Fire hazards pose substantial risks on construction sites, where rapidly changing layouts, temporary installations, and obstructed circulation routes can hinder safe evacuation. This study evaluated a low-cost fire-safety training framework integrating Building Information Modeling and immersive Virtual Reality among 178 construction workers recruited from three active construction sites in Bangladesh. Fire-safety awareness was assessed using an eight-item instrument before training, immediately afterward, and at a two-week follow-up. Mean composite scores increased from 2.43 to 6.89, representing a mean improvement of 4.46 points and a very large paired-samples effect size of 3.79. Exact McNemar tests showed significant improvement across all eight fire-safety items. At follow-up, 162 participants achieved a mean score of 6.21, retaining 85.2% of the improvement above the pre-training baseline. Post-training simulated evacuation-route deviation averaged 6.59%. Multiple regression explained 33.8% of the variance in route deviation, with age and prior fire-safety training identified as significant predictors. These findings provide strong within-participant evidence of substantial and sustained improvement in fire-safety awareness following the low-cost immersive training framework, while demonstrating the feasibility of scalable assessment of simulated route adherence using mobile hardware.

Purpose Gender inequality continues to be a significant challenge in the construction industry worldwide, including in Bangladesh. This study explores the key obstacles to attracting and retaining women in construction and evaluates the effects of addressing or overlooking these issues in public, private and public-private-partnership (PPP) funded projects. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted using a detailed questionnaire distributed to professionals in Bangladesh's construction sector. Data analysis involved Cronbach's alpha, Inter-rater agreement (IRA), the relative importance index (RII) and a fishbone diagram to illustrate the underlying factors limiting women's participation in construction. Findings The study identified the most key barriers and impacts to advance women in construction likes as “Long working hours” and “Lack of support, networking, and mentoring opportunities” and “Inhibiting women from entering the industry” and “Preventing women from advancing in their careers”. Moreover, Ishikawa-Fishbone and effect-flow diagrams were used to visualize and compare the barriers of gender inequality across PPP, public and private construction projects. Originality/value While most studies on gender inequality in construction focus on specific subsectors, this research fills a gap by comparing barriers and impacts across public, private and PPP projects in Bangladesh's construction industry. By addressing these challenges, the study aims to boost women's participation and promote sustainable sector growth.

Building fires pose significant threats to life, property, and the environment, particularly in densely populated structures with complex layouts and high occupant turnover rates. Effective evacuation planning is essential for mitigating these risks. This study proposes a context-specific fire evacuation framework that integrates Building Information Modeling (BIM) with advanced simulation tools to support fire safety assessment in developing countries. The methodology combines BIM-derived building geometry with fire and smoke propagation modeling using the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and evacuation analysis via agent-based modeling in Pathfinder. Multiple fire scenarios were simulated to identify high-risk zones, assess evacuation delays, and evaluate the effectiveness of escape routes. A case study of the FR Tower fire in Bangladesh provides a qualitative comparison between simulation outcomes and observed incident conditions, serving as a plausibility check of the model. The findings highlight the potential of BIM-integrated simulations to support data-driven fire safety planning in resource-constrained environments while underscoring the need for further empirical validation to enhance predictive robustness.

PurposeDue to its longer length compared to other construction materials and distinctive stacking patterns, obtaining construction steel bars in congested construction sites with limited storage capacity becomes challenging. Lack of storage space in crowded places prompts the need for building steel bar storage choice optimization. Therefore, this study aims to optimize the construction steel bar procurement plan by providing when and how much rebar to order and how to stack different sizes of rebar considering limited storage capacity.Design/methodology/approachA novel approach has been presented in this paper by integrating 4D building information modelling (BIM) and mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). This technique uses BIM to retrieve material quantities, including rebar, during the design phase. Following that, activities are scheduled depending on the duration determined by crew productivity data and material quantity. Then, based on the prior price, the price of each unit of rebar is projected for the duration of construction using the exponential smoothing method. After that, the MILP approach is used to generate an optimal steel bar procurement plan for limited storage space following the scheduled rebar-related operations.FindingsThe developed strategy minimizes overall procurement costs and ensures the storage of rebar as per standard guidelines. An optimal rebar procurement and storage plan to construct a six-storied RC frame has been presented in this paper as a demonstrative example to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.Originality/valueThis work partially satisfies a long-sought research need for establishing a comprehensive construction steel bar procurement system, making it a very useful source of information for practitioners and researchers. The proposed method can be used to minimize a key performance limitation that the conventional rebar procurement practice for crowded building sites may experience.

The growing demand for readymade garments is leading to the production of a large amount of textile effluent sludge (TES) from wastewater treatment plants, which is currently disposed of as backfill, causing land and groundwater contamination. This scenario has prompted researchers to explore the use of industrial waste, such as TES, as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) to mitigate the carbon footprint of cement production. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the fresh, mechanical, non-destructive characteristics, and predictive modeling of mechanical strengths of TES-based concrete. Machine learning models, including random forest (RF) and artificial neural networks (ANN), were utilized to predict compressive and tensile strengths from various input variables. This study also evaluated the alkalinity, specific gravity, oxide content, and surface area of TES. The findings showed a pH of 9.4 and a CaO content of 33.3 %, indicating TES's potential as an SCM. The research further investigated the properties of concrete with 5-20 % cement-replaced TES, using a total binder content of 488.1 kg/m(3) and a water-binder ratio of 0.32. The fresh state properties of the 5-15 % TES incorporated concrete produced normal density concrete, with a slump of 100 +/- 20 mm, Kelly ball penetration of 45 +/- 7 mm, a compaction factor of 0.92 +/- 0.05, and a fresh density of 2464 +/- 152 kg/m(3). At 28 days, concrete with 15 % TES replacement showed a compressive strength of 25.6 MPa and a tensile strength of 2.88 MPa, achieving 76 % of the strength activity index and 72 % of the relative tensile strength. However, the 15 % TES concrete displayed a water permeability coefficient of 4.4 x 10(-12) m/s and an electrical resistivity of 31.5 k Omega cm, compared to the control mix's 2.0 x 10(-12) m/s and 37.7 k Omega cm. However, the hardened properties declined significantly after replacing 15 % of cement with TES. The mechanical properties were also estimated using ultra pulse velocity and rebound hammer tests, showing a coefficient of determination (R-2) higher than 0.87. The RF model demonstrated superior performance with an R-2 value of 0.8802 for compressive strength and 0.8518 for tensile strength, outperforming the ANN model's R-2 values of 0.8126 and 0.695, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the consistent development of hydration products in the TES-enhanced concrete samples.

Rapid urbanization has reformed the peripheries of China’s main cities during the last four decades. The rural areas have been constantly developed through infrastructure development in recent days which introduces a newly semi-urban region referred to as Desakota. The purpose of this research is to discover potential influencing factors of housing construction technology in desakotas of China which needs to be assessed for the implementation of Desakotas forming globally. In this study, a total of six key primary factors and twenty key secondary factors have been shortlisted, which were surveyed by 120 respondents. After the statistical analysis, it is seen that one primary factor, “Architectural and engineering mechanical factors” has been ranked top. Moreover, “Cost, financial and economic evaluation and Analysis of the impact of the natural environment on buildings” both ranked top among twenty secondary factors. This study adds to the body of knowledge by revealing the primary contributing elements for the first time that need to be taken into consideration in the rural and town communities of desakotas in China. The study results could help stakeholders, construction firms, academicians, researchers, and the government to focus their efforts and resources on the significant changes in the Desakotas in preparation for rapid urban development.

Purpose Construction delay always causes massive damage to the advancing construction industries, which is no different in the case of Bangladeshi construction industries. This paper aims to investigate the major delay factors causing construction delays in public-funded, mixed and private-funded construction projects of Bangladesh. Also, it offers preventive suggestions from expert stakeholders to reduce the recurrence of delays. Design/methodology/approach At first, an extensive literature review was conducted to identify the thirty-seven major delay factors categorized under seven groups. A questionnaire was then developed for survey at ongoing construction projects at a different division of Bangladesh. Next, data from 110 respondents were collected, and the delay factors were ranked based on the Relative Importance Index (RII); lastly, probable solutions were suggested for top-ranked delay factors based on opinions from expert stakeholders in the construction sector of Bangladesh. Findings The overall RII ranking of the 37 delay factors showed “Construction mistakes and defective work,” “Contract modifications by the client” and “Adverse weather condition” as the top three factors causing the delay. For public-funded projects, “Construction mistakes and defective work” and “Slow decision making by a consultant” are the top delay factors. For mixed projects, “Slow decision making of the client” and “Construction mistakes and defective work ranked top, and for private-funded projects, “Financial problems and payment delay of the client” and “Adverse weather condition” ranked top. These nuances of ranking in individual project types ascertain that the causes of delay vary in terms of project features. Practical implications The outcome of this project will help identify the significant delay factors based on their severity of effectiveness associated with public-funded, mixed and private-funded projects in Bangladesh. The suggestions regarding preventing these delay factors obtained through the opinions of expert stakeholders can help reduce the effect of these delays in the context of Bangladesh and in countries where the similarity in construction environment prevails. Originality/value Previously, studies on construction delays in Bangladesh focused mainly on identifying the delays using qualitative analysis techniques. This study is based on a unique methodology of integrating quantitative research on delay factor identification and qualitative research on preventive measures following the opinions gathered from expert stakeholders in the construction sector.

PurposeConstruction accidents cause as much harm in Bangladeshi construction as it does globally. This study examines the primary causes of accidents and undertakes an impact assessment of neglecting safety protocols in construction projects in Bangladesh, funded publicly, privately and through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).Design/methodology/approachResearch was initiated with a comprehensive questionnaire from experts, sourcing data in Bangladesh's construction sector. Data analysis utilized Cronbach's alpha, relative important index and a fishbone diagram for causal visualization.FindingsThe study identified the three major causes of safety negligence as “Poor safety culture (RII = 0.857),” “Top management's inattention (RII = 0.825)” and “Lack of personal care (RII = 0.825).” Effects: “Rising project expenses (RII = 0.88),” “Increased medical costs (RII = 0.87)” and “Worker compensation expenses (RII = 0.87).” The study also used the Ishikawa-Fishbone and effect-flow diagrams to highlight accident causes/effects and compare their primary causes in PPP, public and private projects.Originality/valueResearch on construction safety in Bangladesh has mainly focused on identifying factors within specific construction sectors. Since the rules and regulations vary across these three sectors, different health and safety hazards may arise. As a result, this research fills a critical gap by providing a comparative study that examines the causes and impacts of different project types in the Bangladeshi construction industry. By pinpointing the result, this research aims to enhance the safety and well-being of the construction workers sector-wise, thereby contributing to the industry's sustainable growth.

PurposeConstruction safety is a crucial aspect that has far-reaching impacts on economic development. But safety monitoring is often reliant on labor-based observations, which can be prone to errors and result in numerous fatalities annually. This study aims to address this issue by proposing a cloud-building information modeling (BIM)-based framework to provide real-time safety monitoring on construction sites to enhance safety practices and reduce fatalities. Design/methodology/approachThis system integrates an automated safety tracking mobile app to detect hazardous locations on construction sites, a cloud-based BIM system for visualization of worker tracking on a virtual construction site and a Web interface to visualize and monitor site safety. FindingsThe study's results indicate that implementing a comprehensive automated safety monitoring approach is feasible and suitable for general indoor construction site environments. Furthermore, the assessment of an advanced safety monitoring system has been successfully implemented, indicating its potential effectiveness in enhancing safety practices in construction sites. Practical implicationsBy using this system, the construction industry can prevent accidents and fatalities, promote the adoption of new technologies and methods with minimal effort and cost and improve safety outcomes and productivity. This system can reduce workers' compensation claims, insurance costs and legal penalties, benefiting all stakeholders involved. Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study represents the first attempt in Bangladesh to develop a mobile app-based technological solution aimed at reforming construction safety culture by using BIM technology. This has the potential to change the construction sector's attitude toward accepting new technologies and cultures through its convenient choice of equipment.

PurposeChange orders are a typical occurrence in building projects. Change orders indirectly affect labor productivity, resulting in a significant delay in the completion of a building project. Change orders cause labor productivity losses that are difficult to describe, establish and account for contractors and subcontractors. This study aimed to look at the influence of change orders on labor productivity and develop methods to mitigate their adverse effects.Design/methodology/approachTo assess the change orders' impact on productivity levels a system dynamic model was developed and devise ways were developed to counteract these negative impacts in this research. The impact of change orders on labor productivity and project time was then controlled using techniques established. Finally, a case study of KUET's hall extension was chosen, and the model and principles developed were implemented.FindingsThis study established that if the project delivery date is set and change orders are occurring often, labor productivity will be impacted. With adequate monitoring and supplemental management techniques, it can be reduced by prolonging the project.Originality/valueThe developed policies aid to mitigate the effect of change orders on labor productivity.

Purpose As a developing nation, Bangladesh still has scarce technological applications in the construction sector, which results in construction delays. This paper aims to propose a framework that will diminish manual labor, reduce human error and apply four-dimensional (4D) building information modeling (BIM)-based solutions to mitigate and prevent construction project delays. Design/methodology/approach First, a systematic literature review was conducted on analyzing the construction delay scenario in the context of Bangladesh and other countries. Next, a 4D BIM-based framework was developed using Autodesk Navisworks Manage. Finally, it was used to run on-site simulations on an ongoing construction project which faced delays because of design errors and inefficient planning. Findings Affirmative results were found from applying these methods through real-time project simulation. The current status of the project and the status after using BIM technology were compared. It was observed that during both the preconstruction and execution phases, the application of 4D BIM could reduce the delay posed by design error and inefficient planning. Practical implications The project manager and the design engineers can use these frameworks to review their projects. For the design engineers, the preconstruction phase portion of the framework will help identify the probable errors in the design. For the project managers, keeping track of time using the execution phase portion of the framework will be resourceful. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to assess the significant delay factors endemic in Bangladesh and develop a BIM-based technological solution. This study is solely dedicated to reforming the construction techniques in Bangladesh through the application of 4D BIM technology.

Purpose In comparison to other industries, the construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries. Behavior-based safety (BBS) is a common and useful technique for risk indicator processing. Almost all studies are based on the BBS checklist, but very few of them focus on the increasing dangers faced by construction workers and the important factors that lead to accidents. This research represents a risk spatiotemporal analysis and visual tracking approach based on BBS and Building Information Modeling (BIM). Design/methodology/approach After the literature review, a BBS checklist was developed. Then a survey was conducted based on the BBS checklist and the temporal evolution of risks has been completed. After that, managing the risk with the automatic rule checking (ARC) system using BIM was conducted simultaneously to develop a framework by conducting a case study. Findings Based on the grey clustering analysis, this work provides a temporal evolution analysis approach for dynamic analyzing BBS risk. According to the grey relational analysis (GRA) data, the main key factor of risk was the missing guardrail/handrail system. After that, a case study was performed and the system automatically warn in the preconstruction phase that the barrier is missing as the system benefits. Originality/value A systematic framework has been provided for risk analysis through which high health and safety performance outcomes can be achieved on construction projects. This study will assist design engineers in addressing the potential danger to employees during the preconstruction stage and monitoring dynamic changes in risk on any construction site.

Purpose Construction management is enriched in many ways by direct and indirect support of lean construction concept. The objectives of this study are to assess the current level of awareness about lean construction practice, to identify the potential benefits and challenges to implement lean construction in the Bangladeshi construction industry and to prioritize them. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review has been done to design a questionnaire for the survey. The final questionnaire has been designed with 27 lean tools, 41 challenges, and seven benefits of implementing lean principles in the construction industry. A total of 164 valid responses have been collected from Bangladeshi construction practitioners involved in different types of construction organizations. The result has been analyzed by Relative Important Index (RII). Findings The findings revealed 41 challenges to implement lean construction with seven benefits in the Bangladeshi construction industry. The result shows that an appreciable number of respondent familiar with the techniques of lean construction but they don't practice. The findings have also pointed out that the lean construction approach adds a positive impact especially on quality, safety, cost, productivity, and environmental level. The top-ranked challenges to implementing lean construction are: lack of awareness and skill, poor management, traditional culture and attitude of employees, inadequate resources and equipment and nonuse of modern techniques and technologies. Originality/value This study reveals real scenario of lean construction in Bangladesh. It contributes to the body of knowledge, as it uncovers for the first time the awareness level, benefits and challenges to implement lean construction with reference to the social, economic and cultural context of Bangladesh. Exploring the findings, the study could help the stakeholders, construction firms, academician, researchers and government to focus their effort and resources on the significantly appropriate issues. Again, the study may be beneficial to developing countries especially in South Asia which share the same socio-economic status with Bangladesh.

Executive Summary ................................................................................................6 Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................................8 Table of

Construction workers are backbone of this industry since construction industry is less mechanized and more labor intensive. So the major consideration is ensuring workers safety during construction in Bangladesh. As current practice of Bangladesh checks the construction safety manually, this checking process always leads to error-prone, inconsistency in assessments and delays the construction process as a whole. The aim of this study is to develop an automated fall safety checking system using BIM to solve this problem in the Bangladeshi context. A framework is developed and safety rule checking approach is illustrated during conceptual and legal stage and how these process works in two situations is proposed to identify fall hazard at planning phase. A case study is performed to illustrate its practical implementation on a building project in Bangladesh. Results show that the developed system demonstrates the feasibility of integrating safety into BIM for detecting and eliminating fall-related hazards. This study will contribute the construction professionals by introducing and informing automated safety checking platform to find the reports, why, where, when, and what safety measures are needed for preventing fall-related accidents at pre-construction phase. The significance of this study is to lead to safer designs early in a project.

Construction industry is an important part of the economy in many countries and often seen as a driver of economic growth especially in developing countries. As construction industry is less mechanized and more labor intensive, construction workers are backbone of this industry. So the major consideration is ensuring workers safety during construction. This paper is aimed to examine the current safety status, identify the main causes for not practicing safety measures which termed as challenges of construction safety, identify the benefits of considering safety measures, effects for not practicing safety measures and suggestions to overcome the challenges in the construction sites in Bangladesh. The study was conducted in three stages. Firstly the existing rules and regulations of construction safety were studied. Secondly physical survey was conducted among the ongoing construction sites. Thirdly 20 causes and 14 effects for not practicing safety measures that influence the safety performance in construction sites, 16 benefits for practicing safety measures were identified from literature review and ranked them based on Factor Index (FI) by conducting questionnaire survey. According to the physical survey data, it was obvious that workers were working without PPE and fall protective system. From the data analysis, the main causes for not practicing safety rules and measures are lack of enforcement of safety rules and regulations, lack of safety awareness among the construction stakeholder and lack of safety training respectively. The main benefits for practicing safety measures and rules are reduced administrative costs, the potential for reduced insurance and liability costs and improving safety is usually a competitive advantage, because of reduced costs respectively. The main effects for not practicing safety measures and rules are payment for settlement of injury/death claims, negative impact on reputation of firms and increase in project cost respectively. Finally significant suggestions to overcome the challenges were identified from the stakeholder of this industry. The survey results may help the authorities to increase the awareness of practicing safety measures and enforce the construction safety rules in the next project approach.

Construction industry plays a vital role in the economic development of any country.As construction industry is less mechanized and more labor intensive, construction workers are backbone of this industry.So the major consideration is ensuring workers safety during construction.This paper is aimed to examine the current safety status and identify the main causes of not practicing safety rules in the construction sites in Bangladesh.The study was conducted in three stages.Firstly, the existing rules and regulations of construction safety were studied.Secondly physical survey was conducted among the ongoing construction sites.Thirdly factors that influence the safety performance in construction sites were identified by conducting questionnaire survey and ranked based on Factor Index (FI).This study found 20 major causes those affect the construction safety performance at job site.According to the physical survey data, it was obvious that workers were working without PPE and fall protective system.From the data analysis, the main cause of not practicing safety rules are lack of enforcement of safety rules and regulations, lack of safety awareness among the construction stakeholder and lack of safety training.The survey results may help the authorities to increase the awareness of safety and enforce the construction safety rules in the next project approach.

Skilled worker is the main fuel to run the construction industry. To enhance construction management processes, worker is a vital factor. Lacking of skilled worker, have a huge negative impact on the construction cost, schedule and quality of construction work. Nine skilled worker parameter is setting out as Bangladesh perspective. The main objective of this study is to reality check of skilled worker parameter by evaluating the status level of worker against each parameter. The study was conducted by questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was designed by a comprehensive literature review and expert opinion. The data were collected through questionnaire survey among the construction workers in Bangladesh. The percentages of workers who satisfy the parameters of construction safety, materials, equipment and tools, labour law and BNBC are 19.35%, 6.45%, 9.68%, 4.87% and 2.30% respectively. The workers having the professional training, minimum education and minimum working experience are 6.45%, 46.06% and 62.50% respectively. And the physically fit worker is found 62.25% in this study. Increased numbers of skilled workers boost the construction process and productivity that creates a very positive impact in the construction industry and enriches the national economy of Bangladesh.

Labour skill has a significant impact on time, cost, and quality of a construction project. The competitive construction industry forces companies to increase their labour skill to remain their positions in the industry. It is universally agreed that the skilled worker is one of the main fuels to run construction industry. A skilled worker must have a professional training, minimum 2 years working experience, and have the knowledge of construction materials, equipment and safety and physically fit. To check the status of the worker against nine main parameters of skilfulness of the worker is the key to the study. A questionnaire was designed with very deep literature research and expert opinion. The data were collected through questionnaire survey amongst the construction workers in Bangladesh. The percentages of workers found in this study having full knowledge and practicing regulation of construction safety, materials, equipment's and tools, labour codes and building code are 19.35%, 6.45%, 9.68%, 4.87% and 2.30%, respectively. The workers in the study area having the professional training, minimum education and minimum working experience are 6.45%, 46.06% and 62.50%, respectively. A total of 62.25% workers are found physically sound. Building code practices and awareness building is the driving key to enhance skills of worker.