Description
The strategic objectives of this project is to design distributed ledger (DLT) management system (blockchain) using Hyperledger for construction and engineering projects. DLT has the potential to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of project management by providing an immutable record of transactions. The challenge is to model the commercial processes in order to make use of smart contracts, event triggering and other features. If successfully applied, these could significantly improve the construction process, most notably with work--flow improvements associated with speedier payments, better quality management and scheduling and the opportunity to use Lean management techniques. Configuring and implementing Hyperledger in this highly process oriented and contract driven commercial environment requires a working knowledge of the details of the industry.
Additional Information
No additional information is available at this time.
Learning Objectives
The learning objectives are ambitious in that they require successful modelling of commercial process of the sort seen in construction and engineering projects. Students successfully completing this internship will be able to configure a Hyperledger system to work (in a limited manner) to support project management. They would need to fully understand the commercial situation and how to make use of smart contracts to automate payment, inspection and other crucial processes.
Expected Outcome
The expected outcome of this internship are a dissertation for an undergraduate degree in Construction Management. Additionally, academic publication and conference papers are expected to come out of the research.
Relation to Hyperledger
Hyperledger Fabric would be the main tool used for this project.
Education Level
Students will be enrolled in an accredeted programme in Construction Project Management of Quantity Surveying at Oxford Brookes University.
Skills
Managerial skills to understand the fine details of the commercial interactions that take place within a construction projects. Working knowledge on how to create a simple mobile-based interface, basic smart contract writing and hyperledger peer-to-peer skills.
Future plans
The current plans are to launch a thread for DLT education withing an existing programme in Construction Management.
Preferred Hours and Length of Internship
The project would take the hours assigned to a final year students' Dissertation Module. This is currently a Level 6 double Honours Component module with 30 credits and 15 ECTS Credits (lasting a full year). This requires a minimum of 300 hours of directed study.
Mentor(s) Names and Contact Info
Dr George Blumberg, gblumberg@brookes.ac.uk
Project Deliverables
- Confirm that Hyperledger Fabric (hlf) is a suitable blockchain platform for use on c&e projects and that Hypeledger Composer (“Composer”) is suitable for creating the business model and managing the network.
- Written confirmation (in the form of an outline) that hlf is a suitable blockchain platform for use on c&e projects and that Hypeledger Composer (“Composer”) is suitable for creating the business model and managing the network.
- Academic output: Outline for a paper that describes the selection and architecture requirements and design specifications based on a comparative analysis.
- Final design for the commercial process used for this project.
- Academic output: Outline for a paper that describes the membership management system.
Academic output: Outline of a paper that justifies the use of Composer as the optimum tool for defining commercial models for C&E projects.
- Design and confirm a system architecture and network configuration for a blockchain solution that is able to support C&E projects.
- Establish a set of functions of C&E assembly and administrative processes that are suitable for the application of hlf.
- Using an established set of business process modelling tools, define a pilot project that will be used to test the system.
- Design and testing programme that can be used to fully evaluate the utility and reliability of a hlf network for the pilot project.
Project Milestones
- Make literature research, design and confirm system architecture and network configuration for a blockchain solution that is able to support C&E projects. Nguyen Tung Anh
- Project kick-off, initial communication, share ideas and project organisation.
- Establish working practices, set communication schedule, agree on outputs/targets and milestones.
- Perform an analysis based on literature review to consider the systems, architectures and configuration tested in projects and compare these to the working model.
- Literature review analysis to include the basic concepts on the automation of C&E projects, hlf and Composer.
- Final outline system design, architecture and configuration.
- Define the nodes and members of the system.
- Finalise the membership system (as refined based on this paper) and apply business logic using Composer and chaincode in Fabric.
- Based on the above work, produce an outline schematic for current architecture blockchain system of C&E. Start to code the architecture with a trial network setup.
- 1st Evaluation and report.
- Establish a set of functions of C&E assembly and administrative processes that are suitable for the application of hlf. Nguyen Tung Anh
- Install hlf on trial network and configure.
- 2nd Evaluation and report.
- Using an established set of business process modelling tools, define a pilot project that will be used to test the system. Nguyen Tung Anh
- Design test protocol and roll-out to network.
- 3rd Evaluation and report.
- Design and testing programme that can be used to fully evaluate the utility and reliability of a hlf network for the pilot project. Nguyen Tung Anh
- Evaluate pilot project and provide improvements.
- Final evaluation and report.