On May 9, 2018, the Czech Television Studio CT24 broadcasted a story about the modernization of the D1 motorway. As a guest in the studio was employee of the AdMaS Center, prof. Ing. Jan Kudrna, who spoke about problems on the aforementioned highway.
Full post can be viewed at:
http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/10101491767-studio-ct24/318281381930509
As part of its Smart City activities, the AdMaS Center presented itself as one of the exhibitors at the Urbis Smart City Fair (part of the traditional construction fairs in Brno) on 25-26 April 2018. Researchers from EGAR RG presented the activities of the center at a stand, where mathematical evacuation models of high density populations or 3D simulation passes of selected locations acquired by the mobile mapping system took an active role. Also, doc. Tomas Apeltauer presented this theme actively on the accompanying conference program.
In the area of Smart City, the AdMaS Center offers studies of the application of technology in various areas of city and community activities – environment, transport, energy, as well as specific urban engineering suggestions, such as heat exchangers that use the sewage potential as a source network to model traffic intensity.
We would like to thank all of you for attending a stand, among others to representatives of towns and municipalities interested in new technologies and technology companies, as well as students, or representatives of the French embassy.
On 19 April 2018, MC-Bauchemie, working closely with the AdMaS Center, has prepared an expert seminar to illustrate the results of the joint research tasks.
The seminar was organized for first year students of Master’s Study of Building Material Engineering (M field) and focused on a wide range of different types of grouting materials for redevelopment of buildings. The lecture focused mainly on materials preventing penetration of water into building structures. Students had a unique opportunity to see practical demonstrations of the behavior of different types of mass after their application and their reaction to water contact.
On April 17, 2018, students of High school Krenova visited the Center and its Pavilion P2. During the two-hour seminar focused on basic physical phenomena, the students were introduced to the laboratories of the Center and solved problems in a cubic capacity of building materials and a concrete strength.
Each student received a protocol form in which he recorded the results of each task. For example, using quiz questions and without removing plastic eggs, students had to determine what is inside. Another task was an identification of building material in an image of enlarged structure. This way was demonstrated the principle of an X-ray tomograph and an electron scanning microscope.
On Monday, April 16, 2018, a 15-member delegation from the Guangdong Province of China, accompanied by three representatives of the South Moravian Region, visited the AdMaS Center.
The visitors were greeted by the Director, JUDr. Ing. Zdenek Dufek, Ph.D., and the Scientific Director of the Center, prof. Ing. Drahomir Novak, DrSc., who acquainted them with the research,essence and goals of the center.
Afterwards, the delegation took a round with Ing. Nekulova and dr. Dvorak through construction and RP1 laboratories.
Among the significant political and business visitors was also Song Wenqi, Director of the Huawei Business Department of the Czech Republic. However, the delegation was headed by Provincial Governor, Mr. Ma Xingrui, who obtained a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University and a Doctor of Mechanics at the Harbin Technological Institute. After studying, he worked as a lecturer and held various senior positions at the Harbin Technological Institute. He then worked in a science and technology company with a focus on aerospace industry. Subsequently, he was the director of the China National Space Agency, where he was responsible, among other things, for the implementation of the Chang’e 3 (chang-e) project. The project consisted of launching a space probe designed to explore the Moon – the probe had descended on its surface in December 2013.
Mr. Ma Xingrui, became the governor of Guangdong province in 2017. This region is the the fourth most populous province of China (but unofficially the most populous province) and the richest region of China with the largest GDP, known mainly because of its traditional craft products. Among the most important products are keys, knives, flashlights, umbrellas, leather goods, embroidery and carved mahogany furniture.
The Public Procurement Office of the BUT Rectorate and the Institute of Building Economics and the Management of the Faculty of Civil Engineering organized a two-day training course in March, focusing on the innovative method of awarding contracts and managing the project in general – the Best Value Approach. This method has been developed in the US more than 20 years ago, and has been in the recent years of great interest in the Netherlands and Norway. Gradually, this method is also attempted to implement the Brno University of Technology.
The Best Value Approach (BVA) method is based on a completely different concept of procurement and project management in general. It is based on the assumption that the subject of the contract is best understood by the contractor-expert who executes the orders of the given type for a long time, not the contracting authority, who sometimes orders certain contracts once during its existence. “The BVA method leads the contracting authority to focus on defining the expected result, the goal, not the way the goal is to be achieved when choosing a supplier. This will enable high-quality suppliers to compete against competitors, “said Petr Jelinek, head of the Public Procurement Department at BUT.
The method is generally applicable to all types of contracts, but the most advantageous is especially for service contracts and construction contracts, which include design-and-build design. “At the department, we try to gradually apply the method to smaller construction orders, and we are also preparing an over-the-limit clean-up service contract that we would like to use BVA more,” Jelinek added. Thanks to the new method, vendors could get more space to showcase their experience, know-how and quality. It is precisely up to them how they reach the target.
Petr Jelínek graduated from the BVA last year in the Netherlands and organized a similar course for BUT administrators and their colleagues from Masaryk University, the South Moravian Region, the Ministry of Agriculture and other contracting authorities, in co-operation with AdMaS Director of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, dr. Zdenek Dufek. “The participants gained basic theoretical knowledge and practical skills directly from experienced BVA trainers and practitioners from Best Value Europe. The BVE Director, Susan van Hes, as well as her colleague, Albert Mulder, came to Brno. The construction market in the Czech Republic has not been in good shape for several years, it is struggling with the phenomenon of low bid prices and poor quality results. In the Best Value approach, I see one of the ways to return quality to the industry, “said Dufek.
Best Value Reference:
http://www.bestvalueeurope.com/
On March 16, 2018, in cooperation with partners of the AdMaS Center, a full-day excursion of students of Building Materials Engineering (branch M) took place in the production plants of CETRIS, CIDEMAT and Cement Hranice. Students had a unique opportunity to get acquainted with individual technologies of cement, cement-bonded chipboard, terrazzo and concrete paving.
In the days of 9.1.-10.1.2018 and 14.3.-15.3.2018 there were seminars in the AdMaS area, dedicated to theoretical training and practical laboratory training in the basic training course of the nuclear power plants staff of the ČEZ corporation. The theme focused on the properties of the building materials and the possibilities of their testing, including the use of state-of-the-art methods (including computer tomography, electron scanning microscopy and others).
On March 12, 2018, TV station ČT 1 reported on the closure of the footbridge in Kromeriz in the Evening reports and in the Events in Regions program. The AdMaS team, headed by doc. Klusacek, is working to assess whether the footbridge is safe for use.
Both broadcasts can be seen in the following links:
News ČT1 12. 3. 2018 at 19:00
Regional broadcasting ČT1 12. 3. 2018 at 18:00 h.
In February 2018, continued one-day training for employees of the Road and Motorways Directorate, organized by the AdMaS Center in cooperation with C.Q.E. The main topic was the Construction Supervision on the construction of roads. General knowledge was presented by AdMaS employee, prof. Ing. Jan Kudrna, CSc. and Ing. Květoslav Urbanec, MBA, employee of C.Q.E. The whole event, as in the past, has met with big success and a desire of the RHD employees to participate in such training on regular bases.
