Specification of software process measurement

Managing repetitive construction in a dynamically changing project environment: Conceptualizing the system–model–simulator nexus

The several local wars that broke out at the turn of the century have shown to the world that the rapid development of high and new technology with information technology as the core is effectively promoting the pace of world military reform, and its most essential feature is information dominance. In local wars under modern high-tech conditions, rapid response and multiarms joint and coordinated operations have become the key factors to win, which requires multiarms, multiweapon platforms, and each combat unit software to work autonomously and dynamically. This research mainly discusses the dynamic posture prediction model in the informationized combat environment. It designs the organization of command elements, related data (products and tools), competency, personnel matching checklists, and activities in joint operational planning and relies on activities to model the binding of groups, capabilities, and related data. Finally, it forms process segments through the combined design of activities and then sets the final state and background knowledge constraints on the process segments to construct the process knowledge, turning each combat unit into an agent unit, so that the combat software unit has the performance characteristics of the agent’s autonomy, reactivity, and sociality. At the same time, it has good communication performance and autonomous negotiation ability, so it can realize the autonomous connection, communication, and cooperative work among multiagent systems. During the process execution or business processing, the seat staff can input the goal and background of the activity according to the current operating environment. It relies on the background constraints of the process knowledge to quickly match the corresponding process knowledge, insert the process fragments in the process knowledge into the original process, realize the rapid and efficient decomposition of the process redefinition, and effectively ensure the orderly development of the combat command. Techniques and methods for automating integration testing of combat systems are provided. These technologies are further applied to the process of combat system integration tests to improve the efficiency of combat system integration. In addition, through the research on the integration testing technology of combat systems, the problems of low generality of integration testing software and many structural repetitive codes can also be solved and the existing integration testing technology can be further improved. In the research, the time-consuming of the script interpretation module accounts for a relatively low proportion of about 5% of the simulation. The article embodies the platform to explore the realization of multiagent-based dynamic cooperative operations, to achieve the purpose of simulating the battlefield situation, rehearsing the combat plan, and evaluating the strike effect. This study will improve the efficiency of overall combat system integration.

Housing construction for low-income population is nowadays very active in Brazil and is therefore attracting the interest of many companies. However, for business in this segment to become viable, it is necessary to observe some characteristics -low construction costs, large scale production, repeatability, high productivity and precise production management -which are typical of industrialized processes. Construction industrialization involves aspects both related to building configuration (e.g. prefabrication) and to production management, under which process planning is considered fundamental for an efficient production. Besides its importance, there are no consolidated planning models for industrialized large scale construction and, therefore, this is the focus of the present work, which proposes a model for construction process planning for industrialized housing production. The methodology consisted of a comprehensive literature review for characterizing the production process planning model adopted in the manufacturing industry, as well as identifying proposals which represent the state-of-the-art of building construction planning. These models were submitted to a comparative analysis, aiming to identify the main elements which resulted in the proposal of the Construction Process Planning Model (CPPM). The model includes a range of premises for its application, an action plan with the activities required for process planning, and tools for its operationalization. As a further contribution, an example of application is presented, based on a construction process for structural walls of a building that employs structural masonry technology. We consider that the proposed model represents an important contribution to the organization of construction processes in large-scale projects, especially in companies willing to implement a management system properly engineered for industrialized production.

Integrating multi-granularity model and similarity measurement for transforming process data into different granularity knowledge

Organizations specify the processes that need to be followed in order to standardize employees’ work and improve their process execution. One important challenge in this context is the users’ lack of process knowledge. Employees’ process knowledge is a necessary prerequisite for proper process execution and a critical factor for achieving successful process standardization, improvement, and ultimately process performance. Therefore, it is key for organizations to support their employees with the proper process knowledge. In order to address this challenge, we propose the concept of process guidance and design process guidance systems to increase users’ process knowledge and their process execution performance. We argue that users require (1) general information on the process, such as an overview of all the steps and their sequence, (2) specific information on how to execute the steps to navigate through the process, and (3) the possibility to identify their current position within the process. When reflecting our DSR project, we identified three major key learnings. First, it was important to have identified multiple literature streams for the grounding of our design. Second, involving in a real-world case and engaging with our case company helped us to improve the relevance as well as the contribution of our research. Third, another important lesson learned is that researchers applying the DSR approach should be engaged with the DSR community, in particular the International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology (DESRIST) conference.

Augmented Reality-Based Tele-Robotic System Architecture for On-Site Construction Dhinesh K. Sukumar, Seongki Lee, Christos Georgoulas, Thomas Bock Pages 1-8 (2015 Proceedings of the 32nd ISARC, Oulu, Finland, ISBN 978-951-758-597-2, ISSN 2413-5844) Abstract: The planning of construction process is crucial for successful project management and based on which all other sub-tasks and activities follow. Labour-intensive construction process which relies on field workers' own intuition and interpretation, has been too complicated to control, which can lead to mistakes, wasted time, and fatal accidents in worst but commonly happening cases. In this sense, applying innovative techniques to on-site construction process for construction planning, scheduling, operation, and monitoring has the potential to assist stakeholders in making better decisions. A head-mounted display (HMD) such as Oculus Rift can visualize construction processes information anytime whether during on-site work or beforehand by providing realistic augmented superimposed environment which is captured via the proposed 2-DOF stereo head. Moreover, by calculating the physical movement (translation, rotation) of building components, which can be accomplished by reading physical, material property data from Building Information Modeling (BIM), and combining it with computational kinematics model of on-site robotic equipment, the field workers can have the digital information for off-site component assembly in real-time manner. This research develops a new methodology for integration of tele-operation with 4D modelling in order to improve building component positioning and erection in terms of efficiency and quality by operating onsite robotic system intelligently. Based on the proposed methodology, an intelligent remotely operated, considering the control and video streaming processes, virtual tele-presence system is prototyped. The proposed system is designed for tele-operated construction robots and comprises a 2-DOF stereo head, a pair of high spatial resolution cameras, and a head mounted display with integrated head tracking mechanism. To validate the proposed methodology, controlled laboratory experiments were designed and implemented. Keywords: Virtual Reality, Building Information Modeling, Robot Oriented Design, Assembly Process, Oculus VR DOI: https://doi.org/10.22260/ISARC2015/0075 Download fulltext Download BibTex Download Endnote (RIS) TeX Import to Mendeley

Artificial intelligence-based (AI) digital drilling technology was implemented in two mature fields of Ecuador, which represent 33% of the country's oil production and where it is essential to maximize the return on investment. The drilling campaign's main strategy included the deployment of a novel automation solution on two rigs, resulting in the optimization of the well construction process. In this paper we present the results of implementing a rig automation solution that we applied to 20 wells in 2022. The study primarily focuses on analyzing the results achieved during this period, with the aim of evaluating the solution's effectiveness, performance, and its impact on drilling operations. The rig automation system uses a goal-based approach to handle constantly changing drilling conditions like drilling dysfunctions, formation changes and repetitive tasks such as downlinking, and pre- and post-connection procedures, without having constantly rely on human intervention. The system sends command packages to the rig control system to direct the surface equipment including the drawworks, automated driller, topdrive, and mud pumps to operate within the constraints of standard operating procedures that are incorporated into the system configuration in the form of procedures, mitigation strategies, and operational limits. It uses powerful data analysis and learning systems to assist and enhance every task from optimizing the rate of penetration (ROP) to drilling a stand autonomously. Following the deployment of the rig automation solution on both rigs, the team entered into a hyper care phase, which consisted of monitoring the system and training the drillers at the rig-site over a period of at least 3 months. Once concluded, the team spent the next year leveraging the system and routinely reviewing and optimizing the procedures and configuration parameters to maximize value added. Overall, a total of 20 wells were drilled with the digital solution throughout 2022 including 214,000 feet drilled in automated mode, an on-bottom ROP improvement of 8.4% on average, with total time savings adding to 23.86 days, and pre- and post-connection time reductions of 54% on average, with latest wells achieving as little as 6 minutes as compared to the initial benchmark of 25 minutes. Additional collaborative features were implemented, such as the remote monitoring and execution of the directional drilling process, where the engineer located in the remote operations center was able to send a downlink request, and once accepted by the driller, the system would dynamically re-plan a new sequence to incorporate the new goal and execute the downlink procedure autonomously while drilling, while the driller monitored other variables to optimize and drive safer operations. In the oil and gas industry, automation is mostly associated with the control of heavy machinery that is operated through predefined sequence automation. This goal-based technology provides a significant advantage by minimizing the human interaction needed to deal with the uncertainty of dynamically changing operations and, ultimately, lower drilling times. This indirectly results in a reduction in the carbon emissions footprint, operational risks, and cost, optimizing efficiency and field development.

Computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines play an important role in the production capacity of manufacturing enterprises. With the advance of computing technology, computer-aided systems (CAx) have been intensively used together with the CNC machines. The information flow from CAx to CNC machines is unidirectional, due to the widespread use of G&M codes to programme the CNC machines and the mechanism of the generation of part programmes. The CNC machines at the shopfloor have been isolated from the CAx chain. There is no automatic way to capture and feedback the shopfloor knowledge. Reusing shopfloor process knowledge offers the enterprises opportunities to improve manufacturing quality and control while enabling savings in cost and time. Rapid product development relies heavily on quick and reliable process planning and knowledge reuse to facilitate the process plan efficiently and effectively. In this research, the process comprehension approach has been utilised to capture the process knowledge at the shopfloor. A novel method has been proposed to reuse the process knowledge with different manufacturing resources. In this paper, a short review on manufacturing knowledge management is provided. The process comprehension approach is then presented. An example part is used as the case study to illustrate the knowledge capture using process comprehension and how the process knowledge can be utilised to manufacture the product with new manufacturing resources.

The importance of reflexivity in social sciences is now undisputed. Various sociological and philosophical perspectives have pointed out the impossibility of the objective character of knowledge. Hence, social sciences categories need to be investigated questioning both researcher’s gaze and involvement in his/her empirical field, and research practices. The aim is shedding light on the process of knowledge and common sense construction. This new epistemological consciousness is particularly urgent above all in the light of the rapid pace of social and cultural change in global societies. We urgently need to perfect our theoretical and empirical tool-kit for tackling the spatial movement of contemporary social actors. The aim of my paper is to shed light on categories like migration, mobility and tourism from a ‘generational perspective’. Starting from the results of recent qualitative study on contemporary youth condition and the role that geographical mobility plays in young people’s transition to adulthood, my paper sets out to explore the categories of migration, mobility and tourism.

Research has shown that up to half of construction accidents in the UK had a link with design. The UK’s Construction, Design and Management Regulations, (CDM, 2015) place duties on designers of construction projects to consider the health and safety implications of their designs. However, the majority of designers fail to recognise the impact on health and safety that they can make. Previous work shows that visual methods have been used to develop shared mental models of construction safety and health hazards in construction and design teams. Potentially, these methods could also include links to alternative construction processes that may be utilized by designers to reduce the inherent hazards in the design, thereby enhancing their knowledge of construction and maintenance processes from the very people who are affected by the designs. The study reported in this paper aims to improve how designers involved in construction projects learn about how their design influences the management of occupational health and safety at the construction stage. The proposed approach involves the development of a multi-media digital tool for educating and assisting designers on typical design-related hazards. This prototype tool was used in an intervention study with novice and experienced designers, split evenly between experimental and control groups. These groups were assessed via a novel hazard test using fictitious Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings. The results showed all experimental groups outperformed control groups, with the novice groups demonstrating the greatest increase in both hazards spotted and quality of alternative options recommended. Current research in this area promotes automated design systems for designers using Building Information Modelling (BIM). However, the research presented here advocates keeping the ‘human’ in control while supplementing designers’ knowledge with tacit knowledge gained from interaction from the developed digital tool, so that they can make informed design decisions potentially leading to safer designs.

Cob, a vernacular earth construction process in the context of modern sustainable building

A concepção de empreendimentos de infraestrutura viária envolve diversas fases de planejamento, estudos e pro-jetos. Nestas fases normalmente são discutidas e definidas as possíveis soluções de engenharia a serem aplicadas em cada etapa executiva. Para que as soluções definidas nas fases de planejamento e projeto tenham validade, faz-se necessário ga-rantir que os recursos utilizados, como materiais, mão de obra, máquinas, equipamentos e processos executivos empregados no campo atendam aos pré-requisitos técnicos especificados em projeto. Ocorre, porém, que no Brasil e em outros países do mundo, muitos dos métodos empregados para o dimensionamento de estruturas de pavimentos asfálticos são de natureza determinística, ou seja, utiliza-se de parâmetros médios para caracterização mecânica da estrutura não se preocupando em quantificar os prejuízos ocasionados pela variação de parâmetros proveniente do processo executivo. Na prática, como todo processo industrial, os processos construtivos estão sujeitos a apresentar variações que devem sempre ser aferidas e contro-ladas para garantir a qualidade do produto final. Dentro deste contexto, o presente trabalho apresenta uma metodologia de-senvolvida para realizar análises de risco de estruturas de pavimentos asfálticos flexíveis com base em critérios mecanicistas correntemente utilizados no Brasil. Com base nos estudos de caso realizados, verificou-se que a metodologia proposta apre-senta boa aplicação prática tanto nas fases de projeto quanto nas fases de controle de qualidade de camadas de infraestrutura de pavimentos recém-executadas.

BackgroundObjective Structured Clinical Examination is a standard method of testing declarative and process knowledge in clinical core competencies. It is desirable that students undergo Objective Structured Clinical Examination training before participating in the exam. However, establishing Objective Structured Clinical Examination training is resource intensive and therefore there is often limited practice time. Web-based immersive patient simulators such as ALICE (Artificial Learning Interface of Clinical Education) can possibly fill this gap as they allow for the training of complex medical procedures at the user’s individual pace and with an adaptable number of repetitions at home. ALICE has previously been shown to positively influence knowledge gain and motivation.ObjectiveTherefore, the aim of this study was to develop a Web-based curriculum that teaches declarative and process knowledge and prepares students for a real Objective Structured Clinical Examination station. Furthermore, we wanted to test the influence of ALICE on knowledge gain and student motivation.MethodsA specific curriculum was developed in order to implement the relevant medical content of 2 surgical Objective Structured Clinical Examination stations into the ALICE simulator framework. A total of 160 medical students were included in the study, where 100 students had access to ALICE and their performance was compared to 60 students in a control group. The simulator performance was validated on different levels and students’ knowledge gain and motivation were tested at different points during the study.ResultsThe curriculum was developed according to the Kern cycle. Four virtual clinical cases were implemented with different teaching methods (structured feedback, keynote speech, group discussion, and debriefing by a real instructor) in order to consolidate declarative and process knowledge. Working with ALICE had significant impact on declarative knowledge gain and Objective Structured Clinical Examination performance. Simulator validation was positive for face, content, construct, and predictive validity. Students showed high levels of motivation and enjoyed working with ALICE.ConclusionsALICE offers Web-based training for Objective Structured Clinical Examination preparation and can be used as a selective didactic intervention as it has positive effect on knowledge gain and student motivation.

Construction industry is known for its hazardous physical working environments and high accident risks. In reducing risk at the workplace, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is an important aspect. It is a standard which are set in legislation with the purpose to eliminate and reduce hazards at workplace. The objectives of this paper are to identify the major activities of the construction process in IBS residential and the OSH risks associated throughout the construction. This study involved a field observation to two different methods and two factory that use IBS as construction method which are ‘prefabricated timber framing system’, and ‘prefabricated steel framing system’. This involved interview to the executive staff, operatives and supervisors, and observing and documenting operations. In achieving this, four case study were descriptively analysed and availing a revelation exposure to UV and mobile plant risks as the major risk in IBS construction site. This paper intends to contribute in providing a way for designers to integrate construction process knowledge into design to eliminate or reduce hazards during construction. It will effectively address the designer’s role in making decisions in their designs and further illuminate the level of OSH risk their designs pose.

The construction sector is one of the material production sectors according to the nature of the function performed by the country's national economy. This field also consists of various sub-fields and affects the formation of the country's infrastructure. Basic construction includes a number of activities from project search, construction installation, scientific researchto the production of building materials. It forms the basis of material production in the field of construction and plays an important role in the creation of the main funds of the country. The field of capital construction covers all aspects from the production of construction materials to the execution of construction processes, including the transportation systems used during construction processes. This sector is important to ensure rapid and effective development of the country and helps to increase productivity and quality standards