Thesis (M.Hous.Man.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81).

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-57).

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-57). Also available in print.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Turkey has lived an awakening after the earthquakes of 17 August 1996 in Marmara and 12 November 1999 in D&uuml / zce. Turkey has paid the cost of a delayed awakening with the loss of approximately 45,000 citizens and 20 billion dollars. Turkey, which is located on active seismic fault lines, has previously encountered such destructive earthquakes but necessary measures have not been taken due to the previous earthquakes not striking the large metropolis and industrial zones, lower losses in terms of lives and property, and lack of interest of the media in terms of the issue. The importance and necessity of building inspection could only be realized after said disaster. Subsequently, the Ministry has worked like a factory producing laws, regulations and decrees having the force of law and has implemented numerous practices in a rush. Said practices containing the post-earthquake haste and reactive approaches are currently still being discussed and could only be regulated within a period of 2-3 years. This study will examine the building inspection system, which has been applied in Turkey prior to the earthquakes of 1999, which are considered as a sad turning point, and the laws and applications related with thereof. Subsequently, the building inspection practices of certain countries, unions and international legislations will be discussed in order to provide for examination and comparison of the laws, regulations and practices, enacted by the Ministry after 1999, at international level. The study will be concluded with the examination of the building inspection systems recommended after the year 1999, study of the inefficient aspects and recommendation of specific solutions.

Thesis (MTech (Construction Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-104). Also available online.

Sustaining the safety and operability of civil infrastructure assets, including buildings, is a complex undertaking that requires a perpetual cycle involving inspection, and further decisions for renewal fund allocation. However, inspection, which is the basis for all subsequent decisions, is a complex task to manage, particularly when a large number of assets are involved. The current lack of a structured process with visual referencing as well as the high subjectivity and inflexibility to changing inspection requirements make current inspections very costly and time consuming. This research improves the building inspection process by introducing a 3D system for inspection management that has four unique features: (1) a structured assessment approach that considers multiple organizations, buildings and inspectors, using a GIS interface; (2) a 3D visual referencing method for marking problem areas during inspections to facilitate all on-site inspections, thus reducing time and cost; (3) a visual guidance module to reduce inspection subjectivity; and (4) a flexible module for designing different assessment types. The proposed inspection management system creates 3D building plans from 2D Computer-Aided Drawing (CAD) to provide location referencing that enhances inspection effectiveness. The visual guidance system allows inspectors with various experience levels to perform consistent inspections and requires less training, thus reducing costs. Flexible inspection generation also allows a variety of inspection types, such as condition and level of service, to be readily incorporated. A computerized prototype system has been developed using the Windows Presentation Foundation’s XAML markup language with underlying C# programming on a tablet computer for experimentation. The thesis provides a detailed description of system development and reports the benefits of the system on a sample inspection. Accordingly, the system has proven most useful for large organizations that own a large number of building assets that require frequent inspections.

Sustaining the safety and operability of civil infrastructure assets, including buildings, is a complex undertaking that requires a perpetual cycle involving inspection, and further decisions for renewal fund allocation. However, inspection, which is the basis for all subsequent decisions, is a complex task to manage, particularly when a large number of assets are involved. The current lack of a structured process with visual referencing as well as the high subjectivity and inflexibility to changing inspection requirements make current inspections very costly and time consuming. This research improves the building inspection process by introducing a 3D system for inspection management that has four unique features: (1) a structured assessment approach that considers multiple organizations, buildings and inspectors, using a GIS interface; (2) a 3D visual referencing method for marking problem areas during inspections to facilitate all on-site inspections, thus reducing time and cost; (3) a visual guidance module to reduce inspection subjectivity; and (4) a flexible module for designing different assessment types. The proposed inspection management system creates 3D building plans from 2D Computer-Aided Drawing (CAD) to provide location referencing that enhances inspection effectiveness. The visual guidance system allows inspectors with various experience levels to perform consistent inspections and requires less training, thus reducing costs. Flexible inspection generation also allows a variety of inspection types, such as condition and level of service, to be readily incorporated. A computerized prototype system has been developed using the Windows Presentation Foundation’s XAML markup language with underlying C# programming on a tablet computer for experimentation. The thesis provides a detailed description of system development and reports the benefits of the system on a sample inspection. Accordingly, the system has proven most useful for large organizations that own a large number of building assets that require frequent inspections.