Construction Economics and Building

The Institutional Field Of Learning From Project-Related Failures – Opportunities and Challenges.

Danstan Chiponde — 2024-07-03

Learning from past project failures presents opportunities for firms working within the construction sector to ‘build back wiser’ because, if lessons from these experiences are absorbed, they offer benefits such as mitigation against future failures, and enable the development of resilient project teams. However, instead of using sector-wide perspectives for organisational learning, Project-Based Organisation (PBOs) typically implement internal technological and strategic mechanisms in both learning and project management. Additionally, little attention is given to the institutional context within the sector. Hence, this study focuses on how learning within a PBO is influenced by the external environment by adopting an Institutional theory perspective. Via exploratory research, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 19 UK construction industry professionals and then analysed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that there exists an institutional field of learning within which PBOs operate based on interactions with their external environment. These include: regulatory pillar-related organisations – such as government bodies, and regulatory bodies (e.g., the Health and Safety Executive); Normative pillar-related organisations (professional bodies such as APM and CIOB), and; cultural-cognitive pillar-related organisations (such as peer PBOs, suppliers and the wider supply chain). The study contends that each of these pillars offer lessons for the sector. Findings further reveal that cross organisational learning is hampered mostly by competition and fragmentation. Hence, to ‘build back wiser’ it is important that the sector brings together the identified institutional field members to better learn from project-related failures. Thus, PBOs need to build better institutional networks by viewing other organisations within the institutional field as sources of knowledge and embracing collaboration instead of competition.

Success Factors of the Consultant Selection Stage of the Ghanaian Public Construction Projects: The Road Sector’s Perspective

Chelteau Barajei — 2024-07-03

The success of the Ghanaian public road construction phase and other preconstruction phases have been studied. However, the success of the Ghanaian public road project consultant selection phase has not received any attention, even though it is prone to corruption. The goal of this study is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) that, from the standpoint of a developing country, affect the success of the Ghanaian public road consultant selection phase. Data on the degree to which key success criteria identified in literature have an impact on the success of the Ghanaian public road consultant selection phase from the viewpoints of 156 sector practitioners in Ghana were acquired using a self-administered questionnaire. After that, the relative importance index was used to analyze the data. According to the study, external environmental, project management, and procurement-related factors influence the success of the Ghanaian public road consultant selection phase. The government and organizations that administer public construction projects will now have a better grasp of the CSFs that affect the performance of the Ghanaian public road construction project consultant selection phase and be able to use them as a guide to improving the effective and efficient delivery of public road construction projects. In managing public road projects, the study's findings will be useful to both industry professionals and the Ghanaian government. The study is limited to the consultant selection phase of Ghanaian public road construction projects.

Keywords: Critical success factors, construction, consultant selection phase, construction management, relative importance index.

Framework for Evaluating the Success of Integrated Project Delivery in the Industrial Construction Sector: A Mixed Methods Approach & Machine Learning Application

Xavier Wood — 2024-07-03

Integrated project delivery (IPD) has gained traction as a collaborative approach to managing complexity and uncertainty in large industrial capital projects. While IPD emphasizes team integration and process alignment to drive better outcomes, the lack of standardized benchmarks to evaluate its performance relative to traditional methods persists as a barrier. To bridge this gap, this study developed a practical, and unbiased Project Success Framework (PSF) for IPD on industrial projects. A mixed methods research approach including subject matter experts’ survey, research charrette, and validation survey was conducted to build and validate the PSF. In addition, this study proposed a machine learning (ML)-based application tool embedding PSF to enhance the practicality and applicability of PSF. The machine learning-based application tool was validated by comparing the results with the PSF suggested in this research. The PSF developed in this study allows researchers and practitioners to empirically evaluate the integrated project delivery's efficacy on key industrial project outcomes. In addition, it offers a method to compare project delivery methods across diverse projects, aiding organizations in precise selection using empirical evidence for optimal results. Moreover, this framework aids clients in crafting shared risk/reward models that foster successful outcomes by encouraging desirable behaviors.

Editorial: The Value of Open Access Research in the Age of Opinion-based Decision-Making

Graham Brewer — 2024-06-27

Challenges in Implementation of 7D-BIM for Infrastructure Asset Management: A Systematic Review

Boeing Laishram — 2024-06-13

Infrastructure Asset Management (InfraAM)/Facilities Management (FM) representing operation and maintenance (O&M) phase, accounts for a substantial portion (85%) of project’s total cost, and hence, there is urgent need to invest in technology for infrastructure maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation. This can be done by implementing digital technologies, like Building Information Modeling (BIM), that can help in 3D visualization, 4D scheduling, 5D costing, 6D sustainability, and 7D O&M throughout service life of project. But, BIM’s implementation during O&M faces various challenges and in order to understand those challenges, a systematic literature review (SLR) through PRISMA technique was conducted using 89 peer-reviewed papers from three databases and quantitative and qualitative analysis were performed. The literature revealed various critical challenges (CCs) and success factors (SFs) that influences BIM implementation in O&M phase, but lacks interrelationship between them. Hence, the current study linked various CCs and SFs through a theoretical approach. The study found that role of government and contractual frameworks can help to eliminate most of the challenges. This novel approach could provide significant contributions by helping practitioners and policymakers to understand connections between CCs and role of SFs as potential solutions for enhancing 7D-BIM implementation.

Leveraging Digital Asset Management and Meta-Data Integration for Enhanced Asset Management

Ahmed Alkhard — 2024-06-13

Digital Asset Management (DAM) has emerged as an advanced approach to empower asset managers in controlling and optimizing asset operations. This study addresses the challenge of integrating metadata from a repository of 2340 reported asset problems at one of the public schools in Saudi Arabia over 2 years. The data, obtained in .xls format from the existing asset/facility information management system, was meticulously unified to visualize digital assets enriched with relevant data. Findings showed, among others, repeated data/records, incomplete/inaccurate data, language issues, lack of time reporting a problem, absence of status reports, and confusion between asset and facilities data. The primary aim is to explore the integration of this metadata into an Asset Information Model (AIM) for more efficient asset management. The proposed integrated strategy for supporting metadata in AIM analysis emphasizes effective metadata management. By defining metadata requirements, establishing robust standards, implementing efficient capture and storage processes, seamlessly integrating metadata into the AIM model, establishing governance procedures, leveraging metadata in analysis, and continuously monitoring and optimizing the strategy, organizations enhance the accuracy, consistency, and integrity of AIM analysis. This comprehensive approach fosters improved decision-making in asset and facility management, leading to enhanced overall efficiency. Successful implementation and further research on this strategy contribute to AIM analysis advancement and metadata utilization optimization, elevating asset management practices in the evolving construction and infrastructure industry. This research provides valuable insights into digital asset management and presents a compelling blueprint for leveraging metadata integration for effective asset management strategies.

An in-depth investigation of digital construction technologies from a building economics perspective

Pinar Irlayici Cakmak — 2024-06-13

While initial costs in building economics cover a small portion of the costs incurred during its life-cycle, most occur in construction, operation, and subsequent processes. Despite its numerous contributions to building economics, the construction industry is slowly adapting to digital technologies. To overcome the barriers and crown the assets with their proper management, dynamic applications of digital tools and techniques of Industry 4.0 need to emerge in the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to present an integrative approach that combines quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to critically review the available literature on the potential contributions of digital construction technologies to building economics through the post-design phases of the life cycle. The primary focus of the investigation is how digital technologies can overcome prevalent problems and how they can impact building economics. The study contributes to the field by providing an awareness that will inform researchers and practitioners of the trends, gaps, and more profound exchange of ideas in future research efforts.

Three Sustainability Dimensions Verses Climate Change Act 2008: A Retrospective Numerical Modelling

K. S. Getvoldsen — 2024-06-13

Sustainability continues to be a key field of study, encapsulating three principle dimensions: social, economic and environmental, which are also found within the context of climate change. However, there appears to be limited literature drawing upon the between sustainability and climate change. relationship, particularly in connection to carbon emissions and energy management. These issues have already been the subject of legislation in different countries, though still, predominantly individually rather than from an integrated perspective. The Climate Change At (2008) provides a platform through which the relationship between sustainability and climate change can be considered. This paper establishes this relationship aspects of this relationship by employing the increased use of insulation within the UK housing stock to contribute to achieving the carbon reduction set by the Act. Taking a retrospective view through theoretical numerical modelling, this paper demonstrates that CO₂ reductions were achievable. The results demonstrate that links can be drawn between sustainability and climate change and identifies that significant CO₂ savings, through robust energy management of the UK housing stock, these results can be achieved. It is also suggested that the theoretical mole developed can be reproduced to consider climate change targets and provide benchmarks, not only in the UK but in other countries.

Editorial: Special Issue - Economics in Digital Construction

Georgios Kapogiannis — 2024-06-10

Welcome to this special issue of our CEB journal, dedicated to exploring the multifaceted economic dimensions of digital construction within the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operation (AECO) sector. As digital technologies increasingly spread throughout this sector, they bring about transformative impacts not only on how projects are designed and managed but also on the broader economic landscape. The rapid adoption of technologies like Building Information Modelling (BIM) and digital asset management systems has set a new paradigm in project efficiency and data utilisation. These advancements promise substantial economic benefits, ranging from increased productivity to enhanced decision-making capabilities, which, in turn, can spur significant growth in the broader economy. However, efficient and fair distribution and diffusion of these benefits in society is not always given, as stronger economies can more efficiently utilise the benefits of Digital Construction compared to weaker economies. Consequently, there is a need signaled for structural reforms in the latter, to improve the rate of integration of digitalisation in the construction sector (Kapogiannis, et al., 2023). Climate change is also a factor that now poses challenges for the construction sector, with digitalisation a key element able to address these challenges.

A Systematic Review of Economic Sustainability of Vertical Greenery Systems for Buildings

Irfan Haider Khan — 2024-06-10

Urban areas have been greatly affected by climate change, leading to a rise in global temperatures. Vertical Greenery Systems (VGSs) are becoming increasingly important as a means of mitigating the effects of climate change. This research assessed the economic feasibility of VGSs to reduce the effects of climate change and enhance urban sustainability. Seventeen studies were evaluated in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to determine the various costs, benefits, and economic indicators associated with VGS. Furthermore, the net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period were thoroughly evaluated to gain insight into their long-term economic sustainability. The results show that, even though the initial cost of VGS may be high, it can provide long-term financial advantages to building owners and operators through energy savings, increased property values, and decreased operational expenses. Nevertheless, the extended payback period and negative net present values for certain VGS types make them financially unsustainable. The purpose of this review is to help create evidence-based guidelines and suggestions for the successful implementation of sustainable VGS.