectively called integrated Front-End Loading (iFEL), enabling PM diligence during Conceptual and Scope development phases, overcoming the traditionally limited visibility to PM added value in these phases by not limiting PM resource investments, while keeping the ever-evolving scope, risk, complexity challenges in perspective. A purpose-built Project Management Organization (PMO) implementing the above methods and administering the various procedures during the Feasibility/Concept, pre-FEED (Front End Engineering Design) and FEED phases can assume control of the value levers, improve predictability of the desired project outcomes and set the project on course for EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) execution success as demonstrated by reference project(s) that adopted this approach. This work proposes establishment of a dedicated, technically competent and scalable PMO during Pre-EPC phases to oversee front-end scope definition, maintenance of a list of big-ticket decisionsto be landed during each phase, securing of key resources, contracting strategies, formulation of a proactive management response system and overall value assurance. The PMO can then suitably scale-up and assume back stopper duties during EPC(M) (Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management) follow-up, delivering on project promises that led to the investment decision.

Purpose While it is common for most C-suite executives to have substantial project responsibilities, many do not have a strong understanding of project management leading to significant failures. As projects are the main mechanisms for implementing changes, project performance has disproportional impact on the competitiveness and viability of organizations. This paper aims to attempt to raise awareness of the Chief Project Officer (CPO) role and lay out important skills and capabilities that are needed for managers to ascend to this role as well as key topics of concern when preparing the mindset to be a successful CPO. Design/methodology/approach The authors have based this research on reviewing publications from the project management journals and publications, interviews of project management professionals and drawing from our industry experience in the field of project management. Findings Most organizations have project managers, either formal or informal, to lead projects. As project environment intensifies across industries, larger organizations rely on a project executives and project management office to oversee projects and performance of C-suite tasks. However, these projects and project management office (PMO) managers often lacks the authority and legitimacy to fully carry out the expected function. This is a clear gap in organizational management, and the gap is growing as more resources are dedicated to projects. Many organizations are equipped with the human resource to develop a CPO, the authors identify five main skills and 20 key topics that are crucial to the success of this vital role. Originality/value While the awareness of the CPO is still in its infancy, most organizations have equivalent or emerging senior project executive roles that may evolve and become CPOs. Today, organizations are increasingly pushed to pursue project-oriented structures to a rapidly changing environment, global market and fast-paced technological advances. It is likely that the CPO role will grow and become a crucial component in top management teams in the coming years to help organizations in moving forward to achieve their strategic goals and objectives.

Summary In the overall E&P industry the definition of corporate exploration success differs from organization to organization. It could vary widely from investing early into the right piece of acreage for an investment company, to drilling a discovery well for an exploration only company, to matching the producing volume of hydrocarbon from subsurface with the discovery volume claimed by the Exploration department for a major oil and gas producer. Most of the organizations define their business processes as per their corporate goals and establish stage gate processes for decision making. The exploration processes framework is the guidance to identify and prioritize the work to be done as per the business goal, facilitate collaboration between domains, make each domain understand their roles and responsibility to achieve the common goal, and how their work is going to be used in the next step. The digital solution is embedding the exploration processes framework into cloud native application, with the preservation of data and knowledge, empowers the capacity to integrate analysis from multiple exploration domains, increase the understanding of regional geology to find and mature opportunities. The digital technology successfully establishes the connection between the business goals and the technical project execution.

Current literature shows that poor cost performance in projects has become routine. Research on cost performance has mostly focused on one of the involved parties, either the client or the contractor. Not many research efforts discuss the cost contingency performance of projects. This research discusses the cost performance and cost contingency of projects in the execution phase from the perspective of a client as well as a contractor. Using a case study approach, 95 projects are investigated: 44 client projects and 51 contractor projects. The results show that depending on the perspective, projects can have cost overruns or cost underruns. Comparing the total realized and estimated costs, projects experienced on average about 16% underrun from a client perspective. From a contractor perspective, projects experienced on average up to 2% overrun. The estimated cost contingency in the client's projects was on average 2.64% more than the required cost contingency. The estimated cost contingency in the contractor's projects was on average 5.41% less than the required cost contingency. These differences are explained by pessimism bias and technical reasons on the client's side. On the contractor side, optimism bias and technical and political reasons play a role, resulting in opportunistic behavior. The findings help practitioners to enhance their cost estimates by avoiding both pessimistic bias and optimism bias behavior - for example, by using historical data from earlier projects. Further investigation into the influence of market conditions on cost estimates is suggested.

Energies : open-access journal of related scientific research, technology development and studies in policy and management / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) 13(19), 5072 (2020). doi:10.3390/en13195072 special issue: "Special Issue "Underground Pumped Storage Plants" / Special Issue Editors, Assoc. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Elena Pummer, Guest Editor; Adjunct Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kaspar Vereide, Guest Editor; Prof. Leif Lia, Guest Editor;Prof. Andre Niemann, Guest Editor", Published by MDPI, Basel

Project management subject encompasses several project execution and control techniques which are used to ensure successful project delivery. One of such techniques is Earned Value Analysis. Teaching students of information system engineering the principles of Earned Value Analysis is quite challenging, as mastering Earned Value Analysis requires a thorough understanding of the metrics, repetitive calculations and application of the knowledge to various project situations. Therefore, gamification principles were applied and Earned Value Analysis learning game was implemented. The EVA game is an online board game which also incorporates such game elements as rewards, leaderboard, badges, points, levels and feedback. These game elements aim to stimulate the competition among students, increase motivation and level of engagement and make the learning process more interesting. Although the first experimental assessment of the EVA game involved a relatively small number of participants, it demonstrated that students positively evaluate the introduction of gamification elements into the study process.

Geoinformatics (GI) education is widely used as a spatial visualization-interdisciplinary tools for its ability to understand the geographical phenomenon around us in the past and model the future scenario. Its global importance and usage have made the need of disseminating the education with public and school students. The MSc. Students of different backgrounds at Institute for Geoinformatics in the University of Munster were involved in one of such works through the seminar cum project on ‘Transdisciplinary education in Geoinformatics’ through GI@School Lab with the aim of engaging high school students on applying GI knowledge on Agriculture. The grade 12 students were presented with the ongoing GI empowered research projects at first such that the school students developed the project ideas of their interests to use GI on agricultural sectors based on which MSc students developed 4 different projects and Growth Condition (Sensors) is one of them. This project aims to determine the best suited condition for Salad plants growth based on the size of the Salad leaves measured after monitoring the growth of the plants by planting them on 4 plastic boxes filled with same soil type but in different lighting conditions and water conditions to be measured by the concerned sensors to after the 8 weeks of indoor growth. The project execution week took place as the 5-day workshop and feedbacks were taken as questionnaire surveys from the participated students and concerned teachers for the project evaluation. The sensors-collected data could even serve as the ground truth data of a citizen observatory projects for Copernicus in-situ component. The whole project aims at reducing generational gaps between the students by bringing them the opportunity for knowledge co-creation through transdisciplinary projects on agricultural sector using GI technologies.

With the emergence of digital engineering in the construction context, significant opportunities have arisen for safer project execution. Several studies in recent years have described various applications of digital engineering to improve safety performance. However, what is missing is a systematic review that shows the direct links between the potential of these approaches and how they address the causes of construction accidents. This study is an attempt to fill this gap by conducting a realist systematic review of the literature published since 2012. The study draws from the Loughborough Construction Accident Causation (ConAC) model to create a comprehensive list of accident causes and relates these causes to the identified digital engineering potential, as reflected in the literature. This approach identifies the research gaps and neglected research domains, particularly six endemic problems, within the current digital engineering literature pertaining to safety, while introducing future areas associated with the identified gaps. This study provides useful insights to investigators who gain direction towards the top priorities for future research. In practical terms, the study collates and presents various areas of potential within digital engineering to address the causes of accidents on construction sites, providing a concise source of knowledge for practitioners.

Precedence Diagram Method (PDM) is a visual representation technique that depicts the activities involved in a project. It is a tool for scheduling activities using nodes to represent activities and their connections with arrows to illustrate activity dependencies. During project execution, activities in the project may be considered to change and may lead to inconsistency of dependency types. Consequently, dates and deadlines are missed so these mistakes could prove very costly. Since an ontology describes the relationship between the concepts within a domain. Thus, the ontology could be used to represent knowledge of PDM. This paper proposes PDM Ontology in OWL and rules for inferring the new knowledge from existing PDM and validating PDM using SWRL.

Technically, safety planning and project execution planning has been carried out separately for most BIM-based projects. As such, it leads to difficulties in monitor these planning simultaneously during construction phase. In this regards, the Automated Safety Rule Checking (ASRC) system is perceived to distinguish fall hazards by integrating the system in the existing BIM-model. This paper pursues to explore the integration of ASRC system within BIM-based projects in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was employed to large public and private organisations that involved with BIM. The data were analysed by using content analysis technique and revealed that ASRC system is yet to be incorporated into BIM-based projects in Malaysia.Keywords: ASRC System; BIM; Fall Hazard; SafetyeISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.

Bridges projects, usually considered a wide range of geotechnical research for the design of foundations. These works are of considerable importance for the proper design of foundations (shallow or deep) as well as to avoid problems during the project execution (time, cost, safety, complementary campaigns, etc.). This paper aims to analyze criteria and minimum geotechnical requirements for the project development of traditional and long-span bridges in Chile, taking into account international and national experience, considering as case of study the Project of Design and Construction of Chacao Bridge: multi-span suspension bridge with two main spans, 1,055 m and 1,155 m, currently underway in southern Chile, as a result of this work a summary of the minimum geotechnical requirements needed is proposed. Resumen: Para el desarrollo de proyectos de puentes, de grandes luces, por lo general se considera una gran variedad de investigaciones geotécnicas a la hora de diseñar las fundaciones. Estos trabajos son de gran importancia a la hora de diseñar de forma adecuada las fundaciones de los puentes, ya sean profundas o superficiales, además de que la correcta realización de estos estudios evitarán una serie de problemas durante la fase de ejecución del proyecto (tiempo, costos, seguridad, estudios complementarios, etc.). Este artículo, se centra en analizar los criterios y requerimientos geotécnicos mínimos para desarrollar proyectos de puentes tradicionales y de grandes luces en Chile, para lo cual se ha tomado en cuenta la experiencia internacional y nacional. En el artículo se considera el caso de estudio correspondiente al Proyecto de Diseño y Construcción del Puente de Chacao, un puente de colgante con dos tramos principales, de 1055 m y 1155 m en ejecución en el Sur de Chile, entregando como resultado de este trabajo una propuesta de requerimientos geotécnicos mínimos.

The purpose of this study is to develop the implementation of the framework of the government green building (GB) project in Malaysia. The research intended to investigate the factors involved in the development of the framework and significant relationships that exist among the factors. A total of 30 respondents were selected from Menara Kerja Raya (MKR) project team that included engineers, assistant engineers, technical assistant, stakeholders, contractors, and consultants. The pilot test analysis was conducted using the quantitative analysis and hypothesis testing through SPSS 22.0. In conclusion, the ‘types of project execution’ was the main factor to make the successful delivery of the GB projects followed by project management and policies guidelines, project staff perceptions, and the government policies. This framework would contribute to the existence of the GB implementation as well as serve as a basic platform for efficient and systematic execution of its projects in Malaysia. It is hoped that the implementation of this framework could promote the success of GB delivery, especially to the Malaysian government projects.

Poor planning of building projects is observed to definitely increase both time consumption and costs. Limitations of existing studies about contrast between BIM 4D methodology and conventional graphic planning, focus on comparing them from a qualitative point of view, without quantifying their real performance. The present paper is aimed at performing a quantitative analysis on BIM 4D methodology as compared to conventional graphic planning. Provided this novel methodology accounts for building elements including technical and visual information, subsequent construction operations would be carried out in a more controlled and a more accurate environment. In particular, a balance between suitable construction data management included in the BIM model and appropriate use of task planning information was analysed. The results show that the integration of BIM in the project execution planning ensures greater control over the model, thus preventing time- and cost-inefficiencies along the project development. Although traditional planning proves to be 20% shorter than 4D simulation, the latter is observed to be 40% more efficient regarding visual monitoring of time progress and also 40% more efficient in the data update process.

One of the major problems of human resource allocation in project execution is associated with the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem. In this context, this article aims to present a scenario about the academic production on the topic, presenting the classic authors, the scientific journals with the largest publications, the most used constructs, the most referenced areas of interest and the most recent works of the authors with Number of publications in the theme. The results show that the theme remains relevant as well as identifying the points that can still be explored by new authors.

Resource levelling aims to obtain a feasible schedule to minimise the resource usage fluctuations during project execution. It is of crucial importance in project scheduling to ensure the effective...

Agile methodologies changed the way of software development in the last decades. However, there is still struggling with the implementation of agile methods in environments such as the telecommunications industry with its long lasting projects in complex and large system set-ups. In this paper, we present a survey on agile software projects in telecommunications and comparable organizations and a case study of a multi-year software integration project and its transition from traditional project execution to agile methods at an Austrian mobile network operator. Including all pitfalls and failures.

This case study deals with three situations of unforeseen events disturbing the execution of a large-scale project. It highlights the many functions a contract has to fulfil under such circumstances, its impact on project management as well as the effects of its working environment on contract implementation. Since projects are highly dynamic, the contract’s main purpose is to organize an orderly progression of the project while maintaining the substance of the agreement reached by the parties. The contract thus serves as a manual for project execution under unexpected conditions, and the stakeholders’ potential course of action will largely depend on its content.

The design of the electrical part of switchgear substations is mainly carried out without taking into account the economic components and projects in this case must comply only with regulatory documents. The exclusion of economic factors from consideration when designing switchgears for substations is also due to the lack of time for a design engineer involved in the development of large-scale project documentation, and additional calculations under the conditions suitable for the end of the project execution period completely exclude the possibility of integrated accounting of all factors when choosing a switchgear circuit. The paper provides a description of the algorithm for selecting the appropriate option for the layout of an open distribution device for substations of 35-220 kV. The algorithm is based on the method of direct enumeration according to the criterion of the minimum reduced costs for the construction, repair and operation of the switchgear of substations. Possible variants of substation switchgear schemes and layouts are determined on the basis of the requirements of regulatory documents and ensure the required reliability, economy and safety. As the initial data for the determination of capital investments in the construction of electrical installations, the enlarged cost indicators are used. The algorithm is implemented in the original software "ORU CAD". The reported study was funded by RFBR according to the research project № 1837-00115.

The present-day mining operations are increasingly questioned by various stakeholders i.e. government regulators, non-government organizations, investors, environmentalists, land affected people, consumers etc., on account of unsustainable, inefficient, poor planning & implementation practices. Mining companies cannot succeed in the future unless they adopt business risk management principles, implement change management with the emerging digital technologies for transparency and sustainability of operations to renew the confidence of consumers and regulators. In this changing climate, the new generation of mining and other engineers are expected to embrace the emerging digital technologies i.e. real-time data acquisition, improved data analysis, reporting and enhanced process monitoring covering different aspects right from exploration, planning, project execution, production and marketing. This paper focuses on the need for training mining professionals to face the technological challenges that are pertinent to the mining industry in the rapidly changing global commodity markets.

Over the past few years the German and Austrian construction industries have been confronted with increasing complexity in projects, a situation, which has resulted in a significantly higher number of construction claims. The lack of an effective documentation system and a standardized claim management system has led to a growing number of disputes and legal cases. To develop a standardized claim management system, it is essential to understand and analyze deviations in the as-planned vs. the as-built occurring during project execution. A standardized system may assist in the quantification of impacts of different deviations and change procedures in future projects. This paper focuses on deviations and their effects occurring during project execution, as well as possible disputes arising from them. Further research is necessary in order to develop an effective standardized claim management system.

Technology has transformed the energy industry over the last 60 years. It has made processes more efficient, employees more productive and crucially, it has improved the safety of both workers and facilities. In a mature industry, such as oil and gas, operators and owners are faced with the challenge of safely and efficiently managing their ageing plant and assets. This challenge is compounded by poor historic records and information, and the potential loss of knowledge as the current workforce retires. Coupled with the increasing requirement for high levels of design assurance and confidence in solutions, and the constant pressure to deliver value, faster and cheaper; companies are constantly looking at the latest technological advances, and to other industry sectors, for possible solutions. This paper explores, through case studies, how the latest digital modelling and visualisation techniques are being innovatively deployed to enhance design, delivery and operations in the oil and gas sector. SNC-Lavalin have been uniquely deploying these technologies into the nuclear sector, where access time is highly-limited due to nuclear radiation. This learning has been brought to the oil and gas sector, and is an exemplar of cross-industry working and knowledge transfer.

Karavanke tunnel is considered the most challenging tunneling project in recent time in Slovenian area. Nowadays the project execution design is prepared for the eastern tube and the construction phase will take place in the following years. One of the bigger challenges for tunnel designers was the client requirement for implementation of building information modelling (BIM). The present article discusses the implementation of BIM in tunnel excavation and primary support in the case of Karavanke tunnel project. Because of the uncertainties in tunnel construction, some different approaches had to be taken compared to standard BIM. In fact, lining deformation tolerance is expected to be up to 50 cm, which directly affect the changing of primary lining geometry during the construction phase. The article also compares two different modelling approaches. One approach emphasizes on tunnel support geometry, the other focuses on smart attribute/property attribution with less element modeled in 3D space.

As the level of project complexity also increases the pace of change in business and technology continues to accelerate. The adoption of Industrie 4.0 technologies by most sectors and specifically by the transport logistics sector, means that products and processes will be evolving at a more rapid pace and as a result the lifecycle of things we use and rely on is getting shorter. There is clearly a need to improve the rate of successful project execution. This paper investigates the existence of project management and systems engineering elements in selected projects with a view that specific focus on one element over the other is more likely to lead to project failure.

In this chapter the authors focus on project management skills. Donators are expecting more and more professionalism in the way the projects they are financing are managed. Here project management is structured in six parts: Defining projects and their characteristics, project initiation, project planning, project execution, project closure and review, as well as best practice advice. Both best and worst practice are used to highlight the most important takeaways.