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AbstractEnvironmental degradation is an alarming threat to human security and green procurement has been regarded as one of the remedial measures to alleviate the environmental issues. Considering that the green procurement is a relatively new concept in the Malaysian construction industry, this study investigated the green procurement in construction projects by exploring its benefits towards the environment, economic and social aspects. Drawing on an empirical survey in Malaysia, the significant benefits of green procurement applications are prioritised. A total of 150 surveys were collected among developers, consultants, contractors and suppliers and analysed using SPSS version 23.0 statistical software. The findings suggested that the primary benefits of adopting green procurement practices are reduce pollution levels, improve community health and quality of life, conserve natural resources, reduce greenhouse gases and provide healthier working environment. This paper provides the basis for construction procurement delivery to be on a sustainable path.

AbstractThe global construction industry continues to struggle with safety issues. Although the existing literature suggests that the application of innovative solutions can reduce workplace accidents and improve work safety, the adoption of safety technologies is still limited, particularly in the developing world. This paper aims to investigate the capacity of advanced technologies to enhance safety management and those suited to the Malaysian context. Following a synthesis of the literature, a questionnaire survey was developed comprising 9 potential applications and 15 types of safety technologies. The feedback from 150 local construction professionals was analysed. The leading benefits are related to advancing safety planning, building safety awareness, delivering effective safety training, improving safety inspections and optimising hazard identification. The most salient technologies for safety management are building information modelling (BIM), camera network systems, mobile devices on site, internet of things (IoT) and digital signage. The findings will provide industry practitioners with an increased understanding of the potential of integrating technological solutions into the various tasks associated with construction safety management. This study highlighted the capabilities of advanced technologies that will revolutionise the future of the construction safety landscape and the need for new technology-based policies, procedures, and practices.

AbstractA sudden COVID-19 outbreak has significantly impacted construction site health and safety (H&S). Against this backdrop, this paper aimed to explore the major challenges for pandemic management in implementing COVID-19 H&S measures on construction sites, particularly in developing countries. Following a comprehensive literature review, a total of 20 relevant challenges were identified. A self-completion questionnaire survey involving Malaysian construction practitioners was further employed to prioritize these challenges using descriptive statistics. Finally, a factor analysis unfolded five major underlying dimensions of these challenges, relating to lack of resources and inherent nature of construction, negligence and ignorance, low-wage blue-collar workforce, ineffective H&S management and poor sanitizing and disinfecting strategies. This work is a valuable reference in assisting industry practitioners to further enhance H&S performance during a communicable disease outbreak such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the findings highlighted the current deficiencies of the H&S system in the context of a developing country and the necessity to devise responsive strategies in curbing the transmission of future diseases.