Midor Łukasz, Olszyna Grzegorz, Rokita Tomasz
et al.
This article discusses issues related to tower cranes, a group of lifting machines used in the construction industry. Vertical transport on a building site is of paramount importance, accounting for approximately 50% of all construction works. Currently, the tower crane is one of the most efficient lifting machines used in construction. It occupies minimal space on the construction site and allows for the fastest possible delivery of materials directly from the storage area to work stations, regardless of the route. This article focuses on the issues related to these devices, limiting the scope to the analysis of the rope system. The use of steel ropes in the hoisting mechanism is crucial for the reliable operation of tower cranes. The basic technical data and construction of a selected crane model chosen for the study are presented. The properties and characteristics of steel ropes used in such systems, as well as criteria for their retirement, are discussed. Subsequently, a method for modelling the rope system and simulating its operation is introduced. The use of computational tools to model the rope bending process in the hoisting mechanism allows for identifying critical points along the rope under specific operating conditions. Selected simulation results are presented in the form of tables and graphs, highlighting the areas most susceptible to wear in this type of rope mechanisms. The article concludes with practical recommendations that may enhance interest in the described method. According to the authors, the method is innovative and promising. Its application can contribute to extending the service life of ropes, facilitating procedures for monitoring their condition, and improving the safety of their use.
Addressing the challenges of insufficient incentives, weak constraints, and superficial adoption in promoting human–robot collaboration (HRC) in the construction industry, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model among government, contractors, and on-site teams under bounded rationality. Lyapunov stability analysis and numerical simulation are employed to conduct parameter sensitivity analyses. The results show that a strategy profile characterized by flexible regulation, deep adoption, and high-effort collaboration constitutes a stable evolutionary outcome. Moderately increasing government incentives helps accelerate convergence but exhibits diminishing returns under fiscal constraints, indicating that subsidies alone cannot sustain genuine engagement. Reducing penalties for contractors and on-site teams, respectively, induces superficial adoption and low effort, whereas strengthening penalties for bilateral violations simultaneously compresses the space for opportunistic behavior. When the payoff advantage of deep adoption narrows or the payoff from perfunctory adoption rises, convergence toward the preferred steady state slows markedly. Based on the discussion and simulation evidence, we recommend dynamically matching incentives, sanctions, and performance feedback: prioritizing flexible regulation to reduce institutional frictions, configuring differentiated sanctions to maintain a positive payoff differential, reinforcing observable performance to stabilize frontline effort, and adjusting policy weights by project stage and actor characteristics. The study delineates how parameter changes propagate through behavioral choices to shape collaborative performance, providing actionable guidance for policy design and project governance in advancing HRC.
WANG Menghan, SU Mingming, WANG Yanan, DONG Hangyu, ZHANG Mengzhen
[Objective] With the rapid development of the digital economy, rural areas are experiencing new growth opportunities, particularly in providing more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for rural women. Therefore, it is significant to explore the impact of the digital economy on women's empowerment in rural tourism destinations. [Methods] In this study, a six-dimensional analysis framework for promoting women's empowerment through the digital economy was constructed. Yudong Village in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province was selected as a case study site. Qualitative research methods, such as participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, were applied to explore the empowerment paths of rural women in the economic, political, social, psychological, educational, and technological dimensions promoted by the digital economy. [Results] The results are as follows: (1) Based on residents' perceptions, this study analyzed the influence of the digital economy on women's empowerment in six dimensions. Economic and technological empowerment were considered the core dimensions, followed by social and educational dimensions, while the impact on political empowerment was not significant. (2) Personal factors such as women's age and education level, external factors such as the way and degree of participation in the tourism industry, family support atmosphere, and community development environment all have a significant impact on the level of women's empowerment. (3) The digital economy significantly affected women's empowerment through various forms such as the rural brain and social media. The level of empowerment was affected by individual women and external environmental factors, and presented a gradual characteristic. [Conclusion] To further enhance the level of women's empowerment and promote the sustainable development of ruraltourism, the government should leverage the digital technology advantages of enterprises and improve rural women's digital participation capabilities, while promoting the construction of digital village.
In the context of intelligent construction, smart design and construction have become one of the core themes in the architecture industry. To realize this theme of intelligence, it is necessary not only to achieve informatization throughout the entire process but also to enhance the level of automation of intelligent construction equipment. This paper investigates how intelligent construction equipment can perceive the construction site by proposing a BIM information indexing method that integrates image recognition technology. Through image recognition, the equipment gains a fundamental classification understanding of prefabricated components present on-site. It then combines this perception with structured BIM data to perform further information inference. Ultimately, this enables intelligent equipment to index various essential information required for automated construction through visual content.
The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry faces challenges related to inefficiencies and fragmentation that highlight the need for advanced construction technologies and drive interest in innovative solutions such as the platform approach to design. This study assessed platform-based building design through (1) interviews with practitioners from China, Jordan, and the UK, which helped to define the platform approach in the AEC industry and the challenges involved, and (2) a residential building design simulation conducted to evaluate the potential of the platform approach. The simulated design’s materials costs, energy efficiency, and construction time were compared with those of the traditional building design. The results of the comparison corroborate the interview findings concerning practitioners’ perspectives on platform definition, benefits, challenges, and implementation. The findings also demonstrate the potential of the platform approach to enhance productivity and scalability through modularization, kit-of-parts configuration, and standardization. This research bridges the gap between theory and practice by supporting shareholder perspectives on building design and construction with the results of a simulated platform approach to a real-world design project. This research addresses the urgent need to better understand and test the platform approach to achieve material, energy, and construction time savings through collaborative and practice-informed design.
Her geçen gün meydana gelen teknolojik gelişmeler pek çok sektörü olduğu gibi yapım sektörünü de etkilemekte ve dönüştürmektedir. Günümüzde yapım sektörüne de olumlu katkılar sağlayan dijital ikiz teknolojisi, gelecekte sektörü de dönüştürme potansiyeline sahiptir. Ancak günümüzde dijitalleşmenin katkılarının yanı sıra dijital ikiz teknolojisinin henüz yetersiz kaldığı ve sektörü sınırlandırdığı noktalar da bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı yapım sektöründe uygulanan dijital ikiz teknolojilerine dikkati çekmek ve yapı yaşam döngüsü aşamalarındaki mevcut durumunu, potansiyellerini ve eksik yönlerini ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaçla çalışma kapsamında detaylı literatür araştırması ile elde edilen akademik çalışmalar incelenerek SWOT analizi yapılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda yapım sektöründe dijital ikiz kavramının yapı yaşam döngülerine bütüncül bakış açısı sunduğu, sürdürülebilirlik ve verimlilik konularına da katkı sağladığı ortaya konmuştur. Ayrıca dijitalleşme ile uluslararası düzeyde, sektörler arası ve yapı yaşam döngüsünün tüm süreçleri arasında bütüncül bir bakış açısı sağlayacağı öngörülmektedir. Çalışmanın elde edilen bulgularının gelecekte bu alanda yapılacak bilimsel çalışmalara ve dijital ikiz teknolojisi alanındaki pratik çalışmalarda yapım sektörü uzmanlarına katkı sağlaması hedeflenmektedir.
Funmilayo Ebun Rotimi, Marcela Brauner, Megan Burfoot
et al.
Diversity and inclusion of the construction workforce are considered fundamental to disrupting the perception of the male-dominated construction industry. Despite efforts to increase diversity and inclusion, the construction industry continues to record a slow increase in women’s representation, resulting in the industry missing significant potential talent. Therefore, identifying women's work environment challenges is vital for promoting construction careers. This study examines three categories of challenges: benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, and job conditions and the influences of demographic factors. The study adopted a quantitative research method, with 65 structured questionnaires completed by women working in the industry. The study found that benevolent sexism challenges, such as stereotyping and pressure to prove oneself and hostile sexism challenges, like masculine culture, sexual harassment, and lack of respect, are significant for women in construction. A lack of female role models and work overload are two job condition-related challenges that affect women in the industry. The findings from this study are an important contribution to the existing literature, as they highlight the need to consider demographic factors when creating initiatives to address the challenges faced by women in the construction industry.
Construction is the pillar industry of Chinese national economy, but the profit rate has continued to decline in recent years. The conventional job-centric construction information system cannot meet the requirements for safety, quality, and efficiency. In order to solve the above problems, a digital selves based intelligent construction framework has been proposed which is centred on workers, equipment, and sites. It changes the conventional job-centered construction information system and realizes efficient coordination of information among various departments and stages. Applying the digital selves based intelligent construction framework to the case has been proved to be a good solution to the problem of information sharing. Meanwhile, the authenticity and reliability of the information have been ensured. The system has improved management efficiency and information systematization for all participants. It has enabled companies and workers to have a more comprehensive understanding of themselves and to make timely and effective strategies against hazards. In addition, the system has effectively raised the level of digitalization, automation, and intelligence of construction, making governance more accurate and more effective.
IntroductionWith the rapid development of digital agriculture, digitalization has gradually become a key factor affecting the resilience of China’s pig farming industry.MethodsFrom both the test results and the theoretical point of view, the individual fixed-effect model is more suitable for this paper’s study. Therefore, based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2022, this study constructs an individual fixed-effect model to examine how digitization affects the resilience of China’s pig farming industry.Results and discussionThe findings indicated that digitization significantly enhanced the resilience of China’s hog breeding industry, especially in potential growth areas. Improving breeding technology and scale is a crucial avenue for digitalization to bolster the industry’s resilience. Digitalization exerts a double threshold effect on the industry’s resilience, with its promotional impact only realized within a specific range. The article proposes policy suggestions, such as strengthening infrastructure construction and giving play to regional advantages.
Nutrition. Foods and food supply, Food processing and manufacture
The paper documents some of the results of the research program Smart Yard: Industry 4.0 Production Process aimed at reducing inefficiencies in construction site procedures by developing new management methods supported by digitisation processes that can memorise and monitor computational data and guide them towards specific purposes of production processes optimisation. In particular, the aim of the study is to propose evolved, highly efficient and innovative organisational and information management models that enable more reliable control of processes in the construction sector, mitigating unavoidable uncertainties while pursuing a more rational use of resources. The products developed to support the programme include two newly designed pieces of equipment with advanced functions, which can be configured as examples of site management systems such as a “smart factory” in the logic of Industry 4.0, illustrated below. One is a high-performance charging system for power banks to be used with portable power tools, while the other concerns a work standing desk that employs wireless communication protocols to dialogue with other devices at the construction site.
This research intends to explore how gender impacts different aspects of the quality of work life, emotional intelligence, and the work–family interface among professionals in the Indian construction industry. This study employs quantitative methodology using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaires were circulated to 900 construction professionals, and 724 valid responses were received, resulting in a response rate of 80.44%. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and independent sample t-Tests. The independent samples t-Test revealed significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) gender disparities in various quality of work life factors, emotional intelligence, and work–family interface. Males had a more positive perception of career growth, management, and the working environment. In contrast, females experienced higher job satisfaction, work commitment, personal satisfaction towards their workplace and personal life, a higher work–family interface, and a better work–life balance. Females also experienced a higher level of physical exhaustion and had a higher level of emotional intelligence, while males experienced a higher level of mental exhaustion. There were no significant gender differences in satisfaction towards remuneration and fringe benefits, work culture, or the level of psychological exhaustion. The findings suggest that construction industry organizations could implement policies and practices that promote equal opportunities, provide support for work–family integration, and foster a culture of emotional intelligence. This research adds to the current body of knowledge by igniting novel empirical proof of gender-based differences in the Indian construction industry. It highlights the importance of addressing these disparities to improve the quality of work life, emotional intelligence, and work–family interface among professionals in the industry.
Political institutions and public administration (General)
Background. The analysis of the exports of medicines of the Russian Federation (RF) by group 30 (pharmaceutical products) of the commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity of the Eurasian Economic Union (equal to Harmonized System Code 30, HS 30) is an important task for determining the economic potential of the country in the pharmaceutical industry.Objective: building an export regression model. Development of an alternative mathematical model of pharmaceutical products’ export, suitable for making the forecast.Material and methods. Statistical data on HS 30 exports from 2010 to 2021 were taken from an open source: The International Trade Center (Trade Map). Data for 2022 and later for the Russian Federation are not available in open sources. Registration on the website is not required to collect statistics on export and import volumes based on annual data. The well-known statistical methods and methods of mathematical modeling were used. An alternative approach to regression analysis was developed. Technical data analysis was performed using MAPLE (Watcom Products Inc., Canada) and R (Bell Laboratories, USA) software.Results. Two models were constructed: Model I – a differential model based on cumulative data by year, and Model II – a model of standard regression analysis, the input parameters of which were quarterly export data, and the influencing parameters were a certain group of factors. Model I allowed considering the dynamics of changes in pharmaceutical exports over time (dynamic factors and nonlinear interactions). Model II, in turn, made it possible to determine the dependence of the volume of pharmaceutical exports on various economic indicators, such as gross domestic product, the volume of government procurement, and measures of protectionism. The relative error of Model I does not exceed 10%, which makes it suitable for forecasting.Conclusion. The construction and analysis of specified models help to provide main information about the trends in pharmaceutical product exports in the RF and assess its potential in the global market. The obtained results can be useful for developing strategies of the pharmaceutical industry development, making management decisions and forecasting future exports.
Therapeutics. Pharmacology, Economics as a science
The article considers regional development trends in the context of economic activity and price processes, shows data on material well-being of families in Russian regions, and presents the ratings of the Russian regions by dynamics of wages and family welfare. The dynamics of sectoral production (agro-industrial complex, logging and wood processing, extractive industry, oil and oil products transshipment, chemical industry, motor transport, marine transportation, furniture production, construction materials, housing construction, machine building, shipbuilding, tourism, and education) in the Russian regions has been shown, and diffrentiation of regions by industries development revealed. The dynamics of consumer demand has been presented and main factors affcting consumer activity from the cost of living crisis and escapism manifested in diffrent forms revealed. A signifiant trend is also a decrease in concentrating attention. Main trends in online commerce development in Russia have been shown as it has been growing in 2022 even against the background of general decline in consumer demand. These trends include orientation of most players to sustainable development and ethics: increasing market share and capitalization, as well as reducing concentration of activities on profi. Global and local factors of consumer goods sales development in the Internet have been identifid.
Rana Jabbar Kasid Jalhoom, Ahmed Mohammed Raoof Mahjoob
This study looks into the many methods that are used in the risk assessment procedure that is used in the construction industry nowadays. As a result of the slow adoption of novel assessment methods, professionals frequently resort to strategies that have previously been validated as being successful. When it comes to risk assessment, having a precise analytical tool that uses the cost of risk as a measurement and draws on the knowledge of professionals could potentially assist bridge the gap between theory and practice. This step will examine relevant literature, sort articles according to their published year, and identify domains and qualities. Consequently, the most significant findings have been presented in a manner that is consistent with logic and is predicated on the temporal evolution between 1990 and 2015.
Abstract PM10 is known to have a great adverse effect on the human body. However, there is a lack of research analyzing the impact of PM10 on the occurrence of accidents. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between PM10 and accidents in the construction industry and to present a new concentration group to manage accidents caused by PM10 in the construction industry. This study was conducted in the following four stages. (i) collection of data, (ii) classification of data, (iii) relative probability analysis, and (iv) modified PM10 group classification. The main results of this study are as follows. When the frequency analysis of the traditional method was conducted, 3,721 accidents occurred at a PM10 concentration of 32 μg/m3. However, as a result of the relative probability analysis presented in this study, it was confirmed that the relative accident probability increased as the PM10 concentration increased. In addition, the current PM10 concentration is presented by the WHO in six groups from a health perspective. However, in this study, the newly proposed PM10 group was classified into three groups from the perspective of the probability of construction accidents. The group proposed in this study is not from a health perspective but a group for managing construction site accidents. The contribution of this study was to confirm that PM10 also affects accidents occurring at construction sites, and the impact of PM10 on accidents was quantitatively analyzed through the relative probability analysis presented in this study.
Our work on clay landscapes, on the one hand, and on the traces of former urban quarries on the other hand (Comentale, 2017 and 2019), raised the question of the specificity of the excavation of clay quarries near cities even though initially this was a rural activity, as made apparent by village habitats predominantly built with bricks and tiles where clay lies just under the soil surface. This singularity is not clearly apparent in cities where bricks or tiles are not systematically used. Moreover, the presence of clay quarries very close to cities and their incorporation into a growing urban fabric seems more uncertain than in the case of hard rock quarries about which more is known. After noting the concentration of the brick and tile industry in the vicinity of several cities in France, the study addresses the cases of the cities of Paris, Lille and Beauvais and the areas within these cities where bricks or tiles are more frequently used in buildings. Our research based on a naturalistic approach with field observations and the use of cartographic records, highlights consistent aspects regarding the relationship between cities and nearby quarries, with a specificity linked to the plasticity of the material which is conducive to the disappearance of certain quarries in the landscape. The case of Beauvais shows that the extraction and firing of clay contributed to the construction of a peri-urban area.
One of the failure mechanisms associated with asphalt paving layers, especially on steel deck bridges, is large permanent deformation, which adversely affects its long-term performance in service. Thus, epoxy resin was introduced in asphalt paving industry to tackle permanent deformation of asphalt mixtures due to its thermosetting nature. In this review, epoxy resin as a dominant component of the epoxy-asphalt composite system was first considered, followed by a discussion on its curing methods and curing mechanism. Furthermore, the physicochemical property and mechanical performance of epoxy asphalt and epoxy asphalt mixture were thoroughly examined. Crosslink density of epoxy asphalt dictates its viscosity and thus the allowable construction time. Phase separation and dispersion of asphalt particles in the epoxy matrix was observed for epoxy-asphalt composite, and it showed superior elastic behavior and deformation resistance capability when compared with conventional asphalt materials. Furthermore, epoxy asphalt mixture exhibited significantly higher compressive strength, much better rutting resistance, and superior durability and water resistance properties. However, its low-temperature cracking resistance was slightly compromised.
Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials
Due to the global increase in wood construction, it is crucial for architects to understand wood. In Finland, log building, a special subset of industrially manufactured massive timber construction materials is experiencing a renaissance. Cultural aspects combined with newer technical developments make log a complex material from the viewpoint of architectonic expression. To inform practicing architects, the aim of this study is to explore how the tectonics of logs contribute to the architectonic quality of log architecture. Semi-structured interviews among architects of twelve recently published log buildings are conducted. The results describe how architectonic quality is perceived among participants, and features of logs related to tectonics that they consider to be of importance in terms of architectonic quality. These features include the statics of log construction and log's nature as a simultaneously insulating, load-bearing and visual material. Differences between industrial and hand-hewn logs, as well as other architectural aspects of using logs in contemporary architecture are discussed. Especially the “non-settling” log was perceived to have manifold implications for the architectonic possibilities of log architecture. The results are of practical importance to designing architects and the log industry. Theoretical implications include tangible information on architectonic quality and tectonics of log building.