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Private sector investment, the mainstream financing method for procuring public road transport development projects, has encountered several profound difficulties and risks during execution, particularly in developing countries. However, there needs to be more extensive investigations on the major barriers facing road transport infrastructure projects in these countries. In this vein, the present study aims to identify and assess the perceived barriers inhibiting private sector investment in delivering public road transport infrastructure projects in the developing country of Iran. The research method adopted is based on a descriptive survey with a three-round Delphi technique with 35 experts from both the private and public sector in Iran. According to the research study results, four main groups of legal and organizational, political, economic, and operational barriers have been found to significantly impact the attraction of private sector investment in such projects. The three most significant obstacles for public road transport infrastructure projects in developing countries include: (i) a lack of financial and investment safety; (ii) a lack of proficient managers and policies of public organizations in order to facilitate the process of privatization; and (iii) corruption in the privatization process. The survey findings can help the government and policymakers to eliminate or alleviate the potential barriers towards private sector participation in future public road infrastructure projects, particularly in those developing countries such as Iran.

Human errors are one of the major causes of accidents in the construction industry. Human errors can be caused by various factors across diverse types of projects. Hence, this research study seeks to determine the major factors influencing human errors associated with the urban construction industry (UCI). To achieve this, three rounds of Delphi survey were conducted with 17 experts engaged in construction site safety management. The Delphi panel members were determined using a targeted snowball sampling method. According to the results of the Delphi survey, 35 significant factors leading to the incidence of human errors in the UCI were identified and collated. Then, an empirical questionnaire was developed based on a five-point Likert measurement scale and distributed among construction experts to evaluate the impact level of each identified human error in the UCI. The questionnaire included 35 effective factors pertaining to human errors classified into five main groups of environmental factors, information systems/technological factors, individual factors (permanently related), individual factors (temporarily related), and organizational factors. Findings indicate that all evaluated factors are at a higher-than-average level and can be considered as the significant factors leading to the occurrence of site accidents attributed to human errors in the UCI. In addition, the top five most significant factors include improper work and safety culture, low level of technology deployed for equipment and safety protection, violation of safety regulations, rushing to do work, and lack of a proper education system in the organization. The results of this study can be useful for producing better-informed decisions by various major industrial practitioners and site safety managers.

Facilities management along with health care are two important aspects in controlling the spread of infectious diseases with regard to controlling the outbreak of global COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, with the increasing outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of examining the relationship between the built environment and the outbreak of infectious diseases has become more significant. The aim of the research described in this article is to develop effective infection control and mitigation measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 pandemic in the built environment. This study seeks to answer the question of how the facilities management industry can help reduce the transmission of coronavirus. For this purpose, an online survey questionnaire was distributed internationally from 8 April to 25 July, 2020 to collect data from various key stakeholders. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software. Various methods for the prevention and control of infectious diseases transmission are evaluated through this questionnaire-based survey with regard to their effectiveness for the healthy and safe built environment. These methods were categorized into three groups, including training protocols, operation and maintenance, and design and construction. The results show that all suggested methods have a positive effect on all types of buildings. These methods have an equal effect on low-risk buildings, while for high and very high-risk buildings, training protocols and design and construction measures have the greatest impact. In addition, training protocols and the measures in operation and maintenance will have the greatest effect on medium-risk buildings. The results can help in more rational decision making in relation to controlling the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in all types of buildings.