Contractor Prequalification Based on Neural Networks

Contractor Prequalification involves the screening of contractors by a project owner, according to a given set of criteria, in order to determine their competence to perform the work if awarded the construction contract. This paper introduces the capabilities of neural networks in solving problems related to contractor prequalification. The neural network systems for contractor prequalification has an input vector of 8 components and an output vector of 1 component. The output vector represents whether a contractor is qualified or not qualified to submit a bid on a project.

China-invented vaccines against vacdnepreventable diseases for Belt&Road countries

Vaccine is a principal and highly cost-effective medical method on controlling infectious diseases and improving population health.Various vaccines are eagerly needed in the low-income countries along the Belt&Road.With the good quality to reach WHO prequalification standard,and the abundant capacity to fulfill the demand from market abroad,upon the platform of China-proposed"the Belt&Road Initiative",the vaccines manufactured in China are exporting to countries worldwide.The independent innovative vaccines'R&D system,which fruited a series of innovative infectious diseases vaccines(EV71 vaccine,sIPV,HEV,Ebola vaccine,etc.)to be launched in Chinese market,indicates that China has developed rapidly from"a great vaccine-production country"to"a powerful vaccine-innovation country".The implementation of National Innovation-driven Development Strategy would further push forward the developm ent and internationalization process of Chinese innovative vaccines.Therefore,the China-invented vaccines will make an important role in the prevention and control of infectious disease in various countries and become one of the most powerful weapons in fighting the global epidemic event in the future.

Contractor Selection Criteria in Ghanaian Construction Industry: Benefits and Challenges

Selecting a contractor for construction project is a difficult decision to be taken by a client because it may lead to construction delivery problems or successful delivery of the project. This study, therefore, investigated the contractor selection criteria in the Ghanaian construction industry, considering the benefits and challenges. A quantitative research method was adopted in this study through the use of a questionnaire. The target population for the study consisted of registered contractors and consultants in the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions of Ghana. It was found that though the construction professionals are well vested with the prequalification selection criteria that are being used within the Ghanaian construction industry, they were not familiar with multi-criterial section methods. It was also found that the benefits of the contractor selection criteria include: enabling the client to select contractors who are performers for the project, saving the project owner a lot of time, minimizing the possibility of contractor default, and facilitating the achievement of project success and the objectives within the scheduled time. Furthermore, excessive cost and time overrun, poor quality standard, imprecise assessments due to lack of information, criteria being very complex and difficult to apply in practice, among others were identified as the challenges to the contractor selection criteria in Ghanaian construction industry. The study recommends for further studies to determine the impact of the identified challenges on construction projects, and ways to minimize the challenges.