Key Attitude Indicators (KAI) for Measuring Attitude of Contractors in Construction Projects

Nirmal Kumar Acharya,Young Dai Lee,Dal Sik Choi 대한토목학회 2006 KSCE journal of civil engineering Vol.10 No.3

Timely completion and a satisfied owner are the prime objectives of a construction project. The success to achieve these project objectives is fully depends on the working approaches (attitude) of a contractor company. Attitude is abstract, which is very difficult to measure directly; therefore it must be inferred from the assumed relationship with observable indicators. Commonly, behavior shown by a person or organization represents its attitude about things or persons or issues. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring attitude of a Contractor Company in an ongoing construction project. In this paper a set of key attitude indicators (KAIs) measured both objectively and subjectively have been developed through a field survey. The validity of the proposed KAIs is also tested by four case studies. The results of the study show that the KAIs stated in the paper can reasonably measure the attitude of Contractor Company and can be helpful for the owners and project managers to control their projects effectively. This study also provides few significant insights into developing a general and comprehensive base for further study.

Investigating delay factors in construction industry: A Korean perspective

Acharya, Nirmal Kumar,Im, Hae-Man,Lee, Young-Dai Korea Institute of Construction Engineering and Ma 2006 건설관리 : 한국건설관리학회 학회지 Vol.7 No.5

Construction projects are facing delay problems. Delays in construction have been immense effect on performance or satisfactory delivery of the project. Delays have been causing project cost overrun as well as it is a source of dispute hence damaging the relationship between the project participants. The purpose of this study was to explore the causes of delay risk through a field survey study. Data were collected from construction professionals working in owner, consultant and contractor organizations. All together 208 questionnaire instruments were used and analyzed by employing statistical tools (SPSS computer program). 19 delay factors were identified by this study, out of which following factors were critical: Frequent interruptions from public (local people, pressure group etc.), changed site condition, failure to provide required construction site, unrealistic project time estimation and design errors.

Critical Construction Conflicting Factors Identification Using Analytical Hierarchy Process

Nirmal Kumar Acharya,Young Dai Lee,Jung Ki Kim 대한토목학회 2006 KSCE journal of civil engineering Vol.10 No.3

The construction industry is dynamic in nature due to increase in uncertainties in technology, budgets, and development processes. Claims and litigation are on a dramatic rise throughout the construction industry. If disputes are not resolved promptly, they tend to drag on and escalate and can cause project delays, lead to claims, require litigation proceedings for resolution, and ultimately destroy business relationships. The purpose of this study is to find out the magnitude of the identified six major construction conflicting factors and responsible parties for those problems. Out of six identified conflicting factors, this study has detected four major factors contributing construction conflict using AHP tool. These four major contributors are: 'change of site condition', 'people interruptions', 'change order evaluation', and 'defective design'. The survey has also revealed the owner as a more responsible party for these conflicting factors and then followed by the consultant. The paper has suggested taking lead role by the owner to manage the conflicts in the construction sites and driving the project toward accomplishment by best planning. A construction conflict prevention model (CCPM) is suggested.

Conflict Avoidance in Construction Projects: Six “C” Rescue Factors

Nirmal Kumar Acharya,이영대,김사명 한국건설관리학회 2005 한국건설관리학회 논문집 Vol.6 No.6

Conflict is aroused when different people having different interest work together for fulfilling same the objectives. As the construction field is large, complex, volatile and requires tremendous capital, there are always greater challenges and possibility of risks of conflicts. Poor management practices in construction site and trying to protect risks and threats by contracting parties are the cited sources of the construction conflicts. The best management practice is to resolve the problems before these cultivate as conflicts. This paper has identified six dispute avoidance factorsConvince, Coordination, Consideration, Compromise, Consolation and Coercion. Six C factors described in this paper are the mantra (formula) to execute a conflict free construction project. The conflict avoidance factors have been verified through a successfully executed project called TEVT development project (Technical Education and Vocational Training) during 1993-1998 in Nepal. The results show that the six C factors if considered during the implementation of the project, construction conflicts would be controlled or minimized effectively.

Conflicting Factors in Korean Construction Industry

Nirmal K.Acharya,이영대,김정기 한국건설관리학회 2006 한국건설관리학회 논문집 Vol.7 No.2

The conflict problems encountered in the construction projects led to prolonged delays in implementation, interruptions and sometimes suspensions. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the critical factors giving birth to the construction conflicts. Review of literatures reveals that many researches have been carried out to identify causes of conflicts in different part of the world. Results of previous studies can reflect the general causes, however cannot be relied as the nature of construction project is unique and differs with the scope and location. So, the purpose of this study was to explore which of the conflicting factors are pertinent in Korean construction industry. Field survey was conducted using Likert scale to identify the conflicting factors. This paper has found out six construction conflicting factors pertinent in Korean context. These are: differing site condition, local people interruption, difference in change order evaluation, design errors, excessive contract quantities variation and double meaning of specifications. However, out of six construction problems, two factors i) differing site conditions and ii) local people interruption have been found as critical conflicting factors. So, this study does not support the notion of people causes conflict rather supports the notion of project factors cause conflicts in construction industry. The outcome of paper is believed to be beneficial to owner, contractor, project manager and other construction professionals who wish to see their project completed without having claims, counterclaims and disputes.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT OF A 5 KW CROSS-FLOW HYDRO TURBINE

Nirmal Acharya,Young-Ho LEE 한국신재생에너지학회 2013 AFORE Vol.2013 No.-

Numerical analysis and performance enhancement of a cross-flow hydro turbine

Acharya, Nirmal,Kim, Chang-Gu,Thapa, Bhola,Lee, Young-Ho Elsevier 2015 RENEWABLE ENERGY Vol.80 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Exploitation of small hydropower sources requires the use of small turbines that combine efficiency and economy which can conveniently cater the power needs of rural and small communities. Cross-flow turbines are used widely in such micro hydropower plants due to their simple design, easier maintenance, low initial investment and modest efficiency. Also, because of their suitability under low heads, their efficient operation under a wide range of flow variations and ease of fabrication, cross-flow turbines have been extensively employed. The primary objective of this study is to numerically analyze the characteristics and the fluid flow in a cross-flow hydro turbine and to optimize its performance by geometrically modifying the several parameters. During the process, a base model was chosen, the design was modified simultaneously by varying the nozzle shape, changing the guide vane angle, varying the number of runner blades and simulations were carried out individually. Two phase (air & water at 25 °C), steady state with SST turbulence model was selected in the commercial CFD code ANSYS CFX 13.0 for the numerical simulation. The design parameters included 10 m head, 0.1 m<SUP>3</SUP>/s flow rate and 642 rpm rotational speed. The results obtained showed that the best efficiency obtained from the base nozzle was 63.67% which was geometrically modified that improved the turbine performance and the efficiency reached 76.60% (increase by 12.93%). Velocity distribution, pressure contours, output torque within the flow domain were also characterized. It was observed that the re-circulating flow region was reduced and also its pattern was varied.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Efficiency of the turbine increases from 63.67% (base model) to 67.26% (nozzle modified with 150 mm radius of edge). </LI> <LI> Varying the guide vane angle increases the efficiency from 67.26% to 73.09% (7° GV angle). </LI> <LI> Changing number of runner blades gives the highest efficiency of 76.60% with 22 number of blades, 30 being the number of blades for base model. </LI> <LI> Re-circulation zones are observed inside the nozzle and runner interior part, which might be one of the reason for low efficiency of cross-flow turbines. </LI> </UL> </P>

Numerical Analysis of 5kW Cross-Flow Turbine Performance by the Variation of Nozzle Shape

Nirmal Acharya,Young- Ho Lee 한국신재생에너지학회 2013 한국신재생에너지학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2013 No.05

Analysis of Relationship between Teamwork Attitude and the Job Satisfaction of Project Participants

Acharya Nirmal Kumar,Kim Hyung-Soo,Lee Young-Dai Korea Institute of Construction Engineering and Ma 2006 한국건설관리학회 논문집 Vol.7 No.4

Conflict may occur during teamwork activities. Conflict is the incompatibility of interest of participants; hence, it is more common in a wide varied activities involved construction field. Goals and values involve positive or negative features and are therefore common sources of conflict in construction field. Excessive conflict is a major hindrance to the effective operation of a team. If the conflict is not managed timely and properly, it could be transformed into a big dispute, thus to avoid these situation, it is necessary to augment working together culture. This paper aims to identify project team working factors and to uncover underlying relationships between these factors. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from professionals. Factor analysis was employed to categorize twenty-one teamwork items evaluated by 169 respondents working in three major construction parties namely, owners, consultants and contractors. Factor analysis uncover that these team work factors can be grouped under three categories titled as: integrative working culture, relationship building and trust building. Multiple regression analysis however, showed that relationship building factor does not influence job satisfaction of project participants. Results of this study can be used as a tool to strengthening relationship between project participants in the construction industry.

Conflict Avoidance Styles : Preference of Construction Professionals

Nirmal Kumar Acharya,Young Dai Lee(이영대),Yong Deuk Kim(김용득) 대한토목학회 2005 대한토목학회 학술대회 Vol.2005 No.10