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A Model for human capacity building of large-scale contractors to foster lean construction in Sri Lanka
No full textPeople are at the core of lean implementation more than a set of tools and techniques. Several studies reflect that implementing lean to the construction industry heavily relies on the knowledge and skills of the people and how they respond to changes. Several studies have reflected that building human capacities as one of the most prominent considerations to foster lean concept in construction industry. However, there is a lack of empirical investigation on human capacities and strategies to build human capacities for successful lean construction implementation of large-scale contractors. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the human capacities to be built in order to implement lean concept and propose organisational level strategies to build those capacities in large-scale contractors of Sri Lanka to foster lean construction. A qualitative approach was adopted as the research approach and case study was the selected research strategy. Fifteen respondents from three cases were interviewed to gather in-depth input to the study and collected data were analysed using code-based content analysis with NVivo 12 Software. The study identified positive attitudes, values, commitment, trust, adopt to cultural change, physical fitness, technical skills, and team building as human capacities necessary for unskilled and craft level workers. Positive attitudes, managerial and technical skills, team building, communication skills, knowledge, commitment, social skills and interest in new concepts were recognised as human capacities of administrative and professional and managerial levels. Several strategies that can be used by the contractors to build the above capacities have been summarised into a model. The final model presents the unskilled, craft, administrative, and professional & managerial level human capacities to be built by large scale contractors and strategies to be used for building those capacities to foster lean in construction industry
Enhancing value engineering application in the Sri Lankan building construction industry : a framework
No full textThe concept of value engineering (VE) is used to optimise the cost, time, quality, and functional performance toward achieving the best value for client money. However, the application of VE in construction industries is limited as there are differences in the use of the VE concept to developing economies, application of cost-oriented procurement systems, and lack of a practically applicable framework. In the local construction context, VE is practiced in an ad hoc manner. Therefore, the current study aimed to develop a framework including a tailored approach to enhance the VE application in the building construction industry. A qualitative approach was adapted to solicit views of twenty-two (22) construction professionals who involved in the six (6) high-rise building construction projects and practiced the VE concept. Views of professionals were synthesised using content analysis and finally developed a framework including a tailored VE approach. The findings conclude that cost and time as the main value criteria which motivate the VE application. Further, VE application in the construction industry is initiated mostly in the construction stages while professionals’ preference is laid on the initial project phases. Consequently, the contractor change proposal was identified as the sound approach to deliver VE since motivations emerge during physical construction. Finally, a tailored VE approach was developed considering concept design, developed design, and construction stages with related VE motivations to enhance the VE application in the Sri Lankan building construction context in a simplified manner
Use of augmented reality for efficient building maintenance in Sri Lanka
No full textWith the advent of technological advancements in the field of building maintenance, attempts have been taken to address the issues confronted by building maintenance technicians in the global context. Augmented Reality (AR) is one such concept which combines real environment with virtual content in 3D space that is experimented and proven to be effective in making the building maintenance activities more efficient by eliminating the causes for such difficulties faced by the technicians. In Sri Lanka, there is very limited use of such technologies in building maintenance practices and it is reasonable to mention that use of AR is minimum in this field. A gap is identified as there is no considerable literature exploring applications of Augmented Reality to ease building maintenance activities in Sri Lanka. Therefore, an effort is made to investigate into this area through a qualitative approach by taking a case into study and conducting interviews among technicians followed by an expert interview. The research highlights the use of AR in making the building maintenance practices in terms of data and instruction visualization leading to more efficient and effective outcomes while discussing on the benefits such as making maintenance tasks efficient, cost and time savings and high customer satisfaction as well as possible barriers for implementation of a similar program such as developing a Building Information Model to an existing building, inconvenience in making technicians adopted into a new system in the context of Sri Lanka
Dyeing of cotton fabric with a natural dye extracted from Areca Concinna Peel
No full textIn modern world, most of the countries tend to use the eco-friendly concept in many industries to minimize environmental pollution [1]. Synthetic dyes that are used in the textile industry offer more unfavourable and harmful effect to human beings such as carcinogenic, health-hazardous like skin allergies, toxic etc. And also, there is no systematic way to dispose of synthetic waste in the environment. So that it can be harmful to the ecosystem [2]. Therefore, the world tends to use natural dyes instead of synthetic dyes. Natural dyes have many advantages than synthetic dyes such as non-carcinogenic, eco-friendly, non-allergic, non-hazardous to human beings, etc. Natural dyes are mainly extracted from three different sources such as minerals, plants, and insects. Among these, plants are the most abundantly used natural dye source to extract dyes [3].
The main objective of this study was to extract natural dye from areca concinna peels and use extracted dye to dyeing the cotton fabrics
Information extraction from Sri Lankan job advertisements via rule-based approach
No full textOne of the major problems in the Sri Lankan labour market is the lack of availability of demand side information. This lack of information has created a gap between supply and demand of labour. Job advertisements provide a wide range of real-time information about aspects, such as skills and qualifications, that are in demand, though this information is largely unstructured and exists in many different formats. The objective of this research is to create a structured dataset of job vacancies in Sri Lanka using publicly available job advertisements. A total of 3500 images of job advertisements were scraped from Sri Lankan English newspapers and job websites and converted into text form using Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Next, a structured dataset was created by extracting information, applying a rule-based approach in the Natural Language Processing (NLP) domain, after which some basic insights on the labour market were derived. The creation of this kind of dataset could provide huge value to employers, job seekers and policymakers, providing up-to-date information on the skills and qualifications required in the job market
Interest of undergraduates towards forming an entrepreneurial venture: evidence from Sri Lanka.
No full textUniversity system is expected to contribute to the economy by producing entrepreneurs. In the context of Sri Lanka, even with the rise of entrepreneurship programmes and an increase in students following such programmes it is observed, the interest towards creating a business of their own is low. Therefore, it is vital that a developing country like Sri Lanka comprehends this issue and promotes entrepreneurship development. In the above backdrop, present study attempted to enlighten on the factors affecting the entrepreneurial intentions of the undergraduates involved in entrepreneurship programmes in the universities in Sri Lanka. Following the positivistic research philosophy and quantitative methodology, factors affecting to entrepreneurial intentions of undergraduates was investigated. The data was analysed by using the structural equation modeling approach to examine the model and tested the hypothesised relationships with AMOS. The findings of the study shed lights on the factors affecting entrepreneurial intention of undergraduates. Accordingly, findings of the study revealed that the undergraduate’s decision to start a business in future is affected by personality factors such as locus of control, need for achievement and external factors such as educational and relational support. This study has significant managerial implications particularly, for the university administrators in redesigning their curriculum and for the policy makers in the country to promote entrepreneurship among the undergraduates
Ethical banking: will it be millennials choice?
No full textThe business Banking has been blamed by many including Academia and Civil society for neglecting its Social-Environmental responsibilities. In their aspiration to make high financial gains, banking overlooked its responsibility to Society and Environment. Global Financial crisis made people to relook at the role played by banks. A public outcry had been developing demanding Banks to adopt Ethical practices in their business operations. To achieve sustainable development through finance industry requires a different banking model. Banks are required to move away from profit only mentally to socio- environmentally centered mentality. Banks must aim for triple bottom line. Need for an alternative banking model arose. Ethical Banking was preferred by many as the alternate model. The Concept of Ethical Banking revolves around the Economic, Social and Environmental responsibilities. Ethical banks seek progress in all three areas of Economy, Society and Environment. The Customer base of the present-day banks are being increasingly dominated by the Millennials generation. Their preferences are strongly influenced by their values. They are ethically oriented. Under these circumstances the main aim of this study is to examine whether Ethical Banking can be Millennials choice of banking model through a literature review. The significance of the study is to find out how Millennials will accept Ethical Banking as their chosen banking model, now and in the future
Autonomous vehicles for urban air mobility : future of mobility
No full textUrban mobility is evolving with the arrival of autonomous vehicles which contributes for a unique fundamental change. The environmental and social concerns have brought the quest to redesign urban mobility sustainably
Manual work assistance for outdoor home gardening for adult in semi-urban household
No full textSri Lanka has been suffering from triple burden of malnutrition crisis for past years[1] and the global reports have denoted the lack of growth to overcome this matter[2]. Covid 19 pandemic has become a viral threat to every socio-economic platform, establishing majority of human preference to spend the time at home and to consume the products made at home
Scholarly Output : 2015 ++
No full textA single slide from a presentation entitled “Research Outputs of Sri Lanka and How Expats Can Help” by Prof. Saman Halgamuge of the University of Melbourne, in June 2021 sparked interest among the University of Moratuwa community