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This paper presents a study conducted to identify, assess, rank, and compare the most influencing factors causing schedule delays during the construction phase of petrochemical projects in Saudi Arabia. The methodology followed in this research to achieve the main aims is a combination of the comprehensive review of the literature and the interviewing of a number of local experts, which have resulted in identifying 23 factors. A total of 90 completed responses were gathered from 106 received responses. The study found that the most influencing factors causing schedule delays during the construction of petrochemical projects in Saudi Arabia are "Poor site management and supervision by contractors"; "Conflict between the main contractor and subcontractor"; "Poor planning and scheduling of projects by the contractor"; "Delays in material or equipment delivery"; and followed by "Delays in Handing Over Construction Site to the Contractor". This paper is original in the sense that the areas of knowledge and practice covered in the identified factors were distributed and not available in one source. The factors are derived from personal interviews with selected project managers, project engineers, construction supervisors, and the others from different positions in the project department and from the relevant literature.Energies 2018, 11, 1652 2 of 18 time delay and, consequently, causes millions of dollars in losses. Therefore, the goals of this research paper are to identify, assess, rank, and compare the most influencing factors causing schedule delays during the construction phase of petrochemical projects in Saudi Arabia. Research Problem and Significance of the Research.The main objectives of the project management team during the construction phase are to complete the project within its budget and on time and in accordance with specifications and quality requirements. Hence, identifying and ranking the factors that may cause schedule delays is essential in assisting the project management team to meet the above-stated objectives and to avoid delays. Due to its complexity, in recent years, many petrochemical projects were completed behind the targeted date that was agreed on between the owners and contractors. Such delays have significant consequences for the owners as well as the contractors. The delay during the construction phase is influenced by many factors that make meeting the set date a difficult task to the project management team. The literature reveals that very limited studies have reported on the identifying factors affecting the project schedule during the construction phase in petrochemical projects. This paper aims to identify, assess, rank, and compare the most influencing identified factors causing a delay in the petrochemical projects in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The identification and ranking of such factors can assist owners, contractors, and the project management team of this class of projects in the following:

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify, assess, rank, and compare the most influencing factors in three-, four-, and five-star hotels in the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach A combination of literature and interviewing of ten local experts have resulted in the identification of 46 factors. Through a web-based questionnaire survey, the identified factors were ranked. A total of 23 responses were gathered from the full population of the 47 hotels (14 five-star, 15 four-star and 18 three-star hotels) in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. A reliable overall response rate of 50 percent was achieved. Findings The most important factors affecting the operating and maintenance cost of five-star hotels are “climatic conditions” followed by “availability of the materials,” “annual energy consumption rate,” and “efficient energy consuming equipment.” Regarding four-star hotels, those factors are “star rating of the hotel” followed by “customer satisfaction,” “occupancy rate,” and “efficient energy consuming equipment.” Finally, the top-ranked factors for three-star hotels are “climatic conditions” followed by “floor area,” “glass and non-glass façade,” and “occupancy rate.” Research limitations/implications The most important factors affecting the operating and maintenance cost of five-star hotels are “climatic conditions” followed by “availability of the materials,” “annual energy consumption rate,” and “efficient energy consuming equipment.” Regarding four-star hotels, those factors are “star rating of the hotel” chased by “customer satisfaction,” “occupancy rate,” and “efficient energy consuming equipment.” Finally, the top-ranked factors for three-star hotels are “climatic conditions” followed by “floor area,” “glass and non-glass façade,” and “occupancy rate.” The shared concern point between the respondents of all three groups of hotels is relevant to the energy department, which keeps the facility running. Originality/value This paper is original in the sense that the areas of knowledge and practice covered in the identified factors were distributed and not available in one source. The factors are derived from personal interviews with the selected operation and maintenance/engineering managers of all three classes of hotels, and from the relevant literature.

This paper presents an approach developed for selecting lighting systems in residential buildings using an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Multi Criteria Decision Making Technique (MCDMT). The developed approach considers four selection criteria of lighting systems: life-cycle cost, illumination, environmental performance, and life-span. The criteria of selection, along with the most widely used lighting systems in residential buildings, were determined through questionnaire surveys with suppliers, maintenance managers, and lighting experts. The Analytic Hierarchy Process and Multi Attribute Utility Theory were utilized to assess the significant influence of the identified main and sub-criteria on the selection process, from the design point of view. The developed approach was tested on a real case project in selecting the lighting system for aresidential building in Saudi Arabia. The obtained results show that the life-cycle cost and illumination proprieties, followed by the service life were found to be the most influential measures in the selection process. The results also show that Light-Emitting Diode(LED) lighting systems prove to bear the highest initial cost while sustaining the best overall performance.in finalizing the selection of a lighting system forongoing projects can cause cost-effective projects to waste time and money. Delays and/or cost overruns affect business portfolios, since theyleads to delays in other activities, and cause disruptions inthe projects globally.The selection of a new lighting system, or replacing an old one, is usually carried out based on personal experience, and is therefore not subject to the needs and constraints that actually govern the selection of the best system based on the evaluation of performance against certain measures.The literature reveals that over the years, a wide range of methods and techniques havebeen introduced to facilitate the selection process where multi criteria of selections are considered. There are several studies in the literature for selecting lighting systems in buildings. Most of these studies have focused on technical aspects of the selection, such as efficiency, safety, visual comfort, satisfaction, and energy consumption, etc. e.g., [3,5,6].Since its introduction in 1980s, AHP alone, or combined with other techniques, has beenextensively utilized to facilitate the selection process in many complex applications in the building industry. AHP divides a complicated problem into a simple and manageable hierarchy of factors [3]. For example, in selecting lighting systems, [7] proposed an AHP-based framework which consists of various criteria for the installation of the median barriers for national highways. The selection criteria considered in the study were regional equity, safety, efficient economy, and installation possibilities, while giving high priority to safety. Lv et al. [3] also introduced an AHP-based evaluation system for an efficient lighting project. The system accounts for public policies combined with evaluation facto...

This paper introduces a novel conceptual system to predict the energy cost of residential buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The paper briefly describes the main models of the developed system to maintain continuity and focuses on the energy cost prediction model. The developed system aims to assist architects in designing residential buildings to minimise energy costs under Saudi Arabian environmental conditions. The system was built based on data collected from house owners in six cities in the eastern province of KSA. The initial results of validating the model demonstrate the system's capabilities in assisting architects in the selection of the optimum architectural design.