Congratulation to Dr. Nguyen Duy Long (CEIM 2003) Who Successfully Completed His PhD at The University of Berkeley

Congratulation to Dr. Nguyen Duy Long who has successfully finished his PhD in Construction management at The University of Berkeley in December 2007.

Dr. Nguyen Duy Long graduated from CEIM Thailand in 2003. After graduation, he worked as a researcher in Hong Kong. Then, he enrolled to a PhD program at The University of Berkeley.

We are proud of Dr. Nguyen Duy Long for his successful achievement.

This is another success story of our CEIM alumni!

Posted by
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Risk Management in Construction - Challenging and Emerging Issues (in Vietnam) Part 4 (End)

Photo 1. Risk Management in Construction


Photo 2. Forum Participants

Posted by
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

AIT/SET Press Conference in Saigon 29 Jan 2008


On Tuesday 29 Jan 2008 at 3 pm, SET/AIT delegation organized a Press Conference in SEAMEO Saigon to introduce our Master and PhD programs offered in Vietnam. AIT/SET delegations are Dr. Nitin A. (Associate Dean), Ms. Nguyen Bich Hoa (SET Representative in Vietnam), Dr. Hadikusumo (CEIM and Vietnam Coordinator), Dr. Sumantha Guha (CSIM Coordinator) and Dr. Giao (SET Coordinator for Vietnam Promotion).

The press conference was attended by journalists from TV, newspaper and magazine such as HTV, Saigon Economic Times, Dong Nai Newspaper etc.

During the press conference, many interesting questions were raised by the journalists:
  • Why the tuition fee is quite expensive? SET Delegation answered that our tuition fee is reasonable because we are an international university. Lets see the tuition fee for elementary (primary) and high school offered by international school in Saigon and Hanoi; the tuition fee is about USD 10,000 per year. AIT tuition fee is USD 13,000 - 15,000 for a master degree (post-graduate) level. With a master degree certificate from a reputed university, students can get a good job and career development. Therefore, investing in education is a good investment!
  • How is research quality in AIT? AIT concerns a lot in quality of research. We are successful in maintaining and improving our tradition to involve students in high research standard. A very real example of this achievement can be seen from our high numbers of journal publication written by AIT student and Faculty.
Posted by
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

CEIM welcomes 9 new students joining Jan 2008 Semesters

CEIM welcomes 9 (nine) new students joining AIT/CEIM master and PhD program in January 2008. The nine students come from Taiwan, Vietnam, Bhutan and Iran as follows:
- one PhD student from Taiwan, Mr. Kang Ning Fu
- one PhD student from Iran
- Five master students from Vietnam
- two master students from Bhutan

Posted by
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Heavy Equipment World News

UNITED STATES

Sector Glance: Heavy equipment
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of a variety of heavy-equipment companies tumbled Tuesday, along with the broader market, as a decision by the Federal Reserve to cut a key interest rate failed to ward off worries of a U.S. recession. Here's how heavy-equipment stocks traded Tuesday morning:

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) fell 80 cents to $62.01.
Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) fell $1.21 to $75.19.
Terex Corp. (NYSE:TEX) fell $2.28, or 4.5 percent, to $48.64.
Manitowoc Co. (NYSE:MTW) fell $2.42, or 6.8 percent, to $33.18.
Illinois Tools Works Inc. fell 10 cents to $47.05.
Astec Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) rose 18 cents to $27.13.
Agco Corp. (NYSE:AG) fell $2.28, or 3.9 percent, to $55.53.


Finning celebrates a heavy-duty anniversary
Earl B. Finning started Finning Tractor & Equipment Co. Ltd. in 1933 with six employees and a $50,000 bank loan. Now, the Vancouver company is the world's largest Caterpillar dealer with more than $5 billion annual revenue.

Last Friday, Edmonton-based Finning Canada celebrated 75 years by firing up some vintage equipment at the west-end location -- including a 1933 Caterpillar crawler tractor, 1935 pickup truck and 1952 D8 tractor.


GE profit meets expectations, infrastructure key
General Electric Co posted a 4 percent rise in net profit on Friday, matching Wall Street expectations, with strong demand for heavy equipment from outside the United States offsetting the effects of a slowing domestic economy.


Cleaning up after the flood
Crews from two state prisons were among the workers this week as heavy equipment has begun being used to remove piles of ruined possessions stacked in front of flood-damaged Pontiac homes.


Police find 40 pieces of stolen equipment at rural home
Indiana State Police have arrested a man in the theft of more than $1 million in heavy equipment from eight central Indiana counties.

Police arrested 55-year-old Thomas P. Skene (SKEEN) on Tuesday at his rural home south of Greencastle. They found more than 40 pieces of stolen heavy equipment, including backhoes, bulldozers, tractors, pontoon boat and freight containers.

Investigators say the equipment was reported stolen from construction sites and private businesses over the past year. Police anticipate more arrests...


AUSTRALIA

IronPlanet announces first australian online auction to be held on February 14, 2008
IronPlanet , a leading online auction company for used heavy equipment, has announced the date of the company’s first auction in Australia — 14 February 2008. IronPlanet’s initial Australia online auction will feature in excess of 170 items with both low and no reserves.

“We are excited to bring IronPlanet’s very successful online auction of used heavy equipment to the Australian market,” said IronPlanet Australia Managing Director, Graeme McPherson. “I am confident that we will deliver on what is most important to our Australian customers – quick disposition of their equipment, market leading prices, low selling costs, and IronPlanet’s guaranteed inspection reports.”


INDIA

Army's footsoldiers get raw deal
The highlights of Army Day 2008 parade were the tanks, missiles and heavy equipment that the army fights its wars with. Interestingly, the last time this equipment was actually used was in 1971, thirty-six years ago...


INDONESIA

Indonesia's United Tractors heavy equipment sales rise 53.5 percent in 2007
Indonesia's leading heavy equipment distributor and mining contractor, PT United Tractors, said Tuesday its sales of Komatsu heavy equipment rose 53.5 percent in 2007 from a year before.

Sales to the mining sector remained the biggest contributor to the total, but sales to the agriculture sector posted the largest increase. The company sold 3,454 pieces of heavy equipment in the year, up from 2,250 a year before. Sales of heavy equipment for mining rose 30.7 percent to 1,315 and sales for agriculture nearly doubled to 1,144 units. Other machines sold in the year were for the construction and forestry sectors...

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

If you have used excavators for sale and want to sell them in China this bit of news should be interesting. According to the Chinese Government, construction of the 8,794 kilometer gas pipeline, will cost 19.8 billion U.S. dollars to build. Construction will begin in 2008 and will be completed in 2010.

CEIM is expanding into Property and Real Estate Development

CEIM is expanding into Property and Real Estate Development area. We are now recruiting a new faculty member in the area of property/real estate financing, market analysis and valuation. The new faculty member will create a synergy with the existing two faculty members who are in project management area. The existing two faculty members will teach subjects related with property and real estate project management, while the new faculty will teach property and real estate business related subjects. In addition, Dr. Roland may also help us in teaching Property Law.

In order to launch an attractive program, we have discussed with a "Property Consultant" for co-branding between CEIM and the "Property Consultant".

We hope to launch the new program on Sept 2008 or January 2009.

Posted by
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Wedding of K. Fon (CEIM Secretary)

On Sunday 23 December 2007, K. Fon had her wedding ceremony. The lucky man is Mr. Michael who is from Tasmania Australia. Prof. Worsak (SET Dean), Dr. Chotchai, Dr. Hadikusumo, K. Pranee (ex CEIM Secretary), K. Nuch, K. Yuppa, Mr Maung Maung Tar and K. Lek attended the wedding at BangSai Culture Village. A very nice wedding party!

They plan to move to Australia. Right now, K. Fon is waiting for the Australia Visa process. Hopefully, she will get it on April 2008. She is still helping us until she will get her Visa.

Congratulation to K. Fon! CEIM wishes you a happy marriage life with Michael.

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

CEIM Thailand is Back to School

AIT/CEIM students BATCH Year 2007 started their second semester today 16 January 2008. In this January semester, they can choose to take four to five courses offered by CEIM Field of study as follows:
  • Project Financing by Dr. Chotchai
  • Project Performance Management by Dr. Chotchai
  • Occupational Safety and Health in Construction by Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
  • Legal and Contract Risk Management by Dr. Roland
  • Infrastructure Management by Dr. Puvadol
  • Note: in this semester, IT in Construction course will not be offered.
In this January 2007, six (6) Two-Phase CEIM students from Vietnam will come to study in AIT/CEIM Thailand.

Welcome back to school!

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Risk Management in Construction - Challenging and Emerging Issues (in Vietnam) Part 4

Dr. Roland Amoussou – Guenou made a presentation on Legal Risks And Construction Contracts In Vietnam.

In his presentation, he discussed many issues: Overview of the legal and regulatory environment for doing business in Vietnam, Overview of the legal and regulatory environment for doing construction business in Vietnam, Is Vietnam is risk country?, Fact and figures on construction risks in Vietnam, Risk in general, Legal risk and liability in general, Construction contract environment and parties, Risk management road map, Construction contract Claims and Construction contract dispute resolution.

According to him, projects must consult with lawyers in order to protect the project from risks. Risks such such Act of God, Nature and Man-Made risk can be managed if they are properly addressed in the contract.

He also provided a road map to manage risk using a good contract mechanism:
First Step: Choice of Law (Determining Applicable Law)
Second Step: Contract Formation
Third Step: Breach of Contract
Fourth Step: Claimant's remedies for the respondent's breach of contract.

During the Question and Answer Session, a participant asked Dr. Roland's opinion regarding a case that his company is facing. The contractor rented an expensive equipment from oversea supplier. The equipment is shipped. During the shipment, there was a strong storm and the equipment was damaged. Is it an Act of God? According to Dr. Roland, as far as in the contract between the shipping company and the contractor wrote in detail what are considered as ACT of GOD, then the contractor might win the case. In addition, Dr. Roland also added that for user/buyer Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) contract is must saver compared to Free On Board (FOB) contract.

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Risk Management in Construction - Challenging and Emerging Issues (in Vietnam) Part 3

Analyze Risk Factors Affect on Vietnam Construction and Petro Projects

In the Risk Management in Construction FORUM, Mr. Pham Hong Linh and Dr. Trinh Thuy Anh made a presentation on Risk Factors Affecting Vietnam Construction and Petro Projects.

Mr. Pham Hong Linh who is now the General Director of OMMON Pipeline project 400 Km Length and a Vice President of PV Gas shared his years of experience in managing construction projects such as (i) Dung Quat Oil Refinery, (ii) Thi Vai LPG Terminal, (iii) Phu My - Thu Duc Gas Pipeline, (iv) Ca Mau Gas – Power - Fertilizer, and (iv) PVN Tower Building at Le Duan St, HCM. He explained the problems faced in the projects and the causes as follows:
  • Dung Quat Oil Refinery - Delay Cost increase due to The Owner Change and Wrong in the estimation
  • Thi Vai LPG Terminal - Delay, Crack Settlement due to wrong in design of foundation
  • Phu My - Thu Duc Gas Pipeline - Delay due to Change F.S and Cost increase
  • Ca Mau Gas – Power - Fertilizer - Delay and not yet operate due to Cost increase from half billion to 900 million.
  • PVN Tower Building at Le Duan St, HCM - Delay due to policy change and Design & Build
In his conclusion, he gave his positive opinions regarding Risk Management for Vietnam Construction Projects as follows:
  • Risk management should be considered as an important part of project management.
  • Risks management need to be considered into related regulation. Construction Law or Government Decrees
  • Especially focus on the initiation stage:Investment report, Feasibility Study, Project planning and Detail Design.
  • The Government required playing an important role in study and providing risk management institution in Investment Projects.
  • Proposes in specific institution for risk management in terms of time, cost, resource, regulation, guideline, process and content by the government. For example, the cost estimated for risk management could be considered as essential part among the total investment cost of the project.
  • The Investors should pay appropriate attention to risk management along with project planning while those institution and policies do not approve.
  • The appendix of the report suggests a risk management process to them.
During the Question and Answer session, participants asked following questions:
  • When is the best time to conduct Risk Management?
    • According to Mr. Linh, Risk Management must be carefully taken in each project phase. In each phase, different risks occur. For example, during the Feasibility Study, we should consider risks related with Land Acquisition. He explained that one of the project must pay a lot of compensation to the contractor because the owner cannot give the compensation to the people on time. Another example, for pipeline project, during the design stage the project may not identify any road construction and then at the construction stage, a new road construction was constructed. This means that additional costs to repair the road after the construction of pipe line occurs.
Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Risk Management in Construction - Challenging and Emerging Issues (in Vietnam) Part 2

Dr. Hadikusumo made a presentation about Safety Management System for Zero Accident Target. His presentation discussed how to develop a good safety management system and which safety programs are effective to achieve our safety performance target. His presentation was based on a 4.5 years intensive study conducted in Thailand by Dr. Thanet Aksorn and Dr. Hadikusumo.

In his presentation, he explained that most of accidents are caused by unsafe behaviors of people and unsafe conditions. The unsafe behavior contribute 80% of the total accidents. The main reason of the unsafe behavior is because of Human Error. Based on Acciddent/Incident Theory of Dan Peterson, human error can be reduced and eliminated if the company has a good safety management system.

Dr. Hadikusumo concluded that four important issues which are very important to support the implementation of Safety Management System: (i) Management Committment, (ii) Worker Participation, (iii) Safety Protection System and (iv) Safety Administration.

He mentioned that many contractors dont really know which safety programs are effective to help them to achieve good safety performance target. Based on the 4.5 years intensive study, Dr. Thanet revealed that some safety programs are very effective and efficient to reduce accidents, unsafe acts and unsafe conditions. They are:
  • Accident investigation including near-miss accident
  • Safety Inspection
  • Job Hazard Analysis
  • Safety committee
  • Safety Audit
  • Control of Subcontractors

Effective means can achieve the result and Efficient means the safety program does not need a lot of resources.

During the Question/Answer session, forum audience asked following issues:

  • How much is the appropriate safety budget for a construction project? In Dr. Hadikusumo's opinion, the budget is within 1.5 to 3% depends on the size of the project. For large construction project with longer duration, the safety budget can be 1.5% since the PPE can be repetitively used. However, he mentioned that the most important is not the percentage figure, but how the budget is allocated. He recommended that the safety budget must be separated from the total project cost and the contractor must breakdown the safety budget in detail so that this safety budget plan can be used to check whether the contractor really implement the safety plan. This issue is important because many projects tried not to spend on safety expenses for increasing their profits.
  • Do I need to have a Safety Management System, if i already pay insurance? The answer is yes! They are two different purposes. Insurance is to protect you from a certain risk while Safety Management System is for your organization competency and development.
Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Risk Management in Construction - Challenging and Emerging Issues (in Vietnam) Part 1

CEIM/AIT in collaboration with AITCV organized a forum "Risk Management in Construction - Challenging and Emerging Issues" in Saigon, Vietnam on 16 January 2008 at Majestic Hotel.

The FORUM was attended by 50 persons from many organizations:
- Cong Ty TNHH Tu Van Xay Dung Tan CC
- Cong Ty CP TV TK Cang - Ky Thuat Bien
- Cong Ty Co Phan Dau Tu Phat Trien Sai Gon
- Cong Ty TNHH Huy Tan
- Cty Co Phan Xay Dung and Kinh Doanh Vat Tu
- Thanh Tra So Xay Dung Tp HCM
- Tong Cong Ty Xay Dung Sai gon
- CN-Trung Tam Tu Van Dau Tu Va Thiet Ke
- Cong Ty Tu Van Thiet Ke Dau Khi
- Waseco
- Chuong Duong Construction and Investment Company
- IndoChina Land Project Management
- PV Manpower Training College
- Cong Ty Co Phan Phat Trien Nha thu Duc
- Cong Ty Kiem Dinh xay Dung Sai Gon
- Trung Tam An Toan Va MT Dau Khi (CPSE)
- Cong Ty TNHH Bat Dong San FPT
- Cong Ty Kiem Dinh Say Dung Saigon
- Ban Quan Ly Du An Khi Tay Nam Bo
- Cong Ty Co Phan Ngoc Suong
- COFICO
- Real Architecture
- Saigon Construction Quality control
- Saigon Construction Corporation
- PetroVietnam Power Corporation
- THUDUC House
- Project Management Unit
- Royal Haskoning


Three speakers were invited to present risk-related topics:
- Dr. BHW Hadikusumo (CEIM/AIT Faculty) on "Safety Management System for Zero Accident Target"
- Mr. Pham Hong Linh (Vice President of PV Gas) on "Risk in Vietnam Construction"
- Dr. Roland (AIT Faculty) on "Legal and Contract Risk"

The English presentation was interpreted to vietnamese language by two interpreter:
- Ms. Mai Do Thuy Dung (Purchasing Manager of IndoChina Capital)
- Mr. Bui Quang Luong (Project Management Unit Officer)
- note: both of them are currently pursuing their Professional Master in Project Management program in AITCV/Saigon.

In overall, the FORUM was very interesting. There are a lot of discussions and questions raised by FORUM participants.

We try our best to organize similar forums every three months!



Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

The government of Niger has announced that it will issue 100 new mining permits in the next year. Many of these permits will issued to Chinese companies who will need to purchase excavators for sale. Companies that sell equipment should be position them selfs to sell their equipment to Chinese companies.

Kamal Hossain Joining CONNOLS Engineering Thailand

Kamar Hossain (CEIM 2005) is back to Thailand.

After his graduation, we went back to Bangladesh and worked in Property Developer company for 2 years.

In Dec 2007, he came back to Thailand and worked for CONNOLS Engineering. He is in charge of projects in Thailand and Vietnam.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Heavy Equipment News in the US

CALIFORNIA

Housing outlook takes a grim turn
LOS ANGELES --Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, sank to an all-time low Tuesday as a major homebuilder offered a grim outlook for the industry and the Bush administration signaled it is growing more concerned about rising mortgage defaults.

County vehicle fleet to be streamlinedCentralization could also save $1.6 million this year
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted 4-1 in favor of a major reorganization of how the county obtains and pays for its vehicles and heavy equipment - changes that could save the county about $1.6 million this year, supporters estimate.

The reorganization plan would establish a centralized fleet service that would control, maintain and purchase all county vehicles and equipment and would be accountable to the Board...
...In order to trim the fat among department vehicles, the plan recommends establishing a minimum monthly usage requirement of 400 miles for all vehicles that don't fall under the "heavy vehicle" category, which includes vehicles such as large trucks, tractors, buses, and forklifts. Those vehicles would have a minimum usage requirement of 10 hours per month, Groom said...



COLORADO

Public senses an economy going south
SEDALIA, COLO. -- The numbers stopped adding up some time ago, and every month, Shane Covelli gets angrier.
He sells heavy equipment on commission, and construction firms aren't buying. Covelli has sold his Corvette, stopped taking his wife out to dinner, pulled his son from the ski team. He has withdrawn nearly $50,000 from his retirement accounts and started taking extra work, laying carpet and pouring concrete evenings and weekends. Still, he owes more than he earns, and he can't seem to fix it...


SOUTH CAROLINA
Police probe heavy equipment thefts
Conway police are investigating reports of at least three construction vehicles being stolen since last month, according to a police statement released today.
Between Dec. 7 and Dec. 10, someone stole a backhoe from the Cratbtree Commons construction site off El Bethel Road and a front-end loader was reported stolen from the same site between Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, the statement reads.


ILLINOIS
HEAVY EQUIPMENT - Cat adds computerized tracking, management to all machines

PEORIA, Illinois - CATERPILLAR now includes as standard equipment its computerized EquipmentManager and Product Link, the company's remote asset management solution. The system will be installed in all mining and industrial machines sold in Canada and the United States.


Caterpillar will phase in EquipmentManager/Product Link beginning with wheeled hydraulic excavators and articulated trucks. The system comes with a three-year subscription to Asset Watch, the remote asset management portion of EquipmentManager. The system types of machines will be phased in throughout 2008 on other types of equipment.
EquipmentManager is a secure, web-based application that uses key indicators from equipment such as hours, location and diagnostic codes. Combined with powerful tools such as mapping, maintenance scheduling and troubleshooting instructions, EquipmentManager quickly sorts through machine data to identify events that require attention, and delivers information in a meaningful and actionable manner.

NEW YORK
Sector Snap: Heavy EquipmentShares of a Variety of Heavy Equipment Companies Tumble on Concerns About Financial Outlooks

(Associated Press) - Shares of a variety of heavy equipment companies fell Wednesday on worries that current earnings expectations for them may be overly optimistic.
Baird's Robert F. McCarthy said that in light of expectations of slower economic growth and lower gross domestic product growth, average analyst estimates for most machinery and diversified manufacturing stocks are too high.


"Historically, these stocks generally underperform stock market averages when economic growth is moderating or in recession," McCarthy wrote in a note to investors.
"Given our cautious outlook for growth in the developed economies, we believe new entry points require deeply discounted valuations."
McCarthy lowered his financial outlooks for companies across the sector...

Heavy Equipment News in the World

Tractors on the road - are they accidents waiting to happen?

UK
More than 900 tractors, telehandlers and other self-propelled farm machines are likely to be involved in road accidents this year, not to mention a further 1000 cars, vans, motorbikes and trucks.

These startling figures come from a Department for Transport (DfT) study which also estimates that on average eight farmers and 11 other road users will die each year as a result of such accidents.

On top of that, 1200 casualties will be caused, resulting in more than 5000 working days being lost. In fact the total cost to the agricultural industry, says NFU Mutual, is £60m.

Mr. Somprasong Boonyachai, the new AITAA Mother Chapter President

In 36th AITAA Governing Board Meeting in Bangkok, Mr. Somprason (President of SHIN Corporation) is unanimously elected as the new President of Asian Institute of Technology Alumni Association (AITAA) Mother Chapter for 2007-2008 period.

In 27 Dec 2007, GENERAL Boonsrang Niumpradit (The AITAA President from 2006-2007) handed over the AITAA presidency to Mr. Somprasong Boonyachai. The handover ceremony was attended by AITAA Mother Chapter Excom (Dr. BHW Hadikusumo, Dr. Siriwan, Dr. Ann W., Mr. Chawalit and Advisors - Dr. Tien) and Thai Chapter Excom members. The handover ceremony was held at official house of GENERAL Boonsrang Niumpradit (Supreme Commander of Thailand)


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Ms. Nang Kham Kyi Oo works at Chiyoda Singapore

Her nickname is Nang. She comes from Myanmar.

After graduation from AIT in May 2007, Ms. Nang Kham Kyi Oo immediately got a job in Chiyoda Contractor, a Japanese company operating Singapore. She is in charged of Project Controller for powerplant projects.

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

James Suvanaphen moved to Bovis Singapore

After working several months in Bovis Project in Chiang Mai, James (CEIM Alumni Year 2007) moved to Bovis LendLease Singapore.

Congratulations James!

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Scholarships at The University of Hong Kong

The University of Hong Kong is offering some PhD scholarships for qualified students. If you are interested, please contact me.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Dr. Anusorn is nominated in CNBC Asia Business Leader Award

Dear CEIM Community

Dr. Anusorn Sangnimnuan (EV ’80), an AIT Alumnus is one of the nominees for Asia Business Leader Awards. He is the President of Bangchak Petroleum Public Company Limited, Thailand and also the outgoing President of AITAA Thai Chapter.



If you would like to support him by giving your vote, you can visit the following links:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22077207

http://www.cnbc.com/id/21830595



Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "


CEIM Thailand is organizing a site visit field trip to Phuket at the End of Jan 2008

Dear All

As part of our curriculum in which students have to interact with the industry, CEIM is organizing a site visit to Phuket to see many luxurious resort projects at the end of Jan 2008.

K. Weerayudh is volunteering to organize this important and exciting event.

Junior students will have to attend this site visit trip and Senior students are also welcome to join.


I will follow up with the real story from site visit on my next report!



Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Job Vacancies at CONNOL Engineering

Connols Engineering company is looking for engineers with project management knowledge from Asian countries.

Connols is a singaporean construction company operating in Thailand and Vietnam; and specializing in factory and industrial construction project.

If you are interested to apply, please send your cv to me (kusumo@ait.ac.th)


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Faculty Position at CEIM/AIT

FACULTY POSITIONS, SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (www.set.ait.ac.th). Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons for faculty positions at Assistant/Associate Professor level with the following specializations:

  1. Mechatronics and Microelectronics: Electronics, Robotics, Materials Engineering, Magnetic Recording Technology.
  2. Construction Engineering and Management: Property and Real Estate Investment and Market Analysis, Property and Land Valuation.
  3. Offshore Technology and Management: Offshore Structural Engineering, Offshore Project and Marine Operation Management.
  4. Structural Engineering: Concrete Structures, Construction Materials, Structural and Computational Mechanics, Earthquake Engineering.
  5. Water Engineering and Management: Water Resources Systems and Management, Urban Water Management, Hydraulic Engineering, Flood Management.

General Qualifications:

  • Must have a doctoral degree from a well-recognized university/institution with a strong research background and interest.
  • Competence in teaching and carrying out research at the post graduate level.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
  • Exposure to the problems and prospects in the Asian Region will be an added advantage

Responsibilities:

  • Conducting all academic activities including teaching and research in the subject area of specialization.
  • Supervising master and doctoral student thesis work and publish outputs in recognized international journals.
  • Developing partnership with industries, government and international agencies.
  • Attracting sponsored research projects.
  • Participating in promotion activities to recruit student, short training courses, conferences/seminars, and other professional activities.

The successful candidates will be appointed at the earliest possible date, initially for a period of two years and is renewable, on two-year basis for Assistant Professor and four-year basis for Associate Professor, based on performance and productivity. Successful candidates will receive a salary competitive in the region, with generous benefits.

All personal particulars, details of qualification and experience, publications, and the names and addresses of four referees, should be submitted, not later than 29 February 2008, to:

The Dean
School of Engineering and Technology
Asian Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang 12120
Pathum Thani, Thailand
E-mail: deanset@ait.ac.th

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is an international graduate institution of higher learning with a mission to develop highly qualified and committed professionals who will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy. Established in Bangkok in 1959, AIT has become a leading regional postgraduate institution and is actively working with public and private sector partners throughout the region and with some of the top universities in the world.

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

Chinese construction companies are entering the African market in greater numbers every year. For example, in the past 10 years the number of Chinese construction companies, in Zambia, has grown from 2 or 3 to almost 20. All these companies are looking for used excavators for sale since almost all used construction equipment must be imported into Africa.

Abu Naser Chowdury is continuing his PhD in NTU

His nick name is Naser, CEIM alumni year 2006 from Bangladesh, continues his PhD in Nanyang Technology University, Singapore.

During this study at AIT, Naser is a very active student. He did his master thesis on Project Financing under Dr. Chotchai.

Congratulation Naser!

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Professional Master in Project Management (MPM) Saigon, BATCH 2007

In September 2007, CEIM accepted 9 students to study Professional Master of Engineering in Project Management in Construction. The program is offered during weekend and evening class in Saigon.

1. Mr. Bui Van Bao, Saigon Construction
2. Mr. Lu Dinh Vu, Saigon Construction
3. Mr. Nguyen Dang Thong Nhat
4. Mr. Chu Bien Cuong, Project Manager at Sonadezi Construction
5. Mr. Bui Quang Luong, Project Mangement Unit
6. Mr. Nguyen Le Hoai Tam, Project Manager, Royal Haskoning Consultant
7. Ms. Mai Do Thuy Dung, Purchasing Manager, Indo China Capital
8. Mr. Mai Phong Phu, Dong Nai Officer
9. Mr. Vo Hoang Phuong, Dong Nai Officer


A part from the 9 MPM students, seven students in twophase master and phd program join with them study in the same classes and share experiences:
1. Mr. Tran Viet Dung, Two Phase Master CEIM
2. Mr. Tran Duc Nhat, Two Phase Master CEIM
3. Mr. Pham Vuong Trung, Two Phase Master CEIM
4. Mr. Dam Thanh Binh, Two Phase Master CEIM
5. Mr. Nguyen Viet Nhan, Two Phase Master CEIM
6. Mr. Pham Hong Linh, Two Phase PhD CEIM, Vice President of PV Gas Corporation

CEIM is proud to select this students to join program and strengthen our networks.

You are all welcomed!

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Professional Master in Project Management (MPM) Vung Tau, BATCH 2007

CEIM welcome twenty two (22) students who are enrolled in MPM Vung Tau.

1. Mr. Ngoc Duc Binh
2. Mr. Nguyen Khoa, Refinery No. 3
3. Mr. Nguyen Anh Dao
4. Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh
5. Mr. Nguyen Tan Hoang, Refinery No. 3
6. Mr. Nguyen Van Thang
7. Mr. Tran Duct Hanh
8. Mr. Dao Manh Tuong
9. Mr. Le Viet Hoai
10. Mr. Dang Huu Trinh
11. Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung
12. Mr. Do Hong Hai
13. Mr. Phan Minh Nhut, PV Construction
14. Mr. Dang The Phuong, VietSov Petro
15. Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung
16. Mr. Vu Van Dao
17. Mr. Nguyen Quoch Hanh, Japan Vietnam Petroleum
18. Mr. Dang Dinh Lam
19. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Loc, PV Land
20. Mr. Khuong Minh Dat
21. Mr. Nguyen Van Diep, PTSC
22. Mr. Pham Van Tuan

Many thanks to PetroVietnam who has provided scholarships to this 22 studetns.

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Terry Clayton gave his lecture on Communication and Presentation Skills

In managing construction projects, project manager is heavily involved in presentation, communication and negotiation with stakeholders.

Mr. Terry Clayton, a Canadian communication specialist, gave his lecture on how to effectively make a presentation and communicate with others to the Professional Master of Engineering in Project Management (MPM) students in Vung Tau and Saigon Vietnam on October 2007.

The students said that Mr. Terry Clayton is an excellent teacher. His teaching style is very interactive and effective.

Mr. Khoa, a student in Vung Tau who is working in Refinery No. 3 Project, said that Mr. Terry teach us how to organize a meeting and make meeting participants happy after the meeting finish.

Ms. Dung, a student in Saigon who is working as the purchasing manager of IndoChina Capital, said that Mr. Terry teaches us a very interesting subject and his teaching style is very fun and effective.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Research Fund on Construction Professional Market in Thailand

The University of Hong Kong has given a research fund (THB 250,000) to Dr. BHW Hadikusumo to study the Market of Construction Professionals in Thailand.

Dr. Hadikusumo is assisted by two CEIM researchers: Ms. Oulawan K. and Mr. Arthasit who are both PhD students.



Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Bovis LendLease Research Grant for Sustainable Construction Study

Bovis Lendlease Thailand under the leadership of Mr. Burin Kunnatipapong has expressed its serious interest on Sustainable Construction.

Bovis Lendlease has provided a research grant to CEIM to study Sustainable Construction, particulary to develop a framework that is applicable for construction projects in Thailand.

Mr. Riza, CEIM Alumni who is now the country manager for sustainable construction of Bovis Lendlease, is working closely with Mr. Pakawat (CEIM Student) and Dr. BHW Hadikusumo.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Equipment Downtime is a burden for highway contractors

Highway contractors ultimately depends on the availability of heavy equipment. Equipment Downtime may cause a lot of financial losses.

Mr. Thanapun Prasertrungruang has just defended his PhD dissertation on MODELING THE DYNAMICS OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT DOWNTIME. Mr. Thanapun found out that downtime is a complex problem; and the cause and effect of downtime occurs in a feedback loop models. In other words, the more downtime you have in your projects, the more future downtime you will have due to the skipping your equipment maintenance, unplanned equipment maintenance budget etc.

This is his PhD abstract.

Downtime resulting from machine breakdown invariably has a substantial impact on the performance of construction projects and companies as a whole, especially to contractors with heavy investment in equipment. As managing construction equipment is tightly connected to various activities and parties inside as well as outside of the firm, failure to account for the dynamic characteristics (e.g. cause-effect relationships, multiple feedback loops, nonlinear relationships, and time-delayed responses) of equipment management practices invariably causes downtime to be even more severe. To date, few studies have been made to investigate the causes and consequences of downtime. Attempts to highlight the dynamic behaviors of downtime, particularly in construction equipment, are rarely found as well. The aims of this study are divided into two major parts: 1) to investigate current practices and problems in heavy equipment management and to identify practices capable of alleviating equipment management problems for highway contractors, and 2) to highlight the dynamics of heavy equipment management practices and downtime in highway contractors and then recommend policies for equipment performance improvement. The first objective is the preliminary and exploratory study of this research to fully understand the problems and practices in equipment management of Thai highway contractors. The second objective is considered as the main purpose of the study, which was formulated and conducted based upon the results from the first objective.
To achieve the first objective, a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data on equipment management practices and problems from 162 Thai highway contractors. Statistical techniques, including one-way ANOVA, correlation test, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), were adopted for data analysis. Findings of this objective reveal that the equipment management practices vary, to some extent, among different contractor sizes. While practices of medium and small contractors tend to be similar, practices of large contractors are different from those of smaller contractors. Large contractors often put more emphasis on outsourcing strategy for equipment management. They frequently dispose of or replace equipment as soon as the equipment becomes inefficient. Conversely, smaller contractors tend to mainly emphasize the company’s finances and budget availability for purchasing strategy, especially buying used machines. Overall, equipment practices of large contractors were found to be more successful than those of smaller contractors in minimizing equipment management problems. Among all equipment problems, downtime was found to be the most significant problem faced by highway contractors.
The SEM model, constructed during the first objective, provides a framework for tracing the causes and consequences of downtime as well as recommends practices for downtime reduction. It suggests that contractors should place a strong emphasis on equipment maintenance as it has a significant influence on downtime and machine disposal practice. The model illustrates how the acquisition condition and operational practice of equipment affect downtime through a direct influence on maintenance quality. Improving machine operational practices could approximately create double positive effect on maintenance quality, comparing to the influence from improving the acquisition condition of equipment. The model also ranks equipment management practices according to their importance and effectiveness in reducing the downtime problem.
For the second objective, data from ten contractor case studies (i.e. 5 large and 5 small to medium highway contractors) was collected and analyzed using System Dynamics (SD) methodology. The results show that, to overcome downtime problem, equipment management practices throughout a machine’s lifecycle must be viewed as an integration of multiple feedback processes, which are interrelated and interdependent with downtime. In reducing downtime as well as improving machine budget status, a variety of policies are recommended for implementation, including machine standardization, quality improvement team building, supplier strategy, and trade-in-for-new disposal. “Neutral or worse before better” results normally occur after the policy implementation due to delays in the improvement process. Such delay behavior was found to occur not only during the attempt to reduce downtime duration but also during the improvement process of machine budget status. As an additional research finding, the study also proposes a methodological approach for determining the timing for key equipment management decisions (i.e. major repair, overhaul, and disposal) through the application of simulations using actual equipment management practice data. Two simulators (one for large and one for small to medium contractors) were built based on the SD simulation models constructed to serve as tools for contractors to better manage their machinery effectively and efficiently since proactive actions can be triggered before such breakdown with costly downtime to occur during equipment operations.

From his dissertation, Mr. Thanapun wrote many international journal publications and conference as follows:
  • Prasertrungruang, T. and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2007) “Heavy equipment management practices and problems in Thai highway contractors”, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 14 (3), pp. 228-241.
  • Prasertrungruang, T. and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2006) “Equipment management practices of highway contractors in Thai construction industry, Construction and Professional Practices”, Proceedings of the Tenth East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction (EASEC-10), Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 49-54.
  • Prasertrungruang, T. and Hadikusumo, B.H.W., “A study of factors influencing the efficient management and downtime consequences of highway construction equipment in Thailand”, Submitted to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (ASCE).
  • Prasertrungruang, T. and Hadikusumo, B.H.W., “Modeling the dynamics of heavy equipment management practices and downtime in large highway contractors”, Submitted to Journal of Management in Engineering (ASCE).
  • Prasertrungruang, T. and Hadikusumo, B.H.W., “System dynamics modeling of heavy equipment management practices and downtime for small to medium highway construction companies”, Submitted to Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management.
  • Prasertrungruang, T. and Hadikusumo, B.H.W., “Modeling the dynamic influences of heavy equipment management practices on downtime: a comparative study between large and small to medium highway contractors”, Submitted to an international journal.
If you are interested to get a full PhD dissertation, please contact me.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Negotiation and Communication Skill for Project Manager

On December 2007, Mr Johny Johan, Director of SCBD Indonesia, and Mr. Burin Kunnatipapong, Country Manager of Bovis Lend Lease Thailand, gave their lectures on Negotiation Skills for Project Manager for Professional Master of Engineering in Project Management in Construction in Saigon and Vung Tau Vietnam.

Mr. Johan and Mr. Burin shared his years of experience in negotiating in construction projects.

Students in Vung Tau and Saigon learnt many negotiation skills and techniques from Mr. Johny Johan and Mr. Burin such as:
- Plan your negotiation
- understand what you really need
- understand what you dont need
- Do you know your target?
- Clear Communication.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Mr. Thanapat Leingtong is promoted as HSE Manager

Mr. Thanapat Leingtong, CEIM Alumni Year 2005, is currently promoted as HSE country manager in Bovis LendLease Thailand.

Congratulation Mr. Thanpat for your great achievement.

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Mr. Sugondo Gan is moving to Shimizu Singapore

Mr. Sugondo Gan, CEIM Alumni Year 1999, is moving to a new job in Shimizu Corporation Singapore. His new position is Tunnel Manager.

Congratulations Mr. Sugondo Gan!


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Farewell party for Prof. Ogunlana on 16 Dec 2007

On Sunday Dec 16th 2007, CEIM community (faculty, staff, students and alumni) in Thailand organized a farewell party for Prof. Stephen Ogunlana. About 70 people attended this unforgettable farewell party.

Prof. Ogunlana worked as a faculty member at CEIM for 18 years. Colleagues, Students and Alumni gave great comments to Prof. Ogunlana for his 18 years in AIT/CEIM.

Dr. Chotchai (CEIM Faculty) - He is a gentleman! I seldom call a person as a gentleman, and He is a real gentleman.

Dr. Hadikusumo (CEIM Faculty) - He has contributed many to CEIM.

Dr. Martinus Abednego (CEIM Alumni) - If you open a dictionary and find the word "Dedication", then I will say that Prof. Ogunlana is very dedicated to teach and supervise students"

Dr. Djoen San Santoso (CEIM Alumni) - He is my teacher and my spiritual mentor.

Mr. Riza Yosia - He is a nice person.

Prof. Ogunlana, your contributions to CEIM will be remembered forever.

Good luck with your new work in HeriotWatt University.

And please keep contact with us.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Emotional Intelligent and Project Management

Are you easily angry? Are you moody? Control your emotion and aware of other people's emotion, you can be a better project manager!

Mr. Riza Yosia, Dr. BHW Hadikusumo and Prof. Stephen Ogunlana research on Emotional Intelligence and Project management is accepted in Journal of Management in Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineering.

Riza Yosia, BHW Hadikusumo, Stephen Ogunlana (2007). Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Styles in Construction Project Management, Journal of Management in Engineering, Vol. 23, Issue 4, Page 166-170, publisher: American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE)

Abstract
Human factors are of paramount importance to the success of projects. Although a lot of studies have been carried out on human factors in project management, not much research has been done on emotional intelligence (EI). Studies have shown that EI is beneficial to both the individual and the organization. The benefits of EI to project management were investigated in terms of the style of leadership. The study was conducted in Thailand by interviewing project managers and engineers (PMEs); and client representatives. The results showed that EI affected leadership behavior of the project leader. PMEs with higher EI tend to use open communication and proactive leadership styles. It is also found that EI generates delegating, open communication, and proactive behavior, which can bring positive outcomes to the organization.

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Two Phase Master and PhD program in Vietnam

Two-Phase master and phd program means the students study the first phase in vietnam and second phase in thailand.

For Two-Phase master program, students study the first phase (i.e. first semester from september to december) in vietnam and the second phase (i.e. second, third and fourth semester) in AIT Thailand.

For Two-Phase doctoral program, students study the first phase (i.e. first and second semester) in vietnam and the second phase (i.e. third, fourth, fifth and sixth semester) in AIT Thailand. However, students have to go back to vietnam during the second phase for data collection.

If you need further information, you can contact
  • Dr. BHW Hadikusumo (CEIM Coordinator, email: kusumo@ait.ac.th)
  • Mr. Nguyen Le Tuong (CEIM Representative in Vietnam, email: ngletuong@aitcv.ac.vn)
  • Ms. Bich Hoa (School Representative in Vietnam, email: hoa@aitcv.ac.vn)
NOTE: LIMITED NUMBERS OF SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE.

Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Six Two-Phase CEIM Students from Vietnam Joining AIT Thailand Education this January 2008

Six Vietnamese students who had successfully passed their first semester are joining CEIM program in Thailand.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tam
MR. Tran Viet Dung
Mr. Tran Duc Nhat
Mr. Pham Vuong Trung
Mr. Dam Thanh Binh
Ms. Nguyen Viet Nhan

We look forward to meet you in AIT Thailand.

Note:
CEIM offers two-phase master and phd program in vietnam. In two-phase master program, students study the first semester in vietnam and continue the second, third and fourth semester in AIT Thailand.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Alvin Bahari and Andreas Adihartanto joined CEIM Dual Degree Program 2007-2008

Alvin and Andreas from Petra Christian University Surabaya joined our Dual Degree Master program in Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management.

Alvin and Andreas, you are welcome!

Study hard and learn a lot for your future success!


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Is your safety management effective?

Dr. Thanet in his PhD dissertation has studied effective and efficient safety programs. Many construction firms have difficulties in allocating budget to improve their construction site safety. They have no idea which safety programs are really effective and efficient.

I copy and paste Dr. Thanet's PhD abstract as below:

SAFETY PROGRAM PERFORMANCE IN THE THAI CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT

The construction industry has been globally regarded as a relatively hazardous industry. It has always been reported that fatal accidents and injuries in construction remain consistently at a very high level despite a significant downward trend in recent years. Similarly, in Thailand, the construction industry has faced a wide range of challenges, one of which is the frequent occurrences of accidents at the workplace. Safety programs are now considered to be one of the most important approaches to eliminating work-related accidents and injuries. An effective safety program can substantially reduce accidents because it can help management build up safer ways to operate and create safe working environments for the workers.

The Thai Government has taken significant steps to improve safety in the construction industry by promoting the establishment of safety programs at the enterprise level. It has been suggested that the following 17 safety programs should be implemented as business core functions: safety policies, safety committees, safety inductions, safety training, safety inspections, accident investigations, first aid programs, in-house safety rules, safety incentive schemes, control of subcontractors, selection of employees, personal protection programs, emergency preparedness planning, safety-related promotions, safety auditing, safety record keeping, and job hazard analysis. However, the accident occurrence rate in the construction industry still remains at unacceptable levels. This shows that the industry suffers from an inability to implement safety programs which achieve improved safety performance.

To help the industry, therefore, it is worthwhile to conduct research focused on investigating effective and efficient safety programs, and identifying the key factors influencing the success of safety programs. The findings therefore can be used as a guideline by construction sites to implement safety programs successfully.

This study was conducted with 35 medium and 35 large-scale construction projects taking part. To assess safety programs, an evaluation tool was developed by using scientific methods based upon Thai safety regulations and standards, and which was validated by a panel of safety experts. Multiple regression analysis was used to create models that reflect a set of the most effective and efficient safety programs for safety performance improvement.

The effectiveness of safety programs was evaluated by studying the relationship between their actual status and associated site safety performance. It was found that 4 of the 17 safety programs, namely accident investigations, safety inspections, control of subcontractors, and safety incentives, are the most effective in reducing accident rates at construction sites. The most effective safety programs in minimizing the occurrence of unsafe acts at construction sites are safety inspections, accident investigations, control of subcontractors, and safety incentives. And lastly, accident investigations, safety inspections, job hazard analysis, safety inductions, and safety auditing were the most effective factors in eliminating unsafe conditions at construction sites.

To evaluate the efficiency of safety programs, this study quantified amounts of staff time and budget allocated for safety program implementation based upon the perception-based survey and correlated them with safety performance. Multiple regression analysis yielded models which showed that 5 of the 17 safety programs, namely accident investigations, control of subcontractors, safety incentives, safety inspections, and safety auditing were the most efficient in improving accident rates. The most efficient safety programs in preventing the occurrence of unsafe acts were accident investigations, job hazard analysis, in-house safety rules, safety inspections, safety committees, and safety incentives. Lastly, safety committees, safety incentives, accident investigations, safety auditing, and safety inspections were found as the most efficient factors in controlling unsafe conditions on the sites.

Furthermore, this research also investigated critical success factors (CSFs) for safety programs. These CSFs are important to guide contractors to implement safety programs successfully. The CSFs are regarded as the limited number of activities in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful implementation of safety programs. Therefore, the final output of this study will enable contractors to choose effective and efficient safety programs and to implement them by understanding the CSFs. This study showed that management support, appropriate safety education and training, teamwork, clear and realistic goals, and an effective enforcement scheme were perceived by the respondents as the most significant factors that need considerable attention in order to ensure successful safety programs. However, this study found the current problems which may lead to failure of safety programs were lack of management support, lack of appropriate supervision, lack of sufficient resource allocation, lack of teamwork, and lack of effective enforcement. Improving these priority factors to satisfactory levels would lead to successful safety programs, thereby minimizing accidents.

In conclusion, in light of this research, a package of comprehensive strategies for achieving improved construction safety performance was provided. In other words, the study gave a set of the most effective and efficient safety programs for implementation on construction sites as well as critical activities or known as critical success factors (CSFs) that can ensure the successful implementation of the safety programs.

=============

A part from his PhD dissertation, Dr. Thanet has published in many journal and conferences as below:

  • Aksorn, T., and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2007). Critical Success Factors Influencing Safety Program Performance in Thai Construction Projects, Safety Science.
  • Aksorn, T., and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2008). An Evaluative Tool for Construction Safety Programs. Professional Safety. American Society of Safety Engineers.
  • Aksorn, T., and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2007). Gap Analysis Approach for Safety Program Improvement. Journal of Construction in Developing country, 12, 1.
  • Aksorn, T., and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2006). Critical Success Factors of Safety Programs Implementation in Thai Construction Projects. Proceedings of CIBW99 Conference on Global Unity on Safety and Health. Beijing, China. June, 2006.
  • Aksorn, T., and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2006). Investigation of Critical Success Factors of Safety Programs Implementation in Thai Construction industry. Proceedings of the Tenth East-Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction. Bangkok, Thailand. August, 2006.


Posted by

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "



Three PhDs graduated on Dec 2007

Dear Dr. Thanet Aksorn, Dr. Martinus Abednego and Dr. Piyanut W.

After your serious and tedious works, finally you are able to complete your PhD degree which is the highest degree in education.

CEIM wishes you success in your future career and life.


Posted by
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Freddy Kurniawan Completed Dual Degree Program

Dear Freddy Kurniawan

Congratulation for your achievement in completing CEIM dual degree Master program in Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management organized by AIT and Petra Christian University Surabaya.

CEIM wishes you success with your future career.


Posted by
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Risk Management in Construction Forum in Vietnam

AITCV is organizing a Risk Management in Construction Forum on Wednesday 16 January 2008.

Three speakers will make presentations and lead the forum discussions:
  • Safety Management System for Zero Accident Target by Dr. BHW Hadikusumo, Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management, Asian Institute of Technology.
  • Prevention and Treatment Of Legal and Contract Risks in the Construction Industry in Vietnam by Dr. Rolland Amoussou-Guenou Attorney at Law, Lecturer and Asia–Africa Initiative Project Manager Asian Institute of Technology (AIT - Thailand)
  • Risk Management in Vietnam Construction Industry by Mr. Pham Hong Linh (Vice President of Petrovietnam Gas)
Venue: Majestic Hotel, Ho Chi Minh
Date: Wednesday, 16 January 2007
Hours: 8.30 am to 12 noon
Cost: VND 500,000

For registration, please contact Ms. Tuong (ngletuong@aitcv.ac.vn and mobile phone: 913138408)

Posted By
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM and MPM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

The success of Chinese construction companies in Africa can be attributed to China's need to raw material at home. The Chinese government is backing loans for huge infrastructure projects in Africa in return for access to minerals needed to continue manufacturing products for the world. So equipment owners that have excavators for sale or any other type of construction equipment should investigate the opportunities with Chinese companies working in Africa.

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

Many Chinese construction companies realize the economics of buying new construction equipment. However, due to the price, on new equipment, they must settle for used equipment. A solution for sellers of equipment might be to try and sell rebuilt equipment to the Chinese market. So , if you have Excavators for sale you might consider rebuilding it to sell to the Chinese market.

Global Used Construction Equipment Used Heavy Construction Equipment for Sale


When you look at the Chinese construction industry in regards to Used Heavy Construction Equipment for sale you also have to look at the progress they are making when it comes to their projects in Africa. Chinese contractors are now working on some of the biggest infrastructure projects and as stated in previous blogs, they need to bring virtually all of their equipment with them.

Komatsu Bulldozer Pictures


Komatsu D-85 Bulldozer


Komatsu D-65 Bulldozer



Komatsu D-575 Super Bulldozer

Recent Heavy Equipment News in the World

HAWAII, USA

National Guard Soldiers Ready To Clean Maui
KALAELOA (KHNL) -- Soldiers make the final inspections on two dozen pieces of heavy equipment before it's all loaded onto the Superferry, and sails to Maui on Monday.
Lt. Colonel Moses Kaoiwi anticipates, "There's a lot of major work that needs to be done."
The story made national headlines in early December after high winds and heavy rains pummeled the state. Maui took the brunt, with over 100 properties damaged. But soldiers say they're not intimidated.

Superferry helps Hawaii National Guard
HONOLULU (AP) _ The Hawaii National Guard shipped 24 pieces of heavy equipment -- including bulldozers and five-ton dump trucks -- from Oahu to Maui today aboard the Hawaii Superferry.

Twenty members of the 29th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Company A, also made the trip. They're joining 29 Guard members on the Valley Island in an operation to clear away debris left by recent stormy weather...


CALIFORNIA, USA

California Construction Forecast 2008
It may not become the "perfect storm" but three "bad weather fronts" are headed toward California's construction industry in 2008 and beyond. Bad enough to go into storm protection mode...

In 2007, California construction employment averaged an estimated 924,200, down 15,200 (1.6 percent) from 2006 and down 23,900 (2.5 percent ) from the 948,100-employment peak posted in the month of February 2006 (seasonally adjusted). In 2008, construction employment is forecast at 901,300, down 22,900 (2.5 percent) from 2007...


ALASKA, USA

Tundra-Cat is no child's toyHuge vehicle is gentle on Arctic environment
WASILLA, Alaska – With tires 5½ feet tall, the Tundra-Cat could be considered an Alaska-sized toy for big boys. That would be a mistake. The vehicle designed for use in the oil fields – looking a lot like a monster truck – has a tender touch when it comes to the delicate Arctic tundra. Its huge tires, at 5 pounds of pressure per square inch, do less damage than a golf cart, said Mark Tope, the man who came up with the Tundra-Cat after having a brainstorm a couple of years ago while watching a monster truck show at 1 a.m. Tope said he recalls the moderator saying, “Man, they have a big footprint.”...


FLORIDA, USA

Fugitive sought following theft of equipment
Authorities are asking the public to help them find a local man suspected of stealing several pieces of heavy equipment...


NEW YORK, USA

Sector Snap: Manufacturing Stocks Fall
Shares of many manufacturers tumbled Wednesday, following a report indicating that the U.S. manufacturing economy unexpectedly contracted in December.
...Manufacturers of construction and other heavy equipment also posted losses. Deere & Co., one of the world's largest makers of farm equipment, dropped $3.11, or 3.3 percent, to $90.01, but earlier hit a 52-week high of $94.01. Caterpillar Inc. shares fell $2.06, or 2.8 percent, to $70.50, while Manitowoc Co. dropped $1.60, or 3.3 percent, to $47.23. Terex Inc. shares fell $2.58, or 3.9 percent, to $62.99.


AUSTRALIA

Isolated residents just wait for peak
FLOODING is a way of life for residents of the small communities along the large rivers in northern NSW, and last night they were just watching and waiting. The State Emergency Service yesterday offered to help evacuate residents of the isolated towns of Coraki and Woodburn but the offers were politely rejected.
...Ms Moyle said the residents of Coraki had already shifted everything they could above the expected flood peak and SES volunteers spent yesterday afternoon assisting them to move motor vehicles and other heavy equipment to high ground...

Occupational Safety and Health Management in Construction

This 45 hours course is offered in three modules: (i) Safety and Health, (ii) Safety Management System and (iii) Safety Culture. The objective of the course is to provide a strong advanced knowledge to manage construction site safety and health to prevent the occurrence of accidents and illness.


Module ONE: Safety and Health in Construction
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Safety and Health Law Development
Chapter 3: Nature of Accidents
Chapter 4: Cost of Accidents
Chapter 5: Health Hazards and Management


Module TWO: Safety Management System
Chapter 6: OSH Management System
Chapter 7: OSH Plan and Programs
Chapter 8: OSH Performance
Chapter 9: Accident Investigation
Chapter 10: CDM


Module THREE: Safety Culture
Chapter 12: Human Factors
Chapter 13: Communication
Chapter 14: Safety Incentive
Chapter 15: Safety Culture

The course is taught by Dr. BHW Hadikusumo.

Posted By
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Dual Degree Master in Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management

PetraChristian University (PCU) in Surabaya, Indonesia, is collaborating with CEIM at Asian Institute of Technology to offer a Dual Degree in Master of Engineering in Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management.

Students will study the first semester at PCU and complete the other three semesters in Asian Institute of Technology Thailand. Upon completion of their studies, the students will receive two degrees, namely (i) Magister Teknik from PCU (equivalent to Master Degree) and (ii) M.Eng from Asian Institute of Technology.

Please contact our representative in Indonesia, Dr. Anthony (Head of PostGraduate School, http://www.pcu.ac.id )

Regards
Dr. BHW Hadikusumo
CEIM Coordinator
http://www.set.ait.ac.th/ceim/

" CEIM offers Master and Doctoral degrees in Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Management in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam "

Professional Master of Engineering in Project Management in Vietnam

In September 2007, CEIM has been successfully put our first step in offering Professional Master of Engineering in Project Management in Saigon and Vung Tau, Vietnam.

PetroVietnam has provided a strong support for us. Under the leadership of Mr. Le Minh Hong, The Vice President of PetroVietnam, twenty (20) students have been sponsored and joined Professional Master of Engineering in Project Management in Vung Tau.

In Saigon, CEIM/AIT also received a good market respond. Sixteen (16) students joined (i) Professional Master of Engineering in Project Management, (ii) Two-Stage Master of Engineering and (iii) Two-Stage PhD
in Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure Management.

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

Here's and interesting statistic, If you've ever wondered about the booming Chinese economy and how it will be effected by the slow down of the US this number should surprise you. Of all of China's exports only 20% go to the US. This is still a large number but would indicate to me that China will continue to have a robust economy despite the US slowdown and the need for Excavators for sale will continue.

Global Used Construction Equipment Used Heavy Construction Equipment

Chinese construction companies won bids worth $2 billion dollars for the rehabilitation of the Mocameded Railway in Angola. Again as in the previous blog all the Used Heavy Construction Equipment needed for the project was imported by the Chinese construction companies.

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

We'll try a little different view point for today. Recent blogs have concentrated on Chinese infrastructure. In this blog I will give you some information on the role that Chinese companies play in building Africa infrastructure. When Chinese companies build projects in Africa they need to bring most of their supplies with them. Recently China Road and Bridge purchased $30 million dollars worth of equipment for a road project in Angola. Since there no excavators for sale in Angola they had purchase all of these machines on the open market.

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

China began building a railway linking, the Xiamen Economic Zone in Fujian Province and Shenzhen Economic Zone in Guangdong Provinc running 502.4 kilometers at an est cost of $5.6 billion dollars. Upon completion the project should generate many used Excavators for sale.



Global Used Construction Equipment Used Heavy Construction Equipment

China will have huge amounts of Used Heavy Construction Equipment for sale as they continue to build their infrastructure. China will build and upgrade 270,000 kilometers of rural highway in 2008, to further modernize the country's transportation system in its vast rural areas.

Global Used Construction Equipment and Cat Rebuild

The current estimated global market for rebuilding heavy equipment is approximately $100 billion dollars. Caterpillar and the Chinese government have signed a contract to promote Cat Rebuild equipment. Caterpillar expects the Chinese market to be $10 billion in China alone.

Global Used Construction Equipment Excavators for Sale

According to the AMA sales of construction equipment is predicted to decrease, in the US, by 1.9% in 2008. This downturn in the US market in not expected to effect the Chinese infrastructure and other Asian countries projects. In fact many of South East Asia's countries, economy, like the Philippines and Vietnam are expecting to grow at 6%-9%. Companies with used Excavators for Sale can expect high demand from this region.

Stupid Excavator Video of the Week


Excavator Juggling. They should have tried this outside without a roof :)

Heavy Equipment News in the World


UNITED STATES
Bulldozers blaze the way
There was no time to waste. Six coal miners were trapped deep underground. Getting them fresh air was imperative. That required boring holes into Crandall Canyon mine from the top of East Mountain, nearly 1,900 feet overhead. But before a heavy-duty drill rig could be brought in, a mile-long access road had to be cut across the mountaintop - at night, through two dense stretches of forest and along ridges with slopes that plummeted precipitously, the dim light of a waning moon often obscuring the line between level ground and open air...

DeLand increasing biofuel use in heavy equipment
DELAND -- The city of DeLand's motor pool is becoming a green fleet -- well, almost.
In late November, the city followed the suggestion of Public Works Director Marvin Williams and began using a 5-percent mixture of soybean oil to fuel heavy equipment vehicles, such as fire trucks. The mixture is touted as a way to run cleaner machines and help reduce dependence on foreign oil.

PHILIPPINES
Rebels burn down heavy equipment
NEW People's Army guerrillas burned two heavy equipment involved in the construction of market roads and a bunker house in San Francisco town in Quezon for the refusal of the town mayor who owns the equipment to pay "revolutionary taxes."...
"Said heavy equipment are being used to construct market roads of said place and owned by Mayor Nani C. Tan, mayor of San Francisco, Quezon. Said incident was a result of tan's refusal to give in to demands," said Cabangbang.

Heavy rains brings floods, landslides to Southern Leyte
MAASIN CITY, Philippines--A nine-year-old girl drowned in a flashflood and three Southern Leyte towns and a highway in this city were hit by landslides following two straight days of heavy rains on Wednesday and Thursday, local authorities said Friday...
...DPWH-Southern Leyte’s assistant district engineer, Lino Gonzalez, said heavy equipment was dispatched immediately to clear the roads of mud and debris.

INDIA
MCD wakes up to piling solid waste
As the year turns, there is some good news. On Monday, MCD mayor Arti Mehra announced the purchase of 17 new heavy earth moving machines for the better management of solid waste at sanitary landfill sites...
...For the first time, MCD has entered into a contract with the manufacturer for the maintenance of the equipment. "The manufacturer will provide the necessary parts and services required for maintenance while we will bear the cost of fuel and lubricants," said Mehra. According to officials, the contract for the heavy equipment is for six years...