The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has witnessed a huge increase in construction during the last two decades. However, many projects experienced time delays, cost overruns and the generation of ...massive amounts of waste. To address these challenges, lean construction has been introduced into the Saudi construction industry; however, it is still in its infancy. This study therefore investigates the current state of lean construction implementation in the construction industry in the KSA. The objectives are to identify: the types of construction waste, level of use of tools that support the implementation of lean construction, stages of application of lean methods, and the benefits of lean construction. To achieve these objectives, a structured questionnaire survey of 282 construction professionals was carried out. After the analysis of the collected data using mean score and Anova test, the following conclusions were made. In the construction industry in the KSA, waiting is the most common type of waste, while Computer Aided Design (CAD) is the conventional tool supporting the implementation of lean construction. Furthermore, the data suggests that lean construction is most commonly used in the construction stage of projects while customer satisfaction is the main benefit derived from lean construction practices. This study concludes that the level of implementation of lean construction in the KSA construction industry is increasing. The results will help benchmark the current state of lean construction implementation, which will enable the construction industry to identify strategies to implement lean construction in Saudi Arabia in accordance with their needs and project goals, to achieve better productivity.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for implementing lean construction and consequently to improve performance levels in the construction industry in the context of Saudi ...Arabia. There is currently no framework for implementing lean construction specifically tailored to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) construction industry. Existing lean construction frameworks are focussed on other countries and are less applicable in the KSA due to differences in socio-cultural and operational contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique for data collection and analysis. First, following a survey of 282 construction professionals, 12 critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing lean construction in the KSA construction industry were identified by Sarhan et al. (2016). Second, 16 of these professionals who have 15 years or more experience were exclusively selected to examine the contextual relationship among the 12 CSFs. A row and column questionnaire was used for a pairwise comparison of the CSFs. A matrix of cross-impact multiplications (MICMAC) was applied to analyse the questionnaire data to develop an ISM model that can serve as a framework for implementing lean construction. Third, the framework was subjected to further validation by interviewing five experts to check for conceptual inconsistencies and to confirm the applicability of the framework in the context of the KSA construction industry.
Findings
The findings reveal that the CSFs are divided into four clusters: autonomous, linkage, dependent and driving clusters. Additionally, the findings reveal seven hierarchies of inter-relationships among the CSFs. The order of practical application of the CSFs descends from the seventh hierarchy to the first hierarchy.
Originality/value
The new framework is a significant advancement over existing lean construction frameworks as it employs an ISM technique to specify the hierarchical relationships among the different factors that contribute to the successful implementation of lean construction. The primary value of this study is the development of a new framework that reflects the socio-cultural and operational contexts in the KSA construction industry and can guide the successful implementation of lean construction. Therefore, construction industry operators such as contractors, consultants, government departments and professionals can rely on the framework to implement lean construction more effectively and successfully.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers to implementing lean construction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) construction industry and to prioritise the principal factors that ...constitute these barriers.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was initially used to reveal the global barriers to implementing lean construction. Subsequently, these barriers were incorporated into a structured questionnaire, and a convenience sample of 282 construction professionals in the KSA construction industry was surveyed. The results were analysed using mean item score (MIS), Mann–Whitney U test and principal component analysis (PCA).
Findings
The findings revealed 22 barriers to lean construction implementation in the KSA construction industry. Principal factors that constitute these barriers were found to be traditional practices, client related, technological, performance and knowledge and cost-related barriers in descending order of pervasiveness. The study also proposes solutions to overcome these principal barriers.
Originality/value
This study provides a global overview of the barriers to implementing lean construction. It contributes to the body of knowledge, as it uncovers for the first time the barriers to implementing lean construction in the KSA construction industry with reference to the socio-cultural, economic and operational context of the KSA. Thus, it is relevant to other countries in the Middle East because of their shared similarities to the KSA. Furthermore, the solutions proposed to overcome these barriers in the KSA construction industry can be applied in other countries where similar barriers are identified.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for implementing lean construction and consequently to improve performance levels in the construction industry in the context of Saudi ...Arabia. There is currently no framework for implementing lean construction specifically tailored to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) construction industry. Existing lean construction frameworks are focussed on other countries and are less applicable in the KSA due to differences in socio-cultural and operational contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique for data collection and analysis. First, following a survey of 282 construction professionals, 12 critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing lean construction in the KSA construction industry were identified by Sarhan
et al.
(2016). Second, 16 of these professionals who have 15 years or more experience were exclusively selected to examine the contextual relationship among the 12 CSFs. A row and column questionnaire was used for a pairwise comparison of the CSFs. A matrix of cross-impact multiplications (MICMAC) was applied to analyse the questionnaire data to develop an ISM model that can serve as a framework for implementing lean construction. Third, the framework was subjected to further validation by interviewing five experts to check for conceptual inconsistencies and to confirm the applicability of the framework in the context of the KSA construction industry.
Findings
The findings reveal that the CSFs are divided into four clusters: autonomous, linkage, dependent and driving clusters. Additionally, the findings reveal seven hierarchies of inter-relationships among the CSFs. The order of practical application of the CSFs descends from the seventh hierarchy to the first hierarchy.
Originality/value
The new framework is a significant advancement over existing lean construction frameworks as it employs an ISM technique to specify the hierarchical relationships among the different factors that contribute to the successful implementation of lean construction. The primary value of this study is the development of a new framework that reflects the socio-cultural and operational contexts in the KSA construction industry and can guide the successful implementation of lean construction. Therefore, construction industry operators such as contractors, consultants, government departments and professionals can rely on the framework to implement lean construction more effectively and successfully.
The experiment was conducted in the animal field belonging to the Department of Animal Production Techniques at the Technical College / Al-Mussaib for a period of more than eight months, starting on ...08/08/2021 and ending on 21/5/2022.The period included the purchase of Alfalfa hay stalks, their treatment with urea and their beam with plastic, the purchase of molasses, composition, mixing and pressing of the concentrated ration, and the preparation of individual sheds from cutting and welding until the completion of laboratory chemical analyzes, during which it included actual and practical experiments to respond for the period from 29/10/2021 to 28/1/2022 to study usage of Alfalfa hay stalks treated with urea and molasses in the productive performance of Awassi lambs, which had initial weight of 21.5 ± 0.5 kg and at the age of 4-5 months, at a rate of 91 days, preceded by a preparatory phase for two weeks, and the lambs were randomly divided into four equal groups of 5 lambs for each group.
The high demand for red meat in the market should be accompanied by production to cover the current shortages in local and international markets (Badri 2010). Researches have focused on cheap and ...easy additions to achieve this goal. Antonio (2013) used creatine in order to provide lamb and obtaining increases in weight and muscle being the beginning of the composition of many amino acids. organic acids were added as feed additives but it did not lead to further improvement, the addition of creatine or organic acids or their mixture in the relations of Awassi sheeps. Twenty eight Awassi lambs were used into four treatments randomly with 7 lambs in each. The first treatment (T1) as a control group, and the second treatment (T2) the lambs were fed with 3 kg of organic acids/ton, the third treatment (T3) the lambs were fed with 1.2 kg of creatine/ ton and the fourth treatment (T4) with (1.5 kg of organic acids with 0.6 kg creatine / ton of feed). The experiment was designed according to the CRD design to demonstrate the impact of these additions on some cellular and biochemical blood parameters for fattening Awassi lambs, blood samples were drawn from the jugular vein in three periods (when the experiment started, 45 days and 90 days).
Results showed the following:
The statistical analysis of Table 2 showed no significant differences in the means of red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and Hematocrit (PCV) for the three periods of blood parameters from Awassi lambs, while significant differences (P <0.05) in white blood cell (WBC) count were observed for the similar effect of blood drawn on day 45 and day 90 of the experiment, and it was significantly increased in all lambs that were fed on a mixture of organic acids and creatine (T4) as well as in lambs fed on creatine only (T3), while the lowest values were observed in lambs with the second treatment (T2), which were fed on organic acids only. As for blood biochemistry criteria, Table 3 showed a significant effect (P <0.01) in the second drawn (45 days) in the concentration of triglycerides and urea and also the total protein in the third drawn, while no such differences were found in the concentrations of glucose and cholesterol for all the blood drawn.
استخدم في البحث 20 حملاً عواسياً بعمر 6 - 7 أشهر , متوسط وزنها الابتدائي 29.8 كغم , قسمت عشوائيا الى اربع مجاميع (معاملات) بواقع خمس حملان لكل مجموعة , غذيت بطريقة التغذية الفردية من أقراص ...العلف المركز (3% من الوزن الحي ) المضاف اليه نسب مختلفة من الأليسين النقي (0 و3 و6 و9 كغم / طن علف ) كما قدم دريس الجت المقطع كعلف خشن بصورة حرة طيلة فترة التجربة البالغة 84 يومآ.
اظهرت النتائج تشابهاً بين حملان المعاملات الاربع في استهلاك العلف الخشن والمركز , اذ بلغ المعدل العام للاستهلاك 0.263 و 0.990 كغم / حمل /يوم على التوالي , بينما حصلت اختلافات معنويه (P<0.05 ) بتفوق المعاملة الثانية في الوزن النهائي ( 50.700 كغم ) والزيادتين الوزنيتين الكلية واليومية وكانتا 21.100 و 0.251 كغم على التوالي مقارنة مع عليقة السيطرة , كما لوحظ أن أفضل كفاءة تحويل غذائي حسابياً لصالح المعاملتين الثانية والرابعة عنهما في الاولى والثالثة ، واتضح ان أعلى ( P<0.05) اداء انتاجي للوزن النهائي (kg 50.7 ) والزيادتين اليومية والكلية كان للحملان العواسيه المسمنة في المعاملة الثانية ( T2 ) والتي أضيف الى علائقها 3 كغم / طن علف مركز من الأليسين النقي.
Background and objective
We conducted a prospective double-blind randomized study assessing bupivacaine end-of-surgery wound infiltration for pain relief in thyroid surgery.
Methods
Patients were ...randomly divided into two groups: Group S, local wound infiltration with saline solution; Group B, bupivacaine 0.5% was administered. Pain perception was measured using visual analogue scale (VAS) during post-anaesthetic care unit (PACU) stay every 10 min and during the 24 postoperative hours admission at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h after surgery. The total consumption of analgesics (morphine and nefopam) was recorded.
Results
Sixty patients were studied. The VAS scores were significantly lower in the bupivacaine administered group in the post-anaesthetic care unit (PACU) at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min, and during the hospital stay at hours 6, 12, 18 and 24. The number of patients who required postoperative opioid rescue was significantly lower in group B. No patient in group B developed neurological or cardiological complications after infiltration.
Conclusion
Bupivacaine application is effective in decreasing postoperative pain and analgesic requirement during the hospital stay for patients with thyroidectomy.
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