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Having identified the relationship between the influencing factors of organizational and technical solutions and the effectiveness of the organization of the process of erecting structural elements of multi-storey buildings, it is possible to reasonably predict the probability of achieving the desired result at any stage of the construction process. The effectiveness of the method of assessing the factors of organizational and technical solutions is determined by a large-scale approach to the selection of factors that determine the organization of the process of erecting structural elements of monolithic buildings.

Today’s priority in construction lies in three primary areas: ecology, energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It means that the most important task it to construct environmental, energy-efficient and cost-effective buildings and structures. To erect houses having such characteristics, primary elements of a structure (brick block, etc.) must be made subject to the conditions that provide for the above characteristics. The prevailing trend in construction is the production of environmental, energy-efficient and cost-effective construction materials. This research is intended to develop an energy efficient procedure to make heat-insulating materials based on crushed cotton plant stems. To achieve this goal, the authors have addressed the following issues: describing the process of making a heat-insulating material based on crush cotton plant stems; analysis of energy-efficient characteristics of manufacturing materials based on crushed cotton plant stems; and analysis of environmental friendliness of such a material. The research applies the deductive method based on mathematical modelling. The subject of the research is the procedure to make a material based on crushed cotton plant stems. The primary conclusion and outcome of this research is that papercrete based on crushed cotton plant stems has such advantages as cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, energy efficiency and low resource demand in manufacturing and operation. The resulting strength of papercrete allows using it as a heat insulating material to erect low-rise buildings.

The formation of conditions for ensuring the established quality of construction objects of various functional purposes is impossible without solving a set of tasks related to the systematic analysis of factors that ensure the organization. Improving the effectiveness of supervisory authorities consists in focusing attention on critical stages of construction and reducing excessive attention to secondary aspects that do not affect the safety of the construction object and do not deviate from the design documentation, in order to reduce the number of inspections and the excessive impact of state supervision in general. The program of inspections of construction supervision is formed on the basis of approved departmental regulations. These rules do not specify quantitative data on the conduct of inspections, nor do they define specific moments of construction of facilities during which it is necessary to conduct a supervisory procedure with a visit to the facility. The current inspection regulations are aimed at identifying deviations from the requirements of project documentation and current regulatory documentation and are not aimed at preventing and preventing the occurrence of critical defects. Necessary to develop a scientifically based methodology for conducting supervisory activities that ensures the formation of high-quality construction products.

Failure to meet the deadlines for the implementation of investment-construction projects is a problem in all countries of the world and leads to unstable activity of construction companies. This article studies the most important destabilizing factors affecting the main indicator of sustainable activity of construction companies, i.e., the duration of the implementation of an investment-construction projects. To determine and assess the impact of destabilizing factors on the duration of implementation of selected investment-construction projects, a survey was conducted in which a number of customers, consultants, and contractors involved in construction projects took part. Questionnaires developed on the basis of a cluster sample were sent to respondents, and 84 responses were received in response to the assessment of destabilizing factors. To analyze the received and grouped information, structural equation modeling using the Smart-PLS program was used. As a result of modeling, a number of results were obtained, the most important of which was the identification of the main reasons that lead to an average (20–50%) increase in the duration of projects in the construction sector. The most significant was the lack of an appropriate procurement program for materials; inefficient scheduling by contractors and instability of construction production, poor-quality processing of incoming information, and untimely decision-making due to changes in projects during their implementation. Destabilizing factors contribute to an increase in the duration of construction sector projects, which leads to time overruns, cost overruns, and an increase in the negative impact on the overall use of resources. As a result of the study, a set of recommendations was formed, the most important of which is the use of possible compensatory measures that can allow construction companies to eliminate the risks of disrupting construction deadlines for sustainable activities. These compensatory measures include: 1. recommendations to customers of the construction project, 2. recommendations to contractors, and 3. recommendations to the consultant. Moreover, the control of destabilizing factors that can cause delays, the improvement of contracts, and the precise and clearer definition of all elements of the project can help to reduce the duration of construction, and will allow companies to maintain sustainable activities in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters and warfare lead to the destruction of city buildings and infrastructure, leaving large numbers of people homeless. The rebuilding of destroyed cities needs to be carried out promptly while maintaining a balance between construction quality and duration. Rework due to defects and the lengthy approval of non-conformances significantly increases the duration of construction. This study aimed to develop a decision support system to fix or negotiate strategies to address construction defects, depending on their level of risk. The paper addresses the following objectives: classifying defects by the quality of construction that they affect; building a tree of construction defect risks; and developing an artificial neural network (ANN) to assess the defect risk. The weights of the links are represented by posterior probabilities of damage calculated using the Bayes' theorem in the pre-training stage. The ANN has been adapted to cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures. When training the resulting ANN on a sample of precedents, the test sample demonstrated convergence and low errors. The resulting model will accelerate construction by automating assessments of defect severity and reducing the time spent on reworking defects with low quality risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the professional activities of consulting engineers need new functions based on a research-based approach to the design, construction and operation of sophisticated construction projects. The authors introduce new terms and use the concept of technology platforms to present a research-driven platform for consulting engineers. This platform is a complex system that has three constituent subsystems, including "Processes", the "Database of work items" and "Participants". Formalized interaction between the platform constituents is based on a tree of goals. The implementation of actions, focused on each goal, allowed (1) clustering the requirements applicable to the new type of consulting engineers; (2) developing an algorithm that underlies the database of work items to be performed by new consulting engineers; (3) developing the principle of automated selection of work items; (4) making a graphical representation of activities, performed by consulting engineers in the form of a BPMN diagram. The platform is a concept for a novel approach to the activities of consulting engineers, who will contribute their experience and use the research-driven approach to ensure the reliability and safety of sophisticated construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is aimed at developing a tool for the formation of a rational set of machines for excavation work in urban areas. The instrument to be developed will affect the main project parameters, such as the project cost and term of implementation. An expert survey was launched among the leading specialists of the construction industry to make a set of significant parameters and identify the weighting ratio, since both are required to select the machines for rational sets designated for excavation work in urban environments. The equation of multiple regression was solved to determine the extent of significance by calculating Fisher's ratio. This equation shows that significant parameters are inter-related and can be used in this method. A method for making a rational set of machines, designated for the performance of excavation work in urban environments, has the following stages: at the first stage, the choice of the necessary excavation work at the construction site is made; at the second stage, limitations, arising at the site, are introduced; at the third stage, the minimum number of major machines is determined; at the fourth stage, a rational set of machines is made step by step. If implemented, this study demonstrates the high economic efficiency of the proposed method of expanding excavation work in urban environments. The study shows that the use of a mathematical model will boost the project's success, as it demonstrates the critical factors of risk at the initial stage of the life cycle of a construction project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]