Chairholders
Profile
Fayek Aminah Robinson
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Alberta
Chair title
NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Strategic Construction Modeling and Delivery
Chair program
Industrial Research Chairs program
Role
Senior Chairholder since 2012
Summary
Aminah Robinson Fayek is an internationally recognized expert in the development and application of fuzzy logic and fuzzy hybrid modelling techniques for intelligent decision support for the construction industry. She is a professor in the Hole School of Construction Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta, and holds the Ledcor Professorship in Construction Engineering. Dr. Robinson Fayek was also the Associate Industrial Research Chairholder (IRC) in Construction Engineering and Management from 2006-11, and has a long record of successful university-industry collaborations in construction management research.
The IRC's goal is to develop and apply the latest advancements in decision-support systems for construction based on fuzzy logic, in order to improve project outcomes and decision-making on strategic, delivery-related issues in construction, and to increase the international competitiveness of industrial partners. Decision-support systems are integral to management's ability to plan, structure, forecast, control, and evaluate projects to meet or exceed performance objectives. However, the factors affecting a project's outcome are often uncertain and challenging to quantify, and require both special modelling techniques and the incorporation of expert knowledge, that is usually expressed in linguistic terms. By mathematically translating linguistic variables into numeric form, fuzzy logic enables us to draw definite conclusions from ambiguous information and build vastly improved models of human reasoning. The IRC will adapt fuzzy logic to the construction context and combine it with other forms of artificial intelligence and simulation modelling in order to create workable approaches to solving construction-related problems–such as labour productivity and workforce issues, optimal project structuring and execution, and how to assess competencies and prequalify parties to a contract to reduce risk.
The IRC carries out:
- individual partner projects; and
- multiple-partner collaborative projects to enable industry-wide research to transform the construction industry in Canada and deliver innovation to owners, contractors, and labour, leading to greater productivity and better international competitiveness.
Industry-led advisory committees assist in providing strategic-level support to the Chairholder, overseeing the direction of the research, defining research areas, and facilitating research and technology transfer to the industry. The research personnel spend significant time with the partners–in their organizations and on their projects, and interact with industry personnel to carry out the research projects. The IRC also trains highly qualified personnel for construction management practice and/or research.
Partners
- Aecon Industrial
- Building Trades of Alberta
- Capital Power
- Christian Labour Association of Canada
- Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA)
- Merit Contractors Association
- Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
- Suncor Energy
Contact information
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Alberta
9105 116th Street
40 University Campus NO
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2W2
Tel.: 780-492-1205
Fax: 780-492-0249
Email: aminah.robinson@ualberta.ca
