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Hong Kong's construction industry has shown significant improvement in safety performance since the turn of the century. The number of industrial accidents in the construction industry has decreased from 11,925 in 2000 to 3,833 in 2004, which is an encouraging drop of almost 68%. However, the category 'fall of person from height' has always represented a large proportion of the industrial accidents, particularly fatal accidents. In 2004, fall of person from height represented just over 47% of the total number of fatal accidents in the construction industry. The statistics show that although the overall number of accidents has dropped immensely, the same does not apply for fall from height accidents. According to statistics provided by the Labor Dept. of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, there were a total of 22 fatal industrial accidents associated with fall of persons from height in repair, maintenance, alteration, and addition works during 2000-2004. When analyzing these case studies, 12 common factors were identified for analyzing these case studies and strategies were suggested to prevent recurrence of similar accidents in each case. The top five strategies were: (1) provide and maintain a safe system of work; (2) provide a suitable working platform; (3) (tier) provide safety information/training/instruction/supervision; (4) (tier) provide suitable fall arresting system/anchorage; and (5) maintain safe workplace. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008) 134:7(527) CE Database subject headings: Construction industry; Occupational safety; Fatalities; Hong Kong.

A construction project is mostly initiated by the needs of the client. In order to satisfy the client's requirements in terms of time, cost, and quality, various procurement methods are recommended for selection to increase the chance of success for the complex sequence of activities. Design-build (D&B) integrates design and construcrion to overcome some of the hurdles inherent in the traditional design-bid-build method. It has been extensively used worldwide and its distinctive features are claimed to deal with the problems of the traditional design-bid-build method. An investigation into the determinants of successful D&B projects can therefore help set a benchmark study for industry practitioners to compare their project performance. To better indicate the success level of D&B projects, the writers developed a project success index for D&B projects in the Hong Kong context, which is assessed by the key project performance indicators of rime, cost, quality, and functionality. Multiple regression analysis is then applied to show that the project nature, the effective project management action, and the adoption of innovative management approaches are the critical success factors for D&B projects. The identification of success criteria can furnish project participants with indicators to attain success for their D&B projects for benchmarking and control purposes. The predictors for D&B project success were also determined to enrich the knowledge base for the D&B procurement system. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:5(333) CE Database subject headings: Design/build; Bids; Hong Kong; Construction industry.

Despite the global use of the design-build (D & B) method to manage construction projects, there remain barriers that hinder its healthy development. This paper builds on earlier work and [...]

The design-build (D & B) procurement method has emerged for several decades in the construction industry to overcome the problems inherent in the traditional design-bid-build method. As a result, some [...]

Various procurement systems were developed to help the client complete a construction project within the constraints of time and cost and to the required quality. Design-build (D & B) is [...]

The traditional design-bid-build procurement method has long been adopted in the construction industry for decades, but the result of adversarial relationships among project team members lowers the chance of project [...]

Success has always been the ultimate goal of every activity, and a construction project is no exception. Due to the ambiguous definition of project success and the different perceptions of participants toward this concept, it may be difficult to tell whether a project is successful as there is a lack of consensus. Time, cost, and quality have long been the success criteria used to evaluate the performance of a construction project. However, such a list has been criticized as not being comprehensive. Even studies of the project success of a particular construction method, such as the design/build procurement system, are lacking in most previous research considering construction projects in general. This paper sets out to establish criteria for project success for a design/build project in construction, first by identifying relevant measures of project success for a construction project in past studies, with particular emphasis on design/build projects, and then by establishing a comprehensive assessment framework for project success for design/build projects. The significant impacts on the construction field of study, in terms of educational value and practical use, are also presented. With little research in the project success of design/build projects, the writers suggest a research focus for the study. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2002)18:3(120) CE Database keywords: Design/build; Project management; Construction industry.

Traditional teaching modes are engaged with teachers delivering knowledge to students with minimum feedback. Teaching is conducted in lecture theaters and classrooms, which are sometimes designed with minimum flexibility for university education. However, the rapid development of information and communication technologies has altered the teaching pedagogy from traditionally teacher-centered to more collaborative learning between teachers and students. Learning spaces should be designed to be interactive and collaborative with suitable physical movement and social engagement among teachers and students. This paper aims to examine the relationships between modern technology and pedagogical shift, and to identify and discuss the essential design principles for effective active learning through built pedagogy. A recent renovation project of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in converting conventional classrooms and lecture theaters to active learning spaces was adopted as a case study to illustrate and validate the design principles and their actual implementation. Feedback and responses from 410 end-user students on the impact of the renovated classrooms and lecture theaters on teaching and learning effectiveness were gleaned through empirical survey questionnaires dispatched face-to-face to students after attending classes in the renovated classrooms and lecture theaters. The results of factor analysis indicated that the 15 variables of key design criteria for active learning spaces were consolidated under six underlying clustered factor groups: (1) Versatility of learning space; (2) interior design of learning environment; (3) modern information technology / audio and video (IT/AV) technologies; (4) interior lighting; (5) comfortable furniture and acoustic design; and (6) interior temperature. The survey findings can serve as good references and useful insights for architects in designing new learning spaces and facilities that assist active and collaborative learning for university students in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]