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Off-site construction (OSC) is generally propagated as a sustainable and green construction method in the global construction industry. Over the past few decades, OSC has become famous worldwide for its numerous benefits. Technological innovation can speed up the development of OSC and has attracted a lot of attention from stakeholders who are promoting technological innovation by seeking collaborations. OSC is different from traditional manufacturing, and little effort has been spent on how the stakeholder relationship quality affects technological innovation. This study therefore makes efforts to explore the mechanism of how stakeholder relationship quality influences the OSC technological innovation and to explain the stakeholder relationship quality in terms of communication, trust, and commitment. This paper constructs a multidimensional hypothesis model consisting of five concepts: communication, trust, commitment, knowledge sharing, and technological innovation. A valid sample of 125 was collected through a questionnaire survey in mainland China. The sample data were dealt with and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLSSEM) to validate the proposed hypothesis model. The results reveal that trust and knowledge sharing affect technological innovation directly. Communication and commitment are not identified to have statistically significant influences on technological innovation in OSC. Communication, trust, and commitment positively contribute to knowledge sharing. Last, knowledge sharing completely and partially mediates between relationship quality and technological innovation. This study explores the impact of stakeholder relationship quality on OSC technological innovation and verifies the mediating role of knowledge sharing. These findings provide valuable theoretical guidance for OSC technological innovation and practical insights for stakeholders to promote technological innovation by enhancing relationship quality and knowledge sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current age of enhanced environmental awareness, transformation to sustainable management in the construction sector is needed. China currently produces the largest amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste around the world, but the average recovery rate of the waste was only about 5% in 2017. In order to investigate problems in current C&D waste management in China, a cross-national comparative analysis is conducted among China and seven selected countries (Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), to compare legal texts of national policies and laws which relate to C&D waste management and are currently being used. Through the comparison, problems in management of C&D waste in China are investigated. The problems could be concluded to: (a) inadequate guidance on recycling, (b) lack of market incentives in utilising recycled materials, (c) incomplete knowledge of stakeholders' responsibilities, (d) lack of penalty for other stakeholders, and (e) inefficient supervision system. By understanding these problems, this paper further provides recommendations to enhance the performance of C&D waste management in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various construction accidents are proven to be caused by multiple unsafe behaviors (e.g., wrong use of PPE), but the risk transmission among different behaviors remains unclear. This paper provides insight into risk transmission through behavioral risk chain that leads to accidents from a system safety perspective. To better understand the coupling mechanism of various unsafe behaviors, integrate different behavioral risk chains and present the risk transmission process, a directed-weighted complex network (DWCN) method was adopted. Historical urban railway construction accidents in China are investigated to extract behavioral risk chain. A DW-BRCNA is applied to integrated behavioral risk chain and the behavioral risk transmission characteristics are explored and clarified by the five network properties, including degree and degree distribution, node strength and node strength distribution, average path length and diameter, weighted clustering coefficient and betweenness centrality. The results show that DW-BRCNA has the characteristics of a small-world, scale-free and hierarchical network, indicating that some unsafe behaviors are of greater importance in the process of risk transmission through behavioral risk chains. In addition, risk transmission in critical behavioral risk chains is more potentially to lead to accidents. This study proposed a new perspective of accident causation analysis from risk transmission among unsafe behaviors. It explains the risk transmission characteristics by a DWCN method based on behavioral risk chains. The findings also provide a practical guidance for developing control strategies on sites to prevent risk transmission and reduce accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In practice, bridge foundations and pier columns are usually constructed with cast-in-place concrete. Precast columns are currently widely used in highway bridges in China, which can save construction time and improve concrete quality. The connection between precast bridge columns and the foundation can affect how forces transfer from one to the other. This paper investigates using external sockets to form a connection between the bridge column and foundation. This method can accelerate the bridge construction time with the additional advantages of improving the orientation and creating a large erection tolerance. Two types of connections are presented and tested to investigate the behavior of the column-foundation connections and find a more suitable way to use external socket connections. The experimental results show that the column-foundation connection design satisfies the design requirements. The results also show that roughening the column surface within the external socket is more effective at connecting the column to the foundation when using an external socket compared to attaching a steel plate on the column. The experimental results are validated with a finite element analysis, resulting in a proposal regarding the column-foundation connection behavior as well as design recommendations for the external socket connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance evaluation in construction safety is of great importance to further improve upon safety management processes. This paper develops a data envelopment analysis (DEA) based framework to evaluate the construction safety performance at the macro level. The core of the method is to compare the output-input ratio of construction safety. Using the building practitioner, construction machinery and equipment, and construction area as the inputs, and value added of construction and death toll as the outputs, safety performance score is computed for the China's provincial construction industries from 2009 to 2017. The results show that the number of benchmark provinces every year is between five and seven. The gap between the best-performing and underperforming province was relatively small in 2012 and big in 2014. Beijing, Qinghai, Hainan, Fujian, Chongqing, and Tianjin can be utilized as role models for the provinces that need to improve their performance in construction safety. The eastern region has the highest score in construction safety performance, followed by the western and central region. This study provides an effective solution to solve performance issue in regional construction safety and improves the tradition performance evaluation system to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed the diversifying means of competitive bidding, where the client plays a critical role in the determination of competition rule. It is widely recognized that the competition rule should be placed on a win-win basis to ensure that both the client and contractors are well considered with respect to their interests. Nevertheless, a vast majority of biddings fail to take account of what contractors really want. Using the methods of literature review and content analysis, 34 tender evaluation factors are proposed to compose the competition rule in China. Contractors' opinions on these factors are collected by virtue of questionnaire survey. Based on the Pareto law, it is found that the competition rule encompasses eleven key factors, and the composition varies slightly between public and private sectors. The Hotelling's T test is conducted on those key factors in common. The implication is that contractors can use indifferent factors (e.g., credit rating, construction plan, completeness of bid components, timely payment to workers) to improve competitiveness, while the client may utilize different factors to diversify the competition rule. This paper probably presents an earliest effort put to examine the acceptability of competition rule in the construction context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Civil Engineering & Management is the property of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over the past decade, prefabricated construction has increasingly gained popularity in addressing environmental concerns while meeting the high construction demand, particularly in developing countries. Accordingly, the concept of stakeholder engagement increasingly garnered attention as it is highly relevant for understanding and explaining the relationships among various stakeholders, like contractors, suppliers, and producers, especially within the fragmented context of prefabrication. To further the field, this study aims to provide a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis for stakeholder engagement in the realm of prefabricated construction via a value-based network. This value-based network analysis is utilized to model multiple relationships between stakeholders as value exchanges, thus enabling to engage them though management with a focus. Specifically, A total of 110 values were identified and analyzed among 12 stakeholders throughout the whole lifecycle via an extensive literature review, interviews, and questionnaires directed at prefabrication practitioners in China. This data collection process garnered 194 valid responses with a 64.7% response rate. The findings show that enhancing stakeholder engagement requires improvements in both the abilities and experiences of developers, and in the collaborative relationships among key stakeholders. These improvements can be achieved by prioritizing the engagement of prefabrication consultants and encouraging the government to issue policies that support developers, producers, and consultants in fostering collaboration. This in-depth network analysis offers practical insights for decision-makers in the management of core stakeholders and value-based relationships, thereby improving stakeholder engagement. Additionally, it expands the current body of knowledge on stakeholder engagement by incorporating the value-based network analysis into the exploration of its stakeholders and relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Internet of Things (IoT) has aroused much interest as a potential approach for improving various construction activities, the extent of its adoption remains limited. The multiple barriers that prevent the wider adoption of IoT in the construction industry need detailed investigation. However, limited research has attempted to understand the barriers to IoT adoption. Therefore, this study aims to identify the critical barriers to IoT adoption in the construction industry and explore the prioritization and hierarchical structure of the barriers factors. Data were collected from relevant literature and feedback from Chinese industry experts, sixteen barriers against IoT adoption were identified and categorized based on the TOE framework assessed in the construction industry. An integrated interpretation structure model and decision-making and trial evaluation laboratory (ISM-DEMATEL) approach is adopted to analyze the interdependence between identified constructs and their intensities. In addition, the identified constructs are also clustered into a suitable group using MICMAC analysis. Results show that inadequate infrastructure, lack of governance, and top management support are the fundamental barrier against IoT adoption. By revealing the mutual relationships and interlinking of barriers, this study will help researchers and practitioners in the construction industry to focus on strategic efforts to overcome these obstacles to effective IoT implementation. This research revealed the barriers to IoT implementation in the Chinese construction industry. Also, it provides methodological tool references for exploring the impact factor of other similar innovative technology applied in this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Civil Engineering & Management is the property of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The emerging Building Information Modeling (BIM) can better promote the development of building industrialization, with data integration between information-rich building models and business processes. However, the practical implementation of BIM still faces barriers. Existing studies have discussed these barriers extensively, but the research on the barriers to the implementation of BIM amid building industrialization in China is inadequate. In this study, 23 barriers were identified through literature review. A questionnaire survey approach was used to collect data from various parties. Factor analysis methods were used to process and rank barrier factors for BIM applications in the context of industrialized building. Based on the analysis of each factor, analytic hierarchy process was adopted to identify the key barriers to the implementation of BIM for industrialized building construction. The study concluded that the main barriers for BIM implementation for industrialized building were capital-related factors and the lack of support from owners. This study proposes that in addition to governmental policy support for BIM and multi-stakeholder engagement, companies should also organize experts to effectively evaluate the risks of applying BIM. Overall, this study provides suggestions on construction organizational transformations in the roadmap of moving towards digital-driven building industrialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its great potential to streamline design and construction processes, the implementation of building information modelling (BIM) in many projects has failed to achieve expected benefits due to user resistance. Grounded in the technology acceptance model and equity theory, this study proposes a model of factors predicting resistance behaviours to BIM implementation during the post-adoption stage in construction projects. The model is tested with partial least squares modelling on survey data collected from design engineers in BIM-based construction projects in China. The empirical results provide evidence that after controlling for related individual, organizational and project characteristics, efficiency and equity perceptions play prominent but independent roles in determining behavioural resistance to BIM implementation, and that these perceptions are differently associated with contextual factors at individual, team and project levels. Apart from the independent contextual factors conceptualized in the model, control factors such as individual age and organization nature are also found to be significantly associated with resistance behaviours. As an exploratory effort to examine resistance behaviours to BIM implementation in construction projects, this study contributes to deepened understandings of the complexity of innovation resistance behaviours in the context of construction projects and offer suggestions for how to manage such behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust is regarded as a critical feature and a central mechanism in business transactions, especially in the Chinese guanxi network. In this context, the major objective of this research is to explore the key factors influencing trust in different stages of a construction project from the perspectives of owners and consultants involved in a Sino-German eco-park in China. The analytic network process (ANP) was employed to assess which factors are most closely related to trust and to establish four models to meet the objective of this study. According to the ANP results, trust is strongly influenced by factors that are associated with the mutual interests between owners and consultants. In addition, there are certain differences in the priority of the factors influencing initial trust between owners and consultants, but these gaps gradually decrease over time. The weight of guanxi also decreases over time, and the owners' and consultants' guanxi transforms from out-group to in-group focused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]