Browsing by Author "Barkokebas, Beda"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    A Quantitative Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Associated with Temporary Heating in Residential Housing
    (Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2024) Castillo, V.,V.; Días Ferreira Barkokebas, Regina Celi; Barkokebas, Beda; Al-Hussein M.
    Temporary heating is a resource commonly used by construction practitioners in cold-climate regions to keep a constant temperature of the construction area in order to support construction work under cold weather conditions. Since the use of temporary heating depends on the project duration and outdoor temperature, it is challenging to accurately estimate its cost and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Additionally, the typical practice in North American construction is to use concrete to build the basement of single-detached houses. This drives up the CO2 emissions associated with construction, as concrete has high levels of embodied CO2 emissions. In this regard, this research aims to quantify the environmental impact and cost of temporary heating and concrete usage for basements in single-family detached houses in cold-climate regions. A discrete-event simulation model is developed to obtain the project duration and the daily average propane consumption for basement projects. This information is then used to quantify the cost and CO2 emissions associated with temporary heating and concrete usage. The results demonstrate that the cost of temporary heating increases the total cost of a concrete basement project between 8.84% and 19.31%, and represents between 15.66% and 29.48% of the total CO2 emissions produced by temporary heating and concrete usage. In contrast, concrete represents 25.24% to 30.80% of the total cost of a concrete basement project and produces between 70.52% and 84.34% more CO2 emissions than temporary heating. A case study including data collected from seven actual concrete basement projects for single-family detached houses is used to build the simulation model used for this study.
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    BIM and procurement data integration in industrialized construction using artificial intelligence
    (2024) Pino Álvarez, Thomas Enrique; Barkokebas, Beda; Prieto Ibáñez, Andrés José; Costa, Dayana Bastos
    Industrialized construction (IC) has experienced significant achievements in the development of innovative construction methods in response to the demands of the construction industry. In this context, building information modeling (BIM) integrates and manages data throughout prefabrication phases (design, bid, and procurement) within an IC project. However, manual tasks such as data transfer between BIM models and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems result in delays and errors due to the constant change of versions and large data flow between the involved parties. This research proposes the implementation of a novel method based on artificial intelligence (AI) to integrate the required information contained in elements in the BIM model with construction materials databases normally managed by ERP systems to procure and purchase materials in IC enterprises. Using a case study approach, this research presents a workflow with the proposed method whereas the results show that 81.57% of the elements were successfully identified, leading to a 63.47% reduction in the time compared to the manual assignment approach. Despite classifying a considerable percentage of the elements, it was identified that the implemented workflow depends on manual-dependent tasks during the design phase, such as modeling methodologies. This research contributes by providing new methods to improve IC projects and is expected to contribute to future research related to AI-based.
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    Can Advanced Work Packaging Become a Lean Method?
    (2023) Sepulveda Solari, Italo Gerald; Alarcón Cárdenas, Luis Fernando; Barkokebas, Beda
    Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is rapidly becoming a popular methodology to improve efficiency in construction projects. It is an innovative approach to project management that focuses on the planning, organization, and control of construction tasks on the job site is based on the idea that by organizing work effectively and reducing lead times, it is possible to maximize efficiency and productivity in construction. Nevertheless, Lean Construction (LC) practitioners identified significant shortcomings in AWP such as the lack of attention to buffers while arguing that this methodology is not effective in a practical setting. In this context, this research presents a literature review identifying the criticism of LC practitioners to AWP while identifying similarities and possible synergies where both approaches can complement each other to render better results during the delivery of construction projects. This research identifies the implementation of the Last Planner System® (LPS®) as means to address significant AWP shortcomings identified by LC practitioners while taking advantage of AWP’s structured approach to better apply LC concepts. Therefore, the identified synergies and combination of both approaches will contribute to more efficient processes and improvement of construction practices.
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    Construction Industrialization: A Mosaic of Definitions
    (2025) Vásquez Hernández, Alejandro; Alarcón Cárdenas, Luis Fernando; Pellicer, Eugenio; Barkokebas, Beda
    The underestimation of the conceptual divergences in the field of construction industrialization (CI) has led to the understanding of distinct positions and terms as equivalent and to their interchangeable use. This has generated ambiguity regarding the concept in literature and professional practice, limited knowledge exchange and collaboration, hindered the establishment of measurement bases and regulatory contexts, and led to incorrect assumptions about benefits. This study addresses the need for a comprehensive framework that highlights and facilitates the recognition and shared understanding of conceptual divergences in CI. An in-depth analysis of terminology and definitions was conducted through a systematic literature review, content analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis. The findings present a comprehensive compendium of CI terms and definitions proposed between 1949 and 2023, cited at least once between 2017 and 2023. Sixty-eight underlying themes in CI definitions were identified, and the predominant conceptual approaches in contemporary literature were determined. Clarifying CI's conceptual divergences facilitates the effective exchange of knowledge and the consistent implementation of CI practices in diverse contexts. It also contributes to the work of researchers and professionals from diverse perspectives is based on the recognition and shared understanding of this diversity, promoting the advancement of the CI knowledge field.
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    Digitalization-based process improvement and decision-making in offsite construction
    (Elsevier B.V., 2023) Barkokebas, Beda; Martinez P.; Bouferguene A.; Hamzeh F.; Al-Hussein M.
    The evaluation of process improvements measures in offsite construction shop floors often relies on experts' opinion, with limited use of empirical data gathered by sensors in real-time. To address this issue, there is a need for methods that integrate expert's tacit knowledge with robust data analysis techniques. This paper describes the application of exploratory data analysis techniques to evaluate improvement suggestions proposed by expert's, supported by data collected by sensors on the shop floor and building information models. The presented method involves a quantitative and qualitative digitalization-based approach where improvement suggestions are modelled and validated though machine learning algorithms and hypothesis testing. The contribution of this study is a method that combines real-time data, building information models, and knowledge modeling from experts to evaluate process improvement on offsite construction shop floors
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    Flexible Robotic Production in Off-Site Construction: A Lean Approac
    (2023) Cardenas Castaneda, Jennifer Alejandra; Barkokebas, Beda; Martínez, Pablo; Ahmad, Rafiq
    The integration of robotics into flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) has been identified as a potential strategy for increasing modular construction flexibility. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for investigating the relationship between FMS and robotics in modular construction. The framework proposes that by incorporating robotics into FMS, prefabricated building component manufacturing systems will gain flexibility. The two key variables of the framework are robotics (as the independent variable) and FMS (as the dependent variable). Moderator variables such as controlled environment and variability are also considered, as are mediator variables such as real-time adjustments, productivity, equipment utilization, set-up times, varying speeds, and reduced manpower. The purpose of this paper is to set the theoretical foundation for further studies on robotics integration into FMS in modular construction. The paper concludes with a discussion of the proposed implications of the framework for modular construction practitioners and researchers.
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    Improving Premanufacturing Phases in Off-Site Construction Through a Digitalization Approach
    (2023) Barkokebas, Beda; Ost, Felipe; Mourgues Alvaréz, Claudio Enrique; Saruhashi, Lissa
    The integration of digitalization and building information modelling (BIM) has been lauded as a cornerstone to improve processes and enhance communication across the construction industry. Nevertheless, the implementation of digitalization approaches has suffered due to the lack of methods and processes uncertainties, particularly in the case of off-site construction (OSC) companies where its premanufacturing phases (design, planning, and procurement) differ significantly from traditional construction. This research presents a case study of a digitalization-based workflow to reduce the duration and increase accuracy of premanufacturing phases. To that end, a digitalization plan is developed using value stream maps, supported by Monte Carlo simulation, to identify the waste of current practices and propose suitable improvement measures. Afterwards, a digitalization-based workflow is developed and implemented to exchange data between BIM models and other systems. After one year and a half of implementation, the proposed workflow reduced the duration of tasks in 92.31% while providing an average of 12.24% more accurate bill of materials compared to the previous approach. As such, the contribution of this study is twofold: first, a lean-based method to implement digitalization in OSC companies considering its particularities and inherited process uncertainties; and second, an improved process for OSC premanufacturing phases