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Adams, F K (2004) The management of risks in international infrastructural projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Business Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Ahiaga-Dagbui, D D (2014) Rethinking construction cost overruns: an artificial neural network approach to construction cost estimation, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Al-Remal, A M (2013) Risk-based design of structures for fire, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Alsedairy, F S (2019) Dynamics of mega infrastructure decision-making in Saudi Arabia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Baker, A J (2019) ‘Suitable and sufficient’? UK regulation of post-construction fire safety, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Social & Political Science, University of Edinburgh.
Baker, H (2021) A multimethod approach to learning from text-based construction failure data, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Bartlett, A I (2018) Auto-extinction of engineered timber, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Campbell, J M (2008) Safety hazard and risk identification and management in infrastructure management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Dunlop, P G (2005) Investigation, modelling and planning of stochastic concrete placing operations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Eid, M E M (2004) Rethinking relationships in the construction industry: integrating sustainable development into project management processes, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.
French, T R (2012) Evolutionary optimisation of network flow plans for emergency movement in the built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Furber, A (2013) The social and cultural context of rural water and sanitation projects: case studies from Ghana, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Glendinning, M (1991) 'Give the people homes!': Britain's multi-storey housing drive, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh.
Graham, D (2005) Stochastic modelling and analysis of construction processes, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Hashim, R (2018) Green innovation adoption in the construction sector : the role of absorptive capacity and the effect of environmental requirements, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Business School, University of Edinburgh.
Hellowell, M S (2012) Fair return for risk? An examination of structure, competition and profitability in the market for private finance in the National Health Service, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh.
Hsiao, C C (2000) Constructing a sustainable impact assessment methodology : an evaluation of Taiwanese EIA of high-rise building, Unpublished PhD Thesis, College of Art, University of Edinburgh.
Jackson, D J (2020) Addressing the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry: a multi-perspective approach, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Business School, University of Edinburgh.
Jiménez-Moreno, P (2020) Mass customisation for zero energy housing: the potential of Japanese manufacturing practices in the context of sustainable housebuilding in the United Kingdom, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Kanellopoulos, G (2022) External fire spread from timber lined compartments, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Kim, S (1998) Sustainable building practices: minimising the life-cycle environmental impact of high-rise apartments in Korea, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.
Knebel, V (2006) Preserve and rebuild: the built environment, status transformations and identity construction in eastern Germany after reunification, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Edinburgh.
Koutsomarkos, V (2023) Developing a fire robustness index for the built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Marquardt, G (2017) Economic analysis of contract choice, feelings of entitlement and contract enforcement in relationships governed by incomplete contracts, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
McArthur, J (2023) Enrolment, technical mediation, and the obligatory passage point: a socio-technical examination of the Canada Green Building Council, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
McMeel, D (2009) The artistry of construction: an investigation into construction as a creative process and the influence of mobile phones within domestic scale construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.
Oliver, A K (2020) Perceptions of sustainability and their influence in the design and delivery of Scottish housing, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Oswald, D (2016) Investigating unsafe acts on a large multinational construction project, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Raman, P G (1977) Information and architectural design: A study of certain theoretical aspects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Rodger, R G (1976) Scottish urban housebuilding, 1870-1914, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Ronzani, M (2019) Designing for complexity: Data visualizations in megaproject management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Saoud, E A B (1996) Expert systems for management training in the construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
- Type: Thesis
- Keywords: artificial intelligence; civil engineering; computing; construction management; craft; evaluation; expert system; human resources management; learning; safety; skills; training
- ISBN/ISSN:
- URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1842/654
- Abstract:
The construction industry is based on age old skills where 'man' has been the builder and is coupled to his creative ability and skilled craftsmanship. This significant dependency on human resources continues to this day and thus the success of the construction industry is linked to making effective use of the human resources through training programmes. The research presented in this thesis investigates the use of expert systems in such management training programmes. The work described in this thesis includes a literature survey in chapter 2 on different aspects of human resources management with particular emphasis on management training and learning styles. Chapter 3 presents the results and analysis of the civil engineering and management practices survey, which was carried out during this research. The survey focused mainly on management training and attitude towards computer technology within the construction industry. Expert systems as a branch of artificial intelligence is discussed in chapter 4, where an assessment of the usefulness of using expert systems in different areas of construction management is carried out. Research methodology and techniques of knowledge acquisition applied in this research are presented in chapter 5. The process of the different stages in the development of the contract and safety management expert system is presented in chapter 6, which further describes the structure in which the system was designed. Finally, in order to assess the usefulness of the expert system tool developed, a summative evaluation is carried out. This evaluation examines many factors including attitudes towards computing, human-computer interaction, knowledge base design, use of expert system for training and expert system evaluation tests. Evaluation results and analysis are presented in chapter 7. It is concluded that there is certainty about the importance of management training in the construction industry. Developing expert systems for such training can be used as an aid tool in many training programmes. The choice of the development tool is considered to be an important function in this research in order to achieve the anticipated results by utilising the available resources. Evaluation of different shells was carried out against the criteria mentioned in chapter 4 and CRYSTAL 4.5 was chosen as the tool to be used in this research. During the development of the expert system, CRYSTAL 4.5 proved to be flexible and fast in structuring the knowledge base. The research also revealed the importance of the evaluation as an essential element of any systematic training program. Results obtained from the contract and safety management expert system evaluation (70% in favour of using expert systems for training) suggested that most trainees managed to grasp the subject information. Only a minority of trainees experienced difficulties during the training program. Those trainees will benefit from the implementation of the points which are raised in chapter 7.
Sidwell, N C (1957) A critical examination of new constructional techniques and their influence on productivity in the building industry with special reference to housing in south-east Scotland, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Smith, S D (1994) Production estimation of earthmoving operations using a discrete-event simulation model, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Civil Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Yang, S-A (1995) Kics: Representation of regulatory information and the use of case-based reasoning to support the relaxation process, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.