Perceived Benefits of Using Value Engineering on Road Projects in Ghana

The need for Optimum Value benefit realization on Road Projects in developing countries has become topical. While the traditional Cost Control project management process only aligns actual costs with budgeted costs, Value Engineering (VE) is a sustainable and systematic innovative methodology for establishing the best functional balance among desired features of a project. A Value Engineering (VE) study was conducted with the aim of examining the benefits associated with its use on Road Projects in Ghana. This study employed a two-stage research procedure: desk study and field research. The literature review identified the Optimum Value benefits associated with VE road project management technique as increased Confidence Level in Contract Compliance, reliable Implementation Level of Construction Delivery and enhanced Effectiveness Level of Project Sustainability. A quantitative survey research design based on a purposive sampling technique of selecting respondents was adopted. Employing closed-ended questions, 40 sets of questionnaires were issued to professionals in Road Infrastructure and Support Agencies (RISA) under the Ministry of Roads and Highways (MRH) in the Eastern Region of Ghana. At a response rate of 85%, descriptive statistical analysis (Means, Standard Deviations and Variances) and inferential statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were used to process the data and determine whether there was any significant difference between VE benefit parameters and the groups of respondents. The results revealed that road professionals are familiar with the VE process but solely use Cost Control project management technique. Road professionals recognized the high Optimum Value benefits of professionally ethical Contract Compliance, efficient Construction Delivery and functionally viable Project Sustainability on VE road project management process.

A Review on the Role of Risk Management (RM) and Value Engineering (VE) Tools for Project Successful Delivery

Both in developed and in developing countries, the construction industry is regarded as an economic investment activity without forgetting its significant relationship with national economic development due to its great contributions to the national gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. Concerning construction processes, both risk management (RM) and value engineering (VE) techniques have commonalities from the beginning up to the completion of the project due to enhancing the project value/quality, meeting the project deadline, and reducing overall project cost. VE includes resolving the uncertainty of project objectives and ensuring that the project is delivered in a value for money way. The key point of RM is to solve the uncertainty of the project itself and its results to ensure that the specifications are achieved within the prescribed time, cost, and quality constraints. This review work is comparatively and collectively focused on assessing the role of RM and VE tools for project successful delivery. It studies the points of difference and common features of the two aspects in terms of construction project delivery. So, this study concluded that in construction RM tool cannot be the chief aim of the all parties involved in the project execution because sometimes it produces itself negative results and reduces project management success. Therefore, RM needs a strong combination with VE due to the dependence of the target in identifying and assessing risks by considering the highest performance and lowest cost. The integration of RM and VE combination in a single study would avoid duplication of work and deliver better value for money thereby leading to better project outcomes.

Ecosystem Service Value of Jingtaichuan Electric Power Irrigation Engineering

The ecosystem service value of Jingtaichuan electric power irrigation engineering( referred to as Jingdian engineering) was divided into internal value( the value of farmland system,shelter forest system outside of farmland and wetland waters) and external value( the ecological service value of ecological migration to the vegetation restoration of the Qilian Mountains) firstly,and then it was analyzed by using the model method and the factor equivalent method. The results showed that the internal ecological service value of Jingdian engineering was 36. 3 ×10~8 yuan,which was 25. 0 times larger than the total annual cost. The external ecological service value was 40. 05 ×10~8 yuan,which was 27. 6 times larger than the total annual cost. Among the three functional systems,the ecological service value of farmland system was the largest. The ecological service value of farmland system was mainly reflected in waste disposal,wind prevention and sand fixation,and food production. The external ecological service value was mainly the ecological service value of migration to vegetation restoration in the Qilian Mountains. Jingdian engineering is the only highlifting project that raises water to the desert in China. It transfers water from outer basins to control desertification and provides a successful road for ecological migration and desertification control in arid areas.

A Value Engineering Analysis of Head Loss in Pumping Mains

With net zero carbon emissions targets approaching over the next 20 to 30 years, the water industry must act now to develop energy efficient techniques and designs to reduce emissions and reduce the carbon footprint of water utility providers. There is also the potential for significant energy and therefore financial savings to be realised from the adoption of more energy efficient designs approaches. Water utility providers account for a significant proportion of national electricity consumption. The purpose of this research is to determine if, over the long term, opting for a larger diameter pipe at design stage can lead to significant financial and emissions savings for water utility providers when considering pumping mains. Pumping mains are widely used throughout the water and wastewater industry where a gravity solution is not possible. 72 hypothetical water main design scenarios were analysed and the long term financial and environmental impact of each hypothetical water main was assessed. It was found across all design scenarios that larger diameter water mains were capable of delivering the same rate of flow of smaller diameter pipes at a much reduced velocity and requiring reduced pumping power. It was concluded that pumped mains of larger diameters can ultimately be more energy efficient and cost effective over the long term when selected in favour of smaller diameter pumped mains in otherwise identical design scenarios.

Effect of Sea Level Variation on Tidal Characteristic Values for the East China Sea

Tidal waves in the East China Sea are simulated numerically with POM(Princeton Ocean Model) model for normal mean sea level, 30 cm higher, 60 cm higher, and 100 cm higher, respectively, and the simulated result is compared with the harmonic analysis result of hourly sea level data from 19 tide gauges for more than 19 years. It is indicated that the long-term mean sea level variation affects notably tidal waves in this region. Generally, the tidal amplitude increases when the mean sea level rises, but this relationship may be inverse for some sea areas. The maximal variation of tidal amplitude takes place in the zones near the Fujian coast and the Zhejiang coast, rather than the shallowest Bohai Sea. The maximum increase of M2 amplitude can exceed about 15 cm corresponding to the 60 cm rise of the mean sea level along the Fujian coast. The other regions with large variations of tidal amplitude are those along the Jiangsu coast, the south-east coast of Shandong, and the south-east coast of Dalian. The propagation of tidal waves is also related to mean sea level variation, and the tidal phase-lag decreases generally when the mean sea level rises. Almost all the regions where the tidal phase-lag increases with rising mean sea level are close to amphidromic points, meanwhile the spatial area of such regions is very small. Because the influence of mean sea level variation upon tidal waves is spatially marked, such spatial effect should be considered in calculation of the tidal characteristic value and engineering water level. In the region where the amplitudes of the major tidal constituents increase, the probable maximum high water level becomes higher, the probable maximum low water level becomes lower, and both design water level andcheck water level increase obviously. For example, the design water level at Xiamen increases by 13.5 cm due to the variation of tidal waves when the mean sea level rises 60 cm, the total increase of design water level being 73.5 cm.

The High Value CVT Concept--Cost Effective and Powerful

Based on the comprehensive comparison of vehicle performance in economy,engine power,driving smoothness,and efficiency cost as well as pollutant emission etc,the paper discussed the high value CVT concept from an angle of the cost effective and powerful for vehicle.In the paper,it researched the related technical detail in CVT.By means of realizing the continuous change in transmission ratio,it could obtain the optimal matching between transmission system and engine operating mode,and enhance the characteristic of fuel oil in economy,and also improve the convenience in manipulation for driver and make passenger comfortable.For easy to understand the concept,the paper made the comparison analysis in many aspects such as performance,transmission specification,high value CVT hybrid,orifice torque sensor,hydraulic system,high value CVT em,new chain portfolio and assessment of the high value CVT on the NEDC.Finally it showed the potential advantages of CVT technology development,and proposed future developing trends to realize technical scheme of high value CVT.

Innovation and practice of petroleum engineering synergetic management for the development of difficult-to-produce reserves

Due to engineering technology and development costs,a considerable amount of proven oil and gas resources in China are difficult to develop,becoming reserves difficult to produce.Based on the successful development of some domestic oil and gas reserves difficult to recover,this article summarizes the"four in one"petroleum engineering synergetic management model to promote the effective development of these reserves.This model draws on the essence of management theories,such as system theory,cybernetics and synergetic theory,and proposes the development idea of value creating and sharing for this type of reserves.By adopting the new management method of mechanism synergy,speciality synergy,process synergy and industrial chain synergy,this model effectively overcomes the decentralization of management responsibility,different management objectives,great risks of engineering and technological innovation,and the large number of uncertain factors in project construction,and can stimulate the vitality and power of active coordination of project participants,to effectively realize the synergetic innovation of engineering technology and synergetic cost reduction of the whole chain,reduction of the balanced oil price of the project,and dispersion of the project investment risk.By adopting this model,a large proportion of difficult-to-produce reserves have been liberated,realizing the effective utilization of the difficult-to-produce oil and gas resources,and making the reserves an important supplement to ensure national energy security.

Importance Analysis of a Multi-state System Based on Direct Partial Logic Derivatives and Multi-valued Decision Diagrams

Importance analysis quantifies the critical degree of individual component. Compared with the traditional binary state system,importance analysis of the multi-state system is more aligned with the practice. Because the multi-valued decision diagram( MDD) can reflect the relationship between the components and the system state bilaterally, it was introduced into the reliability calculation of the multi-state system( MSS). The building method,simplified criteria,and path search and probability algorithm of MSS structure function MDD were given,and the reliability of the system was calculated. The computing methods of importance based on MDD and direct partial logic derivatives( DPLD) were presented. The diesel engine fuel supply system was taken as an example to illustrate the proposed method. The results show that not only the probability of the system in each state can be easily obtained,but also the influence degree of each component and its state on the system reliability can be obtained,which is conducive to the condition monitoring and structure optimization of the system.

Fault Diagnosis for Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor(MAP) of Diesel Engine Based on Elman Neural Network Observer

Intake system of diesel engine is a strong nonlinear system, and it is difficult to establish accurate model of intake system; and bias fault and precision degradation fault of MAP of diesel engine can＇t be diagnosed easily using model-based methods. Thus, a fault diagnosis method based on Elman neural network observer is proposed. By comparing simulation results of intake pressure based on BP network and Elman neural network, lower sampling error magnitude is gained using Elman neural network, and the error is less volatile. Forecast accuracy is between 0.015？0.017 5 and sample error is controlled within 0？0.07. Considering the output stability and complexity of solving comprehensively, Elman neural network with a single hidden layer and with 44 nodes is presented as intake system observer. By comparing the relations of confidence intervals of the residual value between the measured and predicted values, error variance and failures in various fault types. Then four typical MAP faults of diesel engine can be diagnosed： complete failure fault, bias fault, precision degradation fault and drift fault. The simulation results show： intake pressure is observable and selection of diagnostic strategy parameter reasonably can increase the accuracy of diagnosis;the proposed fault diagnosis method only depends on data and structural parameters of observer, not depends on the nonlinear model of air intake system. A fault diagnosis method is proposed not depending system model to observe intake pressure, and bias fault and precision degradation fault of MAP of diesel engine can be diagnosed based on residuals.

Quantifying the Indirect Benefits of Transport Infrastructures and Value Capture Ways in Transportation

Urban transportation is closely related to land use. The changes of transportation cost and accessibility have a direct impact on land use and land prices. Land exploitation and land use play a role of redistributing traffic flow in the urban districts. Real property values are regarded as a sole comprehensive index representing all the benefits generated by transport investment. We have applied the theory of time value on transportation to land price model to evaluate the increased value of real estate resulting from improved accessibility. Agency responsible for the development of urban transport infrastructure can capture part of the financial benefit gained by real estate development through a variety of value capture. This enables us to transfer indirect benefit of transport infrastructure construction to transport enterprise and achieve a benign cycle between urban transport investment and land exploitation.

Agile Practices: An Assessment of Perception of Value of Professionals on the Quality Criteria in Performance of Projects

Deliver high quality software in accordance with deadlines has become a major challenge for the software industry and more organizations adopt agile practices as a mean to achieve quality in their products. This paper analyzes, through a survey, the perception of software professionals, working in different fronts of the development process, the relationship between the use of agile practices and quality of software products. The result shows agile practices that can contribute to quality in three aspects: bigger involvement of the staff, agile management of the requirements proposed and code developed.

Application of Earned Value Method in Project Cost Management and Schedule Management

At present,with the rapid development of China's economy,the development of the construction industry has made a new breakthrough.Project management requires the construction industry to continuously play its role and value in improving the ability of project management.Earned value method,which is an important way in the field of project management,enables whole project management to rise to a new height.The specific principle of earned value method will be elaborated by fully introducing the specific role of earned value method in engineering projects to provide a reference and basis for practitioners to improve their management ability.

DC-Link Capacitor Optimization in AC–DC Converter by Load Current Prediction

Alternating Current–Direct Current(AC–DC)converters require a high value bulk capacitor or afilter capacitor between the DC–DC conversion stages,which in turn causes many problems in the design of a AC–DC converter.The component package size for this capacitor is large due to its high voltage rating and capacitance value.In addition,the high charging current creates more pro-blems during the product compliance testing phase.The shelf life of these specific high value capacitors is less than that of Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors(MLCC),which limits its use for the highly reliable applications.This paper presents a fea-sibility study to overcome these two problems by adding a few sensing mechan-isms to the typical AC–DC converter topology.In majority of the AC–DC converter,Al-Elko capacitor takes approximately 3%to 5%of the converter size.The proposed method reduces this to approximately 50%size and so it effectively approximates 2%to 3%size reduction in converter size.The proposed method basically works based on the load current prediction method and hence it is highly suitable for the constant load application.Moreover,the converter response time increases in this method,which limit its application in high-speed systems.The high temperature application of Al-Elko capacitor is limited because of its poor performance,which is significantly rectified by replacing the Al-Elko with MLCC as it delivers good performance in high temperature.

改良Verhulst模型在泥岩路基沉降预测中的应用

为了准确预测泥岩高速公路路基不同填筑阶段的沉降数据,避免长期监测带来的不便,提出了5个改良Verhulst模型:分别利用元胞自动机和矩形法以及积分法改良传统Verhulst模型背景值,建立了元胞自动机改良模型、矩形法模型和积分法模型;在此基础上,利用元胞自动机理论优化矩形法模型和积分法模型的背景值,建立了综合改良模型1、2。以马巢高速公路泥岩路基沉降数据为基础,采用传统Verhulst模型和5个改良Verhulst模型预测路基在不同填筑阶段的沉降。结果表明:5个改良模型中,2种综合改良模型精度最高,其次为元胞自动机改良模型和积分法模型,最后为矩形法模型,且预测精度均优于传统模型,能较好地预测不同风化程度泥岩路基在不同填筑阶段的沉降,符合工程要求。

基于DEMATEL-ISM的水利工程EPC项目价值增值机理研究

采用设计-采购-施工(engineering-procurement-construction,EPC)总承包模式的水利工程项目日益增多,研究其价值增值机理有利于总承包方做好项目的价值管理。从水利工程EPC项目的价值链分析入手,基于文献和专家访谈得到23个价值增值影响因素。采用问卷调查方式得到各因素间的影响程度评分,用决策实验和评估实验(decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory,DEMATEL)法计算了各因素的中心度和原因度,结合解释结构模型(interpretative structural modeling,ISM)对数据进行分析,将价值增值因素划分为6类,构建了水利工程EPC项目价值增值的递阶模型,探究和揭示了项目价值增值的路径和机理。研究结果对水利工程EPC总承包方制订管理策略有一定启示作用。

“需求导向价值塑造职业发展”三位一体的采矿工程专业改革探索与实施——以武汉科技大学采矿工程专业为例

结合新工科背景下矿业发展的新需求,总结了采矿工程专业新型人才培养应加强培养目标与社会需求的紧密结合、加强使命教育和专业自信的全程培养、加强职业素养和教学实践的全面融合等问题,提出了“需求导向价值塑造职业发展”三位一体的采矿工程专业改革思路,实施了将价值塑造融入教育教学顶层设计、行业需求融入课程群教学内容优化、职业发展融入课内教学和课外实践等系列举措,显著提升了采矿工程专业新型人才的培养质量,取得了丰硕的教育教学改革成果。