Most interpretations of sustainability in construction stem from the definition of sustainable development, which is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the future generation’s needs. Various research and sustainability studies within the construction industry focus on finding economical, social, and environmental balance. Construction professionals, such as Quantity Surveyors, begin their learning journey by studying in colleges and progressing to higher education. As the construction industry evolves through modern techniques, higher education institutions must also follow suit. These modern techniques have arisen due to the shift of ethos towards sustainability. Without the higher education institutions including this new knowledge in their curriculum, future professionals will not be equipped with the correct skills. Few research have been conducted in relation to students’ views on sustainability. Although such research is at a minute level, thus the converse side of the argument is how professional Quantity Surveyors view these topics on sustainability and whether they implement them in their daily duties. Hence, the research explores the differences in understanding between practicing and academic Quantity Surveyors on sustainable development in their various professional duties. The research was conducted using questionnaires that was distributed using survey monkey. The results were analysed through Spearman and ANOVA statistical tests to check their correlations. The study found a difference in the knowledge acquired by practicing and academic Quantity Surveyors. This finding conveys the importance of sustainability knowledge and how it is fundamental in achieving the UN sustainable goals and using such knowledge in practice.
In the South African government sector, public procurement is a strategic mechanism through which the government could be able to achieve the mandatory socioeconomic objectives. To this extent, the government procures goods and services from the private sector which can be estimated around eight hundred billion rand annually. Although there are numerous policy frameworks and systems to ensure that the management of the public procurement processes are fair, equitable, transparent, and cost-effective; the public procurement management practice, particularly in the delivery of construction goods and services, remains vulnerable to mismanagement and irregularities. To this extent, the nature of the irregularities and the stages at which they occur in the public procurement system remains unclear. To address this gap of knowledge, a content analysis method and the associated techniques of in-Vivo coding and word frequency analysis were used for the analysis of the secondary data. The study revealed that poor and or non-performance were the most frequent irregularities in the procurement of public construction services. The principal theoretical implication of this study is that rigorous proficiency measures should be applied to scrutinize and evaluate the potential of the contractors in terms of capacity to deliver in accordance with the contractual agreements prior to the awarding of contracts.
Data regarding three psychosocial factors of 438 construction workers in eight Bangkok subdivision housing projects, which had a selling price between 2.50 and 5.00 million Baht, were collected in October 2018. The subjects were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 71 workers who worked under high strain isolated (HSI) psychosocial working condition (workers felt that their work entailed high demand, they possessed a low controllability over their job and low work–related social support). The second group consisted of 367 workers who worked under other conditions. The result from the chi-square test between workers’ demographic characteristics and their psychosocial working conditions revealed that the probability of working under HSI condition for workers with different Gender, Age, Education Level, Work Experience, Work Position, and Average Monthly Income are different. It insisted the heterogeneity of working under HSI condition among construction workers. A logistic regression model for forecasting the probability of working under HSI condition, using the workers’ demographic characteristics, has then been developed in this study. The model consists of five demographic characteristic variables, namely Work Position, Education Level, Average Monthly Income, Work Experience, and Age. The adjusted odds ratio value, which was obtained from the analysis of the model constants, indicates that Work Position, Average Monthly Income, Age, Education Level, and Work Experience have influence on workers’ probability of working under HSI condition in descending order. Finally, an example of applying the model to identify specific demographic characteristics of workers who need special attention is presented at the end of this paper.
This study aims to determine the current issues associated with the transfer of knowledge in the construction industry published between 1987 and December 2021 to provide insights and ideas for future research. A total of 1240 publications were analysed to offer metadata analysis, and these papers were extracted from the Scopus database. The insights gained from analysing papers from Scopus databases are presented along with classifications of the literature based on content analyses, including conceptual understanding, barriers and facilitators, a collaborative effort with knowledge management and other optimisation models, and evaluation of knowledge management practices and performance. The study's findings show a declining trend in research on drivers or obstacles analysis of knowledge management. In contrast, there is a growing trend in applying mathematical optimisation models to enhance decision-making in pursuing knowledge management performance. Furthermore, the study's findings reveal a steady increase in assessing knowledge management techniques and performance over time. Contributions by disciplines are identified, and the most significant authors, leading journals, leading nations, leading contributing institutions, and leading contributing institutions. The study's results and future research possibilities open up a new channel for further inquiry and contribution to this subject.
The complexity and fragmented nature and the multiple stakeholders in the construction industry often make it difficult to come up with a firm decision regarding sustainable building materials selection. The wrong choice could negatively impact the project objective and performance outcome. This study assessed the critical factor influencing the choice of sustainable building materials (SBM) selection on construction projects in the Southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire, non-probability (purposive and snowball) sampling techniques, and an internet-mediated survey. Data analyses were carried out using the appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical tools and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The study revealed recycled plastic, natural clay and mud, stone, bricks and tile, cellulose, stray bales, grasses, limestone, and wood timber, are the commonly used sustainable building materials. Also, their level of awareness is high while their adoption is moderate. EFA revealed that the major clusters of determinants of the choice of green building materials are: emissions minimisation, low running cost and reusability, low thermal and energy consumption efficiency, low cost and high health and safety consideration and waste minimisation. The key factors influencing the choice of sustainable building materials selection in construction are: reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, materially embodied energy cost, operating and maintenance costs, non-toxic or low toxic emissions generated by the products/materials, recyclability of the building materials, availability of the technical skills, renewable (reusable) properties, inhibiting the impact of buildings on the environment, safety and health of the occupants, and appearance and aesthetic. It is recommended that consideration be given to these factors in selecting sustainable/green building materials in the designs and specifications of construction projects.
The concept of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is attracting attention to the construction industry to minimise adverse environmental effects. However, its application is not common in developing countries like Indonesia. Based on contractors’ and construction design consultants’ point of view, the current study attempts to identify the drivers and barriers to adopting GSCM in construction projects in Central Java Province, Indonesia. The research study used previous literature, observation, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews with experts on drivers and barriers to implementing Green Supply Chain Management in construction. Data were analysed using SPSS and evaluated by the ordinal regression analysis method. Based on testing in ordinal regression analysis, seven factors were identified as drivers or barriers to the adoption of GSCM in construction projects in Central Java Province, and four of them affect significantly. The driving factors that significantly affect the adoption of GSCM include government regulations on environmental protection and pressure from the supply chain stakeholders. On the other hand, the barrier factors include the shortage of suppliers who implement GSCM practices in the construction area and inadequate knowledge and awareness about the impact of construction activities on the environment. This work could give the policymakers’ insight into the barriers and drivers to GSCM, thus enabling them to develop strategies in implementing GSCM in the construction industry.
Conflict resolution in the construction industry is the informal or formal procedure that two or more construction professionals use to find a peaceful solution to their misunderstanding. The resolution of conflict can be beneficial to construction professionals, if it is resolved or managed appropriately. Therefore, this study aimed to examine various benefits of conflict resolution among construction professionals in Nigeria. On the research methodology used in this research, a quantitative research method was used. A total number of 150 questionnaires were sent out and 135 were received back from the construction professionals in Nigeria. The construction professionals are quantity surveyors, architects, builders, construction managers, civil engineers, and project managers. The research data that was collected underwent cleaning and screening before the commencement of the analysis. Also, the data collected pertaining to this study was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21). This research made use of descriptive and exploratory factor analysis. The study found that conflict resolution could assist in the generation of new insights and perception. This was ranked the highest followed by other benefits of conflict resolution like: reduction in tension, helps professionals to accomplish their ambitions, improves workplace conflicts, and reduces task ambiguity of professionals for construction professionals to enjoy the benefits of conflict resolution they must resolve conflicts among themselves as early as possible.
The Malaysian public sector is oversaturated with comprehensive procurement procedures. These measures aim to deter unwarranted behaviours from public officers. Nevertheless, there have been recurring irregularities over the past decade in Malaysian local authorities, including work delays, non-compliance with regulations, wasteful purchasing, substandard workmanship etc. This study aimed to investigate factors undermining rationality in public procurement decision making from the cognitive perspective. The cognitive and behavioural science literature was reviewed systematically, focusing on procedural rationality to develop a predictive model of procurement irregularities. This research adopted a quantitative approach. A total of 289 datasets were collected from the procurement officers of Malaysian local authorities and analysed using the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling technique. The empirical findings showed that work experience, prior knowledge, and accountability correlate directly with procedural rationality in procurement decision-making, which would impact the procurement outcome. The research offered insights into the decision-making behaviour of procurement officers from the cognitive psychology perspective. From the managerial standpoint, public procurement procedures should incorporate the elements of accountability, experience, and prior knowledge as part of the quality assurance and control measures.
The implementation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in South Africa has grown steadily since the late 1990s. However, these partnerships do not realise their potential with a decline in PPP transactions over the past decade. The drivers of success for PPP projects have become a subject of investigation to understand the downward trend. This study evaluates the different critical success factors pertinent to client characteristics that influence PPP projects in South Africa. The study followed a qualitative research inquiry that employs a grounded theory (G.T.) approach involving semi-structured interviews with nine professionals involved in PPP projects selected using a snowball sampling technique. Interviews were conducted on video conferencing and through phone calls. Seven responses were considered relevant to the research, and two were considered irrelevant and were disregarded. An in-depth analysis of the data gathered was conducted through a selective coding process using NVivo. The analysis revealed the research’s emergent themes: client experience and in-house technical capabilities; client risk attitude; client willingness to be involved and trust in the private sector, available financial markets, and political support and stability. By applying the framework established, the chances of success and decline in the use of PPP projects can be considerably improved in South Africa through greater engagement between the public and private sectors in infrastructure investment and delivery. The study’s main limitation is the smallness of the sample size and the use of the snowball sampling technique in which the initial respondents are likely to refer to other respondents who share similar points of view and beliefs. To counter this limitation, the researchers ensured that the convenient sample of initial subjects comprised professionals from different backgrounds.
Retaining and replacing skilled professionals can be problematic within high-performance construction teams. The onus cascades upon fledgling, inexperienced individuals to embrace these high-stress responsibilities. Previous studies have highlighted the influential role that stress plays as an antecedent to burnout. Emotional fatigue, depersonalisation and a lack of personal achievement all sprout from the burnout syndrome. This project was undertaken as an inductive approach to theory development and employed a cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire. The study population comprised of construction professionals within the New Zealand construction industry. Convenience sampling was used to collect data from 266 New Zealand Site Safe members and their industry partners utilising a survey software called Qualtrics to address the research question. Through the use of a Likert scale, the mean values of the data were used to construct a table that incorporated combined stressors and their stress reduction strategies. “What stresses do construction professionals experience and what recommendations can be concluded to change workplace behaviour to reduce burnout?” The data was then used to construct a table that incorporated combined stressors and their stress reduction strategies. This research identified the contributing stress factors and their respective remedies to make changes in the New Zealand construction environment. The findings noted that various factors within the different clusters were indicative of high workplace stress, the strongest cluster being individual job demands. Other clusters highlighted factors such as managerial behaviour, organisational leadership and the economy as significant contributors. Transparent and clear communications between all staff levels proved to be the strongest moderating factor as a stress reduction remedy. The respondents indicated that a change in their sleeping patterns also created fatigue that leads to burnout. The contribution of this paper and contribution of this research lies in presenting the most significant current stressors in the New Zealand construction industry and aligning them with stress reductions strategies.
Contractors have given importance to risks in the construction process as it causes time and cost overrun, delays, and total desertion in activities and events present in the construction project. The uncertainty in the completion time, cost, and quality during construction relate to construction risks. Project goals are achieved by classifying, investigating, and replying to risks associated with construction projects. To achieve project objectives, team competency and skills are required, which are viewed as attitude, aptitude, versatility, and knowledge. Based on organisation control theory, current research (quantitative in nature) discusses the influence of team competency and skills on construction risk management with the moderation role of government Acts, laws, and policies among 303 large-size contractors working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using PLS-SEM technique. PLS-SEM is a composite-based approach that provides high efficiency parameter estimation with increased statistical power for analyzing complex models. Results depict that government Acts, laws and policies and team competency and skills positively influence construction risk management. In addition, moderation of government Acts, laws, and policies has positive relation among team competency and skills and construction risk management. Organisational management can reduce risk occurrence within a project by building conditions for enhancing team competency and skills.
The Indian retail industry is an emerging sector particularly in the construction segment. Retailers play a major role in sourcing of construction materials. This paper aims to identify the factors responsible for strategic sourcing and to find the influence between them for effective business transactions among construction material retailers in India. Primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire and an adequate sample of 330 responses were obtained from the targeted respondents using convenient sampling method. Following statistical tests for validity and reliability, Structural Equation Model was used to analyse the data. Based on previous studies, five variables were identified: unstructured buying, retailer evaluation, retailer disengagement, retailer relationship management and strategic sourcing and 21 key items were considered for the survey. With the factors, a conceptual model was formulated, and hypotheses were framed and tested. Among the five hypotheses, four hypotheses were supported in the study. All variables except unstructured buying have a strong positive influence on strategic sourcing. The study's implications include creating a long-term relationship with retailers and enhancing strategic sourcing practices in the Indian construction sector. This study serves as a literature resource in strategic sourcing and adds value to construction supply chains.
Due to competition and high expectations of customers, the construction sector is faced with several challenges while pursuing project outcomes. Generally, construction firms consist of various project teams with multipurpose, which necessitates participation and involvement of team members in an organised manner to complete the project effectively. The current research aimed to understand the essential factors that contribute to Effective Teamwork in the construction industry. The study is based on primary data via a questionnaire-based survey method. The data collected from 72 respondents comprises various construction team members like Engineers, Contractors, Owners, Architects from various parts of Tamil Nadu. The data collected were processed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM), which was employed in this research to understand the relationship among the successful outcomes and the factors determining the team's success. The analysis of the results and the model show that the integration between the project team brings about a uniquely positive effect on construction project outcomes at a R2 value of 0.733. This study provides empirical evidence that a successful construction project team will positively influence the outcome of construction projects.
Use of prefabrication in construction projects is increasing due to the benefits in cost, time, quality, and safety. However, utilizing prefabrication introduces uncertainties inherent with the supply chain of the process. These uncertainties, if not managed, can disrupt the prefabrication process and result in schedule delays and cost overruns. This study proposes a model to measure disruption risks in the prefabrication process. The model was used in measuring the disruption risks of prefabrication of headwalls in patients’ rooms for a healthcare project as a pilot study. The risk model could successfully identify the disruption risks originating anywhere in the supply chain based on input information such as required material quantity, batch sizes of material deliveries, production rates, and batch sizes of transporting the headwall units. Using the model, the project team identified two uncertainties that could lead to possible disruptions: the start of the prefabrication processes and the required production rate to meet the on-site schedule. This is a first step to developing a risk exposure model that can prove valuable to the risk managers to analyse and manage the impact of disruptions. This will help the risk managers in making informed decisions about where to focus their limited resources.
Cost performance in the construction industry is important to enhance industry standard and grow a country's economy. This paper examines the key factors affecting cost performance in Thai construction projects, specifically at the pre-construction and construction phases. A questionnaire survey is used to gather data for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis used in this study. The EFA technique extracted the key factors affecting construction cost, while the SEM revealed the interactions and causal relationships between those key factors. The EFA results confirm seven key factors: three at the pre-construction phase: lack of coordination, design management, and unclear client requirements; and four at the construction phase, including site management, resources, labour capability and contract-related. The SEM results confirm strong relationships, directly and indirectly, between the three key factors at the pre-construction phase. Good coordination between stakeholders result in less design errors and clear client requirements. The influences that the three factors at the pre-construction phase have on the four factors at the construction phase are also supported. The result highlights that unclear client requirements cause poor site management and cost overrun, which may lead to breach of contracts. Construction companies can use this study results to better plan for cost improvement by focusing on the identified pre-construction factors, as they could lead to good cost management during the construction phase.
The poor level of women’s participation in the construction industry has been a concern for many years. In fact, women represent less than 3% of the total workers in the Indonesian construction industry. On the other hand, the industry is experiencing a worker shortage causing it to innovatively attract construction workers by increasing women’s participation in the industry. Thus, this paper aims to understand the motivating factors for women to work in the construction industry. It adopts multi-sequence research techniques including integrative literature review, expert interviews and questionnaire surveys to collect data for the study. The data was then analysed using relative importance index and factor analysis. The findings were discussed and synthesised to develop a motivational framework for women to work in the construction industry. While this framework was developed based on the Indonesian context, it can serve as a theoretical foundation for further research regarding women’s participation in the construction industry.
he sub-optimal performance of state-owned refineries in Nigeria has led to a significant gap in the supply of refined petroleum products (RPPs) in the country. More so, the growing demand for these products has further widened the gap to the range of 500,000 –600,000 barrels per day (bpd). Consequently, most of the imports for RPPs in Nigeria are being filled from the United States and North-Western Europe at the expense of the Nigerian economy. However, given the abundance of petroleum resources in Nigeria and its long history in the production of oil, it is unfortunate that the local refineries are hardly maintained to meet the needs of the local population. In addition, the inability of the Nigerian state to build additional refining capacity to cushion its domestic supply gap for RPPs has become a major concern. With more than 40 licenses issued to private companies since 2002, only two companies (Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Refinery and Dangote Oil Refinery) have made noticeable progress in new refinery construction.This paper is focused on investigating the current challenges of refinery construction in Nigeria. This is done with a view of comparing the drivers and enablers of productivity in construction in this sector during the period of 1965 –1989 and how they differ from the current period of 2000 -2019 in Nigeria.A systematic literature review within the academic journals, source documents from the industry, relevant interviews from published news media and consulting organisations were used to identify and categorise these challenges. The findings of this study were validated by interviews from experts across key industries in this sector.The study reveals that change of ownership structures from the government sector to the private sector between the two eras, present additional challenges. These challenges cut across availability of capital, inconsistent government priorities and access to land for construction. Others include cronyism and corruption, weak political will, unstructured refinery licensing scheme, security challenges and economic factors regarding the regulated downstream market inNigeria. Key recommendations proffered to help solve these problems include a private sector-led partnership with the government in the form of public private partnerships (PPPs), a review of existing methods for licensing refineries for private organisations, the development of local manpower with relevant technical skills to help lower the cost of expatriate labour and the establishment of more designated clusters as free trade zones within the oil-producing Niger Delta. These recommendations will help lower the entry barriers for private organisations in this sector
Due to the construction industry’s eagerness tolifting adversarial trends and realising the benefits of good relationships, the current research intends to investigate the construct of relationship quality in construction projects; especially in the eventof a conflict. An interdisciplinary construct is derived using a three step methodology and wide range of theories from a comprehensive literature review. These theories range from relational marketing to relational contracting and construction project management. A conflict process model is used to outline the association of conflict and relationship quality in construction projects. Concepts such as psychological meaningfulness, psychological availability, resource availability, aligned-commitment, teamwork, performance satisfaction and trust are attributed to relationship quality. An interdisciplinary construct with antecedents, core attributes and outcomes are achieved. Conflict is demonstrated as a potential antecedent of relationship quality. Finally, moderating factors such as actions and strategies, some of which could be used in conflict management are identified as moderators of relationship quality. By identifying and mapping all the possible components in relationship quality, its different constructs and potential interactions can be recognised. This is extremely important in future investigations of relationship quality in relation to construction project issues and trainingproject teams. The choices of components for the construct are extracted from existing literature; however other components may be of effect which are not included and explored in the future. The model can be used to achieve project integration goals and joint problem solving strategies.
Housing affordability is a prominent issue across the world. There is a growing concern that the number of people experiencing homelessness is rapidly increasing. As a solution, many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have introduced housing policies aimed at providing affordable houses to low-to-medium income families. Over recent years, several affordable housing policies have been introduced in both Australia and New Zealand, including public housing initiatives, rental subsidies, accommodation supplements, state housing programmes and the provision of social housing. New Zealand launched the KiwiBuild programme in 2018 to increase housing affordability. Unfortunately, in 2019, KiwiBuild was unable to deliver its targeted primary objectives set by the Government. This study features a comparative analysis, primarily focusing on comparing and contrasting affordable housing policies in Australia and New Zealand. Subsequently, it discusses the reasons why the KiwiBuild programme failed. It makes recommendations based on policies used in Australia with a view to improving affordable housing policies in New Zealand. This research contributes and adds to the existing body of knowledge about affordable housing policies in both Australia and New Zealand. The recommendations will be helpful for future researchers who wish to develop workable policies to assist with affordable housing-related issues in New Zealand.
Mass customization as a strategy has been utilised successfully in the manufacturing industry meeting customers’ idiosyncratic needs in a cost-efficient way. The productivity of the Danish manufacturing industry has increased six times over the last 50 years, whereas the Danish con-struction industry has only doubled. Mass customization has not been extensively explored in the construction industry; therefore, the theoretical background is currently limited. Neverthe-less, utilization of mass customization as a strategy might have potentials in the construction industry. This research is a multi-case study of 11 companies in the construction industry focus-ing on how the cases apply the three fundamental capabilities of mass customization 1) solution space development, 2) choice navigation and 3) robust process design, and how their im-provement initiatives effect performance, and how the cases plan to develop the three funda-mental capabilities of mass customization. The outset is an analysis of project phases and criti-cal success factors characterizing the cases followed by an analysis of how the cases apply and plan to develop the nine tools and approaches supporting the development of the three funda-mental capabilities of mass customization. The data are collected through interview as a two-way communicative approach providing holistic and in-depth explanations of the 18 variables of the analysis. The results are that all 11 cases aim at increasing all nine tools and approach-es, which strengthen the utilization of the three fundamental capabilities of mass customization in the sense of improving the productivity. This research put forward a definition of mass cus-tomization intending to make the concept more visible and accessible for the construction industry.
