Browsing by Author "Yepes, Victor"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Model for Systematic Innovation in Construction Companies
    (ASCE-AMER SOC CIVIL ENGINEERS, 2014) Pellicer, Eugenio; Yepes, Victor; Correa, Christian L.; Alarcon, Luis F.
    The reasons that drive construction companies to innovate, as well as the processes they use, have not yet been fully explored in the construction management literature. This paper describes the hows and whys behind the push for innovation in a construction company. The research method is founded on the validation of a model developed by a case study; this is focused on a medium-sized construction company which implemented and certified an innovation management system, as established by a Spanish standard. The studies conducted by the authors over a five-year period generated a set of 18 propositions reflecting an explanatory model of innovation management. This paper reports on the external validation of this model by means of a set of interviews; the results fully corroborate 15 of these propositions. The strongest drivers of innovation in construction companies are technical problems in construction projects, client requirements, and upper management. Innovation opportunities are identified as a result of examination of the internal processes of the company, the construction projects, and the environment. Identifying, developing, and transferring an innovative solution require the implementation of technological watch and knowledge management in the organization. Finally, the research concludes that the main benefit of innovation management is an increase in the company's technical capability, whereas the two main barriers to innovation are the prioritization of production processes and the lack of support from the leaders of the company.
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    Optimizing Retaining Walls through Reinforcement Learning Approaches and Metaheuristic Techniques
    (2023) Lemus-Romani, Jose; Ossandon, Diego; Sepulveda, Rocio; Carrasco-Astudillo, Nicolas; Yepes, Victor; Garcia, Jose
    The structural design of civil works is closely tied to empirical knowledge and the design professional's experience. Based on this, adequate designs are generated in terms of strength, operability, and durability. However, such designs can be optimized to reduce conditions associated with the structure's design and execution, such as costs, CO2 emissions, and related earthworks. In this study, a new discretization technique based on reinforcement learning and transfer functions is developed. The application of metaheuristic techniques to the retaining wall problem is examined, defining two objective functions: cost and CO2 emissions. An extensive comparison is made with various metaheuristics and brute force methods, where the results show that the S-shaped transfer functions consistently yield more robust outcomes.
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    Organizational Improvement Through Standardization of the Innovation Process in Construction Firms
    (TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2012) Pellicer, Eugenio; Luis Correa, Christian; Yepes, Victor; Fernando Alarcon, Luis
    The purpose of this article is to identify the drivers, success factors, benefits, and barriers to innovation in a medium size construction firm with a standardized innovation management system. The case study method is used to compare theory to reality from different perspectives, building explanations from a Spanish contractor observed over a three year period. Findings suggest that innovation management can be standardized, which leads to an organizational improvement for the company, and at the same time this improvement facilitates organizational problem-solving on a regular basis, increasing technical capabilities, knowledge management, business profit, and client satisfaction. The framework described in this research aims to provide guidance for managers, thus they can innovate in a systematic way; however, this exploratory study has still to be validated by empirical investigations on a larger scale through a significant number of certified companies, which is currently not yet the case in the Spanish construction industry.
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    The Dilemma of Innovation in the Construction Company: A Decade of Lessons Learned
    (2017) Pellicer, Eugenio; Yepes, Victor; Luis Correa, Christian; Alarcon Cardenas, Luis Fernando