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The construction industry faced several challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting different aspects of construction projects, such as the financial stability of companies and the mental well-being of professionals. However, there is limited knowledge about how these challenges impacted the skills required by professionals in construction. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze changes in skills required by construction professionals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we qualitatively analyzed interviews obtained from construction professionals in Chile who worked through the pandemic to study how skills required by construction professionals before the pandemic were impacted during, and after the pandemic. The results indicate that before the pandemic, the most valued skills were related to teamwork, decision-making, planning, and leadership. During the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, skills such as effective communication, computer skills, planning, and stress management were prominent. Regarding the post-pandemic period, interviewees emphasized that construction professionals required mainly adaptability to change, stress management, and planning skills. Our study contributes by identifying changes in the skills required by construction professionals, emphasizing a shift towards skills like digital communication, adaptability, and stress management. Additionally, our study emphasizes planning as the most relevant skill for construction professionals to deal with a highly disruptive event such as the pandemic in construction projects. The study contributed to theorizing the consequences of the pandemic faced by the construction sector in the context of skills required by construction professionals. In practicality, construction managers may use our results to develop strategies to adapt to the post-pandemic context and be prepared for future disruptive events. Ultimately, this will help make the construction industry a more resilient sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant disruption to the construction industry around the globe with multiple impacts, such as workforce limitations and contractual conflicts. Multiple studies have explored the impacts of the pandemic in the construction sector so far. However, little is known about how construction companies responded to the pandemic and what companies' characteristics may have influenced their responses. The objective of this study is to explore the impacts of COVID-19 and how construction companies responded to the pandemic. To do so, semi-structured interviews with experienced professional working in Chile are qualitatively analyzed to leverage their experience. Furthermore, characteristics of construction companies that influenced how companies responded to the pandemic, namely, size, experience, and financial standing, are explored. The results obtained suggest that the focus in responding to the pandemic was taking care of workers' safety, improving the planning of projects under highly uncertain conditions, and dealing with the financial stress of developing construction projects. When looking at the influence of companies' experience, size, and economic capacity, experienced and large companies' responses were related to implementing teleworking and dealing with a limited workforce. Regarding the economic capacity of construction companies, the focus was placed on responding to the pandemic using multiple sources of financing. Differences identified in how construction companies responded to the pandemic emphasizes the importance of understanding attributes that led companies to having better responses to the pandemic and being prepared for the post-pandemic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the perceptions of construction experts in the Chilean construction industry regarding emotional intelligence. This exploratory and qualitative study is based on data collected through semi-structured interviews with construction professionals. The collected data were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis (QCA) technique to leverage how emotional intelligence (EI) is perceived by professionals in Chilean construction projects. A review, coding, and categorization were carried out within each transcribed interview, which allowed the elaboration of coding dictionaries and corresponding frequency tables to identify emerging topics. Our main results indicate that interviewees perceived EI as a tool to help them face the problems in Chilean construction projects. According to the interviewees, the benefits of implementing EI training are mainly the socio-emotional development and the transfer of critical skills to confront the challenges related to workers' interactions. The main barriers are related to the work culture, lack of awareness of EI among construction workers, economic interests, and gender factors. The literature points to limited studies on understanding emotional intelligence in the construction sector, particularly in South America. This study contributes to responding to the need to explore and provide knowledge on emotional intelligence in the construction sector in the context of a South American country. This study contributes to exploring and understanding how EI is understood among workers in Chilean construction projects. In practicality, construction managers may use our findings to design training programs that leverage EI to improve the management of construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, in Chile, infrastructure asset value has been incorporated into highway concession contracts. However, the current valuation model used for rigid pavements is not adapted to the standards and conditions of such projects. This study develops a valuation model for rigid pavements of interurban highway concessions and evaluates it in a case study. The proposed model captures the loss in asset value associated with the performance degradation over time, considering a typical Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JCPC) configuration. The value is calculated using performance indicators that represent the structural capacity and level of service provided to road users. The model represents a significant improvement compared to current asset valuation models used in highway concessions. It enables the public agency to objectively evaluate the preservation of asset value carried out by the private partner during the concession. Additionally, it could also be used as a tool to establish payments between infrastructure stakeholders. Some of the concepts applied could also be relevant for other highway assets existing in Public–Private Partnership (PPP) projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Respiratory muscle training (RMT) improves physical performance through increased efficiency of the muscles implicated in respiration, an aspect that preserves the blood flow, nutrients, and oxygen supply to the locomotor muscles. Whether this effect depends on the RMT method has yet to be discovered. The RMTs most employed in healthy subjects are based on inspiratory Threshold-load training (ITL), which trains mainly inspiratory muscles, and voluntary isocapnic hyperpnea (VIH), which trains both inspiratory and expiratory muscles. With the emergence of non-invasive technology that allows the assessment of the balance between the oxygen muscle supply and consumption, or muscle deoxygenation, as a reflection of changes in the blood flow at the microvascular tissue level target, it is possible to contrast the effect of ITL and VIH on the deoxygenation of locomotor muscles (m. vastus lateralis) and respiratory muscles (m. intercostales) simultaneously during exercise. This study showed that the deoxygenation of the intercostal muscles decreased after eight weeks of RMT independent of the type of training, with no effect on the vastus lateralis deoxygenation. Respiratory muscle training (RMT) improves physical performance, although it is still debated whether this effect depends on the type of training. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two different types of RMT, i.e., voluntary isocapnic hyperpnea (VIH) and inspiratory threshold loading (ITL), on the deoxygenation of intercostal (ΔSmO2-m. intercostales) and vastus lateralis (ΔSmO2-m. vastus lateralis) muscles during exercise. Twenty-four participants performed eight weeks of RMT by: (i) VIH (3 days·week−1 for 12 min at 60% maximal voluntary ventilation) or (ii) ITL (5 sets·week−1 of 30 breaths·minute−1 at 60% maximal inspiratory pressure). Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) included ΔSmO2 (the change from baseline to end of test) of intercostal and vastus lateralis muscles. After RMT, both groups showed decreased ΔSmO2-m. intercostales (VIH = 12.8 ± 14.6%, p = 0.04 (effect size, ES = 0.59), and ITL = 8.4 ± 9.8%, p = 0.04 (ES = 0.48)), without a coincident change of ∆SmO2-m. vastus lateralis. ITL training induced higher V ˙ O2-peak absolute values than VIH (mean Δ post–pre, ITL = 229 ± 254 mL·min−1 [95% CI 67–391] vs. VIH, 39 ± 153 mL·min−1 [95% CI −58–136.0], p = 0.01). In conclusion, both RMT improved the balance between supply and oxygen consumption levels of m. intercostales during CPET, with ITL also inducing an increase of aerobic capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple studies have found that productivity in Chilean construction has been stagnated during recent decades; thus, creating the need to understand better what factors have led to these results in the construction sector. In the international literature, studies have found that changes are the leading cause of productivity losses in construction projects; however, limited studies have been done in Chile in this regard. This context is understood as an opportunity to learn from the existing literature about the impact of changes in construction productivity, more importantly, such learning can contribute to the discussion of productivity improvement in the Chilean construction sector. This study recommends that more studies are necessary to be done in Chile regarding the impact of changes in construction projects. Namely, future studies should be based on an extensive database of projects so that generalization can be drawn for the construction industry. Additionally, the data collection process of changes in construction should be improved, paying specific attention to the size of changes, the timing of changes, and the scale of assessment--namely activity, project, and industry levels. Ultimately, this study aims to contribute to the discussion about productivity improvement in Chilean construction as this remains one of the main challenges in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction sector has been heavily impacted by COVID-19 due to the restricted conditions required by construction projects to perform physical activities. Given this context, it is of interest for the industry to identify the impacts that COVID-19 has had on the development of construction projects. However, little is known regarding how the impacts of COVID-19 have affected multiple stakeholders in construction projects and whether there is some interaction among such impacts. This study aims to explore the impacts of COVID-19 and their influence among different construction stakeholders (i.e., engineers and managers, workers, suppliers). This study was enabled by 40 semi-structured interviews that were performed with stakeholders in construction projects in Chile. Content analysis from the interviews led to the identification of categories of impacts and stakeholders, to the development of a cognitive map of the impacts, and to the application of correspondence analysis. Fifteen categories of impacts were identified, and six construction stakeholders were identified as having been impacted by COVID-19. Identifying the causes and effects of the impacts felt by multiple stakeholders revealed that these impacts interacted among each other. Understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on construction stakeholders may facilitate the development of effective mitigation strategies to reduce COVID-19 impacts on the construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Latin America, there is a wide gap between kilometers of paved ways and those with no type of protection. This situation is worse in rural areas, limiting development opportunities and inhabitants' quality of life. In Chile, there are state programs that seek to reduce the territorial gap through basic low-cost paving solutions; however, the prioritization criteria for rural roads are unclear. Multiple actors affect the rural territories, and the non-existence of reference patterns increases subjectivity in infrastructure decision making. This study attempts to determine criteria that influence the selection of rural roads in southern Chile to promote sustainable territorial development considering multiple actors and the uncertainty of the selection process. For this, a documentary review, field visits, and 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The criteria are validated through a multidisciplinary panel of experts and the application of neutrosophic numbers to address the uncertainty derived from the expert consultations. The results of this study contribute 14 sustainable criteria in order to support the planning of basic rural roads in southern Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]