Eric Lou | Manchester Metropolitan University (original) (raw)

Papers by Eric Lou

Are we ready? A question pondered many global leaders in Government, business and social organiza... more Are we ready? A question pondered many global leaders in Government, business and social organizations around the world to consider how best to harness the power of information and communication technology (ICT) for development. Malaysia is no exception. The Government is moving towards electronic tendering or e-tendering for the construction industry at the national level. This report outlines and measures the level of ereadiness of Malaysia, focused on the construction industry from international surveys and reports, self-assessments, case studies and questionnaires. Our world today presents no technological barriersperhaps the only barriers are the people and process itself-using ICT to suite everyday work and practices.

IGI Global eBooks, Nov 17, 2011

Lecture notes in electrical engineering, 2023

Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 2023

IGI Global eBooks, Nov 17, 2011

This chapter presents the case of a bank that was established in late 1973 by an initiative from ... more This chapter presents the case of a bank that was established in late 1973 by an initiative from the Government, as a joint venture between the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, all commercial banks registered in the country, insurance companies, and some large industrial investment firms. The chapter presents the before and after analysis of IT readiness in the bank. Through the analysis it was realised that the use of IS/IT in the Bank is well behind that normally expected from a bank, which is set up to promote the industrial sector of a major finance centre. The Bank management needs to recognise that technology is changing too fast for the non-specialist to keep up. It is therefore an essential part of a truly professional relationship between a business and its IS/IT staff that they help management to understand that business opportunities which would arise from IS/IT utilization in new areas such as electronic commerce. This vision does not exist in the Bank, at least not in those professionals whose position would give them the necessary influence. This means that the Bank’s top management need is to consider IS/IT as a strategic tool to achieve a competitive edge in pursuing the Bank’s goals.

IOP conference series, Mar 1, 2020

The rise of global urbanisation has led to massive pressures on resources such as food, water, in... more The rise of global urbanisation has led to massive pressures on resources such as food, water, infrastructure, and energy demand to support growing populations. It brings adverse impacts on the liveable condition and economic growth of a country if this problem remains unsolved. Smart city is a potential solution to address the challenges of urbanisation by leveraging the technological breakthrough such as internet of things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, big data, and cloud computing to facilitate scarce resources planning and management. With numerous connected devices and vast communication networks, it poses a challenges of security threat which cannot be addressed by the conventional cybersecurity solutions. Blockchain offers a solution in securing the huge numbers of connected devices in smart city network. The application of blockchain technology is leading in the banking and financial industry. However, the uses and implementations in smart city have emerged in recent years. The combination of blockchain technology and smart city has offered a great potential for sustainable development. Thus, it is imperative to discuss the potential of these two elements in making the city safer and sustainable. This paper explores how the blockchain technology application can help in managing smart city and achieve sustainability. The findings revealed that there are five key areas of blockchain application in smart city which are smart governance, smart mobility, smart asset, smart utility and smart logistic. A framework for smart sustainable city with blockchain technology is presented as an outcome of this study. It gives a clear overview for the policy makers and regulators of how blockchain supports within smart city framework. It facilitates the transition towards smart and sustainable cities through the use of blockchain.

Sustainability Management Strategies and Impact in Developing Countries

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021

To measure the level of energy performance of a building, there are several categories of energy ... more To measure the level of energy performance of a building, there are several categories of energy consumption to be calculated such as oil, natural gas and electricity. In order to significantly minimise the Greenhouse gas emission in an office, it is important to tap into the positive progress of energy efficiency of equipment which contributes to total energy performance of a building. Consequently, to enable accurate building energy consumption of a building, energy modelling method is applied to identify total consumption and cost of energy usage with effects of carbon emission. Hence, this will help to reduce the costing of energy inside building with differences of efficiency options. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse an office building in terms of the level of energy consumption and carbon emission as a case study. The first objective is to identify the amount of energy consumption and carbon emission inside the building using the simulation software. Secondly, to identify...

It is widely acknowledged that the UK construction industry has invested in IT as an integral par... more It is widely acknowledged that the UK construction industry has invested in IT as an integral part of its core business. However, there is also ample evidence to indicate that this investment has repeatedly and systematically failed to deliver the anticipated benefits. This In this respect, a high-level survey was conducted to gauge and assess the overall awareness and understanding of the UK construction industry's leading Chief Executives and IT Directors on this issue-particularly, to envision a way forward. This survey covered three main areas of: strategic benefits of IT; critical elements that lead to the realisation of these benefits, and the drivers behind these investment decisions. Research results identify a clear paradigm shift in thinking, with respondents identifying that IT strategies are now being integrated into organisational business strategies, but, that IT investment was now being influenced by the 'state of readiness' of the organisation in order successfully leverage these investments.

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

Resource-based view (RBV) is the theory that has been adopted as the theoretical background in co... more Resource-based view (RBV) is the theory that has been adopted as the theoretical background in construction project management (CPM) research to examine the impact of resources and capabilities on firm performance. Its primary assumption is that firms’ performance and competitive advantages are enhanced by properly utilising valuable resources and capabilities. This paper aims to examine the effect of various constructs and relations used in preceding research by proposing a conceptual framework in the lens of RBV, which combined the multiple paths found in the literature. Then, hypotheses were developed to test the research framework empirically. This paper reports a meta-analysis of 20 journal papers published in the Scopus database in the area of CPM. The findings indicate that all the relationships between resources, capabilities, competitive advantage and performance were verified as significant. Moreover, the review pointed out that using capabilities and sustained competitive...

Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 2021

Absorptive capacity has been acknowledged as a critical component for organisations to sustain, c... more Absorptive capacity has been acknowledged as a critical component for organisations to sustain, compete and excel in the marketplace. With the current volatile environment, there are increased demand for new knowledge, skills and implementation of new technologies. Every organisation must have the ability to be able to absorb and leverage from new technologies. This research aims to identify the absorptive capacity of Malaysian small and medium enterprise (SME) construction organisations. The research design adapted was based on qualitative approach. 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with SMEs operating in six different states in Malaysia. Data was analysed using NVivo 12 Pro software and thematic approach was used to categorize the data. This research found 29 main indicators of how construction SMEs develop their absorptive capacity and 10 factors influenced their absorptive capacity. Owners and employees with higher education background and with more industry experience tend to be more receptive to absorb new knowledge. In addition, human resource departments and formal office communications were found to have positive impacts on SMEs absorptive capacity. Suppliers and manufacturers were also identified as important external factors. This research provides clear indicators of how SME construction organisations can develop their absorptive capacity and further improve their productivity. It also provides indication for Construction Industry Development Board on how they can assist the SME construction organisations to absorb and apply new technology in construction processes.

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2019

Industrial revolution is a series of events driven by the growth of technological innovations, an... more Industrial revolution is a series of events driven by the growth of technological innovations, and so far, the world had witnessed the first three industrial revolutions. Today, a new revolution referred to as the fourth industrial revolution is entering even though it is still in its early stages of development. Many developed countries had established their own roadmap or strategic plan as a first step. However, only a few of them touched the construction sector even though the construction industry provides a significant contribution to the country’s GDP. Based on this understanding, there is a fundamental need to give a clear view of Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0 from the construction industry’s perspective, since most users are still finding their way in this transition. An extensive literature review is used to define the scope and terms of the field of construction in the industrial revolution. Towards this goal, a clear definition and concept of each revolution, key technolog...

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 2019

Purpose There is a long-standing interest in performance improvement within the construction indu... more Purpose There is a long-standing interest in performance improvement within the construction industry. Approaches based upon cost, time and quality (often called the Iron Triangle), have been the focus of attention despite criticism of the validity of the Iron Triangle as a performance measure due to its simplistic approach. Furthermore, little emphasis has been placed on synthesising performance to understand whether this concept has evolved from the traditional view. An analysis of prominent literature was reviewed by classifying performance indicators which establish criteria for measuring performance in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature (1998–2018) on performance at a project level to determine a final rank of key performance indicators (KPIs) which will establish how projects are currently being measured. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a combined qualitative and quantitative approach – a comprehensive literature review...

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation

Engineering Journal, 2021

Significant BIM uptake barriers in Vietnam include the lack of awareness and knowledge on BIM, hi... more Significant BIM uptake barriers in Vietnam include the lack of awareness and knowledge on BIM, high investment costs, and shortage of regulations, standards or guidance related to the AEC industry. This research focuses on enhancing BIM diffusion through eight selected projects with diversity in the type, scale (grade), location and funding sources-representing the myriad of construction project classifications in Vietnam. Additional reporting and interview sessions were held with BIM professionals involved in the projects, with the notion of immersing into professional experience during the project. These experiences were extracted to provide implementation experience and lessons learnt for future projects in Vietnam. This research highlighted the key issues around BIM skills and competencies, BIM investment and BIM regulations, standards and guidance. The research findings will support stakeholders to adopt the solutions to meet BIM adoption challenges to enhance the effectiveness of BIM implementation in future construction projects.

Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 2019

Digitisation of existing buildings to support building assessment schemes: viability of automated... more Digitisation of existing buildings to support building assessment schemes: viability of automated sustainability-led design scan-to-BIM process. Architectural Engineering and Design Management.

International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management, 2014

The ability of the construction industry to innovate in order to improve its practice has been wi... more The ability of the construction industry to innovate in order to improve its practice has been widely debated over the years. As more and more organisations in other sectors, globally, are addressing 21 st century consumer challenges: encompassing fair-trade, ethically sourced and more recycled products; and are reporting on their corporate responsibility performance (such as Marks and Spencer's Plan A, The Cooperative , The Body Shop etc), isn't it about time the construction industry followed suit? This paper investigates what really needs to change for the construction to progressively and sustainably improve its position in terms of being 'responsible.'

Proceedings 27th Annual ARCOM Conference;Leeds, UK. Reading: Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM); 2010., Sep 1, 2010

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 2022

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an integrated BIM-based approach for quantity take-off for prog... more PurposeThis paper aims to provide an integrated BIM-based approach for quantity take-off for progress payments in the context of high-rise buildings in Vietnam. It tries to find answers for the following questions: (1) When to start the QTO processes to facilitate the contract progress payments? (2) What information is required to measure the quantity of works to estimate contract progress payment (3) What are the challenges to manage (i.e. create, store, update and exploit)? What are the required information for this BIM use? and (4) How to process the information to deliver BIM-based QTO to facilitate contract progress payment?Design/methodology/approachThe paper applied a deductive approach and expert consensus through a Delphi procedure to adapt to current innovation around BIM-based QTO. Starting with a literature review, it then discusses current practices in BIM-based QTO in general and high-rise building projects in particular. Challenges were compiled from the previous stud...

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, 2019

The construction industry is ripe for disruption. With the vast pace of new technologies innovati... more The construction industry is ripe for disruption. With the vast pace of new technologies innovating the whole life cycle of construction, the revolution seems vital. The ideas of digitization and digitalization in Industrial Revolution 4.0 are currently entering the market in most industries including the construction industry. While most other industries have undergone tremendous changes recently, the construction industry has been reluctant about plenarily embracing the newly emerging technological adoption. Varying sophistication of construction, this paper was empirically evaluating large construction firms' point of view on challenges of the construction industry in the era of Revolution 4.0 using survey data form. The findings reveal that construction companies need to deal with the manifold PESTEL (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal) challenges. By adopting the Revolution 4.0 hindered by lack of policies, financial problem, limited demand for innovation among large economic players, lack of trust towards foreign partners, and limited adaptability of foreign software. Clearly, this paper helps scholars and industry players to redefine the development of the construction industry into detailed strategic plans or policies in the future. In a nutshell, transforming the construction industry into digitization and digitalization might confront few challenges but the longterm benefits obtained throughout application should not be forgotten.

IGI Global eBooks, Nov 17, 2011

Lecture notes in electrical engineering, 2023

Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 2023

IGI Global eBooks, Nov 17, 2011

IOP conference series, Mar 1, 2020

Sustainability Management Strategies and Impact in Developing Countries

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 2021

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2019

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 2019

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation

Engineering Journal, 2021

Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 2019

International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management, 2014

Proceedings 27th Annual ARCOM Conference;Leeds, UK. Reading: Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM); 2010., Sep 1, 2010

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 2022

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, 2019

Accurate geometrical and spatial information of the built environment can be accurately acquired ... more Accurate geometrical and spatial information of the built environment can be accurately acquired and the resulting 3D point cloud data is required to be processed to construct the digital model, Building Information Modelling (BIM) for existing facilities. Point cloud by laser scanning over the buildings and facilities has been commonly used, but the data requires external information so that any objects and materials can be correctly identified and classified. A number of advanced data processing methods have been developed, such as the use of colour information to attach semantic information. However, the accuracy of colour information depends largely on the scene environment where the image is acquired. The limited number of spectral channels on conventional RGB camera often fails to extract important information about surface material, despite spectral surface reflectance can represent a signature of the material. Hyperspectral imaging can, instead, provide precise representation of spatial and spectral information. By implementing such information to 3D point cloud, the efficiency of material detection and classification in BIM should be significantly improved. In this work, the feasibility of the image integration and discuss practical difficulties in the development.