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Poor performance measurement practices in the oil and gas industry can cause project cost overruns, schedule delays, and scope increases. Earned value management, as an integrated project planning and control method measuring cost and schedule performance, enables the early detection of performance issues, and allows corrective actions to be implemented in a timely manner. Through a structured interview survey, this study aimed to identify the current maturity level of earned value management practice in Malaysian oil and gas firms to determine the barriers hindering the use of this practice, and to identify critical success factors for enhancing earned value management implementation in the oil and gas industry. The findings revealed the major barriers to earned value management implementation, and potential strategies to improve the effectiveness of earned value management practice in this industry.

BackgroundThere are few reports of the association of other cancers with Ewing sarcoma in patients and their relatives. We use a resource combining statewide genealogy and cancer reporting to provide unbiased risks.MethodsUsing a combined genealogy of 2.3 million Utah individuals and the Utah Cancer Registry (UCR), relative risks (RRs) for cancers of other sites were estimated in 143 Ewing sarcoma patients using a Cox proportional hazards model with matched controls; however, risks in relatives were estimated using internal cohort-specific cancer rates in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives.ResultsCancers of three sites (breast, brain, complex genotype/karyotype sarcoma) were observed in excess in Ewing sarcoma patients. No Ewing sarcoma patients were identified among first-, second-, or third-degree relatives of Ewing sarcoma patients. Significantly increased risk for brain, lung/bronchus, female genital, and prostate cancer was observed in first-degree relatives. Significantly increased risks were observed in second-degree relatives for breast cancer, nonmelanoma eye cancer, malignant peripheral nerve sheath cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and translocation sarcomas. Significantly increased risks for stomach cancer, prostate cancer, and acute lymphocytic leukemia were observed in third-degree relatives.ConclusionsThis analysis of risk for cancer among Ewing sarcoma patients and their relatives indicates evidence for some increased cancer predisposition in this population which can be used to individualize consideration of potential treatment of patients and screening of patients and relatives.

Despite the construction industry's detrimental effects on environmental sustainability, the concept of green procurement (GP) is still relatively new in the developing world. The barriers hindering GP adoption need detailed investigation as studies in the context of developing countries are still limited and the underlying dimensions remain a known-unknown. This study appraised the critical barriers to GP adoption in the Malaysian construction industry. Twenty (20) barriers were identified from the detailed literature review and a field survey was conducted with 150 professionals. The ranking analysis results indicated the top five barriers are: high initial cost; lack of expertise and regulations; lack of government regulations; lack of top management commitment and lack of awareness among construction stakeholders. A factor analysis further identified five major underlying dimensions. The study showed that both government and organisational commitments are crucial in promoting GP adoption. This study adds to incremental knowledge in GP literature by analysing the critical barriers and the associated underlying dimensions to GP adoption in a developing country, which could help practitioners and policymakers in evaluating the organisation's or industry's readiness to adopt GP practices along with devising apt measures to mitigate the barriers to shift to sustainable and environmentally friendly construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation is an alarming threat to human security and green procurement has been regarded as one of the remedial measures to alleviate the environmental issues. Considering that the green procurement is a relatively new concept in the Malaysian construction industry, this study investigated the green procurement in construction projects by exploring its benefits towards the environment, economic and social aspects. Drawing on an empirical survey in Malaysia, the significant benefits of green procurement applications are prioritised. A total of 150 surveys were collected among developers, consultants, contractors and suppliers and analysed using SPSS version 23.0 statistical software. The findings suggested that the primary benefits of adopting green procurement practices are reduce pollution levels, improve community health and quality of life, conserve natural resources, reduce greenhouse gases and provide healthier working environment. This paper provides the basis for construction procurement delivery to be on a sustainable path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global construction industry continues to struggle with safety issues. Although the existing literature suggests that the application of innovative solutions can reduce workplace accidents and improve work safety, the adoption of safety technologies is still limited, particularly in the developing world. This paper aims to investigate the capacity of advanced technologies to enhance safety management and those suited to the Malaysian context. Following a synthesis of the literature, a questionnaire survey was developed comprising 9 potential applications and 15 types of safety technologies. The feedback from 150 local construction professionals was analysed. The leading benefits are related to advancing safety planning, building safety awareness, delivering effective safety training, improving safety inspections and optimising hazard identification. The most salient technologies for safety management are building information modelling (BIM), camera network systems, mobile devices on site, internet of things (IoT) and digital signage. The findings will provide industry practitioners with an increased understanding of the potential of integrating technological solutions into the various tasks associated with construction safety management. This study highlighted the capabilities of advanced technologies that will revolutionise the future of the construction safety landscape and the need for new technology-based policies, procedures, and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]