Hidden Drainage System Revealed in Bath

Modern Engineering: Historic Setting

Beneath the pedestrian areas of modern day Bath lies an example of clever engineering not actually invented until fairly recently. Ingenious as the Romans were, it fell to the specialised engineers at Gatic to come up with a surface water drainage system that was not only highly efficient but practically invisible to the untrained eye.

 Rapid surface water disposal

Gatic Slotdrain shows only as a deceptively discreet, continuous 10mm slot on the surface but underneath, its unique profile means it can rapidly dispose of surface water, whether a trickle or a torrent.

Free 21st Century Software

Slotdrain's straightforward installation process is complemented by our rapid design service and the availability of FREE design software. The concept's flexibility and adaptability mean that bespoke design requirements can be easily accommodated. Even the Romans would have been impressed.

Tradition of Jaffna

Here I have shared some photographs, which are reflecting the tradition of the Jaffna Peninsula. Jaffna located north part of Ceylon. 

Seychelles

Seychelles is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometers (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar.

Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius and Reunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles, with an estimated population of 86,525, has the smallest population of any African state. It also has the highest Human Development Index in Africa.

Seychelles is one of the famous tourist places in the world. I have got some photographs which are taken around 2010. Just I shared here.

Photographs by Mr. Selvam

Transparent Concrete

Made of fine concrete embedded with 4% by weight of optical glass fibers

New Architecture in Concrete... ... from translucent blocks and photo-engraved building fronts to revolutionary materials that promise to change the rules of construction as we know them today. We all know that concrete can be concocted to look like many things, but who would have thought that the rock-solid substance could be a substitute for a window? As it turns out, a handful of academic and commercial researchers are not just dreaming of this, they are busy making it happen. 

Use Green Practices in All Aspects of Business

Integrate environmental thinking into all project management processes. But green thinking does not have to be reserved just for projects. It can be part of all of our business processes. The point of GreenPM is not that we make every decision in favor of the one that is most environmentally friendly. The point is that we start to take the environment into account during the decision-making process. The same can hold true for other business processes as well.     

 

Green Business Processes

It can be difficult to be green. Most green initiatives today are focused on equipment, supplies and other tangible products. There is not nearly so much emphasis yet on embedding green thinking into core business operating processes. These are the processes you use to run your business. Examples include your hiring process, performance review process, financial closeout process, vendor management processes, sales processes, etc. All companies have many business processes that are used to run the business. Few of these processes have been customized to support green thinking.

For example, let’s look at a simple fictional hiring process, and see where we can add green thinking. The process might look something like this.

v Understand skills and experience level for the position. (New - ask if there are any green requirements for the position).

v Create job description. (New - add a section in the job description for green requirements. This gets the manager thinking about it for all job descriptions.)

v Post position internally. (New - post electronically. Receive all resumes and feedback electronically. Don't print any documents.)

v Post position externally to internet job boards and on corporate website. (New - validate that the external job boards you use have sound environmental policies.)

v Evaluate candidates. (New - see if any candidates have green experience that matches any green requirements on the job description.)

 

v Perform initial interviews with qualified candidates. (New - perform initial interviews by phone, not in person. Save on costs as well as environmental impact.

 

 

v Pass qualified candidates to hiring manager (New - send electronically, not hard copy.)

v Conduct hiring manager interviews. (New - perform initial interviews by phone, not in person.)

v Bring in finalists for in-person interviews. (New - set up interviews for each candidate so they only have to travel one time.)

v Make hiring recommendation

v Make offer

 

There you have it. You have just embedded some simple ideas to make this a greener process. It is not burdensome. It just embeds green thinking into the process you were going to perform anyway. Take this idea and replicate it 100 billion times on simple business processes round the world. It would have a noticeable impact.

Building Information Modeling (BIM)

There are many questionnaire surveys are carrying out related to BIM, by the under graduate students who are studying the quantity surveying, building economics, construction management… etc. These questionnaire surveys I used to received from ‘LinkedIn’, but I do not have any idea about BIM. I have got an article about BIM, which is prepared by RICS. The same I shared here and I hope this will be a useful document to all.

Before, there are some sentences about RICS.

Royal Institute of Charted Surveyors (RICS)
RICS is the world's leading qualification when it comes to professional standards in land, property and construction.

In a world where more and more people, governments, banks and commercial organizations demand greater certainty of professional standards and ethics, attaining RICS status is the recognized mark of property professionalism.

Over 100,000 property professionals working in the major established and emerging economies of the world have already recognized the importance of securing RICS status by becoming members.

RICS is an independent professional body originally established in the UK by Royal Charter. Since 1868, RICS has been committed to setting and upholding the highest standards of excellence and integrity - providing impartial, authoritative advice on key issues affecting businesses and society. RICS is a regulator of both its individual members and firms enabling it to maintain the highest standards and providing the basis for unparalleled client confidence in the sector.

Source: RICS Middle East and North Africa (Press Release 2014)

Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is both a new technology and a new way of working. BIM is a term that has been around for a while in manufacturing and engineering industries, and is now beginning to make an impact in the construction sector. At a strategic level, BIM offers the capacity to address many of the industries failings including waste reduction, value creation and improved productivity.

The process of implementing BIM moves away from using conventional word-processing and CAD into the increased use of common standards and product orientated representations. BIM changes the emphasis by making the model the primary tool for documentation, from which an increasing number of documents, or more accurately “reports”, such as plans, schedules and bills of quantities may be derived.

BIM involves much more than simply implementing new software. It is a different way of thinking. This requires a move away from the traditional workflow, with all parties (including architects, surveyors and contractors) sharing, and effectively working on, a common information pool. This is a substantial shift from the more traditional convention where parties often work on separate information pools using several different (and usually incompatible) software packages. In essence, BIM involves building a digital prototype of the model and simulating it in a digital world.

Essentially, BIM combines technology with new working practices to improve the quality of the delivered product and also improve the reliability, timeliness and consistency of the process. It is equally applicable to asset and facilities management as it is to construction. In its purest form, BIM provides a common single and coordinated source of structured information to support all parties involved in the delivery process, whether that be to design, construct, and/or operate. Because all parties involved with a BIM project have access to the same data, the information loss associated with handing a project over from design team to construction team and to building owner/operator is kept to a minimum.

A BIM model contains representations of the actual parts and pieces being used to construct a building along with geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, quantities and properties of building components (for example manufacturers’ details). BIM can be used to demonstrate the entire building lifecycle from construction through to facility operation.

Often (mistakenly) referred to as 3D, 4D or nD, BIM should not be confused with the number of dimensions used to represent a building. At its simplest level, BIM provides a common environment for all information defining a building, facility or asset, together with its common parts and activities.

This includes building shape, design and construction time, costs, physical performance, logistics and more. More importantly, the information relates to the intended objects (components) and processes, rather than relating to the appearance and presentation of documents and drawings. More traditional 2D or 3D drawings may well be outputs of BIM, however, instead of generating in the conventional way ie. as individual drawings, could all be produced directly from the model as a “view” of the required information. BIM changes the traditional process by making the model the primary tool for the whole project team. This ensures that all the designers, contractors and sub contractors maintain their common basis for design, and that the detailed relationships between systems can be explored and fully detailed. Working with BIM will require new skills and these will have to be learned from practice.

BIM is not a panacea – it remains just as possible to produce a poor model, in terms of its functionality, its constructability or its value, as it is to produce poor drawings, schedules or any other, more traditional, form of information. Also, in the absence of any pro-active collaborative management effort, models may end up being prepared to suit the originator as opposed to being structured and presented with all parties to the design and construction team in mind. Ensuring that there is an agreed structure and exchange protocol in place to suit all parties will improve certainty, confidence and consistency. By moving to a shared information model environment, project failures and cost overruns become less likely. BIM certainly means having a better understanding and control of costs and schedules as well as being able to ensure that the right information is available at the right time to reduce requests for information, manage change and limit (or even eliminate) unforeseen costs, delays and claims.

Clients are often in the best position to lead the introduction of BIM. Understanding the value of building information and its impact on the clients own business is leading many clients to require BIM to specify the standards and methods to be used in its adoption. Clients can also provide clear requirements for facilities management information to be handed over at project completion more easily with BIM. Some international clients are even now going so far as to penalise lack of information (or the lack of its provision at established points in the construction process).

More recent experience indicates a trend in large clients and government agencies across the globe to mandate the use of BIM, not only for delivery of the building, but also as a tool to manage operationally. BIM is equally applicable to support FM and asset management as it is to design and construction. Indeed, the output of the design model may well replace the need for traditional O&M manuals. Being able to interrogate an intelligent model, as opposed to searching through outdated manuals, perhaps linked to interactive guidance on the repair and/or maintenance process has obvious advantages.

However, the largest single barrier to exploiting BIM is the lack of awareness. Clients are frequently unaware that they can have a major influence on the deliverables from a project.

BIM has the potential to impact every aspect of the Surveying Profession. It has applications for those involved with Property, FM, Building Surveying, Civil as well as traditional building construction, and should be seen as an opportunity to deliver new service streams and to extend our professional reach into new areas spanning the complete asset life cycle. BIM is not going to go away, and so we must, therefore, learn to adapt and embrace or risk the threat of losing ground to others.

I will share one more article about BIM (BIM is key to future of QS profession).

Pros and Cons of Doing Work from Home

Working from home is becoming increasingly popular both for employers and employees. Although there are many good reasons to work from home, it is a decision that requires quite a consideration because there are also reasons why working from home may not be optimal. Besides, what works for one person may be a nightmare for another. This is why it is important to evaluate all alternatives before committing our self to work from home.

Why choosing to work from home - the Pros

Independence

Working from home gives the privilege of being your own boss. We can manage our tasks as our like and we report to our self unless we work as a virtual administrative assistant. Having our own business will provide you the energy to work hard and make our dreams come true.

Flexibility

Working from home allows us to fit our work around the family routine. We can be flexible with our working hours without neglecting to be a parent or a spouse. Especially, if we are the type of person that loves being around family, then working from home is our dream job. We can have more free time to spend with our family.

 Save on commuting

Working from home allows us to save on commuting as we do not have to drive miles and miles to go to work every day. Our office is literally next door, in our living room and all we have to do is get our coffee and start working.

Quality of life

All the above advantages inevitably lead to quality of life. We have time for ours elf, our family and our friends; we have time to organize our work and meet the deadlines; we are flexible and independent to work as we like and as much we like without compromising the level of services we provide to our customers.

Why not choosing to work from home - The Cons

Lack of focus
Working from home can have many distractions. Kids playing, phone ringing, neighbors visiting and so on, often make it hard to stay focused on our work. Especially, if we don't have a separate room set up as our office and we have to share our work space with other family members in the sitting area, it is particularly hard to mitigate the distraction factor.

Mixing Personal and Professional Life

Depending on the nature of work, personal and professional life can be mixed up. Since working from home means spending most of the time at home, it is not unusual to work at odd hours or to delay their tasks in order to spend more time with their family. Most of the times, there is a really thin line between personal and professional life and this may cause family problems.

Same scenery

Working from home deprives we from a change of scenery. Besides, being non-stop at home can be extremely boring and non-productive. Typically, people who work outside from home are more stimulated and do not have this strong need for a change of scenery. On the contrary, people who work at home often need interaction with other people to feel motivated.

Overall, working from home offers the liberty of working at our suitable time, but, on the other hand, it may involve certain risks. Before entering into the wonderful world of the Internet that opens up extremely profitable opportunities, you need to evaluate the pros and the cons of working from home in order to make a well-informed decision.