The demand to construct new main roads and substructures, maintain bing roads and preserve resources has led to inventions in the analytical techniques and technological procedures that can be incorporated in all stages of main road design, building, care and rehabilitation. The way of the statement is to show that bettering building public presentation can take a figure of waies. There is an implicit in averment that bettering building public presentation need non be the result of chiefly prosecuting procurement solutions. Advanced building should bring forth a quality merchandise which meets capital cost, lifecycle cost and clip outlook every bit good as client and stop user ‘s satisfaction demands. These patterns can either shorten overall building clip or do it possible to make work during short term closings particularly during off-peak periods. In Malaysia, the advanced building construct in main road undertakings can alter the industry paradigm and better the efficiency of the building procedure. The perceptual experiences from Malayan building participants foresee that advanced building in main road undertakings is needed in our local building sector. This is a pilot survey that surveys the consciousness of local building participants sing to the advanced main road building.
Keywords: advanced building, main road building
Introduction
Over the past few old ages, the building industry in Malaysia has been overwhelmed by enterprises and programmes for reform. The way of the statement is to show that bettering building public presentation can take a figure of waies. There is an implicit in averment that bettering building public presentation need non be the result of chiefly prosecuting procurement solutions. A great trade of attending has been given to the thrust towards bettering building public presentation through procurance and partnering ( Cox and Townsend, 1998 ) . It besides includes advanced building. Invention in building can be spearheaded by occur through research and development in building stuffs, methods, equipment, new design constructs, merely in clip methods in procurance integrated undertaking direction, undertaking bringing system and available readymade merchandises ( Aboobucker, 2009 ) .
Highway sector is categorized as one of the most conservative section of the building industry in Malaysia. However, there have been a figure of important alterations in recent old ages for the main road undertakings, such as the execution of inventions in main road building. It has been really disputing for applied scientists, contractors every bit good as client to implement and pattern inventions in main road undertakings. The ripening of the route substructures and the additions in traffic volumes have pushed the transit sector to construct more efficient main roads in recent old ages. Therefore, there is a demand to develop advanced and rapid main road building method due to social demands of high quality roads to be put in topographic point every bit rapidly as possible ( Beceric, 2005 ; FEHRL, 2008 ) . Besides, the main road care and rehabilitation has to be fast to salvage clip and money every bit good as to increase the safety of workers, route users and the populace. In order to carry through this, the head sets of the building participants have to prosecute advanced in building methods that would let the work to be completed in a quality mode and in a timeframe that will hold a minimum impact on the going populace.
The chief difference between conventional and advanced main road building is as shown in the undermentioned figure. By and large, conventional building attack usage control and mechanism to put to death the building undertaking interim in advanced building attack, the advanced method is use and at the same clip, the building participants gain cognition and learns in put to deathing the building undertaking.
Control
Knowledge Gain/ Learn
Input signal
Construction
Undertaking
End product
Input signal
Construction
Undertaking
End product
Mechanism
Advanced Method
Conventional Approach
Advanced Approach
Figure 1: Conventional and Advanced Approach in Construction
There are many advantages to utilize advanced building methods in main road undertakings. By cut downing building clip, the fast path advanced methods minimize holds, mitigate congestion, salvage money for the transit bureaus and the route users, and better the safety of the automobilists and the workers, without giving the quality. Since important costs are imposed on the populace during main road building, including driver hold and break to local concerns ; as a consequence, political and public force per unit areas mount for main road building undertakings to go more efficient and necessitate less clip to finish.
While force per unit areas to hasten main road building addition, the populace besides moderately expects high quality new roads to defy decennaries of main road activity. Advanced building methods provide a important chance to cut down the congestion associated with the main road undertakings. These methods will decrease undertaking continuances while retaining the necessary quality. Opportunities for advanced methods are legion. For illustration, pre-cast or modularization, alternate catching schemes, and undertaking inducements have shown that alternate methods can work. Although it may be unsure which method to use on a particular undertaking, some methods are instantly employable on many undertakings.
Aim of the Study
The aim of this survey is to place the consciousness of the building participants in Malaysia about inventions in main road building and suggest the invention building method that can be implemented for the main road undertaking in Malaysia. As there have been inventions within the main road building industry, the writers wanted to derive penetration into what building professional felt about the issue of invention. The survey sought specific sentiment about current province of invention within the main road building industry.
INNOVATIVE HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
Advanced building is defined as building involves the usage of particular stuffs or methods ( Montana Department of Transportation, 2009 ) . By all agencies, advanced building should bring forth a quality merchandise which meets capital cost, life rhythm cost and clip outlook every bit good as client satisfaction demands. Advanced building is due to market driven invention ( Rontakokko, 2007 ) . It is a new procedure with a new organisational construction to make a new construct for success in the market. As this is a quickly germinating country, freshly emerging techniques and stuffs must continuously been develop. As reference before, in main road building, inventions in building involve the usage of particular stuffs or techniques that cut down building clip, salvaging costs, minimise or extenuate the consequence of traffic congestion and increase safety.
There are many advantages from advanced main road building which includes hastening building and Reconstruction undertaking as many inventions are proven successful worldwide. The advantages from consciousness in advanced main road building can better many facets such as run intoing route users ‘ demand, optimal life rhythm and operational costs, extinguish waste in undertaking, better direction in supply concatenation, develop larning civilizations in undertakings, create better wellness and safety records and travel off from adversarial attacks between the industry and client.
Although it may be unsure which advanced method to use on a specific main road undertaking, some methods ( Federal Highway Administration, 2010 ) can be implemented as an advanced building includes, building analysis for pavement rehabilitation schemes, design-build contracts, full route closing, high-performance steel Bridgess, advanced catching, intelligent compression, intelligent transit systems, light weight deflectometer, movable barriers in work zones, prefabricated span elements and systems, precast concrete paving systems, self-consolidating concrete, silica smoke in high-performance concrete, automotive modular transporters, whitetopping and work zone safety and traffic flow enterprises.
By and large, inventions in main road building can be categorized to 12 classs ( Goodrum et. Al, 2005 ) , mechanization equipment/ building engineering, information engineering, advanced catching, advanced field methods, advanced direction, advanced stuffs, advanced planning and design stage, advanced software/ databases, advanced funding, public awareness/ increased consciousness, resettlement of public-service corporations and work zone traffic control. However, the writers felt that inventions in main road building can be categorized into 4 major classs, which is advanced in planning and design, advanced in catching, advanced in building direction and advanced in building stuffs and engineering.
Advanced in Planning and Design
Advanced in planning and design including set uping public-service corporation corridors and consistently locates the installations prior before the building, use comprehensive criterion tools to standardise planning, develop traffic control plans through partnering with the conveyance section and file organisation, usage windowed milepost and etc. Besides, invention in planning and design including using applied scientists with experience both in main road design and main road building as this may benefits the main road building undertaking as interior decorators with the ability to believe like contractors can assist to rush up the undertakings and they will hold the ability to analyse the undertaking restraints and resources.
Advanced in Contracting
The traditional attack to undertaking for main road building undertakings has been design-bid-build ( Hancher, 2000 ) . Under this attack, undertakings are awarded to the qualified bidder with the lowest entire monetary value, wage points are established on a unit monetary value footing, the specifications for main road undertakings are rigorous method specifications, and the function of the proprietor or agent is to inspect. Under advanced in catching, squad construct is set up whereby the right of manner, public-service corporation and design squad should organize issues and demands every bit early as possible and limit the figure of people reaching with the belongings proprietor and often organize, cooperate and communicate between each party. New contract such as design-build with bridging, prison guard, guarantee, maintain, denationalization attacks shall be adopted. Besides, a large undertaking can be packaged into multi-primes attack to undertaking in order to hasten the building procedure.
Advanced in Construction Management
Advanced in building direction include designated a individual person as undertaking director from early planning to completion of the main road building, packaged multi-primes attack to catching, exploit web-based squad coaction and undertaking direction system, usage of windowed milepost, usage pilot presentation undertaking for presenting new methods for hastening agendas, train selected field forces in scheduling methods and claims and analyze optimum attacks to crew displacements and programming.
Advanced in Construction Materials and Technology
Invention in building stuffs including choice of appropriate pavement stuffs such as utilizing speedy bring arounding concrete, in-place recycling, precast constituents, geosynthetic-reinforced or piled supported Earth platforms for embankments, retaining walls and storage armored combat vehicles constructed on soft dirts and etc. Geosynthetic or pile supported Earth platforms for embankment on soft dirts is consider as the most frequent advanced building stuffs in dirt strengthening ( Goodrum et. Al, 2005 ) . Other advanced field methods are utilizing pre-stressed concrete panels for hastening pavement building, compression utilizing automatic quiver control system, micro detector for perform faster review and minimise field fiction attempt.
Conventional land betterment method such as stabilisation with calcium hydroxide, cement or combination of calcium hydroxide and cement are rather popular in main road building. However, the restraints of this method are job associated in achieving homogeneousness of dirt stabilizer mix in the field. Besides, the stabilisation techniques needs appropriate preparation and capacity edifice of field applied scientists. Under advanced building, land betterment can be carry out by utilizing waste stuff such as rice chaff ash, wing ash and etc. Many surveies have shown that the usage of waste stuff has great impact in dirt stabilisation particularly in argillaceous dirt ( Madhavi et.al. , 2006 ) as these waste stuffs can better the Atterberg bounds and increase the unconfined compressive strength.
Invention in land betterment besides includes the usage of dirt stabilisation enzymes such as Fujibeton ( inorganic polymer ) , Terrazyme ( bio-enzyme merchandise ) and Renolith ( polymer based chemical ) . Use of these merchandises can minimise or extinguish the usage of sums. The usage of jute geo-textile can beef up the dirt subgrade as it act as a separation bed between subgrade and subbase and prevent intermixing of the two beds. It besides prevents migration of mulcts to the subgrade. A survey in India has shown that the usage of jute geo-textile can salvage 12 % ( Madhavi et.al. , 2006 ) of route building cost. Soil stabilisation utilizing polymer such as nanostab can cut down the building continuance every bit good as cut downing the emanation of C dioxides during the building period as compared to conventional method.
Invention in building engineering include carried out adulthood proving, perform faster review and building monitoring, usage automated building engineering such as GPS, usage of advanced paver, computing machine integrated route compactor, onboard packing metre, automatic quiver control system and etc.
Methodology
Since this is a pilot survey on the consciousness of the building participants about inventions in main road building in Malaysia, the study was conducted utilizing the web-base questionnaires. Respondents were asked general demographic inquiries sing their employment position, their professional within the industry in order to diversity the sample within the building industry. A sum of 135 electronic mails were sent to those with civil technology background, particularly those who involves in the main road building industry. Besides, a nexus of the study questionnaires was besides published in facebook to obtain some sentiments from the general populace. There are 5 basic inquiries in the questionnaires that seek the sentiments of the respondents about the advanced main road building and merely completed and filtered responses were analyzed in this survey.
Findingss
A sum of 35 respondents ‘ sentiments were taken in this pilot survey whereby these respondents have completed all the questionnaires. 91 % of the respondents are employed and 9 % of them are freelance. The respondents serves in assorted sectors, which includes building ( 23 % ) , consultancy ( 28 % ) , appraising ( 3 % ) , instruction ( 26 % ) , technology ( 6 % ) , research and development ( 6 % ) and others ( 8 % ) . Others sectors includes gross revenues and belongings development. The followerss tabular array shows the profession of the respondent.
Table 2: Respondents ‘ Profession
Profession
Number
Profession
Number
Project Director
0
Supervisor
3
Undertaking Manager
5
Lab technician
0
Lead Engineer
0
Surveyor
1
Design Engineer
4
Contract Manager
1
Assistant Engineer
1
Architect
0
Chief Resident Engineer
1
Lector
9
Resident Engineer
1
Research worker
0
Adjunct Resident Engineer
2
Other
( Student/ Gross saless Executive )
4
Clerk of Work
3
The writers believed that the chief driver of invention in main road building includes cost efficiency, sustainability, client ‘s demands, clip restraints, engineering, wellness and safety, statute law, environment, planetary competition and stop user. The following tabular array shows the respondents points of position sing the chief driver of inventions in main road building. Overall, bulk of the respondents agree that the points stated by the writers are the chief driver of inventions in main road building. More than 70 % of the respondents agree and strongly hold that cost efficiency and environment factor are the two chief drivers of invention in main road building in Malaysia. 51 % of the respondents ‘ strongly agree that wellness and safety is the chief driver of invention in main road building. However, approximative tierce of the respondents stayed impersonal on client demands ‘ factor and 20 % of them disagree and strongly differ that terminal user is the chief driver of invention in main road building.
Table 3: Respondents ‘ Opinion on Main Driver of Innovation in Highway Construction
Opinion
Item
Strongly differ
Disagree
Slightly disagree
Impersonal
Slightly agree
Agree
Strongly hold
Cost Efficiency
2
2
0
3
3
11
14
Sustainability
2
2
3
0
5
12
11
Client ‘s Demands
2
2
0
11
0
9
11
Time Constraints
2
0
5
6
2
9
11
Technology
0
3
2
2
6
8
14
Health and Safety
2
2
3
5
0
5
18
Legislation
2
3
2
6
6
9
7
Environment
3
3
2
0
2
15
10
Global Competition
3
3
2
5
5
9
8
End User
5
2
2
3
2
7
14
The respondents were besides surveyed whether they have come across with any of the advanced in main road building as shown.
Table 4: Respondents ‘ Opinion
Have you come across any of the following before?
Yes
No
Global placement system
29
6
Automated vibratory compactor
16
19
Advanced paver
17
18
Microsensor
14
21
Intelligent monitoring package
14
21
E-communication
24
11
Web-base squad coaction
13
22
Performance related specifications
24
11
Pre-stressed concrete
30
5
Jute geo-textile
13
22
Geosynthetic
22
13
Pile support platform
24
11
Soil stabilisation enzymes
10
25
Soil stabilisation polymer
12
13
Post-tension precast component of Bridgess
27
8
Advanced direction doctrine
13
22
Cold in-place recycling
8
27
Cold in-plant recycling
8
27
Hot in-place recycling
14
21
Modified asphalt
24
11
Intelligent Transportation System
25
10
Quick bring arounding concrete
29
6
Composite Bridgess
22
13
The points mentioned in the above tabular array are some of the inventions in equipment, information engineering, methods and stuffs that had proven successful to be used in advanced main road building worldwide. Overall, bulk of the building participants in Malaysia had ne’er come across about the equipment ( i.e. automated vibratory compactor, advanced paver, and microsensor ) information engineering ( i.e. web-base squad coaction ) , methods ( i.e. jute geo-textile, cold in-place recycling, cold in-plant recycling ) and stuffs ( i.e. dirt stabilisation enzymes ) that were proven successful worldwide. When single responses were analyzed, those whom come across with the inventions in equipment, methods and stuffs are largely those involve straight in the building sector. This shows that most of the professionals from other sector ( i.e. consultancy and instruction ) are deficiency of consciousness on the new engineering, stuffs and methods available worldwide that can assist to increase the efficiency in main road building in Malaysia.
The respondents were besides surveyed whether they pattern any of the advanced in main road building as shown.
Table 5: Respondents ‘ Opinion
Make you pattern any of the following in any of your main road building occupation?
Yes
No
Use planetary placement system
12
23
Use automated vibratory compactor
7
28
Use Innovative paver
7
28
Use microsensor
6
29
Use other new equipment
9
26
Use Intelligent monitoring package
6
29
Use E-communication
9
26
Use Web-base squad coaction
2
33
Use other information engineering
11
24
Establishing clear ROW, public-service corporation and design squad
12
23
Include inducement and deterrence in design and physique contract
4
31
Develop traffic control program through partnering site and design squad
9
26
Facilitate advanced and just catching environment
4
31
Use public presentation related specifications
13
22
Shorter the building clip by full closing of roadway
16
19
Perform faster review and monitoring
10
25
Use pre-stressed concrete
22
13
Use jute geo-textile/ geosynthetic/ pile support platform/ dirt stabilisation enzymes/ dirt stabilisation polymer
12
23
Use post-tension in precast component of Bridgess to supply lastingness and hastening the building procedure
18
17
Use advanced direction doctrine
4
31
Use waste/ recycling stuff for paving building
10
25
Use modified asphalt stuff for paving building
8
27
Use the application of Intelligent Transportation System
7
28
Use speedy hardening concrete
15
20
Use composite Bridgess with light weight complex
11
24
The respondents ‘ responses shows that about all of the innovative in equipment, information engineering, methods and stuffs for main road building were non pattern in Malaysia except for the pre-stressed concrete and post-tension precast span elements. When comparing table 4 and table 5, the respondents ‘ responses has gave an thought that some of the Malaysia ‘s building participants are cognizant of the new equipment, information engineering, methods and stuffs, nevertheless, non many of them has pattern to utilize those new equipment, information engineering, methods and stuffs in their main road building undertakings. There are many grounds behind these. The writers can anticipate that cost or budget may be one of the most of import factor that discourage the building participants to pattern inventions as most of the new equipment and engineering are high in initial cost. Besides, most of the new equipment and engineering required preparation prior to operation that may deter Malaysia ‘s building participants. Another discourage is that the deficiency of research and development in the advanced main road building industry in Malaysia.
The respondents were besides surveyed on their sentiments about how of import is invention in main road building. Merely 3 % of the respondents felt that invention is non of import. 29 % and 68 % of the respondents felt that invention is of import and really of import severally.
Last but non least, the respondents were asked how creativeness or invention is encouraged in the main road building industry.
Figure 7: Method to Promote Innovation in Highway Construction
31 % of the respondents believed that authorities strategies can promote advanced in main road building. This is followed grants or support ( 23 % ) . None of the respondents chose awards as they do non believe awards can promote inventions in main road building. Other method includes healthy technology plants without the intervention from client and authorization that will promote inventions in main road building.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
This pilot survey gave an thought on the consciousness of the building participants about advanced main road building in Malaysia. Generally, the sample size of the study is little but it is sufficient as this is merely a preliminary survey.
Based on the study, about all respondents feel that inventions in main road building sector are of import or really of import. However, looking into the new equipment, stuffs, method and engineering usage in advanced main road building, it is seems that most of the Malayan building participants are incognizant about the inventions that can be use to heighten the main road building undertakings. Besides, they are non ready to follow or pattern advanced main road building in their current or past main road building undertakings. This may be due to restraints in budget and clip, deficiency of information and authorities policies to promote advanced patterns. Another factor could be the client is dubious about the return of investings if they apply advanced solutions in their undertakings.
The building participants shall ever update themselves with the latest development of the main road building industry in order for them to develop themselves and construct up their professional accomplishments. They should ever go to seminars, forums, conferences, preparations and involves in technology activities which can assist them to develop their technology accomplishments so that they are ever cognizant about the current development of the main road building industry.
Based on this study, the authorities schemes seem to be the greatest force in promoting inventions in main road building. Therefore, the authorities section such as Malayan Highway Authority and the Public Works Department can take few waies to promote the building participants to develop advanced main road building method by presenting new building engineering in new main road undertakings, honoring the main road interior decorators for utilizing creativeness and inventions in the main road design, honoring the contractors for early completion in authorities undertakings and etc. The authorities can besides ask for abroad contractors that pattern inventions in main road building in particular undertakings so that local contractors will hold the chance to larn from them.
Besides, the technology association such as the Institute of Engineers Malaysia ( IEM ) can present advanced main road building stuffs, engineering, equipment and methods through their monthly bulletin. IEM can besides form negotiations, seminars, workshops and supply preparations to their members sing the inventions in main road building undertakings. IEM can make a platform to raising and advancement certain thoughts from within the industry sing to inventions in main road building and to widen consciousness of the local building participants. The institute can promote greater communicating of invention, where people can portion their thoughts with other industry professionals in order to happen out what engineering is really available.
Education and preparation besides have a serious function to play as a springboard for creativeness and invention in main road building. The originative thought through womb-to-tomb acquisition and preparation can better the consciousness of the local building participants. It is believes that puting in invention would assist undertake other issues within the main road building industry like accomplishments deficits. If the industry invests in developing new engineerings it could increase productiveness and create greater efficiencies.
This pilot survey can be expanded to a elaborate study. However, more questionnaires shall be included in order to obtain a wider position or sentiments sing to the consciousness of the local building participants about inventions in main road building. One of the of import inquiries is the age or figure of old ages that the building participants had involves in their profession as this factor besides greatly affect the study. Last but non least, the respondent shall be study when they pattern advanced main road building whether in a authorities undertaking or private undertaking or possibly they pattern it in abroad undertaking. There are still many questions as this pilot survey is merely a stepping rock for the writers to transport out a better and more elaborate study.
