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This research aims to evaluate and propose effective gradient at car porch area for the housing sector. The dependent variable that acts as presumed effect is vehicle to stuck and become lodged but the independent variable is referring to the car clearances dimension, design of the ramp and guidelines in ramp design. In other words, the situation of the vehicles to stuck and lodged depends on the car clearances dimension, design of the ramp and guidelines in ramp design. Interview sessions were held with the professional architects and engineers in the engineering department at Majlis Bandaraya Seremban, DBKL, Majlis Bandaraya Melaka, Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru, Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) and consultant firms. During the interview session, four aspects of this matter were discussed to explore the existing standards and guidelines in ramp design for car porch at housing sector in double storey house to accommodate low-clearances vehicles. The feedback from the professionals was analysed by narrative analysis method and the result of the study will be valuable to the construction industry and tools for future design. These data can be used to estimate the suitable degree and percent for different categories of ground clearances which is useful for current development and current technology circulation.

Purpose Frequent fire incidences in various hospitals across the globe with devastating effects on humans and other resources have multiplied. Stakeholders in the health-care sector are worried because of the yearly fire outbreak increase. However, fire safety management has been proved as a successful platform to mitigate fire in health-care facilities. How far regarding public health-care facilities is yet to receive in-depth studies in Malaysia. This paper aims to investigate the issues associated with fire safety management and proffers possible solutions to improve safety in public health-care facilities from the operators’ perception. Design/methodology/approach The objectives were achieved through a combination of case studies of five selected Malaysia’s public hospitals and a qualitative approach. Thematic analysis with the assistance of MAXQDA (software program designed for computer-assisted qualitative and mixed methods data) 2018, a type of qualitative data analysis software was used to analyse the collated data which emerged from the knowledgeable participants. Findings Lax implementation of safety policy, inadequate water pressure, poor maintenance, inadequate communication system, amongst others, emerged as the issues. Findings proffer five main measures to possibly improve fire safety management in public health-care buildings. This includes a feasible institutional framework, improve the emergency response team, improve the occupational health and safety system and others. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited to exploring the issues associated with fire safety management and proffer possible solutions to improve safety in public health-care facilities from the operators’ perception. Future research is needed to engage useful information in advancing fire safety management in public hospital buildings and possibly developing a qualitative model using a generic fire response model. Also, to investigate the level of compliance with the requirements of a fire safety management plan and possibly develop a well-detailed fire safety plan in Malaysia’s public health-care buildings. Practical implications As part of the paper implications, the paper concludes that improved fire protection systems via modern technologies and training of key staff members in accident response and recovery during fire emergencies should be encouraged. This can be achieved through the enforcement and implementation of a fire safety management plan. Thus, this study is encouraging the implementation and sustainability of a fire safety management plan for health-care buildings across Malaysia. Originality/value To the best of this paper’s knowledge, this is possibly the first comprehensive paper on fire safety management in public health-care facilities that engaged operators in Malaysia. Moreover, this paper proffers feasible policy solutions to improve the fire safety management plan in public health-care buildings.

Purpose Globally, several studies have shown that hospital building is charged with multiple inherent risks because a large number of users are vulnerable in tragic events. Thus, the need for the fire safety management plan (FSMP) has been proved as an instrument to mitigate fire and related risks in healthcare facilities. In Malaysia, FSMP regarding public healthcare building is yet to be explored in-depth. Therefore, this paper explores the information necessary to develop the FSMP framework for public hospital buildings. Design/methodology/approach The paper’s objectives were accomplished via a combination of five face-to-face interviews and observations of five selected public hospitals in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The five key participants were across the five public hospitals and collated data analysed through thematic analysis with the assistance of MAXQDA 2018. Findings Findings show that fire safety stakeholders practice system, fire safety action plan and fire risk management were the three main variables that promote fire safety programme and will improve FSMP for Malaysia’s public hospital buildings. Research limitations/implications This paper’s data collection is limited to Penang, Malaysia, and a qualitative research approach was used, but this does not deteriorate the strength of the findings. Future studies are needed to consider validating findings from this paper via a quantitative approach. Practical implications The suggested framework can be employed by Malaysia’s public hospital authorities as a guideline to mitigate fire hazards in the country’s healthcare facilities. Originality/value This paper is encouraging hospital operators and other key stakeholders to improve on their FSMP for healthcare buildings across Malaysia as part of the study implications.

Kenaf Fibrous Pulverised Fuel Ash Concrete (KFPC) is a green concrete that using the plant fibre in order to enhance the strength and durability of composite material in an aggressive environment. Four mixes of concrete were prepared to compare the performance of concrete in an acidic environment which are Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) samples, Kenaf Fibrous Concrete (KFC) using OPC, PFA concrete samples and KFPC. The 25mm length and 0.75% of kenaf fibre and 25% of Pulverised Fuel Ash of cement replacement were used for the study. The objective of the study is to investigate the compressive and flexural strength of KFPC in 365 days of sulfuric acid immersion. The mass loss result shows the degradation of concrete in acid was improved with the inclusion of pozzolana material. Kenaf Fibre has increased the tensile strength of concrete and the addition PFA enhances the durability. The microstructural analysis through SEM and EDX analysis has been carried out to examine the condition of fibre in concrete. The results showed that a significant loss of strength and mass due to the duration of immersion, however, KFPC has contributed the better performance in an aggressive environment.

Since early civilization, the toughness of concrete Pozzolanic materials, either naturally occurring or artificially produced, has long been in practice. The purpose of pozzolanic materials in the cement industry especially contributes to strengthening the concrete structure after its reaction with water. However, the increase in temperature of the cement mixture after the addition of water becomes a great concern. Which can affect the quality of the structure afterward. Therefore, this research mainly focuses on the study of the heat of hydration process in the early stages of a concrete mixture. Four types of concrete mixtures are used in this study are Ordinary Portland Cement concrete (OPC), pulverised fuel ash cement concrete (PFAC), Kenaf fibrous concrete (KFC), and Kenaf pulverised fuel ash concrete (KFPC). The temperature of all samples was recorded for 72 hours. The selection of pozzolanic material of PFA cement in the mixture was found to play an important role in controlling the heat. The result indicated that the replacement of 25% of PFA (for PFAC sample) and addition of Kenaf fiber (for KFC sample) in the concrete mixture reduced the heat of hydration by 5% and 3% respectively, compared to the conventional OPC mixture. Thus, the combination of PFA and Kenaf fiber in one concrete mixture can result in a 6% reduction of the heat of hydration. Hence, the partial replacement of cement with pulverised fuel ash and kenaf fiber is beneficial, especially for mass concrete where it can minimize the effect of thermal cracking of the structure due to excessive heat rise.

An investment in the building maintenance aspect is massive throughout the world. In most of the countries, it signifies approximately 50% of the entire revenue of the construction industry. The value of buildings depends on the eminence of the maintenance invested in them. Maintenance management engages obtaining utmost advantage from the investment made on the maintenance activities. At the moment, maintenance in buildings in Malaysia is on the increase in spite of size, category, location, and ownership. This study focuses on Building Maintenance Management System for Heritage Museum, which consists of two case studies in Penang State Museum and Art Gallery, Malaysia and Museum of Perak, Malaysia. The aim of this study is to propose methods to improve the maintenance management system for heritage museum. From the results, the common problem occurs during the implementation for the maintenance of each building is the budget for the maintenance and worker’s skill. The department of each museum must have their own maintenance unit to keep an eye on the maintenance activities for their buildings in order to improve the maintenance management system in their building.

As a developing country, there are new developments undertaken to achieve the various goals set for developing countries. There are a lot of buildings being torn down to replace them with new buildings. The aim of this study is to see what kind of accidents and precautions to prevent or minimize accidents and also to find the cause of the accident in a demolition project. This study uses the interview in which the respondent can share more information about the experience in depth. Information gathered revealed that, the types of accidents that occur in demolition projects are similar to ordinary construction projects such as falling objects, falls from height, bodily injury and accidents caused by machinery. If precautions are ignored, various types of accidents may occur at demolition sites and potentially cause death. This study had been carried out inPenang,Malaysia.

A qualitative study was conducted to investigate the contractors’ attitude towards enhancing the safety performance in construction site. Despite the fact that there are many safety initiatives established by the government, the rates of accidents are still in a critically high condition. Thus the purpose of this research is to study the contractors’ attitude towards enhancing the implementation of safety management system in construction site in order to increase the safety awareness of construction practitioners in construction site and improve the safety condition of construction sites. This study is conducted through oral interviews with the construction practitioners, and visual inspection of construction sites. The attitudes of contractors are evaluated from 3 aspects: Contractors’ efforts in implement and enforce the safety rules, Contractors efforts in overcoming the rate of accidents, and Reasons given by the contractors for not implement safety law.