Research Interests

 

Research Projects

Data-Driven Strategies to Increase Market Share of Union Inside Electrical Contractors
3/2019 - 9/2019
Principal Investigator ($41,255)
ELECTRI International
The goal of this study is to provide a better understanding of union electrical contracting market share determinants and dynamics that is based on reliable local market data collection, rigorous data analysis, and bottom-up strategy formulation approach. The study will support the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to draft and implement national strategies for union market share growth, which will be orchestrated with localized chapter strategies and member operational practices that are tailored for their individual market and industry conditions.
Check this project page for the main findings, reports, and data visualization. 

   
 
Smart Building and IoT Impact on Electrical Contracting
3/2018 - 9/2018
Principal Investigator ($35,741)
ELECTRI International
The main goal of this study is to develop short and long-term strategies for the electrical construction industry to prepare for the new era of smart facilities. This main goal implies achieving 3 interrelated objectives. First, the study will construct a detailed taxonomy of current and potential smart building functionalities, technologies, and their interdependencies. Second, new business, income generation, and contractual models will be identified so ECs can take advantage of the growing market of smart facilities. Third, the study will suggest new labor development strategies for NECA and IBEW to train the future workforce with the required skills for the new market.
Check the published model of smart buildings HERE.
   
 
Identifying BIM-Related Costs due to Changes.
4/2016 - 9/2016
Principal Investigator ($60,380)
ELECTRI International
The main goal of this study is to support NECA members in apprising owners, architects and general contractors about the importance of the optimal sequencing of a BIM Execution Plan and the true cost impacts of making changes to a BIM model. This main goal requires achieving three main objectives: 1) capturing the current industry experience of developing BIM models and performing its related planning tasks under design changes; 2) developing best practices to capture, categorize, quantify and communicate the cost impact of BIM changes in an organized, concise, uniform manner; 3) disseminate the outcome of this study to NECA members and the broader construction industry. (Co-PI: Justin Reginato, California State University, Sacramento)
   
Tracking Process for Flexible Prefabrication of Customized Building Assemblies.
11/2015 - 5/2016
Principal Investigator ($10,380)
MCA Inc.
The objective of this proposal is to develop a tracking process for flexible production operations of prefabricated building products and assemblies. A product family architecture approach is utilized to track and monitor the productivity of fabricating building prefabricated assemblies. This architecture-based tracking process will enable the accurate assessment of throughput times against possible design variations in the structure and component types of the prefabricated assemblies.
   
 
Industrialization of Electrical Contracting:
Supply Chain and Logistics Management.
9/2013 - 7/2014
Early Career Award ($7,000)
 ELECTRI International
The goal of this early career award project is to investigate the best practices of supply chain and logistics management practices needed to industrialize the electrical construction business. To achieve this goal, the research plan include the following tasks: 1) Analyze contractual and logistics arrangements with electrical vendors; 2) Investigate electrical manufacturers and distributors role in industrialized supply chain; 3) Study design modularization requirements for industrialized electrical construction; and 4) Develop Best Practices of Electrical Construction Industrialization.    
   
Use of Telematics Data to Perform Informative Decisions of Improving Heavy Equipment Fleet Utilization
Summer 2013 - $19,000
Principle Investigator
 SCU School of Engineering

The objective of this project is to investigate the use of Telematics technology and data to analyze the utilization of heavy construction equipment and perform informative decisions of improving the fleet operational and financial efficiency. The telematics data of an equipment rental house is obtained and analyzed to propose its effective use in improving the utilization of fleet pieces, monitoring and quantifying equipment health, and reporting equipment emissions. The research project received kind support of DPL America in the form of telematics technology access and training.     
   
Impact of Environmental Policies on the Construction Industry in Qatar
(Fall 2010 – Summer 2011)
Post-Doctoral Research Associate

 
The objective of this project is to develop a simulation based framework for evaluating the impact of environmental policies on the construction industry in Qatar. This research project involves three main tasks: (1) evaluate the extent of the adoption environmental policies in Qatar; (2) develop an agent-based simulation framework of the construction industry in Qatar that gauges the benefits and challenges associated with different levels of adoption of environmental policies; and (3) evaluate the framework using analyses of construction projects both in Qatar and the United States. This research is financially supported by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).
PI: Amr Kandil, Purdue University
   
 
Studying & Minimizing Traffic Related Work Zone Crashes in Illinois
(Fall 2009 – Summer 2010)
Research Assistant

 
This research project studied and answered a number of important and challenging research questions, including: (1) What are the probable causes of work zone crashes in Illinois? (2) What are the probable work zone layout factors, if any, that contribute to an increase in traffic-related crashes? (3) How can work zone layouts and merge techniques be improved to minimize and control the probable causes of work zone crashes in Illinois? (4) How practical is the proposed ICHSP strategy of adding temporary rumble strips within and prior to work zones and how effective is it in enhancing work zone safety?
PI: Khaled El-Rayes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
 
 
Nighttime Construction: Evaluation of Lighting Glare for Highway Construction in Illinois (Summer 2007)
Research Assistant

 
This $218,680 is supported by Illinois Center for Transportation - Illinois Department of Transportation. The objective of this research is to develop a practical and objective model that is designed to enable resident engineers to measure and quantify the veiling luminance ratio (glare) experienced by drive-by motorists and workers in and around nighttime highway construction zones. This model is developed in two phases: 1) site visits phase to identify various practical factors that affect the measurement and quantification of the lighting glare in the nighttime highway construction zones; 2) a model development phase to consider all identified factors in the first phase.
PI: Khaled El-Rayes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
 
 
Optimizing Construction Logistics Planning for Critical Infrastructure Project
(Fall 2006 - Summer 2010)
Research Assistant

 
The objectives of this doctoral research project are to: 1) develop global optimization models of  dynamic site layout planning; 2) develop a construction logistics planning and optimization model that integrates the decision of materials inventory and site layout planning; 3) formulate new metrics of evaluating the impact of site layout planning on the security level of critical infrastructure construction sites; and 4) develop a multi-objective optimization model that is capable of generating optimal tradeoffs between minimizing site security risks and minimizing site overall cost. This research was financially supported by NSF project number 0626066.
PI: Khaled El-Rayes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
   
Planning and Optimization of Bridge Deck Construction
(Fall 2003 - Summer 2006)
Research Assistant

 
The objectives of this Master’s research project is to: 1) investigate and study bridge deck construction methods known in the Egyptian construction industry; 2) develop special-purpose simulation models for each of the investigated construction methods; 3) develop a multi-objective optimization model to perform time-cost tradeoff optimization bridge deck construction using launching girder technique; and 4) develop a planning framework of bridge deck construction projects. This project won the 2008 award of distinguished post-graduate projects present by Center for Advancement of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering Sciences (CAPSCU).
Supervisor: Mohamed Marzouk, Cairo University

 

Hisham Said


 

ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-6601-9498