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Value management (VM) should be implemented in construction projects to achieve the best value-for-money for clients, irrespective of project size. However, its regular implementation in Malaysia appears mostly in large projects driven by legislation. Negligence was therefore aroused towards implementing VM for smaller projects and the specific status remains ambiguous to date. This paper aims to investigate the current status of VM implementation in small and medium construction projects in Malaysia with a view to exploring the challenges and measures in improving the status. A total of 162 construction organizations directly involved in small and medium projects were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The findings revealed that the execution of VM by organizations for smaller construction projects is relatively low and significantly subject to project size regardless of project type. Practitioners' levels of frequency and awareness towards implementing VM in small and medium construction projects remain low and unsatisfactory. Also, VM implementation in smaller projects was found significantly correlated with the experience of organizations and practitioners. Challenges and measures in ameliorating the observed status were explored. The findings contribute to a clear understanding of VM in small and medium construction projects in Malaysia and call for more attention from both academia and industry on VM for smaller sizes of projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revolution of Malaysian Construction 4.0 through emerging technologies has brought a paradigm shift that has digitalized the construction sector. There is a need to adopt a computerized protocol to assist in automating the performance of a contract to meet future digital challenges. Therefore, this paper aims to serve as a pioneer study to investigate the implementation of the Malaysian construction industry to adopt smart contracts. This study adopted a qualitative scientific methodology, whereby a systematic review was conducted to gather the benefits and challenges of implementing smart contracts in the construction industry. Further, interview sessions were arranged to collect data from the construction contract management experts. The research findings unveil that due to the self-executing attribute of smart contracts, the implementation of smart contracts could provide a better apportionment of risks in a contract. The study also finds that the challenges in implementing smart contracts are severe. For instance, the smart contract is irreversible and immutable and prone to human error. The study concludes that it is more suitable to apply and implement a smart contract to a short-term contract that is not subjected to variation. Furthermore, a smart contract can enhance the efficiency in managing the contracts, such as reducing time and managing the conflicts and disputes that arise during the contract duration. The developed implementation framework is significant for the construction personnel, especially those dealing with the contract administration. The implementation of smart contracts in construction could boost contract administration and management discipline via investment in this new technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many different sets of project success criteria, but none of them will be suitable for all of the different stakeholders involved in the construction industry. In this sense, the developer who finances any construction work has been considered as the main person in any construction project. Different people perceive things differently and therefore, from the developers' perspective, this paper seeks to achieve the followings: (1) review of the current literature on building success criteria and (2) develop an empirical framework for measuring the success of a building project in Malaysia. A total of 120 quantitative responses were distributed to different sizes and types of building project developers. 59 complete responses were retrieved. By employing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) through the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software, the building project success criteria were reduced to five dimensions: Company Success; Profitability Success; Primary Product Success; Secondary Product Success and Branding Success. The implication of this framework is twofold: first it captures the developer's view on success criteria and second, it forms the foundation to measure success, thereby enhancing successful delivery of a project by prioritizing limited resources on the criteria related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology (IT) developments in the construction industry require a proportionate response by construction professionals. Building information modelling (BIM) requires strategic changes to the traditional ways construction is carried out. BIM adoption in Malaysia is growing because of recent efforts to sensitise construction professionals on the need for strategic IT implementation. This paper builds on the theory of business process reengineering and computer integrated construction for a BIM adoption model. Data were collected from 352 construction professionals (architects, quantity surveyors, engineers and contractors). The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 for descriptive modelling and Analysis of Moment of Structures (AMOS) version 18 for structural equation modelling. Descriptive results showed a high prevalence of the need for BIM competent professionals. Multivariate results revealed a high correlation within the measurement model for business process re-engineering and computer integrated construction. The second-order confirmatory model showed that business process reengineering and computer integrated construction had a high impact on strategic IT Implementation. Overall, the model validated the conceptual framework of the impact of strategic IT implementation on the adoption rate of BIM in the perception of construction industry professionals in Malaysia. The result denotes the first part of the full adoption model, which can be compared with the adoption rate in other countries. Subsequent research using a diverse sample selection focuses on the mediating effect of collaboration on BIM adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has spurred the development of innovative products, significantly impacting industries reliant on technology-oriented machinery and equipment, notably the construction sector. In response, the Ministry of Works, through CIDB Malaysia, has implemented the Construction Strategy Plan 4.0 (2021 – –2025), grounded in 4IR principles, to facilitate the construction industry's gradual adaptation to technological advancements. Despite its introduction in 2016 to enhance project delivery efficiency and effectiveness, the extent of adoption of advanced 4IR-related technologies and the industry players' awareness of the importance of the Construction 4.0 strategic plan remains largely unexplored. Therefore, this paper examines the awareness and adoption level of CR 4.0 technologies in the Malaysian construction industry through a structured questionnaire survey with all G1-G7 contractors that registered with CIDB Malaysia. Based on 912 valid questionnaire responses received from these contractor grades, it has been identified that the awareness and adoption of most of the contractors in Malaysia on construction 4.0 technologies are predominantly at a semi-automation level. Most of the contractors in Malaysia especially lower grade contractors (

Abstract This paper analyses the barriers to the adoption of the triple-bottom line of sustainability of the construction sector within the developing country of Malaysia. Barriers pertaining to sustainable construction (SC) were identified through a thorough review of the literature on the process of SC, which were then contextually customized via a pilot study and presented in the form of a hypothesized model. Primary data was collected via administration of questionnaire surveys to 122 construction stakeholders in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to statistically validate the final model of the barriers to SC. This paper fills the gap in the knowledge by focusing on the quantified contribution of the most significant barriers to the adoption of SC principles throughout the process of SC in the context of Malaysia. Findings of this paper uncover the most significant factors constraining the SC in Malaysia related to government, cost, knowledge and information, workforce, and client and market. The findings revealed that clear and effective legislative process is crucial for the enforcement of the integration of SC materials and practices as well as economics incentives which will ultimately lead to effective implementation of SC initiatives; hence, sustainable economic growth and efficient resource (energy, water and material) utilization. It is hoped that the findings provide guidelines for the government authorities so that they invest their efforts and allocate resources in more efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Construction industry in Malaysia have been bedevilled by myriads of risk issues. • This manuscript contributes might serve as bench mark towards construction risk management area. • Data was analyzed by using PLS-SEM software. SEM provides complete information regarding the extent to which a model is supported by data. Introduction: The construction industry in Malaysia has been bedevilled by myriads of risk issues that have hampered its smooth operations in recent times. This paper is an empirical assessment that aims to examine the effect of coercive pressure on the relationship between organizational structure and construction risk management among construction industry in Malaysia. Method: Based on the proposed model, a quantitative method was employed to obtain data from G7 construction industry operating within the peninsular Malaysia. Out of the 180 copies of questionnaire, 165 copies were properly filled, returned, and used for the analysis. PLS-SEM was used to analyze the obtained data. Results: The findings of the study affirmed that specialization, centralization, and management of risk by the construction industry had positive correlation. Conclusions : As anticipated, coercive pressure had positive moderating correlation with both formalization and the management of risk by the construction industry. Similarly, it was also found that in the course of carrying out construction activities, coercive pressure made significant interactive influence on formalization, specialization, and centralization. Practical Applications : Coercive pressure reduced the frequency of accidents among workers in the process of carrying out construction works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building Information Modelling is one of the crucial topics in the construction industry. The construction industry has played an important role to assist stakeholders to successfully transfer construction practices to BIM-based technology. Currently, no systematic research that has been carried out to determine the level of BIM implementation in Malaysia. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the diffusion of BIM among Malaysian companies. The results of the 268 responses received revealed that only 13% of the participants from both public and private sectors are using BIM in their organization and this is a negative sign that Malaysia is still far away from the position it supposed to be in BIM implementation. Lack of awareness, costs, slow adaptation, unavailability of a clear guideline to assist organizations and policymakers toward BIM implementation transforming and that BIM was not mandated in sufficient time were observed to be responsible for the slow implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has gained the attention in the construction industry especially within the Malaysian construction context. This paper generally aims to investigating the understanding of industry towards building information modelling technology in Malaysia. Study was carried out through a random questionnaire survey among the registered professional architects and graduate architects. Overall from this research,it was indicates that the level of BIM technology adoption in Malaysia is still low with percentage of 70 although it has been applicable in Asia. Therefore, it is suggested that government should take initiative to promote BIM in order to make more professional in the industry aware of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry continues to occupy an important position in the nation's economy even though it contributes less than the manufacturing or other service industries. The contribution of the construction industry to national economic growth necessitates improved efficiency in the industry by means of cost-effectiveness and timelines and would certainly contribute to cost savings for the country as a whole. A major criticism facing the construction industry is the growing rate of delays in project delivery. Delay is a situation when the contractor and the project owner jointly or severally contribute to the non-completion of the project within the original or the stipulated or agreed contract period. Thus, this paper is investigated the implication of non-completion in construction projects in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model which is aimed at assisting end-users, i.e. construction practitioners who are without a proper legal background for effective administration of construction contracts, to enable them to make correct interpretations and decisions in dealing with vast amount of legal information. Design/methodology/approach – This study proposes the application of data warehouse technology in the contract administration process of the construction industry. Upon identification of a comprehensive list of problems associated with construction contracts based on the feedback from 12 reputed experts in the construction industry, a conceptual model is developed using data flow diagram. Findings – The results show that data warehouse technology is feasible and practical to the construction practitioners in the contract administration process. Research limitations/implications – This research focuses only on the development of a conceptual model and thus the practicability aspect of the model is a major concern. As such, the resulting practical implications are limited and are constrained only to the construction industry in Malaysia, raising the question of generalizability of the proposed model, as well as across different industries and countries. Practical implications – It is posited that the proposed conceptual model, when implemented, would enable construction practitioners to administer construction contracts with better clarity and accuracy, so that interpretation errors and disputes can be mitigated. This will facilitate the development of harmonious working relationships. Originality/value – The application of data warehouse technology in contract administration is rather new in the construction industry. The conceptual model thus offers a more effective and proactive approach in construction contract administration towards dispute resolution and/or prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is considered to be the most systematic methodology that is widely used in the area of energy analysis. However, embodied energy (EE) and carbon (EC) analysis requires significant time and effort to ensure the reliability of the LCA results. Therefore, a more comprehensive model of conducting the energy analysis is required to provide more realistic EE and EC analysis in turn. Hybrid LCA has been identified as the best model in improving the completeness of EE and EC inventory data. However, such a benefit was not empirically verified extensively, especially in the Malaysian construction industry. This paper demonstrates an extended application of hybrid LCA to Malaysian building design systems, and further investigates the completeness of the model. Finally, the potential for EE and EC reduction through the allocation of low EE and EC intensities of alternative materials, products or components has been evaluated. The results revealed that the hybrid LCA improved the completeness of the EE and EC inventory data compared with other models. By using low EE and EC intensity materials, products or components, a total EE and EC reduction of 43% and 41%, respectively was achieved. The results showed that the proposed methodology can assist designers practically during the early stage of the design process in the Malaysian construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction waste generation has been perceived as a crucial issue that has critical consequences on the project effectiveness and ecological effect of the construction industry. The key objective of the current research is to identify the root causes of material construction waste generation in Malaysia. A well-structured questionnaire was designed based on the 52 identified root causes of material waste generation. The developed questionnaire was distributed to 35 highly experienced in Malaysian construction industry experts. The collected data was analyzed by the use of mean score analysis. The top identified root causes are poor supervision during the construction stage, lack of efficient site management, last minute changes, cutting uneconomical sizes of materials, and constant design changes during the construction period. The initial findings will aid construction practitioners to focus on these root causes in order to reduce the material construction waste generation at construction sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialized Building System (IBS) has been introduced for over 40 years in Malaysia, with well-documented benefits and strong support from the government. Unfortunately, the pace of IBS adaptation is still slow and below the government's target. Construction players are still facing various issues and challenges when adopting IBS, particularly on contractual and procurement aspects, thus, it contributes to the low adoption of IBS in Malaysia. As of to date, there is still the lack of provisions in Malaysian standard form of contract to suit the IBS construction approach. Therefore, this research will attempt to investigate and compare several local and international standard form of contracts to identify and highlight what international standard form of contracts have provisions to suit IBS construction approach. Literature review and documents analysis were used in the data collection exercise. The study revealed that there are six provisions that the local standard form of contract can enhance to suit the IBS construction approach. The findings will be useful to enhance the local standard form of contract to suit IBS construction approach, hence, able to accelerate the adoption of IBS construction in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian housing developers are weighing the costs and benefits of building environmentally-sensitive homes out of concern that the market may not be receptive to such homes. This study aims to examine the determinants of inhabiting intentions of potential homebuyers toward eco-friendly homes. Using a case study of Nusajaya Iskandar Malaysia, a series of quantitative analysis was used to examine homebuyers' intentions to inhabit eco-friendly homes. The results for the survey revealed that a favorable attitude toward eco-friendly homes, high control in the ability to purchase eco-friendly homes, and the self-identification of green consumerism were statistically significant determinants of intention to inhabit such homes. Social referents' opinion relating to eco-friendly homes, however, was not significantly related to inhabiting intentions. Additionally, households of gated-guarded and detached dwellings, higher income and educational attainment, and housing costs were significantly related to the intention of acquiring eco-friendly homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infrastructure delivery worldwide has recently shifted to a new paradigm where the government as the public procurer begins to rely on the private sectors' sources in providing assets and services at no cost to the government. This revolution ensues due to the government's dilemma in handling various globalisation issues of the belt-tightening government's budget, the escalated world oil prices, pressure in confronting abandoned public projects, intention in reducing government's financial burdens as well as increased taxpayers' demand on the quality of infrastructure assets and services. Thus, in facing those problems whilst maintaining the control over the infrastructure, an alternative procurement approach known as Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has been introduced. Nevertheless, history has proven that not all infrastructure assets or services are amenable to PFI, indeed experience in other jurisdictions has suggested that in some circumstances infrastructure provided via PFI can lead to poor public accountability, a reduction in competition as well as the development of monopolies. With the facts that different countries practise distinguished concepts and philosophies of PFI for their infrastructure provision based on the nature of their construction industry as well as different countries necessitate diverse types of infrastructure for their nation's development of their, the urgency of determining the principles of infrastructure to be provided via PFI is significant. Therefore, this study investigates the features and characteristics of infrastructure that is suitable to be provided via PFI with the particular references to Malaysia's construction industry as Malaysia's version of PFI emerges in unique forms e.g. DBFO (Design, Build, Finance, Operate), BOO (Build, Own, Operate), BOOST (Build, Own, Operate, Subsidise, Transfer) and BOL (Build, Operate, Lease). Although the Malaysia's version of PFI is theoretically claimed as merely prompt in providing selected economic infrastructure for both physical assets and services, this study demonstrates that Malaysia's PFI is also duly implemented for social infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of public–private partnership (PPP) projects ensures that risks could emerge and spread in unpredictable ways if they are not well identified and managed. The emergence of PPP projects has brought major changes in the construction industry, the most notable being in procurement methods influencing risk allocation to private parties. Thus, it is crucial to have an effective risk management for public and private partners to eliminate or minimise risks. Formulating an effective risk management system is a crucial challenge faced by both of parties in order to minimise or optimise risks. The aim of this study was to investigate the process of risk identification of private partners in Malaysian PPP projects. Data were collected throughout a 2-month period using a survey with a sample of nine Malaysian companies engaged in PPP projects, and the survey results were analysed using mean scores. The findings indicate that due to a lack of knowledge and experience of Malaysian private partners in the risk identification process, a comprehensive database for risk identification is highly necessary for the private sector. Another issue emerging from the findings is that it may be reasonable to use a combination of risk identification tools for PPP projects with a high level of complexity. The findings of the present study can greatly assist public and private partners to select the most appropriate tools for risk identification at the early stages of PPP projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]