Abstract Variations in construction projects pose a significant challenge to achieving successful project outcomes. Lean Six Sigma has the potential to manage variations in the construction industry. This study aims to explore the fusion of lean Six Sigma (LSS)–Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) tools and techniques into construction practice to manage variations. Adopting a pragmatic stance and a qualitative approach, empirical data were collected through a three-round Delphi expert survey using semistructured interviews, with the data analyzed through content analysis. The findings reveal that 25 LSS-DMAIC techniques and tools can be effectively applied to manage variations in the construction sector. In addition, 17 barriers and 21 strategies were identified, and a mapping was undertaken to align each barrier with suitable strategies. This research addresses a gap in existing literature by extending investigations of LSS-DMAIC in construction to the specific context of managing variations, identifying barriers to implementation, and proposing strategies, an area that has not been explicitly examined previously. By investigating the barriers to implementing LSS-DMAIC and by suggesting tailor-made strategies for overcoming each barrier, the study makes both theoretical and practical contributions. It provides a framework for on the applicability of LSS-DMAIC in developing countries while offering construction managers context-specific solutions to enhance project outcomes and improve stakeholder satisfaction.
Abstract Toll road projects are employed in developing countries to deliver critical infrastructure, fostering socioeconomic development. However, these initiatives often face community opposition because of misalignment between perceived local needs and promised benefits. This study investigates how institutional and legal frameworks shape community engagement in toll road projects through a multiple-case-study methodology. We examine decrees, laws, and regulatory resolutions across the three largest national toll road programs in South America. Three governance archetypes reveal distinctive community engagement postures and gaps: Brazil channels operational voice through user-rights and licensing procedures but engages reactively; Chile embeds early, traceable participation and nonjudicial technical forums that de-escalate disputes; Colombia mandates socioeconomic compensation plans yet faces coordination and enforcement hurdles that weaken implementation. Implementation is further constrained by indeterminate timelines for prior consultation and inconsistent enforcement of legal provisions. Findings demonstrate that legal tools are most effective as portfolio (combining prior consultation, compensation or contingency funds, procurement clarity, and tiered dispute mechanisms) to curb opportunism and temporal uncertainty while translating social impact into financed entitlements. To address these challenges, we recommend transitioning toward a triadic governance model that formally integrates impacted groups as internal partners throughout the project life cycle, institutionalizes technical-social dispute boards for nonjudicial enforceable conflict resolution, embeds social obligations as binding contractual deliverables, and utilizes flexible financial levers like compensation funds and concession extensions to reconcile financial viability with legible benefits.
Abstract Infrastructure projects are vital for social and economic development, yet current public procurement processes often prioritize cost over generating social outcomes. In response, social procurement offers a progressive alternative by using purchasing power to deliver social benefits, addressing issues such as inequality, unemployment, and social exclusion. With Sri Lanka’s growing infrastructure sector, there is strong potential to embed social procurement through community engagement and inclusion. However, research on the integration of social procurement within Sri Lanka is limited, and the existing literature lacks comprehensive frameworks for overcoming implementation challenges. Thus, this study aims to develop a framework for performance enhancement of infrastructure procurement projects by the fusion of social procurement in Sri Lanka. Using an interpretivist philosophy, this qualitative case study drew on semistructured interviews and document reviews, analyzed through narrative inquiry and code-based manual content analysis. The study selected an embedded multicase study utilizing a completed project in Moratuwa and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Findings reveal 31 features of social procurement, 35 challenges encountered, and 24 strategies, demonstrating practical resolution pathways. Notably, all four types of social procurement show promise within Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the study proposed a framework to introduce social procurement to Sri Lanka. The proposed framework provides a policy- and practice-oriented pathway for introducing social procurement within Sri Lanka’s existing procurement environment, integrating organizational, contractual, and governance considerations. This research contributes to the promotion of inclusion, equity, and sustainability in developing contexts.
Abstract Aging bridges, tight budgets, and procurement inefficiencies require a data-driven approach to maintenance contracts. Existing evidence shows that information and communication technology (ICT)–based construction management improves site productivity but remains unevenly adopted, a significant percentage of consultant tenders were single bid with systematically higher award rates, and public–private partnership (PPP) models for bridges that use Markovian deterioration modeling and performance-based payments can incentivize preventive maintenance, but they remain sensitive to prediction errors. Building on these strands, we propose an artificial intelligence (AI)–enabled framework that predicts the risk and cost impact of single-bid procurement, forecasts bridge condition trajectories using ICT-derived inspection and monitoring data, and optimizes PPP payment schemes for life-cycle cost, service level, and robustness. Empirically, a dataset of 8,000–10,000 design and supervision tenders and a bridge inventory of 820 highway bridges are combined. Gradient-boosted trees and deep neural networks will predict the probability of single-bid tenders and the associated award premium and multistep bridge condition transitions at 5-year intervals, using traffic, structural type, condition indices, and intervention history as features. A reinforcement learning–based design module searches performance indicators and payment curves to generate PPP schemes that minimize net present cost and bridges reaching the worst condition state while constraining downside risk via conditional value at risk. Model-based life-cycle evaluation indicates that AI-optimized PPP contracts reduce bridges reaching emergency condition by 30%–40% over a 30-year horizon while lowering life-cycle costs by 8%–12% compared with rule-based policies, providing infrastructure agencies and private concessionaires with an integrated AI-driven life-cycle management platform.
Abstract Innovation in public infrastructure is often perceived as incompatible with compliance-driven and bureaucratic environments. This study tests that assumption by applying institutional theory to investigate how compliance-oriented leadership (COL) can positively influence construction innovation outcomes (CIOs). A conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) on data from 233 professionals engaged in public infrastructure projects. The model examines the mediating roles of legal adaptability (LA), interagency collaboration (IAC), and digital technology integration (DTI), along with the moderating effects of bureaucratic rigidity. Results reveal that COL enhances innovation indirectly through both collaborative and technological pathways, with LA acting as a critical enabler. Furthermore, bureaucratic rigidity (BR) exerts a dual influence hindering digital innovation while amplifying the effect of IAC. These findings offer new theoretical insights into how institutional structures both constrain and enable innovation. The study contributes to the literature by reframing compliance and rigidity not as barriers, but as context-dependent mechanisms that can support structured innovation in public sector projects. Practical implications include leadership strategies and policy adjustments to harness innovation without undermining institutional legitimacy.
Abstract Construction disputes are frequent due to the complexity, high stakes, and diversity of stakeholders involved in projects, making arbitration a widely adopted resolution mechanism. However, the decision to arbitrate is influenced by multiple interrelated factors that remain insufficiently examined as a whole. This study empirically examines the critical factors influencing the decision to arbitrate construction disputes through a mixed-methods design integrating a questionnaire survey of 49 legal and engineering professionals with thematic analysis. The factors were ranked using the frequency-adjusted importance index (FAII) and validated through Kruskal–Wallis testing to assess group-based differences. The results reveal that confidentiality and privacy of proceedings ( FAII = 0.96 ), carefulness and quality of documentation ( FAII = 0.94 ), and tribunal competence ( FAII ≈ 0.74 ) are the most influential determinants shaping the decision to arbitrate. In contrast, cost-related factors ( FAII ≤ 0.20 ) were rated the lowest, indicating persistent concerns about proportionality and affordability. The analysis also shows that lawyers emphasize procedural precision and cost control, whereas engineers prioritize technical competence and time efficiency. The results indicate that confidentiality, quality of documentation, and tribunal competence are the most influential determinants, while cost-related considerations significantly reduce the attractiveness of arbitration for low-value disputes. This study provides evidence-based guidance for practitioners, policymakers, and arbitral institutions in designing arbitration mechanisms that enhance efficiency, fairness, and stakeholder confidence in the construction sector.
Abstract Construction projects increasingly rely on email and project portals to administer claims, yet the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) makes timely and properly served notices a condition precedent to entitlement. The mismatch between digital practice and formal notice regimes creates avoidable forfeitures and satellite disputes about dispatch, receipt, identity, and system reliability. Existing scholarship addresses FIDIC time bars, electronic transactions, and information-security governance largely in isolation. This article integrates those strands to propose a legally robust e-claims infrastructure. The analysis synthesizes multiple clauses with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce, electronic identification, authentication and trust services (eIDAS) concepts of trusted time stamps and electronic registered delivery (used as functional benchmarks), and selected series controls. The framework is stress-tested doctrinally against both purposive and strict-compliance authorities, and against published evidence of uneven digital maturity and human-factor failure modes in digital systems. Outputs include model contract data entries, an electronic notice clause, a portal protocol, and a compliance checklist designed to shift disputes from technical defects in notice to the merits of claims. The analysis is confined to a specific standard and common-law approaches to time bars; jurisdiction-specific mandatory formalities and confidential arbitral practice require case-by-case assessment.
