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Since a well-established construction information classification system (CICS) can be an information center through the life cycle of a project, it is important to use a proper CICS for managing construction information. Construction Index/Samarbetskommitten for Byggnadsfragor (CI/SfB) has been used in various countries as one of the best among the earlier CICSs as well as Masterformat in North America. CI/SfB, however, cannot represent many new construction technologies introduced during the 20 years that have passed since the last revision. Therefore, ISO developed a new CICS framework. Subsequently, the Construction Project Information Committee, including the Institution of Civil Engineers, developed the Uniclass system based on the ISO framework. Considering that Uniclass is intended to substitute for CI/SfB and that each country needs international exchange of information by the ISO standard, it is necessary to analyze the organization of Uniclass. This study analyzed the practical adaptability of Uniclass compared to CI/SfB and then suggested applicable illustrations with appropriate methodologies to improve the adaptability for civil engineering works. As a result, items classified in Uniclass gained a significant improvement for civil engineering projects compared to the existing CICSs, which have focused on architectural projects. The proposed methodologies will make the applicability of the CICS better by the improved scheme and by being consistent.

Civil engineering academics are caught between a science-based university culture on one side, and on the other, the expectations of students and practicing engineers in industry who want practical knowledge for immediate application. The science-based culture primarily measures faculty by research projects and funding, Ph.D. students produced, and by papers refereed primarily by academic peers for publication and citation in scholarly journals. There are strong pressures to produce these outputs, which are duly quantified for tenure and promotion decisions but the system does not directly reward time spent gaining practical experience in full-time or part time jobs prior to academic employment, or later in summers or sabbaticals, or in solving problems through consultations. This paper will address the balance between academia and practice, and focus on the residential building sector of the design and construction industry as one that is largely neglected by engineering programs. In particular, it will show where the design and construction of residential structures can provide opportunities to enhance engineering education and open new avenues for broad, interdisciplinary research that are different from those where engineering academics normally venture. In conclusion, it will focus on academics who successfully bridge the realm of academia and the world around them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Change is ubiquitous in construction project schedules and there are many interrelationships and interdependencies in project schedule changes. Therefore, a schedule change in the work of a subcontractor might affect schedules of other subcontractors, as well as the project deadline. The subcontractor should resolve schedule conflicts with other affected subcontractors. This implies that there is a need for a methodology for the distributed coordination of project schedule changes (DCPSC). This paper presents a novel agent-based compensatory negotiation methodology to facilitate the DCPSC wherein a project can be rescheduled dynamically through negotiations by all of the concerned subcontractors. The methodology consists of a compensatory negotiation strategy based on utility of timing, multilinked negotiation protocols, and message-handling mechanisms. A simple case example illustrates the methodology. The methodology makes new contributions in both theoretical and practical areas. In practice, this methodology will improve project network schedules, by lowering the sum of the cost of the subcontractors associated with their resource constraints. In theory, the methodology provides a distributed coordination methodology that can improve interaction and collaboration among agents and people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Midcareer reflections based on work combining computers and construction leave an appreciation for the rapid progress that has taken place in both fields in recent decades. Computers have brought many benefits in helping the industry to meet increasingly complex challenges, but as automation becomes pervasive, greater attention must be focused on the social and economic impacts on construction people. Construction education and research have also become much more computer-oriented, but it may be time to take stock of evolving curriculums and more systematically consider what should be done to meet future industry needs. In general, construction has a strong cadre of young researchers who have become well-grounded in advanced computer technologies and are in a position to continue bringing its benefits to construction practice in the future, but they must stay attuned to the needs of industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction workers are subjected to heat stress because of the hot environment, physically demanding tasks, and/or personal protective equipment. A tailor-made cooling vest that protects construction workers from heat-related injuries was developed. The purpose of the study is to examine a newly designed cooling vest's effectiveness in alleviating physiological and perceptual strain in a hot and humid environment. Twelve male participants performed two trials, i.e., cooling vest (VEST) and control (CON) in a climatic chamber controlled at 37°C temperature, 60% relative humidity, 0.3 m/s air velocity, and 450 W/m² solar radiation to simulate the summer working environment of construction sites. Two bouts of treadmill exercise intermitted with 30-minute passive recovery were designed to simulate the practical work-rest schedule of the construction industry. The cooling vest was used during the passive recovery period in the VEST condition, and the results were compared with that of no cooling vest in the CON condition. The results revealed that the newly designed cooling vest can significantly alleviate heat strain and improve thermal comfort, based on the decrease in body temperature, heart rate, and subjective perceptions (including perceived exertion, thermal, wetness, and comfort sensation) of the participants. It can also prolong work duration in the subsequent exercise. The cooling countermeasures proposed in this study will be able to provide an effective solution in situations that involve repeated bouts of outdoor construction work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides insight into how and why construction has developed as a research based discipline over the past 50 years. The writer presents anecdotal information about certain critical events which played a role in shaping the thrust of construction research in the United States. The acceptance of construction engineering and management as a university level program and discipline is strongly tied to research and the publication of scholarly work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction engineering and management (CEM) research over the past 50 years has focused on extending and applying management and computer science approaches to minimize cost during the implementation phase of construction projects. Three emerging trends suggest the need to broaden the frame of future CEM research in several ways: (1) more integrated delivery of design, planning, construction, and operation of buildings and infrastructure requires us to broaden the focus of construction engineering and management research across the entire facility lifecycle; (2) rapid globalization of the construction industry requires new governance structures for projects that can bridge across the gaps in values, beliefs, norms, work practices, and laws between participants from different countries; and (3) heightened global awareness of, and demands for, enhanced sustainability requires new approaches, methods, and tools to incorporate sustainability issues in the early phases of the facility development process. Building on ASCE’s 2006 Vision for the Future of Civil Engineering. This paper elaborates each of these three trends and draws implications for refocusing and redirecting construction engineering and management research, education, and civic leadership in the next 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses a method for evaluating the effectiveness of a construction plan. Definition of value-added assessment; Current approaches to evaluate construction operations; Classification of movement of resources around the work area; Masonry wall construction project; Need for a standard methodology.