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The construction sector is vulnerable to safety risk incidents due to its dynamic nature. Although numerous research efforts and technological advancements have focused on addressing workplace injuries, most of the studies perform empirical and deterministic postimpact evaluations on construction project performance. The effective modeling of the safety risk impacts on project performance provides decisionmakers with a valuable tool toward incidents prevention and proper safety risk management. Therefore, this study collected Australian incident records from the construction industry from 2016 onwards and conducted discrete event simulation to quantitatively measure the impact of safety risk incidents on project cost performance. Moreover, this study investigated the correlation between safety risk incidents and the age of injured workers. The findings show a strong correlation between the middle-aged workforce and the severity of incidents on project cost overruns. The ex-ante, nondeterministic analysis of safety risk impacts on project performance provides insightful results that will advance safety management theory in the direction of achieving zero harm workplace environments., (© 2021 Society for Risk Analysis.)

Dynamic work environments in construction and civil infrastructure sectors remain susceptible to safety risks. Although previous research has resulted in improvements, there is currently a gap in measuring temporal impacts of safety risks quantitatively. Precise modeling of potential delays caused by safety incidents is vital for efficient management of risks and making informed decisions on project contingency. Toward this aim, the current research adopts a nondeterministic modeling method to simulate and quantify safety incidents and find correlations with project delays. Using a deductive approach, three research questions were formulated, and investigations conducted on Australian data collected from 2016 onwards. Quantitative impacts of safety risks on project completion times were numerically measured. Furthermore, safety risks were ranked based on their significance of temporal impacts on project performance. This paper contributes to the theory of safety management by developing a nondeterministic method to model impacts of safety risks at both industry and project levels. Practical contributions and outcomes can facilitate using machine learning methods to plan proportionate time buffers to address safety risks., (© 2021 Society for Risk Analysis.)

Introduction: Safety is one of the critical and persistent challenges in the construction industry. Measuring safety performance could allow decision-makers to check safety production processes and enhance the health and safety environment., Method: This study developed a total-factor framework based on the global Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method to measure safety performance. The performance trend and influencing factors of pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency were separately investigated. The safety performance of construction employees in Australia was measured as a case study., Results: The results demonstrate that the safety performance in the Australian construction industry has been evidently enhanced, which is mainly promoted by the progress of pure technical elements. The scale factors did not play a positive and important role in driving the performance., Conclusions: The increasing regional differences in safety performance could be reduced by learning the practices from the benchmark construction industry, such as a young worker program, small business safety program, workplace mental health program, and advanced construction technologies., Practical Applications: The method can be utilized to measure safety performance and investigate the pathways to enhance performance without influencing production inputs and outcomes. The model and experiences of how to promote safety performance on the policymakers and employers were recognized., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Three-dimensional concrete printing (3DCP) is a sustainable and green approach for rapid construction with the ability to create complex shapes to preserve the intended aesthetic appearance for an affordable cost. Even after a decade of attempts, there are many limitations and challenges to applying this technology for constructions without borders. The lack of guidelines for mix designs, quality control procedures during extrusion, printing and building phases, compatibility of material with extruder, standard testing, and guidelines to verify suitability of mixture with respect to the application and exposure conditions and limited machine capacity are several areas to be addressed for applications without borders. The development of 3DCP applications as a sustainable and green technology is another challenging task due to high Portland cement consumption in 3DCP. However, reducing the high usage of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with pozzolanic waste materials replacement and environmentally friendly cement indicates the direction of moving 3DCP into a sustainable pathway. The authors reviewed more than 200 refereed articles published on materials and techniques in 3DCP. Inconsistency in disseminating knowledge in research articles has hindered the creation of a monolithically connected chain of research efforts and findings in accelerating the development and adoption of this technology. This paper summarizes the common approach to developing 3DCP mix designs and identifies the key areas for the future development of materials and techniques and challenges to be addressed for the global adoption of 3DCP. The current progress and challenges in the context of Australia's construction industry and future trends for the acceptance of 3DCP are also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian construction industry is facing a mental health crisis; poor mental health indicators are significantly higher than the all-industry average. Despite a growing body of research into the mental health of the industry's workforce, concerns have been raised about its alignment with regulatory developments in this area. This raises questions about the relevance of research to support mental health policy development in Australia and evidence-based research on mental health policy relating to the construction industry. However, there has been no research to explore the extent of this problem. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by reporting the results of a systematic review of peer-reviewed mental health research using the PRISMA scoping review methodology. The results reveal significant misalignment between existing research and Australian government regulation in this area. A particularly low level of research–policy alignment is found in the areas of: violence and traumatic events at work, financial concerns, poor organizational change management, workplace injustice, and social support. The paper concludes with recommendations for new avenues of mental health research to address these gaps, enabling closer alignment between mental health research and regulatory reform. It is concluded that this will facilitate more relevant research and improved evidence-based decision-making in this important field of research and policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts to promote gender diversity, the construction industry in Australia remains one of the most male-dominated industries. Women, compared to their male counterparts, progress more slowly and encounter major obstacles to career development in the construction industry. Existing research tends to focus on broad factors that impact women's career development in all career stages despite the fact that women's career priorities often change as they progress through different career stages. This study applied Super's career development model to investigate the influential factors on women's career development across four career stages: explore (precareer), establishment (early career), midcareer, and late career. By conducting a systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, this research identified influential factors related to women's career development in the construction industry, namely, attitude, capability, interest, past experiences, family responsibilities, parental influences, role models, support, culture, organizational practice, and policies and regulations. Based on the women's empowerment framework, the identified factors were coded and synthesized into three dimensions: individual, relational, and environmental. The research finds there is a significant focus on providing relational and environmental support to women in construction, and less attention is given to individual factors. The review revealed that personal interest and parental perceptions in construction influence women's career development in precareer and early career stages, while masculine culture significantly impacts women's career development in all career stages. This study also summarizes the theoretical contributions and practical implications drawn from existing research on different stages of women's career development and provides guidance for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is the primary focus for social procurement policies in many countries. However, there has been little research into the drivers of social procurement policy adoption in this industry. To help address this gap in research, this paper reports the results of semi-structured interviews with fifteen social procurement professionals who are implementing social procurement into the Australian construction industry. Results reveal interesting historical parallels with the implementation of environmental sustainability initiatives. However, social procurement has yet to become normalized. There appears to be a high level of homogeneity in industry practice and while there is considerable scope for innovation, this is constrained by the prescriptive and 'top-down' nature of social procurement policies in Australia which make it difficult for organizations to respond 'bottom-up' to actual community needs. It is concluded that the considerable untapped potential of social procurement policies to create social value currently depends on the intrapreneurial efforts of a small number of emerging social procurement professionals who are individually challenging the many institutional norms and practices which undermine the implementation of these policies into the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In Australia, as in many other countries, refugees are over-represented in the ranks of the unemployed, under-employed and precariously employed and often become frustrated in their attempts to secure work. Despite the construction industry being a major potential source of employment for refugees, there has been a surprising lack of research into their experiences of securing work in the industry. Addressing this gap and also the general lack of voice for refugees in construction research, the aim of this paper is to explore the barriers refugees face in securing employment in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reports a survey of refugees who have worked or attempted to seek work in the Australian construction industry. Findings: Results show that the main barriers to securing employment in construction are: lack of local work experience; employer discrimination; employer failure to recognise previous qualifications, skills and experience and employers not understanding the challenges they face. Government employment agencies and systems are also perceived to be of limited value and overly complex, in contrast to the activities of not-for-profit support agencies. Research limitations/implications: While the research is limited to Australia, the findings contribute an important and missing refugee dimension to the emerging body of research on construction social procurement. They also contribute unique sector-specific insights into the broader debate about refugee resettlement and employment. Further research is needed in other national contexts. Practical implications: Recommendations are made to address the barriers to employment identified including: initiatives to provide refugees with work experience in the industry; education to break-down negative stereotypes of refugees among employers; greater support for not-for-profits supporting refugees and reform of government and employment agency systems and procedures. Social implications: By enhancing understanding of the barriers to employment for refugees in construction and proposing solutions to reduce those barriers, this research contributes new insights into a growing global challenge of how we better integrate growing numbers of refugees into harmonious and prosperous societies. Originality/value: The findings are important in facilitating the smoother integration of refugees into society. Beyond the moral imperative, there are significant social, cultural and economic benefits which successful refugee integration brings to host countries and industries like construction which in many countries are now being required to employ refugees in their workforce as a condition of public sector contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite substantial investments and efforts by governments, construction organisations, and researchers, the construction industry remains one of the most male-dominated industries in Australia, with women being underrepresented numerically and hierarchically. Efforts to attract and retain women in construction have been implemented inconsistently on an ad hoc basis. As part of a larger research project that focuses on retaining women in the Australian construction industry, this research conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The objective is to explore the factors that influence women's careers and their experiences in the Australian construction industry that have been identified in the literature over the past three decades. Additionally, the findings are anticipated to inform future efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of current initiatives to retain women and develop a framework for enhancing women's experiences and retaining them in this profession. This SLR revealed that excessive and rigid work hours, gendered culture and informal rules, limited career development opportunities, and negative perceptions of women's abilities are the main factors and issues that cause women to leave the industry. Among these, rigid and long work hours seem to be the foremost factor to be prioritised. Understanding the roles of key variables in driving this cultural change is important to ensure that concrete progress is made. The paper draws three major aspects from the literature in which solutions and policies can be researched, designed and implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's construction industry throughout the last two decades has seen an increase in the number of women pursuing careers. The percentage it has increased by between 1998 and 2020 is a disappointing 0.2% despite the research, strategies, and initiatives the Australian Government has implemented during the interval. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and support the legislative notion of required gender percentages on tendering documents and how this change could increase the number of women in public projects. A systematic literature review of scholarly sources from the database Scopus was applied to develop a thematic analysis of women in the industry. The results found four themes: underrepresentation, barriers to career, education pathways, and opportunities for employment. These themes reinforced the need to introduce legislation such as gender requirements for public projects. Connections made were that gender legislation would increase the number of job opportunities, more jobs would encourage all levels of education to promote women in construction, more women in construction would improve their underrepresentation, and thus make women-centric problems in the workforce a more common issue and more likely to improve. The paper concludes that to see an increase in the number of women in Australia's construction industry, the government must take enforceable legislative change. This change must start by creating legislation that requires organisations that want to tender with the government to have a minimum percentage of women in any proposed public works submission before it can be awarded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The law of contract is changing. "Good faith" and "relational contracts" are used by parties more than ever before in commercial disputes. Yet, their definition and what it really means to act in good faith are still unsettled in the UK and Australia, reducing the (judicial and doctrinal) utility and impact of such conceptual tools. In contrast, the construction industry is trying to move forward in policy terms. Over the last 30 years, industry-led initiatives have been working to improve collaboration. In the UK and Australia, new collaborative frameworks contain express provisions asking parties to act with mutual trust and cooperation among other collaborative schemes. Examination of the judicial approach and industry initiatives demonstrates that there is – underpinning both – a project-centric approach (even if that is yet to be fully recognised or articulated). It is the aim of this paper to further articulate this understanding by examining at the judicial and industry positions in the UK and Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to present a platform to identify the optimal staffing of a multiskilled workforce in the construction industry. The novelty of our model is its capability in developing a customized and context specific multiskilled workforce staffing strategy that identifies the best compromise between multiskilling costs and benefits with consideration of unique features of different production environments. Another novelty of our multiskilled workforce staffing is its capacity to explore every possible schedule associate with every possible staffing strategy. Our model chooses the multiskilling staffing strategy corresponding to the schedule that leads to the best results in terms of cost and time. The paper examined optimal multiskilling staffing and scheduling and compared it with well-regarded existing multiskilling strategies in the construction industry, such as chaining and direct capacity balancing, using an optimization technique. The parameters of the optimization model were informed by a small hypothetical case and a real case off-site construction factory producing bathroom pods in Australia. Developed an optimal multiskilling staffing strategy continuously and in some cases significantly outweighed the existing well-regarded multiskilling strategies. The optimal multiskilling staffing strategy is highly context-specific and can be very complex because achieving it needs having an appropriate staffing platform. Subjective decision making on a multi skilling staffing strategy that does not deploy the workforce to the most appropriate workstations can lead to a significant productivity loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of Building Information Modelling (BIM) has revolutionized the infrastructure construction industry by introducing real-time and collaborative information management tools to be used throughout the lifecycle of projects. The importance of BIM in this industry has been emphasized in previous research. However, strategies for the implementation of this system is still less explored, which requires more elaboration and validation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate such strategies considering all necessary dimensions of the BIM system in infrastructure construction projects. The findings are based on theoretical discussion and semi-structured interviews in a case study project in New South Wales, Australia. The results revealed that BIM integrates various elements of infrastructure construction, which include but are not limited to risk, time, cost, energy, safety, and sustainability. It was found that implementation strategies should focus on improving the contribution of the BIM system to infrastructure construction in terms of improved (1) integrity and automation, (2) collaboration, and (3) optimization. Identification of seven technical and managerial implementations strategies is the core contribution of this research. These strategies provide practitioners with insight into technical and managerial measures to be taken for the successful implementation of the BIM system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building operations use 45% of the total energy in Australia, and Net-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) are instrumental in achieving net zero emissions by 2050. However, research reveals that various factors hinder NZEB adoption in Australia, and it is imperative to contextualise the barriers, thereby highlighting clear gaps that can be addressed to enhance the implementation of NZEB in Australia. This study presents a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis to examine the barriers that hinder the implementation of NZEB contextualised within the Australian building industry. The paper's novelty resides in its contextualisation of barriers to NZEB thereby highlighting clear gaps that can be addressed to enhance the implementation of NZEB in Australia. Emergent results reveal the most impactful barriers experienced and the inter-relatedness between barriers and their effects on each other. These identified barriers are also compared with comparable countries, including the UK, China, Italy and the US. New insight and knowledge acquired provide a basis for assessing potential solutions to the main barriers. Findings show that a lack of knowledge, climate issues, and cost issues, in addition to government policy factors, are considered primary barriers encountered by the industry, hindering the achievement of NZEBs. It is imperative that future studies and initiatives counteract these impacts to realise a better implementation of NZEB in the Australian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations play an essential role in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. Despite attempts to encourage gender diversity in the workplace, the construction industry in Australia remains one of the most male-dominated industries. Existing research tends to focus on identifying barriers to gender equality and women's career development, with limited exploration of organizations' current initiative implementation. To fill this research gap, this study aims to examine how organizations implement initiatives affecting gender equality and women's career development in the Australian construction industry. This study applied the women's empowerment framework and conducted a thematic analysis of diversity, inclusion, and equality policies, strategies, action plans, corporate reports, annual reports, and websites within the context of gender equality and women's career development in construction companies. Through a comprehensive analysis, the study identifies prevalent practices and initiatives related to gender equality initiatives in the construction industry, synthesizing them into six themes: flexible working arrangements, inclusive and anti-discriminatory culture, promoting career development, recruitment, and promotion, shared caring responsibility, and strategic commitments. The findings also revealed areas for improvement, giving recommendations on how to further empower women in the construction industry through enhanced gender diversity initiatives. This study sheds light on the current state of gender diversity and inclusion efforts within construction companies and provides practical recommendations for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and organizational leaders who seek to foster more inclusive and equitable work environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The construction industry is resource intensive, dominated by brick and concrete, and generates substantial waste. • A bottom-up approach to material flow analysis was used to estimate stocks and flows. • Existing datasets are not able to adequately quantify the material flow for construction in Australia. • Variations in material use and waste intensity between states were identified. • Addressing CDW data gaps at a regional level is critical to closing the loop in material flow analysis. Material use within construction dominates resource consumption worldwide. Correspondingly, construction is associated with high rates of waste. Transitioning to a circular economy relies heavily on domestic markets, efficient supply chains, and a clear understanding of current and predicted material flows. Material flow analyses have been used extensively globally to generate insights into materials in use, changes over time and future waste generation. However, existing databases do not hold the necessary information to conduct such an analysis for the Australian residential construction industry. This paper uses a novel qualitative bottom-up approach to complement data gaps in existing databases to establish a material stock and flow analysis of the Australian residential construction industry. This approach has highlighted the dominance and continued growth of concrete by the sector, and has shown the importance of addressing data gaps in the industry as well as employing a location-based approach to move towards the circular economy. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous benefits are delivered by the utilization of volumetric modular construction (VMC); however, it carries unique risks at different project stages, which is one of the significant reasons for its low adoption. To date, scant research has adequately examined VMC's risks during projects. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by identifying and assessing critical risk factors (CRFs) within VMC from different stakeholder group perspectives in Australia and New Zealand (NZ). A survey of 110 VMC professionals from Australia and NZ, which examined 31 specific CRFs, was established via a literature review. The CRFs were divided into their associated VMC project stage: (1) design and planning (DP); (2) off-site manufacturing (OM); (3) transport and logistics (TL); and (4) on-site assembly (OA). Fault tree analysis (FTA) was then used to analyze the CRFs. The results indicate that the DP stage risks are the most significant since they could affect VMC's downstream stages. Essential CRFs at each stage were design freeze or change order issues, module geometry conflicts, size and weight restrictions, and dimensional and geometrical variabilities. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study represents a first attempt at analyzing VMC CRFs in the Australian and NZ construction industry. Overall, this study could contribute to enhancing VMC practices and furthering VMC's adoption as a sustainable and circular construction practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embodied carbon is a buzzword in the construction industry. Australia is committed to achieving Net Zero 2050 targets, and minimizing embodied carbon (EC) is inevitable. Owing to the population growth, there will be a significant demand for residential construction. Therefore, the material consumption in residential construction should be evaluated and proper strategies should be in place to minimize EC. The aim of this research is to undertake a preliminary study of EC in the Australian residential sector, with an emphasis on new residential home construction. This research presents a preliminary study on EC in residential buildings in Australia. Three case study residential buildings were used in this study. All three case studies are single -story residential units, with a gross floor area between 200 and 240 m2. One Click LCA software was used to calculate the EC. The EC of three case study residential homes is between 193 and 233 kgCO2e/m2. Based on the findings of this study, 'other structures and materials' contribute to a large amount of EC in residential construction. Concrete and aluminum are considered significant contributors to EC. Therefore, it is vital to either introduce low-EC material to replace aluminum windows or introduce various design options to minimize the use of aluminum in windows. There are various sustainable concretes available with low EC. It is essential to explore these low-EC concretes in residential homes as well. This research identifies the importance of adopting strategies to reduce the carbon impact from other sources, including concrete. It is also essential to consider the EC through transportation related to construction and promote locally sourced building materials in residential construction. Therefore, the results of this research indicate the necessity of reducing raw material consumption in Australian residential construction by implementing approaches such as a circular economy in order to circulate building materials throughout the construction supply chain and reduce raw material extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the current state of Industry 4.0 (IR 4.0) with regard to construction in Australia and to identify the key factors that are driving and hindering its adoption. A literature review and desktop review were conducted to extract mainstream topics, followed by a two-folded workshop designed with a multidisciplinary team of academics, as well as representatives of mainstream firms and peak bodies from the construction value chain. Our study has highlighted the importance of considering both technological and human-related factors in the adoption of IR 4.0 to address barriers that have been traditionally overlooked, and work towards a more successful and holistic implementation of this transformative paradigm. By considering the social aspects of construction, prioritizing data-driven approaches with a focus on privacy and ethics, and emphasizing integration, these facilitators contribute to the effective implementation and success of IR 4.0 in the construction industry. The findings of this study have significant implications for the construction industry in Australia. Addressing the barriers to digital construction adoption and embracing IR 4.0 technologies can help the industry to improve productivity, reduce costs, and enhance sustainability. Additionally, investing in education and training can help to build the necessary skills and capabilities needed to drive the industry forward in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Engineered Wood Systems (EWS) as structural alternatives or complements of traditional materials, such as steel and concrete, is of growing interest and acceptance in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. Gathering evidence from the Australian context, this paper proposes a roadmap for the adoption of EWS as the primary structural materials of medium-rise buildings, with the scope of increasing levels of public awareness about the potential and current shortcomings of these building technologies. A nation-wide survey with stakeholders at the forefront of adoption in structural design, construction, and property development, indicates that the demand for timber in multi-storey projects has promising prospects of growth, but faces circumstantial industry-wide hurdles in the short to medium term. Awareness of benefits and inclination towards more use of timber among designers are positive factors that provide a promising base for further adoption. The translation of positive front-end design attitudes into adoption, however, requires holistic long-term investment efforts with industry-wide education. The pathway to innovation for timber in multi-storey projects needs to grow beyond mere promotional strategies of its benefits, seeking to expand technical knowledge through education and reaching out beyond a group of already committed and knowledgeable stakeholders at the forefront of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a recent proliferation of social procurement policies in Australia that target the construction industry. This is mirrored in many other countries, and the nascent research in this area shows that these policies are being implemented by an emerging group of largely undefined professionals who are often forced to create their own roles in institutional vacuums with little organisational legitimacy and support. By mobilising theories of how organisational champions diffuse innovations in other fields of practice, this paper contributes new insights into the evolving nature of these newly emerging roles and the motivations which drive these professionals to overcome the institutional inertia they invariably face. The results of semi-structured interviews, with fifteen social procurement champions working in the Australian construction industry, indicate that social procurement champions come from a wide range of professional backgrounds and bring diverse social capital to their roles. Linked by a shared sense of social consciousness, these champions challenge traditional institutional norms, practices, supply chain relationships, and traditional narratives about the concepts of value in construction. We conclude that, until normative standards develop around social procurement in the construction industry, its successful implementation will depend on external institutional pressures and the practical demonstration of what is possible in practice within the performative constraints of traditional project objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value-added trade has increased rapidly in recent decades in the context of globalisation. This paper aims to measure the energy embodied in the value-added trade and the ecological relationships in the networks of the international construction industries. A hybrid method which combines ecological network analysis and the input–output method has been adopted. The direct energy intensities in most countries ranged from 0 to 3.0 trillion joules per million US$ and the dominant relationships were control and exploitation in the selected 15 years. For the construction sector, the negative relationships were dominant at 63.9% in Australia and 79.19% in China. The ratio of positive relationships increased from 24.3% to 31.5%, while the ratio of negative relationships declined from 75.7% to 68.5% over the 15 years. The mutualism index ranged from 0.72 to 0.98 over the 15 years, maintaining a value less than 1. In contrast, the synergism index had an increase of 12.2 over the 15 years. The results indicate that both direct energy intensity and the value-added ratio are important factors in relation to the energy embodied in value-added trade. Sectoral influence on the national industrial system has been interpreted in this paper to stimulate further research. • The energy embodied in the value-added trade of the international construction industries. • The combination of ecological and economic connections in an analysis of value-added trade. • The influence of specific construction sectors on the network depending on flow capacity. • The exploitation and control relationships that dominate the value-added trade system. • The balance between the value-added ratio and energy intensity in sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender equality at work in male-dominated industries is conditioned by intrinsic systemic issues which established policies have, to a significant extent, failed to address, as women's participation remains under-represented. This study argues for the reappraisal of the issue through a different lens and carries out a systematic and thematic review of the literature on women in construction in Australia through a women's empowerment framework. Despite its usual application in gender inequality at work in development studies, the concept of empowerment lacks attention in the context of developed countries, particularly regarding the construction industry. Empowerment has been proved a useful overarching framework to analyse personal, relational, and environmental factors affecting women's ability to be or do. In the examined studies, there is significant focus on external barriers to women in construction, such 'organisational practices' (environmental), 'support' and 'others' attitudes and behaviour' (relational). There is, however, limited attention to more active stances of power, such as one's attitude (personal), control and capacity, in shifting power dynamics. The paper draws seven major findings, covering personal, relational and environmental dimensions, supported and supplemented by some international studies, and suggests the way forward for empowering women in construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The business benefits envisaged for BIM represent the main criteria for decision-making about BIM implementation – or shy away from BIM. Despite the significance, traditional evaluation techniques have difficulty to capture "the true value" of BIM from multiple levels and dimensions – as an effective evaluation method is supposed to. This study aims to identify the significant factors that affect BIM return on investment (ROI), develop an integrated model for companies and examine the influence of intangible returning factors of BIM on the rate of BIM implementation. Design/methodology/approach: A cluster sampling technique was used; 92 questionnaires completed by Australian architecture, engineering and construction small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) provided the basis to identify and analyse the key measurable returning factors, value drivers and strategic benefits associated with BIM ROI. Findings: Applying the PLS-SEM technique, findings reveal that a lack of reliable quantification methods for the ROI factors associated with BIM significantly affects the organisation's commitments to implement BIM. In essence, the failure to adequately identify and assess these benefits could result in the system not being appropriately implemented and supported by executive sponsors, who give priority to hard and tangible ROI measurements. Practical implications: The outcome of this study would be of direct appeal to policymakers, industry professionals and the academic community alike, in providing data-informed insight into the intersection between the implementation of BIM and the concept of ROI. Findings would provide a springboard for further research into using ROI factors to increase BIM implementation. Though the findings are directly applicable and contextualised for Australia, they provide lessons and offer a blueprint for similar studies in other countries and settings. That is, regardless of the context, findings raise awareness and provide a point of reference for the quantification of intangible returning factors rather than the tangible returning factors, as one of the first studies in its kind. Originality/value: The study provides original insight in drawing attention to an untapped area for research in BIM implementation, namely BIM ROI. Apart from raising awareness around BIM ROI, the study is novel in providing a quantified model that establishes the links and level of impacts of various factors associated with BIM ROI. Findings of this study, particularly add value to the body of knowledge related to the business implications associated with BIM implementation in the context of Australian SMEs, while providing lessons for other countries and settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing awareness of the undesirable environmental impact of cement-based products has led to rethinking earth construction within the digitally mechanised framework of Industry 4.0. The attempts to mechanise earth construction started nearly a decade ago, yet, the past four years have seen a surge in the intensity of research on the advanced manufacturing of earth construction. Additive manufacturing of clay-rich soil, like in cob and adobe methods, has been attracting the primary attention, while on the contrary, considerably limited research has been conducted to mechanise other methods such as rammed earth. This paper collected, reviewed, and analysed the state-of-the-art research on the advanced manufacturing of rammed earth construction, with a focus on process design aspects and machine development. Two case studies of recent digitally manufactured rammed earth projects in Australia and Switzerland were comprehensively analysed to provide a realistic feasibility assessment of the potential and technical challenges. The insights from this research provide a holistic and tangible roadmap to the digital manufacturing of rammed earth construction, which aids in making it more desirable and capable of meeting contemporary demands of the architecture and construction of Industry 4.0. • State-of-the-art advanced manufacturing methods for rammed earth construction are critically reviewed. • Two case studies of digitally manufactured rammed earth projects in Australia and Switzerland are comprehensively analysed. • Potential and challenges of advanced manufacturing for rammed earth construction are discussed. • Information for enhanced utilisation of digital techniques in rammed earth construction is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The burden of health and safety related issues emanating from the modern workplace is overwhelming. Although the prevailing statistics found in the literature show that victims of workplace fatalities and injuries are higher in developing countries and transition economies, there is a very limited understanding of the causal factors that may correspond to the continuous increase in the occupational exposure of employees to various fatalities and injuries. The purpose of this study was to review the literature on occupational safety of workers with the objective of highlighting the major causal factors of workplace injuries and fatalities from a multi-regional perspective, particularly on job-contexts with highest safety and health related hazards. Methodology: A systematic review of the literature was conducted on 73 empirical studies in the regions of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and the Americas (the US & Canada). Findings: The results showed that the highest number of injuries and fatalities were mostly found in the construction industry. It further emerged that most of the studies were centered in developing countries within Africa and Asia. Other results and recommendations were discussed for each region. Value: The findings from this study have the potential to expose the regional dynamics in relation to safety in the workplace. This study also addresses the main areas of concern for stakeholders to promote organizational development and safety culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effect of Australian construction firms' cooperative behavior on reverse logistics outsourcing performance (RLOP). Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the aim, a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from construction firms in Australia. Following this, the study used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze 173 responses for testing seven hypotheses that are related to the positive effects of cooperative behavior on RLOP. Findings: The results indicate that three dimensions of customer cooperative behavior (cooperation, commitment and planning) positively influence RLOP in different ways. Cooperation only directly affects RLOP while planning only has an indirect influence on RLOP. Commitment affects RLOP both directly and indirectly. Originality/value: This is the first study examining empirically antecedents of RLOP in the construction industry. Additionally, it reveals the mediating role of cooperation. Cooperation fully mediates the relationship between planning and RLOP, and partially mediates the relationship between commitment and RLOP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian prefabricated construction market has been developing rapidly in recent years. New prefabrication-related technologies, materials, systems and services are also emerging in the current Australian market. Although some studies have been undertaken to explore the benefits and challenges of implementing prefabrication in Australia over the past 15 years, they do not reflect the recent changes in the industry. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap and identify the major changes in the current Australian prefabricated construction industry from industrial perceptions. Through literature reviews and industry interviews, factors reflecting major changes in the current Australian prefabricated construction, including prefabrication industry development, emerging benefits and challenges, were identified and discussed in this study. The challenges identified from interviews were classified into eight aspects related to feasibility, design, manufacturing, transportation, on-site construction, standardisation, skills and knowledge, finance and market. Furthermore, 21 recommendations and related key responsible parties were identified to tackle these challenges. The findings will provide useful references for various stakeholders to have a better understanding of the current prefabrication industry development in the Australian context and re-think how to adapt to future changes for the uptake of prefabricated construction in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry in many countries is faced with skill shortages. Attracting more female workers in the male-dominated construction industry can help alleviate this issue. However, perceived concerns of increased or specific Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risks for females could be a significant deterrent. Due to their marginal representation in various trade roles, the overall analyses of OHS incident data fail to capture the specific OHS concerns that apply to female construction workers. This study presents an empirical analyses of workers' compensation data obtained from Safe Work Australia for 12 years (2008–2019) to investigate specific OHS risks for female construction workers. The annual average incident trend does not present a steady increase or decrease in permanent and temporary incapacities among female construction workers. Moreover, the incident number, severity, and employment data together reveal that female workers in both professional and manual or trade occupations have lower incident rates than their male counterparts. However, the findings also reveal that: (1) building and plumbing women laborers and earthmoving plant operators are more prone to injuries that result in permanent incapacities; (2) fractures, soft tissue injuries, deafness, anxiety, stress, and depression lead to permanent incapacities among female workers; and (3) falls on the same level, muscular stress while handling objects, long-term exposure to sounds, work pressure, workplace harassment, and bullying result in permanently incapacitating injuries. The study also noted the differences in the occupations, mechanisms of incidents, and injury types that contribute to most incidents among male and female construction workers. The findings of this study can help training providers, construction organizations, and practitioners identify specific OHS concerns for developing more comprehensive OHS management plans, training, and awareness programs for female construction workers. The existing OHS management and training programs should be remodeled accordingly to incorporate gender-specific OHS risks and injury mechanisms rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Clients, specifically in public projects, may stipulate that the contractor provides gender-specific OHS management plans to ensure the OHS of workers of different genders. It is vital to educate female construction workers from various occupations about specific OHS risks, incident mechanisms, and preventive actions. The higher occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders due to handling objects demands redesigning work processes to reduce female construction workers' manual handling of objects. The present study also shows that work pressure, anxiety, and depression are prevalent among female construction workers, taxing their mental health and causing permanent incapacities. The psychosocial conditions and work pressure resulting from these health conditions must be managed at both the project and organizational levels to attract and retain more female workers in the construction industry. Such efforts are expected to improve female representation and their OHS, well-being, and job satisfaction and reduce skill shortages in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to identify the factors that prevented British aircraft manufacturers from investing in Australia in the second half of the 1930s, a period when rearmament was creating demand for aircraft. The article looks at several unsuccessful proposals by British manufacturers to establish factories in Australia to build aircraft in the late 1930s, with additional attention being given to one proposal in particular. There is evidence that the Australian Government favoured the creation of an Australian‐owned industry building aircraft under licence to foreign manufacturers, and it was this factor that largely deterred British investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social dimensions of sustainability's three bottom lines are often overlooked in the construction industry. This is despite attempts to find optimal trade-offs between economic growth, environmental impacts, human health and well-being, as well as social considerations. This study reviews the literature on social sustainability (SS) within the construction arena, identifies research gaps and proposes a forward-looking research agenda. This critical review employes the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses' (PRISMA) technique to retrieve secondary data on SS from available academic, government and industry documents. The literature analysis focuses on seven themes: (1) definition of SS, (2) the theoretical dimensions of SS, (3) primary stakeholders, (4) policy and guidelines, (5) major SS performance indicators, (6) barriers to SS uptake in the construction industry, and (7) SS drivers in the construction industry. The review identifies primary stakeholders and proposes a list of assessment criteria that can be used by the construction industry in measuring progress towards SS. The study proposes a conceptual model that maps out key stakeholders, the major barriers, and enablers of SS in construction projects. The findings will support the development of SS guidelines specific to the construction industry in Australia as well as overseas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transactional and transformational safety leadership have been repeatedly found to be important for safety. Yet how transactional and transformational leadership behaviours are most effectively demonstrated can be dependent on the context and industry. Using an ethnographic approach, supervisor safety leadership was explored across eleven construction sites in Australia. The findings revealed that, within the construction site context, contingent reward, idealised influence, and management-by-exception behaviours demonstrated by supervisors closely aligned with their definitions in Full-Range Leadership Theory (FRLT). These three types of leadership behaviour reflect observation of supervisors' positive actions, which included: praising workers for good safety performance; proactively anticipating and attending to safety issues; and consistently leading-by-example with safety, even at times of significant production pressure. Other theoretically described dimensions of leadership behaviour, i.e. individual consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation, were not directly reflected in observed supervisors' behaviour in the way they are conceptualised in FRLT. The existence of a good supervisor-worker relationship enabled workers to comfortably raise safety issues, think creatively about how to undertake work safely, and talk to their supervisor if they were experiencing personal problems. These are motivational, intellectual, and empathetic elements of leadership, which do not directly align with the way leadership behaviours are conceptualised in mainstream FRLT. The study suggests that, in the construction worksite context, leadership behaviours may take a form that differs from theoretical ideal types and that ethnographically attained insights into supervisors' interactions with workers can contribute to understanding transformational and transactional leadership in practical terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between organisational culture and total quality management (TQM) implementation in Australia, with the purpose of identifying the particular culture that dominants the Australian construction industry, and distinguishing which cultures determine the successful implementation of TQM. Although the application of the competing values framework (CVF) for evaluating organisational culture (OC) in the construction industry has been studied by some scholars, research into OC and its impact on TQM procedures in connection to the CVF in project-based industries such as construction has received less attention. Thus, this research intends to determine the relationship between OC and TQM regarding the CVF in the Australian construction industry. The research methodology used the validated organisational culture assessment instrument (OCAI) CVF to frame OC, and TQM practices identified from the literature review. An online questionnaire was distributed through Qualtrics, whereby 42 valid responses representing various construction organisations in Australia were analysed through IBM SPSS Statistics 26 through endorsing k-means cluster analysis, and analysis of variance. The findings support that Australian construction organisations are dominated by the market and external focused cultures according to the CVF of organisational classification. Furthermore, the findings acknowledge that organisations that are dominated by hierarchical cultural characterises could provide an unfavourable environment for the successful implementation of TQM. Whilst an organisation that obtains a mix of cultures, specifically with the adhocracy and market cultures dominating could provide a favourable environment for the successful implementation of TQM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is known to be highly masculinised and to have work practices detrimental to employees' wellbeing. Drawing on feminist institutional theory and a rapid ethnographic approach in two construction multinationals in Australia, we examine the relationship between the gendered nature of construction and workplace wellbeing for professional women and men employed in the industry. The findings reveal that adhering to the gendered 'rules in use' in the construction industry is negatively associated with wellbeing and is usually endured in silence. We also identify the ways in which the gendered rules have different effects on the wellbeing of men and women. We conclude that the construction industry is characterised by a set of 'greedy' gendered institutions that are inextricably linked to workplace wellbeing for both men and women and that these rules must be broken to improve worker wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to identify the most impactful delay risks in Australian construction projects, including the associations amongst those risks as well as the project phases in which they are most likely present. The correlation between project and organisational characteristics with the impact of delay risks was also studied. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 118 delayed construction projects in Australia. Data were analysed to rank the most impactful delay risks, their correlation to project and organisational characteristics and project phases where those risks are likely to emerge. Association rule learning was used to capture associations between the delay risks. Findings: The top five most impactful delay risks in Australia were changes by the owner, slow decisions by the owner, preparation and approval of design drawings, underestimation of project complexity and unrealistic duration imposed to the project, respectively. There is a set of delay risks that are mutually associated with project complexity. In addition, while delay risks associated with resources most likely arise in the execution phase, stakeholder and process-related risks are more smoothly distributed along all the project phases. Originality/value: This research for the first time investigated the impact of delay risks, associations amongst them and project phases in which they are likely to happen in the Australian context. Also, this research for the first time sheds light on the project phases for the individual project delay risks which aids the project managers to understand where to focus on during each phase of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risks associated with extreme weather events induced by climate change are increasingly being recognized, and must be addressed through each country's construction regulations, building codes, and standards. Ensuring that buildings and cities are resilient against disasters is becoming more important. Few studies have analyzed the impact of global polices and frameworks in reducing disaster risks and increasing resilience in built environments. This research reviews disasters associated with climate change in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, analyzing how Australia's National Construction Code is aligned with the framework and the potential implications for reducing disaster risk. Decision-makers in construction companies in Sydney, Australia, were surveyed. The results show there is a statistically significant link among the National Construction Code, the Sendai Framework, and building resilience. The Sendai Framework is an effective mediator in this three-pronged relationship that can further enhance building resilience in Australia. Stakeholders in the construction industry will need to incorporate disaster risk reduction practices, especially authorities, such as local governments, building commissioners, and building certifiers that are responsible for the approval, quality, and defects mitigation of development applications and best practices. Overall, implementation of the Sendai Framework will help develop more regulations and standards for resilient buildings, set targets, and make improvements over time in the Australian construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]