Search

Construction projects are complex endeavors where achieving higher quality standards is challenging due to the intrinsic difficulties and dynamic quality management processes. Several quality management techniques exist to overcome quality concerns, such as the cost of quality (COQ). However, implementing COQ in building construction is challenging due to the absence of a comprehensive quality cost-capturing system. Several studies have tried to quantify different quality costs but are mainly focused on visible failure cost—the tip of the iceberg while the base of the iceberg has rarely been explored. This study develops and quantifies each component of the visible and hidden quality costs—the base of the iceberg. Accordingly, a modified prevention, appraisal, and failure model is developed and applied to the primary data of 25 building projects. The findings highlight the unfamiliarity and passive attitude of the involved construction firms towards quality, thus, incurring higher failure costs amounting to over 12% of the total project cost. Most of this cost remains hidden as traditional accounting systems cannot capture it. Such costs must be eliminated by implementing COQ systems as utilized in the current study. Further, a quality costing framework is established for building projects and applied to the local construction industry to reduce construction failures and improve the quality performance of building projects.

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) involves the managing of information, materials, cash flows, and collaboration among enterprises along the supply chain, integrating sustainable development goals. This research paper aims to determine challenges in SSCM adoption and to address related complexity using the system dynamics (SD) approach utilizing modeling and simulation techniques. This research identified challenges from the literature using content analysis. Causality among these identified challenges was determined using interviews and questionnaire surveys that led to the development of a causal loop diagram (CLD), which was used in the development of the SD model. Among the 19 shortlisted variables, CLD had IV reinforcing and II balancing loops. Moreover, CLD was used to build an SD model with two stocks, and a new stock named ‘project performance’ was added to envisage the cumulative impact of all stocks. The model was simulated for five years, and the results predict that the lack of top management commitment and corporate social responsibility adversely affects project performance. This implies that there is a need to improve numerous factors, in particular corporate social responsibility and top management commitment, which would lead to the adoption of SSCM, thus leading to a performance improvement for the construction industry (CI). The model was validated using boundary adequacy, structure, and parametric verification tests, which showed that the developed model is logical and approximately replicates the industry’s actual system. The research findings will help the CI practitioners to adopt sustainability principles in terms of the supply chain and will not only enhance productivity and performance but will also help in the minimization of delays, promote long-term relations, and reduce communication gaps and project complexities.

Construction organizations are challenged with effective management of their human resource (HR) as both are integral to each other. But the state of practice in the developing countries is not encouraging and construction professionals found themselves less motivated and enthusiastic about their job. This pushes to study the motivational needs of construction professionals of different career levels. Therefore, the current study benchmarks the HR practices of the construction industry of Pakistan to measure if there is any difference between what professionals truly value and what they get. In doing so, data was collected from 250 professionals through a questionnaire survey. Results reveal that most of the motivational needs are not gratified and the only stakeholder doing better are clients who’s mid- and end-career professionals feel somewhat satisfied. Practical suggestions are provided to help the construction industry upgrade its HR vision and facilitate its most precious resource.

Buildings consume a large amount of energy for space cooling during the summer season, creating an overall sustainability concern. The upfront cost associated with sustainability repels the decision-makers to often end up adopting solutions that have huge operations and maintenance costs. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the lifecycle cost (LCC) implications of optimum configurations of active and passive strategies for reducing the cooling load in buildings. Several green building active and passive strategies and technologies were assimilated and their thermal performance in a hot semi-arid climate of Lahore in Pakistan using DesignBuilder V6.1 was simulated to obtain the most optimum cooling load configuration. Furthermore, LCC is estimated, and overall efficiency is evaluated to identify the most effective space cooling configuration. The results suggest that a configuration of EPS for external wall insulation, vertical louvers for external shading, 6 mm blue HRG (low-E soft coated) + 12 mm air space + 6 mm clear glass for windows, polystyrene as roof insulation, cross ventilation through windows, and LED lighting system has the best performance. This is the first-of-its-kind study in the hot semi-arid climate of South Asia with the city of Lahore in Pakistan as the test case and can be generalized for places with similar conditions. The findings will help the decision-makers in selecting the most load-efficient and cost-effective green building technologies to help improve overall sustainability. The implementation of the proposed strategies not only aids in providing user-friendly and effective decision-making but also promotes the adoption of sustainability in buildings by leveraging the existing green building technologies to enhance the environmental and economic aspects. This is a promising approach to facilitate the spread of green building construction in developing countries. It is recommended to utilize the strategies grouped in Scenario 8 to achieve a reduced cooling load and LCC of a residential building throughout its lifecycle.

Integrating sustainability in the risk management process is an emergent problem, especially for efficient infrastructure delivery. For the case of complex projects like public–private partnerships (P3), traditional management practices offer a limited capacity to address long-ranging risk impacts on the social, economic, and environmental fabric within and around the project boundaries. Although P3 projects are objective-based contracts, present risk models rarely delineate risk impacts on focused project objectives. The relevant studies are very scarce creating a limited understanding of available approaches to conducting sustainability-based risk management for P3 projects. As risk and sustainability are two inherently subjective concepts with multiple interpretations, their combined assessment within a single framework demands a pragmatic approach. Therefore, the current study presents a model for conducting a sustainability-based risk assessment of P3 infrastructure projects through global data. Monte Carlo simulation is employed to further define the probabilistic risk ranges and risk ranks over relevant triple-bottom-line-based sustainability indicators for highway sector P3 projects. Findings are further demonstrated through two highway case studies and relevant mitigation strategies are also suggested. In the end, an implementation framework and future recommendations for the application of study findings on actual projects are also suggested. The study has useful implications for practitioners and researchers alike aiming for the delivery of sustainable complex projects.

With time, construction waste is increasing massively and its dumping is a serious issue globally. Utilizing the waste in various products and construction projects is boosting, but still, the amount of waste is much higher. Transitions to more sustainable construction can assist in attaining the specific goal of slowing down natural resources depletion, reducing environmental damage by extracting and recycling new materials, and minimizing pollution from the processing, use, and disposal of materials once they complete their useful life period. An important way to do this is to improve efficiency and bring productivity in the utilization of resources. The circular economy is more productive and healthier, where raw materials are stored longer in the production cycle and can be recycled, thus producing less waste. Due to potential benefits through enhanced quality and productivity in the processes, the concept of circular economy is grabbing the attention of construction industry stakeholders to attain sustainable construction waste management. This chapter focuses on the significance of a circular economy for the attainment of sustainable waste management in the construction sector. Moreover, the impact of construction waste and its utilization through recent sustainable solutions which also impact the economy has also been highlighted.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to determine a comprehensive coursework for teaching quality management in the universities of developing countries i.e. Pakistan pertinent to the construction industry. Additionally, a framework was also developed based on the results.Design/methodology/approachFactors and course contents of quality management are extracted through a content analysis of the published literature. Further, a questionnaire survey is conducted involving 150 professionals to assess the requirements of the industry and academic professionals of the construction industry for effective quality management. Finally, for getting a more objective perspective, using quality function deployment (QFD) matrix a framework is developed.FindingsThe results show the level of importance of each design requirement. We can identify the design requirements through which we can fulfill the needs and demands of the stakeholders. Contents like benchmarking, supply chain management, six sigma and other data analysis methods, costing and auditing of quality, customer satisfaction analysis, TQM: theory and practices and ISO certification processes and procedures should be included in any course program related to quality management pertinent to the construction industry. Along with these contents, workshops and seminars must be arranged to address the user requirement for increased leadership and communication skills.Originality/valueThere is a lack of literature available on course content for quality management in the universities for the construction sector, therefore, a huge scope of future research in the field of quality management in the construction industry needs to be investigated. This research highlights the most significant quality management factors and course contents as per the requirement of industry professionals. Therefore, this study adds to the existing body of knowledge by developing a robust framework that will help decision-makers and top management to develop constructive quality management course work at university level that will help in producing qualified and trained quality professionals to the construction industry.

Competitiveness is a complex domain with multiple perspectives and a vast range of definitions, meanings, and measures. Therefore, it is challenging to create an appropriate framework to evaluate the competitiveness of an ever-changing and evolving construction industry. This study captures the contractor’s perspectives about the competitiveness of the Pakistani construction industry, underlines the key factors affecting its performance, and proposes a framework for enhancing competitiveness. The proposed framework identifies the areas for improvement and contributes to the development ofstrategies for adoption. To achieve this, a qualitative approach is adopted which captures the opinion of contractors about the competitiveness and its perception and analyzes it through the fuzzy approach. The results based on 25 expert interviews highlight that the recruitment of well-trained human resource and cutting-edge technologies, the collaboration between academia and industry, investment in R&D projects, and a stable business environment contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the construction industry and should be adopted to enhance the current state of practice. The study has perks for both academia and industry and requires active participation from both counterparts as well as supply chain actors and regulatory bodies to achieve the holistic goals.

PurposeDespite the efforts of project managers and the widespread use of project management methodologies, most of the projects remain unfulfilling in terms of delivering targeted performance. This for most part can be attributed to the inability of an organization to implement control mechanisms and ineffective management of complexity risk. Keeping in view the aforementioned problem, the objective of this study is to investigate the association between control modes and project performance. Moreover, this study also examines the moderating role of complexity risk on the association among various control modes and project performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 171 construction projects through a postal questionnaire survey. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was utilized for testing the hypothesized relationships of the research model.FindingsThis study found significant positive relation between formal and informal control mechanisms and project performance. It is found that complexity risk significantly moderates the relationship between control modes and project performance. The results indicate that complexity risk positively moderates the relationship between outcome control and clan control with project performance. Furthermore, complexity risks negatively moderates the relationship between behavior control and project performance. However, the association between self-control and project performance is found insignificant in the presence of complexity risk.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to study the relationship of control mechanisms, complexity risk and project performance in the construction industry.

The complex and dynamic nature of construction projects, due to intricate design and involvement of several direct and indirect stakeholders, exposes them to various risks. These risks may cause co...

PurposeThe construction industry struggles in environmental and economic performance due to waste generation. Several studies have measured this waste in the construction industry of developing countries like India, Brazil, China, Nigeria and Iran, and proposed strategies to enhance the overall efficiency. But no such work exists in Pakistan's context. The construction industry of Pakistan contributes significantly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). And with several mega projects in progress to overcome the energy crises and improve the infrastructure of the country, the absence of proper waste management policies and plans calls for empirical research. Therefore, this study quantifies and benchmarks material waste in the local context, its impact on project cost and the effect of multiple subcontracting arrangements on waste generation. It also proposes a conceptual waste management plan (WMP) for local conditions which can be generalized for developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a mixed research approach by leveraging Saunders's research onion model. To benchmark the current wastage practices, quantitative data of material waste in the Pakistani construction industry are gathered through document review of accounting systems, inventory and payment records of 40 completed building projects. Using the data, the waste rate of different materials is measured along with their impact on cost. Additionally, the role of subcontracting arrangements in waste generation is also investigated. Also, semi-structured interviews are conducted with project managers of high- and low-performing construction organizations to propose a conceptual WMP for the local industry and developing countries.FindingsThe highest wasteful materials by quantity are wood, sand and concrete blocks, and those by cost are wood, bricks and steel. By quantity, 123% more material was used on average than the actual productive work. Also, the labor only (L-O) subcontracting arrangement causes maximum waste. Moreover, the difference between the highest (155%) and lowest wasting company (104%) is 51%, highlighting the proactive and resistive waste management culture and approach by the worst- and best-performing companies. Further, the impact of waste quantities is more than 2% of the project cost. Finally, a conceptual model consisting of measures at the project, industry and national levels is also proposed as a guide for developing countries.Practical implicationsThe findings of this benchmarking study can help improve the project planning, execution and monitoring, and control practices by providing a better understanding of the material waste potential. This will help economize the construction industry and improve its sustainability.Originality/valueThis is the first benchmarking study that quantitatively measures material waste in the construction industry of Pakistan. It highlights that costly as well as sustainability-implicating materials are frequently wasted in the local construction projects. Also, this study correlates the wastage with subcontracting arrangements. Additionally, an original conceptual WMP is proposed that could help the industry improve its performance. The findings could help the construction professionals identify the loopholes in their material management practices and not only save money but also ensure better sustainability.

Delivery of sustainable buildings requires infusing sustainability criteria into project decisions. Hiring a suitable contractor and consultant for the delivery of green buildings is critic...

The circular economy (CE) paradigm can eradicate the problems caused by the traditional linear economic approach adopted by the building industry. But the efforts to implement CE in the building and construction industry are fragmented and lack consensus. If improved, the ability to measure and report on progress can help in effectively transiting to CE. In this regard, wide-ranging building circularity indicators (C-indicators) have been proposed. However, the extant literature highlights that the comprehensive research on existing CE assessment tools in the building industry is still lacking, while policymakers (e.g., European Commission) and standards (e.g., ISO) have emphasized the need for a universally recognized circularity framework for buildings. To help this cause, this review inventories and critically analyzes 35 existing tools through an extended systematic literature review of 51 carefully selected documents from both academic and grey literature. It is found that there is a sharp increase in publications in recent years, with Europe leading the way. Along with the academic community, government agencies and consulting companies have also developed several C-indicators. The content analysis suggests that most indicators are quantitative and can vary in terms of the scale of application, the adopted CE scope and definition, and the underlying key performance indicators (KPIs). The descriptive analysis reveals that most indicators are in the developing stage and substantially stress recycling and reuse, overlooking some important aspects like energy, emission, and water. Innovative technical solutions like the design for adaptability and disassembly are excessively used to measure the circular potential of structures. The existing sustainability and circularity tools are seen as a good starting point for developing new frameworks. This extensive review and critical analysis provide a synthesis and explanation of the developing research theme of building C-indicators and highlight the remaining key challenges. The findings can drive the standardization of a universally accepted framework.

Water scarcity has become a major problem for many countries, resulting in declining water supply and creating a need to find alternative solutions. One potential solution is rainwater harvesting (RwH), which allows rainwater to be stored for human needs. This study develops an RwH assessment system through building information modeling (BIM). For this purpose, a hydrological study of Cfa-type climate cities is conducted with the example of Islamabad, Pakistan. The monthly rainfall data of three sites were assessed to determine the volume of the accumulated rainwater and its potential to meet human needs. The average number of people living in a house is taken as the household number. Household number or of the number of employees working at a small enterprise, roofing material, and rooftop area are used as the key parameters for pertinent assessment in the BIM. The data simulated by BIM highlight the RwH potential using five people per house as the occupancy and a 90 m2 rooftop area for residential buildings or small enterprises as parameters. The results show that the selected sites can collect as much as 8,190 L/yr of rainwater (48 L/person/day) to 103,300 L/yr of rainwater (56 L/person/day). This much water is enough to fulfill the daily demands of up to five people. Therefore, it is established that the study area has an RwH potential that is able to meet the expected demands. This study presents a baseline approach for RwH to address water scarcity issues for residential buildings and factories of the future.

Safety is a well-researched yet underperforming management aspect of the construction industry. Building information modeling (BIM) can help, and some frameworks have addressed safety management in limited phases of the project lifecycle. This study positions BIM centrally in the safety management process and develops a safety management framework that covers the entire lifecycle of a construction project in the context of developing countries. A systematic literature review is conducted to identify the safety factors and BIM features that are synthesized to devise BIM-based safety improvement strategies. The strategies are presented to construction management professionals from developed and developing countries through an online questionnaire survey, and their level of agreement is identified. Afterward, construction safety experts are engaged to integrate these strategies into appropriate lifecycle phases. Additionally, these experts are also engaged to develop an automated hazard recognition process to leverage BIM potential in safety management. The integration of strategies into project lifecycle phases resulted in a comprehensive safety implementation framework leveraging the BIM platform. This framework takes a lead from the experience of developed countries and considers the limitations of developing countries in terms of resources and technology. Furthermore, a BIM-based process map for hazard identification is developed. The process map takes the BIM model as input and provides a detailed safety report. The process map can be automated to enhance effective safety management. This study expands the body of knowledge through a BIM-driven lifecycle safety management framework for developing countries where BIM adoption is still in its early stages. It is a fresh take on safety automation to make the construction industry safer and more reliable. However, it is limited due to inadequate safety reporting and documentation in developing countries. Future research can improve upon this limitation by positioning in a safety-compliant culture.

Rapid advances that improve flood management have facilitated the disaster response by providing first aid services, finding safe routes, maintaining communication and developing flood maps. Different technologies such as image processing, satellite imagery, synthetic imagery and integrated approaches have been extensively analysed in the literature for disaster operations. There is a need to review cutting-edge technologies for flood management. This paper presents a review of the latest advancements in the flood management domain based on image processing, artificial intelligence and integrated approaches with a focus on post-disaster. It answers the following research questions: (1) What are the latest developments in image processing for flood management in a post-disaster scenario? (2) What are the latest techniques for flood management based on artificial intelligence in a post-disaster scenario? (3) What are the existing gaps in the selected technologies for post-disaster? (4) How can the authorities improve the existing post-disaster management operation with cutting-edge technologies? A novel framework has been proposed to optimise flood management with the application of a holistic approach.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate critical barriers hindering the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) and the opportunities that can be exploited with such an implementation in the construction industry of developing countries. It also devises strategies to avoid critical barriers in implementation and exploit opportunities for a better overall environmental performance of the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach This research relies upon an extensive literature review; data are collected from 163 professionals and 15 interviews of field professionals from 11 developing countries are conducted. The barriers and opportunities are synthesized through literature review and then data are collected over their significance from the construction professionals through an online survey. To highlight the interconnectedness of the critical barriers and opportunities, a causal loop framework is developed. Furthermore, expert opinion is sought to develop the strategies. Findings This research integrates information from different sources and provides a holistic view of the current situation of GSCM in developing countries. In total, 34 barriers and 23 opportunities are extracted from literature. The top 4 barriers fall under the “involvement and support” category, whereas the top four opportunities fall under the “environmental” category. Furthermore, the strategies to implement GSCM include suitable policies by top management to incorporate practices such as innovative green design, green procurement, green packaging, green distribution and even end-of-life management, which play a vital role in emission reduction. Originality/value This research is a first attempt at evaluating the barriers and opportunities facing GSCM in the construction sector of the developing countries. The findings encourage the stakeholders in adopting GSCM practices by presenting a clear picture of the potential benefits that can be exploited by implementing the proposed strategies to eliminate critical barriers in the construction industry.

Deplorable safety management practices are damaging the reputation of construction sector. Though legislation has specified rules and regulations for safety improvement, the state of violation is still alarming. Its root causes are unavailability of information and lack of integration of core data with other project activities. The technology that can help in overcoming these issues is the need of hour. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has the potential to address poor safety performance which inspired many researchers to explore its application for safety improvement throughout project lifecycle. The primary objective of this study is to review and analyze the literature on BIM. For this purpose, comprehensive bibliometric and scientometric analyses were performed using science mapping tools on the articles published during the period 2000–2018 using selected search string. The analyses on 97 articles majorly resulted in the identification of BIM application characteristics, construction safety application domains and their relationship. The relationship in the form of a factor-feature matrix shows the association strengths between various safety factors and BIM features, revealing interesting findings. It is found that visualization is the most promising feature of BIM while hazard identification is a highly significant application domain of construction safety. The findings drive the knowledge areas available for future research endeavors in BIM and safety. Taking the lead, app developers can design and develop a dedicated BIM plugin to plan and monitor safety in construction projects.

Risk is inherent in construction projects and managed through contingency. Dynamic management of contingency escrow accounts during project execution poses decision-making challenges. Project managers use key performance indicators (KPIs) for contingency release decisions. However, their subjective mental models influence risk perception, exacerbating the decision-making dilemma. This research integrates project KPIs with future risk perception to develop a mathematical model for facilitating such decision making. Results suggest timely completion, project cost, stakeholder satisfaction, quality and safety as top KPIs, and the influence of managerial pressure as a significant decision contributor. The proposed model helps project managers in dynamic decision making for cost contingency.

Healthcare buildings are energy and water intensive, which remarkably impacts their sustainability. They also share a larger portion of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has been rating healthcare buildings under a separate category of Building Design and Construction (BD + C): Healthcare to acknowledge their role and importance. This research investigates the credit points achieved by these buildings using all versions and rating systems of LEED BD + C: Healthcare. The results report a very small number of Platinum-certified buildings as compared to other certification levels. Further, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution is applied on credit points and certification levels according to their rating system, climate and location to reveal that buildings require a lot more effort to raise their certification level from Gold to Platinum as compared to the effort required between Gold, Silver and Certified. Based on this, a new certification level is proposed. Furthermore, buildings located in dry weather and South region of the USA have been shown to achieve better credit points. The findings can help designers in scoring better LEED points, which could help promote the culture of rating systems.

Fast-tracking the large infrastructure projects through overlapping design and construction levitates multifaceted risks aggravating project complexity critical to efficient planning. Traditional r...

DOI: 10.7764/RDLC.18.3.445 Construction in developing countries is often encountered with multifarious challenges including contractor’s performance due to lack of qualification and resources. The lowest bid criterion is binding in public procurements. However, contractors exploit the loopholes in the bid process management system. This paper scrutinizes the prevalent rules for the bid evaluation and investigates the criterion used by both clients and consultants in selecting the contractors during the bids evaluation phase of construction projects in Pakistan. The current research uses the relative importance index and severity index approach to analyze the data. It was discovered that proper planning, credit worthiness, transition plans, plant and equipment holding, financial stability, past performance, and quality, are the most imperative factors, influencing the contractor’s selection procedures used by clients and consultants. Likewise, a high probability of success is presaged if the contractors are selected using the multi-criteria method. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by revealing the significant factors impacting the contractor’s selection and bid evaluation process, especially in a developing country. Its results and methodology can also be generalized with caution in other developing countries having similar work environment.

Women are underrepresented in almost all occupations and professions within the construction sector. Consequently, several studies from across the globe have examined different aspects of g...

Economic growth, social wellbeing, and infrastructure are strongly interrelated and jointly contribute to national development. Therefore, evaluation and selection of a road infrastructure project direly need a comprehensive sustainability assessment integrating holistic decision criteria. This study presents an elaborate life cycle sustainability-based project evaluation tool, comprising an assessment framework, an integration model, and a decision framework. In the first phase, a life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework for road infrastructure is established using mixed methods. In the second phase, interviews are conducted to obtain pairwise comparisons among impact categories and subjective reasoning of their priorities. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is adopted to develop the LCSA integration model. The minimum threshold limits of impact categories are evaluated and integrated into the proposed decision framework. Further, thematic and cross-sectional analyses are performed on the interview findings to rationalize the proposed decision framework. The findings include a detailed and customized project assessment framework, an integration model, and a decision framework for the assessment of different project alternatives. This study helps policy- and decision-makers in selecting the project alternative by maximizing sustainability in road infrastructure projects. Insights into environmental and social externalities and their quantitative interpretation throughout the life of the road are also achieved.

Building materials with a low environmental impact are critical to the sustainability of the built environment. The environmental impact of materials can be determined by a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), which constitutes multiple parameters such as the water used in a material’s life cycle. To use the LCIA approach for building material selection, its parameters need to be assigned different weights, which is the primary objective of this study. Building Information Modelling (BIM) can play an influential role when using LCIA during the building design process. With this consideration, we study the attention given to environmental sustainability in buildings and the responsiveness of BIM in this case. A multi-regional survey of 120 experts from academia and industry was conducted. The results show the relative importance of LCIA parameters and the focus of the building sector on environmental sustainability. The current and the future responsiveness of BIM towards environmental sustainability is also indicated. To promote the integration of LCIA in building design and performance assessment, the future role of BIM applications is explored. The results will contribute to research and practice in the sustainable built environment by helping select environment-friendly building materials.

Despite its importance and appeal, the social dimension of sustainability in construction projects is less explored and lacks a comprehensive and standardized framework. This diminishes the holistic view of sustainability. The existing customized frameworks make the selection of factors challenging across different contexts. Eventually, the practitioners have to pick and choose the factors. This reduces the reliability of social sustainability assessments and makes them a procedural challenge. To fill this gap, the current review synthesizes a framework of social sustainability for construction projects. For this purpose, a systematic review of the literature published until 2021 is performed. The indicators are extracted from the selected 22 papers and their content is analyzed to check for similarities. The final set of 76 factors is synthesized into an assessment framework through a thematic analysis based on a bottom-up approach. The framework is organized into 7 enablers or themes, 27 indicators, and 76 sub-indicators. The enablers of social sustainability are stakeholder, safety and health, human resource development, project, industry, community, and government. The framework provides a comprehensive and precise view of social sustainability which can be leveraged to ensure better planning and sustainable development of construction projects.

It is nowadays an accepted fact that built environment is one of the major anthropogenic exploiters of nature as building consume a great amount of resources in the form of energy, materials and water which ultimately causes GHG emissions, resource depletion and waste generation. The concept of sustainability in building sector has not only put forth a challenge for builders but also the governing bodies that deals with the development of codes, guidelines and building standards. There is now a need to accrue all these standards and technology at one place in a framework which may help as a reference approach to design a wholly sustainable building. This study is based on review of literature where data from published articles, books and official websites of code developing authorities has been collected and investigated particular to the design of sustainable healthcare facilities. The output of this study is a comprehensive yet simple framework for the design of wholly sustainable hospital building which covers all aspects of sustainability and it may give designers and learners a portrayal of the process of designing a sustainable hospital building. This research aggregates all the available standards and guidelines for green and sustainable building design which is a good addition to literature and serve as compact reference for designers/constructors who are willing to adopt sustainable design and construction.

The relationship between the perceived fairness of administering projects’ claims and contractors’ reduced potential to disputes is probably missing in published literature in the context o...

Building information modeling (BIM) is a promising technology for the construction sector, as it addresses multiple risks, supports decision-making and enhances value. However, its technological and contractual novelties introduce some new risks. To observe the BIM-driven risk transformation, this paper performs a thorough analysis involving international experts and practitioners. Data is collected in the form of open-ended interviews and typeset questionnaire along with case studies of running projects. Results reveal that BIM eliminates a majority of significant risks. Further, the findings fuel a new research problem; the lack of a dedicated BIM plugin for risk management. Responding to it, a theoretical framework is developed to automate the risk management process and improve overall project management practice. It is concluded that construction projects can greatly benefit from an automated risk management system and investment in developing a dedicated plugin is recommended, ensuring an effective penetration of BIM in the construction industry.

Complex construction projects are risky owing to several features and factors. Their management involves risk assessment which is subjected to various behavioural tendencies and the existing body of knowledge lacks appropriate methods to quantify these effects. The prevalent standard model of Expected Utility Theory does not differentiate between threat and opportunity, resulting into an identical estimation for both facets of risk. This limitation was addressed by Prospect Theory which better captures risk preferences. However, construction industry still relies upon conventional methods of risk assessment. The current study introduces a weighting function to better quantify the cognitive errors in construction risk assessment by adjusting the over- and under-estimation. In doing so, detailed scenario-based, semi-structured interviews are conducted engaging senior professionals. It is found that, typically, opportunities are underestimated by 7.5% and threats are overestimated by 8%. Integrating these findings into risk response strategies results into a realistic and effective resource allocation.

Tools for economic sustainability analyses are crucial for residential sector which is associated with high energy use. Along with the development of such tools, their effective implementation in building projects depend on their uptake by holistic design and modelling approaches, with BIM standing out as an exemplary case. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to develop a fully representative economic sustainability assessment framework for residential buildings, with implications for BIM. A serious lag in research within the area of residential building economic sustainability assessment and use of BIM is realized from a systematic review of published studies. Through literature, a taxonomy of economic sustainability indicators, parameters and sub-parameters is developed, which helped design an economic sustainability assessment framework. An international survey and structured interviews are conducted to find the importance weights for the economic sustainability dimension as well as different framework constituents. The functionality of framework is validated through a case study, providing a conclusive value of 48.25% for economic performance of subject building, which is representative of the effectiveness of assessment for decision-makings. An extension within BIM environment is suggested to help foresee a futuristic integration of BIM with economic sustainability assessment.

© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2017. The construction industry consumes a large part of raw material and global energy, and produces huge amount of solid waste. It is established that waste generated by construction processes has significant negative impact on the economy and environment. Effective waste management helps in reducing quantity of wastes and making a substantial contribution towards sustainable development and cost control. Based on a benchmarking approach, this research quantifies the material wastage and its causes in different types of building projects. In a waste diagnostic survey, 38 project sites were surveyed. Results revealed that bricks, tiles, and plaster from mortar are the most wasteful materials, and improper worker's skills, poor supervision, and lack of management the most significant causes. Buildings with substantial architectural works tend to generate maximum amount of waste while contractor size does not affect waste generation rate. Based on expert opinion, practical recommendations are given to control material waste. The findings offer a new perspective on sustainable construction by correlating building types with waste generation, as contribution to the existing body of knowledge. It will lead the construction managers to better understand the actual situation of construction waste and devise control measures.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is recognized as one of the most significant technological breakthroughs in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. The pace of implementation of BIM in AEC has increased during the past decade with an enhanced focus on sustainable construction. However, BIM implementation lags its potential because of several factors such as readiness issues, lack of previous experience in BIM, and lack of market demand for BIM. To evaluate and solve these issues, understanding the current BIM implementation in construction organizations is required. Motivated by this need, the main objective of this study is to propose a tool for the measurement of BIM implementation levels within an organization. Various sets of indexes are developed based on their pertinent Critical Success Factors (CSFs). A detailed literature review followed by a questionnaire survey involving 99 respondents is conducted, and results are analyzed to formulate a BIMp-Chart to calculate and visualize the BIM implementation level of an organization. Subsequently, the applicability of the BIMp-Chart is assessed by comparing and analyzing datasets of four organizations from different regions, including Qatar, Portugal, and Egypt, and a multinational organization to develop a global measurement tool. Through measuring and comparing BIM implementation levels, the BIMp-Chart can help the practitioners identify the implementation areas in an organization for proper BIM implementation. This study helps understand the fundamental elements of BIM implementation and provides a decision support system for construction organizations to devise proper strategies for the effectual management of the BIM implementation process.