Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications

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    Integrating sustainability into higher education curricula
    Rajabifard, A ; Elisa, L ; Herath, N ; Hui, K ; Currie, G ; Kahalimoghadam, M (Engineers Australia, 2021)
    Education has been widely recognised as a key instrument to achieve sustainability. Integrating sustainability knowledge, skills and values are considered paramount to enable individuals to contribute to sustainable development. The paper presents a pilot study conducted at the University of Melbourne to investigate the links between the subjects offered by the University and sustainability. The pilot study is a part of the Sustainability in the Curriculum program, which addresses the Sustainability Plan Teaching and Learning Target 1, aimed to incorporate sustainability knowledge and values in the University's curricula. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals have been used as a framework to measure how well the curricula are linked to sustainability. A study first undertaken to establish the link between subjects and the Sustainability Development Goals is presented. The study involved data collection through published literature on Sustainable Development Goals and the University's subject handbook, followed by a survey involving the subject coordinators. The findings of the study show that the strength of linkages between subjects with sustainability varies, highlighting the challenge in some technical subjects in linking their contents with sustainability. Approaches adopted in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology in embedding sustainability in the curriculum are presented with some examples and discussions for the next steps.
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    Foreword
    Hui, K ; Ismail, S ; Hui, K ; Ismail, S (The University of Melbourne, 2022-09-27)
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    Transforming Maritime Logistics with The Power of Information Technology
    Wisesa, H ; Hui, K ; Wilson, S ; Wahyuni, S (Indonesian Strategic Management Society, 2018-10-22)
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    Education & training for zero energy and lean manufacturing & construction of housing in Australia
    Hui, KP ; Akemi Yokota, A ; Aye, L ; Do, K ; Sutrisna, M ; Jonescu, E ; Zaman, A (Curtin University, 2018-09-27)
    For zero energy and efficient production of mass customised housing, good outcomes are possible only when it is supportedby a good education curriculum and infrastructure. This paper reports on the status of education for zero energy and lean manufacturing and construction of houses in Australia by investigating offerings of Victorian schools, vocational training and highereducation sectors in these respects. The courses currently offered within Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) were assessed. It was found that there are still gaps in the education infrastructure that do not provide fully for opportunities to educate the workforce in these areas. Although the main knowledge areas of zero energy are sufficiently covered by courses involving sustainability, renewable energy, energy efficiency in buildings and infrastructure construction, the teaching of lean concepts are not widespread in all these education sectors in Australia.
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    Proceedings of the Port Competitiveness and Financing Research Workshop
    Hui, K ; Duffield, C ; Wilson, S ; Hui, K ; Duffield, C ; Wilson, S (University of Melbourne, Department of Infrastructure Engineering, 2018-04-10)
    Preface As an initiative of The University of Melbourne and partner universities, The University of Gadja Mada and Universitas Indonesia, a workshop of port researchers and senior practitioners was convened in Melbourne from 4th April to 6th April 2018. The researchers and practitioners have been brought together as a part of the Infrastructure policy and finance research being undertaken under the auspice of the Infrastructure Cluster Agenda of the Australia Indonesia Centre. This set of proceedings collates the presentations on the research day of the workshop conducted on the 4th April 2018. The researchers have been considering infrastructure and finance associated in improving port efficiency in situations where the port directly interfaces with a major city. The researchers have collectively critically reviewed the international literature, conducted surveys in Indonesia and Australia, conducted focus group meetings in Indonesia and Australia, conducted in‐depth interviews, participated in field trips to major port establishments and explored a range of case study projects in both countries. This workshop created the opportunity for researchers to seek opportunity to syntheses their collective research.
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    A minimum viable product design of volumetric building modules
    Paxton, F ; Vu, J ; Hui, K ; Aye, L ; Chau, H-W ; Hentschke, CDS (ZEMCH Network, 2018)
    This paper explores the adaptation of an IBM approach to product development emphasising user experience and critical requirements. The potential of this approach to be applied to offsite building manufacture is identified. Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has helped IBM validate key hypothesis about a product, thus increasing its probability of success, before completing its development. This paper attempts to answer the question of whether an MVP of manufactured building unit can aid cost awareness at early design phase of building and also facilitate a mass customisation. Since about 80% of a building’s cost is determined in the concept design phase and the frontend design of manufactured buildings is seemingly unaware of costs, time and processes associated with the methods, this can cause unnecessary cost increases. The investigation involves the design of a parametrically constrained building system of an MVP of space requirement to program. The Victorian apartment design standards, logistic constraints, and user customisation to room sizes are considered to define spatial limitations in the case study. The effectiveness of the system is examined through a case study analysis to identify the possibility for variation of volumetric unit in an apartment building scenario. It is expected to develop a new understanding of modular building constraints at early design stage yet still allow for a mass customized outcome without the expense of variation through lack of front end knowledge of the manufactured system. It is also expected to produce a better understanding of base building costs and time associated with a mass customisable manufactured building system, suggesting possible cost data inputs to the system. It is anticipated that an MVP approach to early building design can help determine design and cost viability of building projects to stakeholders in the early design phase.
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    Moving assembly line for low cost mass customised homes
    Paxton, F ; Aye, L ; Hui, K ; Chau, H-W ; Hentschke, CDS (ZEMCH Network, 2018)
    This paper explores the potential for a mass customised building volume applying lean based moving assembly line method. Past experience would suggest that the moving assembly line stems from a mass production, that reduces customisation through standardisation of processes. However, when combined with a seamless method of design to documentation up front, it is proposed that the moving assembly line could allow for mass customisation. In addition, lean practices suggest that refinements of processes are intrinsically linked to a repetitious assembly process used in producing a homogenous object. We seek to break these moulds and examine the potential for a lean moving assembly line to allow mass customisation and what is required to do so. Moving assembly line offsite building manufacture factories in Australia, Sweden and Japan were visited and observed. A comparative exercise of when, what happens where was undertaken to identify the approaches. It was found that the moving assembly line allows cost and time savings in off-site manufacture of multi storey buildings, and could enable for a mass customised outcome. Lean is the facilitator, or enabler of this process working efficiently.
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    Why may public infrastructure projects over-promise likely outcomes?
    Zarei, H ; Duffield, C ; HUI, K (Australian Institute of Project Management, 2016-11-01)
    The prevailing approach to measure project success compares an ex-post outcome with the ex-ante plan. Comparisons of project success are often questioned, and actual success is unlikely to realised if the initial plan is excessively optimistic such as exaggerated benefits, overlooked risks, and unrealistic assumptions. Published literature suggests that technical inadequacies of estimation models, psychology of human mind, economic obligation for risk, and organisational misrepresentation may be factors that can explain this planning fallacy in projects. Nevertheless, these explanations are considered lacking as they do not adequately address the complexity of infrastructure project decision process. This paper goes beyond planning fallacy in a quest for a better explanation. A workshop of project experts was convened to test the earlier understandings relating to behaviours exhibited during the initiation of an infrastructure. Importantly it framed much of the interactive dialogues among participants around seven case study projects that were considered in the 2012 Parliamentary inquiry of the committee of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) that explored the effectiveness of decision making in Victorian infrastructure delivery. It emerged that one of the key behaviours was considered to be the use of power in decision-making during project initiation. Power manifests as the ability to influence others’ intent. In projects, its root lies in information, expertise, authority, legitimacy, and reputation. The notion of power has been recognised as a fundamental concept to explicate the behaviour of actors in a collaborative environment. This paper focuses on the delivery process of public infrastructure projects and investigates the asymmetry of power among participants in an attempt to unravel the complexity of decision authorities and delegations. In a conceptual isolation of central agencies from delivery agencies, a new concept of informal authority is devised to provide a reliable explanation of how delivery agency’s optimism may pay off in the presence of an asymmetric distribution of power. The paper concludes that power asymmetry is a critical success factor in public infrastructure projects and makes suggestions for future improvements.he prevailing approach to measure project success compares an ex-post outcome with the ex-ante plan. Comparisons of project success are often questioned, and actual success is unlikely to realised if the initial plan is excessively optimistic such as exaggerated benefits, overlooked risks, and unrealistic assumptions. Published literature suggests that technical inadequacies of estimation models, psychology of human mind, economic obligation for risk, and organisational misrepresentation may be factors that can explain this planning fallacy in projects. Nevertheless, these explanations are considered lacking as they do not adequately address the complexity of infrastructure project decision process. This paper goes beyond planning fallacy in a quest for a better explanation. A workshop of project experts was convened to test the earlier understandings relating to behaviours exhibited during the initiation of an infrastructure. Importantly it framed much of the interactive dialogues among participants around seven case study projects that were considered in the 2012 Parliamentary inquiry of the committee of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) that explored the effectiveness of decision making in Victorian infrastructure delivery. It emerged that one of the key behaviours was considered to be the use of power in decision-making during project initiation. Power manifests as the ability to influence others’ intent. In projects, its root lies in information, expertise, authority, legitimacy, and reputation. The notion of power has been recognised as a fundamental concept to explicate the behaviour of actors in a collaborative environment. This paper focuses on the delivery process of public infrastructure projects and investigates the asymmetry of power among participants in an attempt to unravel the complexity of decision authorities and delegations. In a conceptual isolation of central agencies from delivery agencies, a new concept of informal authority is devised to provide a reliable explanation of how delivery agency’s optimism may pay off in the presence of an asymmetric distribution of power. The paper concludes that power asymmetry is a critical success factor in public infrastructure projects and makes suggestions for future improvements.
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    How do we instil experience into Young Engineers? The Use of Posters as a Learning Tool in Engineering Project Management
    Hui, K ; Zarei, H ; Duffield, C ; Oo, A ; Patel, A ; Hilditch, T ; Chandran, S (School of Engineering, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia, 2015)