Thesis-2010-Qu.pdf (12.24 MB)
Demolish-IT: the development of a process management tool for the demolition industry
thesis
posted on 2010-06-22, 10:44 authored by S. QuToday most demolition projects undertaken are complex and involve many parties who must comply with a myriad of regulations as well as other constraints (e.g. finance). The management of demolition projects requires individual team members to have a wide range of skills and
knowledge in addition to practical experience.
Demolition processes currently operated are frequently performed in an unstructured, intuitive
manner with considerable reliance on experience, skill, knowledge or subjective judgement of the demolition engineer or other individual responsible for a demolition project. Research on
demolition ‘process management’ is a new area that has rarely been addressed. However, within
the building design and construction management sectors, there are a number of intelligent
solutions that have been developed to assist in the management of business processes and
business process re-engineering. Process management systems and process mapping through the
use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) technology have been applied to help the construction industry significantly improve performance. In an attempt to provide intelligent support to the management of dynamic demolition processes, this research reports upon that was developed using ICT applications a management system prototype entitled “Demolish-IT”. The prototype of Demolish-IT utilises four tiers of
information which includes: (1) the standard demolition process map; (2) user-defined
demolition process map; (3) demolition task manager; and (4) database of demolition process
requirements. The prototype provides on ICT platform that unifies demolition processes and
requirements to achieve improved process management. The research involved a combination of face-to-face interviews with demolition experts; real projects document reviews and site observation to produce the generic demolition process map. Other products of the work included: database solutions to store demolition process requirements; and process modelling to manage demolition task compliance flow within relevant industry standards. Evaluation of the research work proved its validity, acceptance and applicability within industry. Future work will aim to transpose the outputs into commercially viable software.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering