NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Strategic Construction Modeling and Delivery

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The NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Strategic Construction Modeling and Delivery brought together construction industry owners, contractors, organizations, and labour groups working in Alberta and across Canada to develop comprehensive, research-based solutions to key industry problems.

Giving particular attention to Canada’s oil and gas, utilities, industrial, and commercial construction sectors, the Chair focused on strategic issues related to project execution and delivery. Research conducted on how to increase productivity, improve organizational competencies and performance, reduce project execution risk, improve construction workforce motivation and performance, and enhance construction labour utilization and effectiveness.

The Chair’s research program utilized fuzzy logic’s ability to capture and quantify the many subjective uncertainties that challenge construction projects. Researchers combined fuzzy logic with other forms of uncertainty modeling, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and simulation techniques to develop advanced decision support tools and approaches.

In addition to the NSERC Industrial Research Chair appointment, Dr. Aminah Robinson Fayek has held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Fuzzy Hybrid Decision Support Systems for Construction. With its focus on developing real-time decision support systems for the construction industry, this Canada Research Chair complemented the Industrial Research Chair and expanded the scope of the research undertaken in the Hole School of Construction Engineering. State-of-the-art fuzzy hybrid modeling methods were developed to address decision-making challenges in project planning and execution, such as those related to allocation of funds, duration of activities, and management of resources. In conjunction, the NSERC Industrial Research Chair and the Canada Research Chair have contributed to the creation of a more innovative and competitive Canadian construction industry.

In July 2019, Dr. Robinson Fayek was appointed Director of the then-newly established Construction Innovation Centre (CIC) at the University of Alberta. By bringing together more than 30 engineering professors in collaboration with more than 50 partners, the CIC provides a unified construction research platform for delivering innovative solutions and technologies to industry. Through the CIC, the collaborative capabilities of Dr. Robinson Fayek’s IRC and the CRC will be extended and enhanced.