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We analyse the joint scheduling of spare parts production and service engineers in a multi-site maintenance system. In the system, for each failure, a service engineer with the required spare part needs to be allocated for on-site maintenance. If one of the required resources is not readily available, the maintenance task can be satisfied via an external channel with quick responsiveness but high involved costs. Service providers need to make an efficient plan, including production scheduling of spare parts, allocation of service engineers and outsourcing strategy. First, a mathematical model with the objectives of minimum total outsourcing costs and minimum weighted tardiness is formulated. Then, a novel and knowledge-based heuristic algorithm is developed, namely progressive Pareto algorithm based on step-size (PPAS). To verify the performance of PPAS, it is compared against other well-known algorithms, including NSGA-II, MOEA/D, NNIA, RIPG, MMOIG and MNNIA. Finally, the effectiveness of the joint scheduling mode is demonstrated by comparing it with the separate optimisation mode of spare parts production and workforce allocation. Highlights Analyse the joint scheduling of spare parts production and service engineers Construct a bi-objective optimisation model Develop a progressive Pareto algorithm based on step-size Verify the superiority of the proposed algorithm and joint scheduling mode [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the role of trade for the joint uptake of AI‐enabled automation in manufacturing and engineering. It develops an agent‐based model (ABM) where the agents are heterogeneous manufacturers and engineering firms. The ABM features two technology‐related business models: engineering as a face‐to‐face consultancy service and engineering as automated software. The software adoption rate follows an S‐shaped curve for manufacturers and a boom and bust cycle for engineers. In the early phase, shortage of engineers constrains AI uptake, while engineers become abundant when AI is fully adopted. Trade affects the cut‐off productivity level at which manufacturers switch technology, the shape of the adoption rate curve, and the incentives for engineers to develop software. Bulky transactions and different productivity distributions across countries are drivers of trade in their own right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The results obtained in this study can be applied to optimize engineering design, providing assistance in enhancing the durability of concrete structures. This study examined a newly developed environmentally friendly plant-based corrosion inhibitor (Xanthium sibiricum). The natural potential method, linear polarization method, steel weight loss method, and corrosion area method were employed to verify the inhibitor's effectiveness in chloride-containing concrete. The results indicated that Xanthium sibiricum elevated the natural potential of reinforcing steel in concrete, increased its self-corrosion potential, and reduced the self-corrosion current. After three months of curing, the corrosion rate of steel without an inhibitor was approximately 47.5% faster than the experimental group, with the steel loss rate about 40% more severe. The effectiveness of the inhibitor was influenced by increased chloride content in concrete. A two-dimensional multiphase ion transport model of reinforced concrete with realistic aggregate distribution was established using the finite element method (FEM). This model simulated chloride ion transport under typical civil engineering service environments—the coupled effects of a stray current and chloride environment. A predictive formula for the residual compressive strength of reinforced concrete was derived after corrosion under various voltages and chloride ion concentrations for a specific duration. In conjunction with a pump station project operating in a similar environment, the optimal dosage of the Xanthium sibiricum inhibitor for practical engineering was determined to be 2 g/L. At this dosage, the strength of reinforced concrete specimens increased by approximately 31.1%. Finally, a predictive formula for the residual compressive strength of reinforced concrete with an added inhibitor was obtained after corrosion under various voltages and chloride ion concentrations for a specific duration. The conclusions can enhance the durability and safety of concrete structures in similar projects, showing promising application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Management / Gongcheng Guanli Xuebao is the property of Journal of Engineering Management Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Management / Gongcheng Guanli Xuebao is the property of Journal of Engineering Management Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

SD-WANs are an innovative software-defined network (SDN) technology used to reinvent networks, services, and applications in wide area network (WANs). The development of SD-WANs ranges from network optimization in the past to service provision platforms at present and distributed computing systems in the future. The existing surveys on SD-WANs are fragmented, covering specific problems only, and are not comprehensive with detailed research directions. This paper seeks to provide a systematic survey on SD-WANs by introducing major research directions and stating specific problems. Therefore, four major research directions related to traffic engineering, network optimization and systems, service orchestration, and the security issues of SD-WANs are sequentially introduced, along with detailed statements relating to specific problems and the classification of state-of-the-art research. Finally, the trends and challenges regarding SD-WANs are summarized and our future work is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the domain of space rendezvous and docking, visual navigation plays a crucial role. However, practical applications frequently encounter issues with poor image quality. Factors such as lighting uncertainties, spacecraft motion, uneven illumination, and excessively dark environments collectively pose significant challenges, rendering recognition and measurement tasks during visual navigation nearly infeasible. The existing image enhancement methods, while visually appealing, compromise the authenticity of the original images. In the specific context of visual navigation, space image enhancement's primary aim is the faithful restoration of the spacecraft's mechanical structure with high-quality outcomes. To address these issues, our study introduces, for the first time, a dedicated unsupervised framework named SpaceLight for enhancing on-orbit navigation images. The framework integrates a spacecraft semantic parsing network, utilizing it to generate attention maps that pinpoint structural elements of spacecraft in poorly illuminated regions for subsequent enhancement. To more effectively recover fine structural details within these dark areas, we propose the definition of a global structure loss and the incorporation of a pre-enhancement module. The proposed SpaceLight framework adeptly restores structural details in extremely dark areas while distinguishing spacecraft structures from the deep-space background, demonstrating practical viability when applied to visual navigation. This paper is grounded in space on-orbit servicing engineering projects, aiming to address visual navigation practical issues. It pioneers the utilization of authentic on-orbit navigation images in the research, resulting in highly promising and unprecedented outcomes. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate SpaceLight's superiority over state-of-the-art low-light enhancement algorithms, facilitating enhanced on-orbit navigation image quality. This advancement offers robust support for subsequent visual navigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology trade development is a necessary condition for increasing the level of economy competitiveness and rational integration of a country into the process of labor international division. The purpose of the study is to determine trends in international trade in technology development of Russia in 2006–2021. Based on the analysis of the Federal State Statistics Service data for 2006–2021, conclusions have been drawn that during the period under review, technology imports from Russia increased 4.4 times (up to USD 5.0 billion), while exports increased 8.8 times (up to USD 4.6 billion). The outstripping growth of exports compared to imports testifies to the increasing level of technological development of Russia, although the technology imports volume according to the methodology of the Federal State Statistics Service is underestimated relative to the real state. The leading role in techno logies export belongs to engineering services, the share of which reached 40 % in the total volume of trade in 2021. The growth in the engineering services export volume indicates the growth of economic entities’ competitiveness of a number of sectors of the national economy in the world market. In many respects, this result was achieved due to the successful activity of the Rosatom state corporation, which implements a number of large foreign projects for the nuclear power plants construction.

According to survey data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, from 2011 to 2022, the total output value of China's construction industry showed an increasing trend year by year. From 2018 to 2021, infrastructure investment has always maintained a positive growth, indicating that the current construction industry is in a rapid development stage. In order to improve the development quality of the construction industry as much as possible, it is of great significance to develop the whole Process engineering consulting service model. The quality evaluation of whole process engineering consulting service modes is MAGDM. The single-valued neutrosophic sets (SVNSs) is useful tool to cope with uncertain information during the quality evaluation of whole process engineering consulting service modes. In this paper, the single-valued neutrosophic number combined TOPSIS (SVNN-CTOPSIS) model based on single-valued neutrosophic number Hamming distances (SVNNHD) and single-valued neutrosophic number Euclidean distance (SVNNED) is formed to cope with the MAGDM. The CRITIC model is utilized to obtain the weight numbers in light with the SVNNHD and SVNNED under SVNSs. Finally, numerical example and comparative analysis for quality evaluation of whole process engineering consulting service modes is utilized to verify SVNN-CTOPSIS model. The main contributions of this study are formed: (1) the CRITIC model is formed to obtain the weight numbers in light with SVNNHD and SVNNED; (2) the SVNN-CTOPSIS model is formed in light with SVNNHD and SVNNED under SVNNs; (3) Finally, numerical example and comparative analysis for quality evaluation of whole process engineering consulting service modes is employed to verify SVNN-CTOPSIS model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, which presents a general evaluation of the land consolidation project carried out in 14 settlements in the Koçarlı district of Aydın province, the 'Aydın Koçarlı Plain 1st Part Land Consolidation Project', completed by the Aydın Provincial Directorate of Agriculture in 2016, was examined. For this purpose, the consolidation rate, parcel reduction index, deduction rate, and changes in parcel size and parcel number values of the consolidation project carried out in Orhaniye, Madrandere, Çakırbeyli, Boydere, Cincin, Çakmar, Halilbeyli, Koçarlı, Büyükdere, Şahinciler, Sobuca, Dedeköy, Tekeli, and Güdüşlü neighborhoods were investigated. In the project area, the average deduction rate was 7%, the consolidation rate was 31%, and the parcel reduction index was 1.46. As an overall evaluation of agricultural enterprises, the average parcel size increased from 1.76 ha to 2.57 ha, while the number of parcels decreased from 0.93 to 0.64. Land consolidation projects have a high potential to increase agricultural productivity and promote sustainable farming practices. Therefore, the results obtained from the study can contribute to the planning and implementation of similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological engineering (EE) has a profound impact on land-use dynamics, leading to alterations in ecosystem services (ESs). However, an appropriate EE implementation intensity that can balance the tradeoffs associated with altered ESs well has always been a concern for researchers and policymakers. In this study, we set the transition probability of farmland, bare land, and desertification land to forest and natural shrub, with 2010–2020 as the natural implementation scenario, as 10% for the low-intensity implementation scenario (LIS), 30% for the medium-intensity scenario, and 50% for the high-intensity scenario. The patch-generating land-use simulation (PLUS) model was used to project land-use patterns and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Service and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model was used to simulate changes in the quality of ESs under four EE implementation intensities in 2030. We then performed a quantitative tradeoff analysis on the dominant ESs under four scenarios and used the production possibility frontier (PPF) curve to identify the optimal EE implementation intensity scenario. Our results indicated that an increase in EE implementation intensity would lead to an increase in soil retention, water purification, habitat quality, and carbon storage, but also to a decrease in water yield, aggravating the tradeoffs between water yield and other ESs. In all EE implementation intensity scenarios, the LIS had the lowest tradeoff intensity index and balanced ESs well, and thus was the optimal EE implementation scenario in Qinghai province. Our results provide knowledge to help decision makers select the appropriate EE intensity to maintain sustainable development. The integrated methodology can also be applied in other conservation regions to carry out practical land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing use of composite materials in aircraft structures and the extension of their service life, the selection of repair patch shapes for composite material damage repair has become a significant engineering concern. The ultimate strength of the repaired structure is among the main evaluation criteria for selecting optimal patch shapes. In this study, strength analysis is conducted along with the use of the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method to assess the quality of the repaired components, making the evaluation method more rational. Early studies often focused on simplified models, which diverged significantly from the practicalities of maintenance engineering in civil aviation. Therefore, it is essential to research full-scale composite material repair patches, as this will provide a more reliable basis for the optimal selection of patch shapes in composite material maintenance engineering for civil aircraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, digital platforms in agriculture went through a phase of acquisitions and consolidation, where big players like agrochemical companies (Agrichems) and agricultural equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worked on expanding their technology stacks to build strategic portfolios of digital service offerings. To operate farm equipment efficiently, a combination of platforms and technologies is often needed, leading to the emergence of digital Agri-ecosystems. With the rising implementation of IoT technology, digital Agri-ecosystems enable multi-layer digital services and break down established categories (cloud-based and embedded). Content providers and developers creating those digital services face three options: aggregated cloud APIs (application programming interfaces), engineering service providers with proprietary technology stacks, and dedicated IoT ecosystems offering agnostic end-to-end workflows for development and deployment (first known example: NEVONEX). It is not yet fully understood how using an end-to-end IoT ecosystem changes developer requirements in comparison to existing solutions. Therefore, in this study, an example of a multi-layer digital service is developed and tested. Expert interviews (n = 21) explore relevant developer experiences and requirements. A consecutive survey (n = 30; NEVONEX developer conference) validates the findings. Results show that IoT- ecosystems speed up development and deployment cycles, save resources, and improve interoperability in operations. Engineering service providers remain very important players. Partner management, communication, abstraction of interfaces, testing infrastructure, and early end-user input are required by developers. In conclusion, IoT- ecosystems are beneficial for multi-layer digital service development; however, to fully satisfy developers and content providers, adjustments to platform functionalities and better testing opportunities on real farms are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the effects of bidder's strategies on contractual modifications, this study utilized econometric methods and a database containing 5,434 engineering service contracts from Brazilian federal government. The results demonstrate the effects arising from the trade-off between the low prices presented in the contractor selection phase and the contractual performance measured by contract modifications. Competition among bidders in a reverse auction with multiple rounds of bid submissions can exacerbate this trade-off, potentially incentivizing risk-taking strategies by bidders. Subsequently, this may lead to the need for contract modifications to facilitate the ongoing execution of the contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Globally, many regions have an urgent, unmet need of neurosurgical care. A multi-step neurosurgical twinning technique, International Neurosurgical Twinning Modeled for Africa (INTIMA), was proved to be successful during a previous mission to Neurosurgical Unit, Enugu, Nigeria. The Swedish African Neurosurgical Collaboration (SANC) performed a developmental mission together with the local neurosurgical unit in The Gambia, adopting the INTIMA model. Methods: A multidisciplinary team visited for a 2-week collaborative mission at the Neurosurgical Department of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul, The Gambia. The mission followed the data of neurosurgical operations during and after the mission as well as about the operations 3 months prior to and after the mission was collected. Results: During the mission, a total of 22 operations was carried out, the most common being degenerative spinal conditions (n = 9). In the 3 months following the mission, 43 operations were performed compared to 24 during the 3 months leading up to the mission. The complexity of the performed procedures increased after the mission. An operating microscope (Möller-Wedel) was donated and installed and the neurosurgeons on site underwent training in microneurosurgery. The surgical nurses, nurses at the postoperative ward, and the physiotherapists underwent training. A biomedical engineer serviced multiple appliances and devices improving the patient care on site while training local technicians. Conclusion: This study validated the use of the INTIMA model previously described in a mission by Swedish African Neurosurgical Collaboration (SANC). The model is sustainable and produces notable results. The core strength of the model is in the multidisciplinary team securing all the aspects and steps of the neurosurgical care. Installation of an operating microscope opened for further microsurgical possibilities, improving the neurosurgical care in The Gambia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatigue behavior of poly (ethylene terephthalate) industrial fibers is a key issue in their long‐term service for engineering applications. To have a comprehensive understanding of the fatigue behavior, the high‐tenacity (HT) and low‐shrinkage (LS) PET fibers were selected to analyze the room temperature dynamic fatigue properties with different stress. Various techniques such as WAXD/SAXS and FTIR were employed to study the multiscale structure changes to disclose the fatigue mechanisms. Although the crystalline structure including orientation and crystallinity did not change, the amorphous structures varied with fatigue stress. The HT fiber exhibited a higher fatigue recovery ratio. The slight increase in amorphous orientation, and amorphous thickness was attributed to the oriented coiled molecular chains during tensile fatigue stress. In contrast, the LS fiber experienced plastic fatigue deformation with a lower recovery ratio. The molecular chains in the large amorphous domain are easily extended and oriented under tensile loading, increasing amorphous orientation and lamellar thickness. The fatigue mechanism for the LS fiber involved the conformation transition from gauche to trans conformers and a higher proportion of irreversible amorphous regions were formed. It is indicated that developing industrial filaments with small amorphous orientation and content is crucial to improving their fatigue resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Biomedical Engineering Maintenance Services (BEMS) is a comprehensive maintenance program that ensures the safety and reliability of medical devices. Significant and crucial devices are identified and prioritized for best practice prior to the equipment life cycle to mitigate functional problems, alarmed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) underlying the modernization agenda. A model of multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) to prioritize medical devices according to their criticality is presented in this paper, with the utilization of quality function deployment (QFD) and fuzzy logic in the development of the model through a quantitative survey of experts from all regions in Malaysia. As a result, a customized version of the Asset Criticality Assessment (ACA) is developed and is recommended for use in more than 144 Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals. Subsequently, real data of four selected devices are pulled from the Asset and Services Information System (ASIS) to demonstrate a relevant and comparable end‐result using the QFD and fuzzy logic. In essence, the key contribution of the customized ACA model is that it assesses a promising evaluation with a broader range on both the performance of medical devices and the appropriate asset replacement choices. This leads to an effective maintenance strategy for each device and the modernization of reliability computation metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed to explore the application of SERVQUAL in assessing the performance of in-house detailed engineering design in an engineering management firm. The goal is to evaluate service quality and identify gaps between customer expectations and perceptions across the five service quality dimensions. Results show that customers are dissatisfied with the department's service quality, and negative gaps exist across all 22 questions. Improvements in reliability, assurance, and responsiveness are recommended to enhance customer satisfaction. The study demonstrates a strong correlation between service quality dimensions and contract retention, highlighting the importance of improving service quality for long-term business success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale loss of life and property occurred in Kahramanmaraş and its districts, which are the city center where the epicenters of the earthquake couples that occurred on February 6, 2023, in Türkiye. Major damage has occurred in different structural systems due to the earthquake. In addition, fault traces that are the source of the earthquake were clearly observed on the ground surface. In this study, the effects of both earthquakes on soil, reinforced concrete, masonry, prefabricated, and other structural systems were evaluated observationally in Kahramanmaraş and its districts. Comparisons were made on the last two earthquake maps used in Türkiye for the locations of strong ground motion measuring devices in Kahramanmaraş. The masonry structures, which are common in rural areas in the epicenter, have been heavily damaged because they have not received engineering service. However, it is seen that the concrete buildings have insufficient strength and ductility. A similar situation is also present in industrial precast structures, and it has been observed that the damaged and collapsed in these structures are manufactured without complying with the type connection details given for prefabricated reinforced concrete structures in the codes. It has also been observed that the soil-structure interaction is the most determining parameter in the structure's performance in these earthquake couples. Especially in weak soils, the damage to the structures has been quite heavy. The field data obtained from the earthquakes showed that some of the conditions of the current earthquake code should be discussed again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtualization and online engineering of services are emerging as key themes that will profoundly influence society and industry in the near and distant future. This paper focuses on the transformation of administrative services in universities into virtual services through online engineering. This transition presents challenges not only to universities in Bulgaria but also worldwide. Given the significant impact of technology on the daily operations of universities, it is evident that the digital divide is an issue worthy of investigation. Disparities in the adoption of online administrative services can and will lead to inconsistencies in the economic development of universities. This article aims to explore some of the challenges associated with virtualization and online engineering of administrative services in universities and offers insights into how to address them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systems engineering (SE) solves the most complex problems, bringing together societal issues, theoretical engineering, and the transformation of theory into products and services to better humanity and reduce suffering. In industry, the effort to transform theoretical concepts into practical solutions begins with the product life cycle concept stage, where systems engineering estimates and derives technologies, costs, and schedules. It is crucial to have a successful concept stage as today's industries focus on producing the most capable technologies at an affordable cost and faster time to market than ever before. The research of this paper utilizes a transdisciplinary SE process model in the concept stage to develop and propose training for early-in-career engineers, effectively bridging the gap from university learning to industry practice. With a focus on the concept stage of the product life cycle and the industry's demands of expeditiously proposing complex technical solutions, the paper aims to create an efficient learning program. The main objective of this research is to create a learning program to bring up-to-speed early-in-career engineers using a transdisciplinary SE process model, with six key components: (1) disciplinary convergence—creating a collective impact; (2) TD collaboration; (3) collective intelligence; (4) TD research integration; (5) TD engineering tools; and (6) analysis and TD assessment. The research will then conclude with a case study piloting the TD learning program and analyzing its effectiveness, ultimately aiming to enhance early-in-career engineers' skills in proposing technical solutions that meet customer demands and drive business profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-known methods of scene extraction on video are focused on analyzing the similarity between frames. However, they do not all analyze the composition of the image scene, which may remain the same during maintenance. Therefore, this paper proposes an algorithm for equipment maintenance scene detection based on human hand tracking. It is based on the assumption that, when servicing technological equipment, it is possible to determine the change in repair action by the position of the service engineer's hands. Thus, certain information and the algorithm that processes these changes allow us to segment the video into actions performed during the service. We process the time series obtained by moving the hand position using spectral singular value decomposition for multivariate time series. To verify the algorithm, we performed maintenance on the control cabinet of a mining conveyor and recorded the work on a first-person video, which was processed using the developed method. As a result, we obtained some scenes corresponding to opening the control cabinet, de-energizing the unit, and checking the contacts with a multimeter buzzer test. A third-person video of motor service was similarly processed. The algorithm demonstrated the results in separate scenes of removing screws, working with a multimeter, and disconnecting and replacing motor parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small, medium and micro enterprise sector is an economic engine for many countries. Realizing the potential of small, medium, and micro enterprises, the government of the Republic of South Africa has put a burden on itself to create 90% of jobs through small, medium, and micro enterprises through the implementation of the 2030 National Development Plan. Despite these initiatives, the failure rate of these enterprises in South Africa is still high and continues to increase. This research aims to investigate the challenges of small, medium and micro enterprises that operate in the formal economy, with the focus narrowed down to small, medium and micro enterprises that provide engineering services to engineering-intensive firms in the public and private sectors in South Africa. The target is a sample of member companies of Consulting Engineers South Africa, as well as random engineering service firms that render similar services. In general, engineering services' small, medium and micro enterprises mainly depend on owners' limited capital, which limits growth initiatives. Moreover, the absence of adequate resources, business facilities and specialised equipment puts small, medium and micro enterprises at a competitive disadvantage and, therefore, causes stagnation. Government's initiatives are not well publicised and, therefore, small, medium and micro enterprises are not well informed to capitalise on such initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

distancing itself from most of the works devoted to training engineering, which identify its beginnings in the 1980s, this article proposes a different interpretation, which situates the appearance of practices, methods, tools, and actors dedicated to this field in the industries of the interwar period. Training engineering is then at the service of the rationalization of production in order to train and stabilize qualified personnel. Since the 2000s, it has had to adjust to the new situation represented by the individualization of the wage relationship, which makes training and employees' career paths a condition of their employability, thus raising the question of its transformation into an engineering designed to support individuals who are required to be autonomous and responsible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the presented study the Life Cycle Assessment of a LED suspended luminaire manufactured in Romania was performed, with the use of One Click LCA software. The results of the calculations show that the main environmental impact of the LED luminaire is generated by the operational energy use (96.046 % percent of the total global warming potential fossil kg CO 2 e). The environmental impact at the manufacturing stage is determined mainly by the aluminium, found in higher percentage in the LED luminaire body, fixing clips, LED module and LED driver. The analysis was extended for a lighting installation composed of the studied LED suspended luminaire. At first, using DIALux evo 11 software, the correct number and position of the LED luminaires was established, while respecting the EN 12464-1 standard regulations. Different cases were considered, taking into consideration the solution of implementing daylight system control in educational rooms of the Building Services Engineering Faculty, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, with effect in reduction of the operational energy use. By implementing the daylight control for the considered educational rooms, the global warming potential fossil due to the operational energy use can be reduced up to approx. 10 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural health monitoring and early detection of structural damage is extremely important to maintain and preserve the service life of civil engineering structures. Identification of structural damage is usually performed using non‐destructive vibration experiments combined with a mathematical procedure called model updating. The finite element model of the investigated structure is updated by incrementally adjusting its parameters so that the model responses gradually approach those of the real possibly damaged structure under investigation. This paper describes the use of two model updating methods. The first method employs metaheuristic optimization technique aimed multilevel sampling to efficiently search the design parameter space to achieve the best match between the deformed structure and its model. The second method approaches model updating as an inverse problem and uses machine learning‐based model to approximate inverse relationship between structural response and structural parameters. Both methods are applied to damage identification of single‐ and double‐span steel trusses. Finally, initial results of the hybrid method are presented. The effect of the damage rate and location on the identification speed and the accuracy of the solution is investigated and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions around the sustainable development of buildings make good design practices imperative for new buildings, as well as the adequacy of buildings in the use phase. Regarding the search for sustainability in engineering works and services in the public sector, this obligation also already exists. In this context, this article aims to identify initiatives aimed at promoting sustainability, in its social perspective, in compliance with Law 13.146/2015 and accessibility standards, in buildings in use on the campuses of the Instituto Federal do Sertão Pernambucano - IFSertãoPE, in the period from 2014 to 2022. For this, we used the documentary analysis of the parts of the bidding processes for works and services, which took place within the scope of the buildings, contracted between 2014 and 2022, and the technical visit to the buildings. Thus, it was possible to identify the criteria adopted for the promotion of sustainability, in its social dimension, in compliance with Law 13.146/2015, and the accessibility standards for buildings, showing that, although IFSertãoPE has advanced a lot in this direction, some aspects still need to be promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the professional activities of consulting engineers need new functions based on a research-based approach to the design, construction and operation of sophisticated construction projects. The authors introduce new terms and use the concept of technology platforms to present a research-driven platform for consulting engineers. This platform is a complex system that has three constituent subsystems, including "Processes", the "Database of work items" and "Participants". Formalized interaction between the platform constituents is based on a tree of goals. The implementation of actions, focused on each goal, allowed (1) clustering the requirements applicable to the new type of consulting engineers; (2) developing an algorithm that underlies the database of work items to be performed by new consulting engineers; (3) developing the principle of automated selection of work items; (4) making a graphical representation of activities, performed by consulting engineers in the form of a BPMN diagram. The platform is a concept for a novel approach to the activities of consulting engineers, who will contribute their experience and use the research-driven approach to ensure the reliability and safety of sophisticated construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 pandemic unleashed uncertainties around the world. Organizations scrambled to ensure business continuity. COVID‐19 pandemic was unprecedented as disruptions were far beyond business continuity scenarios planning with respect to severities, timelines, and geographies. Initially, business disruptions were assumed to last just for a few days or weeks at a local governing region, county, or state level. However, the pandemic lasted much longer and sustained efforts were needed to stay compliant with ever‐evolving and changing local, state, federal, and international guidelines, rules, and regulations. Prolonged work from home became an unavoidable and only way to ensure business continuity for many service‐oriented organizations. Organizations not only tried to leverage existing knowledge management (KM) practices but also were compelled to critically relook at the efficacy and effectiveness of KM practices. Organizational KM systems and practices (OKMSP) in a typical Indian engineering consulting and design organization were studied. The changes in employee perceptions about OKMSP during the pandemic period were captured and critically analyzed. The study evaluated employee perceptions related to four critical aspects of OKMSP namely, KM processes, usage of KM tools, KM effectiveness, and KM culture. Lack of face‐to‐face meetings during the COVID‐19 period made an important change in the way of working. This paper captures COVID‐19 pandemic‐induced changes and provides pointers to further research opportunities in the field of OKMSP. The study highlights the need for robust knowledge management systems to face pandemic‐induced disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]