Browsing by Author "Tzortzopoulos, Patricia"

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    Automated compliance checking in healthcare building design
    (Elsevier, 2021-07-06) Soliman-Junior, Joao; Tzortzopoulos, Patricia; Baldauf, Juliana Parise; Pedo, Barbara; Kagioglou, Mike; Formoso, Carlos Torres; Humphreys, Julian
    Regulatory frameworks associated to building design are usually complex, representing extensive sets of requirements. For healthcare projects in the UK, this includes statutory and guidance documents. Existing research indicates that they contain subjective requirements, which challenge the practical adoption of automated compliance checking, leading to limited outcomes. This paper aims to propose recommendations for the adoption of automated compliance checking in the design of healthcare buildings. Design Science Research was used to gain a detailed understanding of how information from existing regulatory requirements affects automation, through an empirical study in the design of a primary healthcare facility. In this study, a previously proposed taxonomy was implemented and refined, resulting in the identification of different types of subjective requirements. Based on empirical data emerging from the research, a set of recommendations was proposed focusing on the revision of regulatory documents, as well as to aid designers implementing automated compliance in practice.
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    Benefits Realization: Novel Conceptual Model for Front End–Design Decision-Making Using Dempster–Shafer Theory and Quality Function Deployment
    (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2021-05-28) Serugga, Joas; Kagioglou, Mike; Tzortzopoulos, Patricia
    This paper proposes a new conceptual approach to address the gap in the understanding of benefits realization, which is an increasingly central element in the delivery of successful projects in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) design. The paper focuses on the link between uncertainty in front-end design (FED) and the delivery of project benefits as understood in the broader benefits realization theory. The paper builds on the nature of uncertainty and use of Dempster–Shafer theoretic and quality function deployment to model the various interdependences among design attributes. A social housing case study of Brazil’s Mia Casa, Mia Vida Program demonstrated the application of the modeling approach. Optimal belief and plausibility structures in design decision-making were observed to increase with increasing consideration of more use models. These findings demonstrate that modeling uncertainty in FED can contribute to improved design decision-making. The paper’s novel contribution is introducing uncertainty modeling to support design decision-making to overcome insufficiencies in the inherently rational design decision-making that often is unable to discern complexities in dynamic project contexts.
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    Causes of Defects Associated with Tolerances in Construction: A Case Study
    (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2021-04-23) Talebi, Saeed; Koskela, Lauri; Tzortzopoulos, Patricia; Kagioglou, Mike; Rausch, Chris; Elghaish, Faris; Poshdar, Mani
    Defects associated with dimensional and geometric variations (tolerance issues) are among the most costly and recurring defects in construction projects, yet the identification and mitigation of the causes of tolerance issues appear to be lacking in the construction industry. To enable the development of widely acceptable solutions for the perennial challenge of tolerance management, a more in-depth understanding of the causes of tolerance issues should be established. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to identify the potential causes of tolerance issues in construction based on a literature review and empirical studies. This research uses a case study approach. The empirical data are collected through direct observations, group interviews, semistructured interviews, and document reviews. Having triangulated the findings, a list of 18 potential causes was derived for the 11 observed tolerance issues in two case study projects. The contribution of this paper to knowledge in engineering management is fourfold: (1) the limitations of prior studies on causes of tolerance issues are revealed, (2) the empirical studies led to not only verifying and refining the causes collected from the literature by considering them in the context of the identified tolerance issues, but also finding new causes in the context of tolerance management when compared to literature, (3) the identified causes provide insight into reasons behind the recurrence of tolerance issues across the industry, and (4) it investigates the causes of tolerance issues while balancing managerial and engineering views. The findings of this study provide a pivotal basis for construction practitioners to develop effective solutions for tolerance management whereby tolerance risks can be identified and mitigated in a prescient manner, which can result in a significant amount of savings.
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    Designers’ perspective on the use of automation to support regulatory compliance in healthcare building projects
    (Taylor and Francis, 2022-01-12) Soliman-Junior, Joao; Tzortzopoulos, Patricia; Kagioglou, Mike
    Automation has been long explored to improve regulatory compliance during building design. Despite substantial research efforts on developing means to enable this process, there has been limited success in practical implementations. Designers’ inputs are often undervalued in such developments, leading to solutions that are not effectively incorporated into the design process. This issue is even more difficult in healthcare projects due to their complexity and convoluted regulatory frameworks. In this paper, we describe how designers perceive the use of automation to support regulatory compliance in healthcare projects, through the analysis of a series of semi-structured interviews. We found that regulatory documents have a large influence on design and their compliance often consists of an unformalised process in practice. Furthermore, we identified that subjectivity is perceived in requirements as needed due to the creativity involved in design, whereas automation can be understood as liberating in this context depending on how it is used. Improvement needs focussing on the revision of the regulatory framework as well as on software development have been highlighted by participants during the interviews, which led to the proposition of recommendations to help achieve their benefits in practice.