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Valuable lessons learned and best practices gleaned from construction projects often do not transfer to future generations because of the lack of a formalized process. This ongoing issue gives rise to the need to impart fresh training to new North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) employees once the aging workforce retires or in the event of turnover. In addition, a platform for personnel to record pertinent project information about successes and failures in projects is needed. Such information can help solve problems and avoid repeated mistakes. The aim of this research project is to create a new program called Communicate Lessons, Exchange Advice, Record (CLEAR) to reposit knowledge gained by personnel. Integral to this program is an internal-only web-based database on NCDOT’s Connect SharePoint portal with MS Access as its backend. The North Carolina State University researchers used a Design for Six Sigma approach to identify, define, develop, optimize, and verify lessons learned/best practices to create the CLEAR database. The database fields were selected based on end-user input as well as a review of existing data, such as claims and supplemental agreements, within NCDOT data repositories. Training materials, including videos and standard operating procedures, were created to disseminate information about this new program. The CLEAR program will help the NCDOT to institutionalize knowledge and is expected to improve project cost variability and scheduling.

Proper hazard recognition is fundamental to effective safety management in construction workplaces. Nevertheless, poor hazard recognition levels are a widespread and persistent problem in the construction industry. For example, recent investigations have demonstrated that a significant number of workplace hazards often remain unrecognized in construction workplaces. These unrecognized workplace hazards often remain unmanaged and can potentially translate into devastating and unexpected safety incidents. Therefore, interventions targeted at improving hazard recognition levels are foundational to enhancing safety management in construction workplaces. The main objective of the current investigation was to examine if ChatGPT, a language model recently launched by OpenAI, can aid hazard recognition when integrated into the curriculum of students pursuing a career in the construction industry. The investigation was carried out as an experimental effort with 42 students enrolled in the construction program at a major state university in the United States. First, prior to the introduction of ChatGPT as an intervention, the pre-intervention hazard recognition ability of the students was measured. Next, ChatGPT and its capabilities were introduced to the students in a classroom setting. Guidance was also offered on how the students could leverage ChatGPT to aid hazard recognition efforts. Finally, the post-intervention hazard recognition ability of the students was measured and compared against their earlier performance. The result suggests that ChatGPT can be leveraged to improve hazard recognition levels. Accordingly, integrating ChatGPT as part of safety education and training can yield benefits and prepare the next generation of construction professionals for industry success.

Project personnel working in construction sites fail to transfer invaluable experiences gained mostly due to the absence of a formalized process to record such information. Construction projects are seldom repetitive in nature and this highlights the need for organizations to have in place robust data repositories to facilitate knowledge sharing. This paper describes an effort in creating a new internal-only web-based lessons learned database named Communicate Lessons, Exchange Advice, Record (CLEAR) for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). A Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) approach of Identify, Define, Develop, Optimize, and Verify (IDDOV) model was used. Findings from this study will help NCDOT to institutionalize knowledge and improve project cost variations and schedule predictability. In conjunction with this database, a data dashboard is envisioned to provide effective visualizations for the upper management to make informed decisions based on the lessons information in the database. The dashboard will include success metrics such as detecting reduced numbers of claims and claims amounts, witnessing periodical increase in lessons uploaded into the database, and enhanced communication among specialized staff. This approach is a significant contribution to the existing body of knowledge in lessons learned database implementation for construction applications. The anticipated outcome of this new application will be a more efficient and effective public organization through reduced claims, improved designs, and construction workflows, and improved policies and standards. Future researchers can make use of information presented in this paper to build new robust lessons learned systems to improve organizational efficiency.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the largest global health crisis in decades. Apart from the unprecedented number of deaths and hospitalizations, the pandemic has resulted in economic slowdowns, widespread business disruptions, and significant hardships. This study focused on investigating the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. construction industry since the declaration of the national emergency on 13 March 2020. The study objectives were achieved through 34 telephone interviews with project managers, engineers, designers, and superintendents that represented different states and distinct industry sectors in the United States (U.S.). The interviewees offered information on their experience with the pandemic, including the general and adverse effects experienced, new opportunities created, and risk management efforts being undertaken. The reported adverse effects included significant delays on projects, inability to secure materials on time, reduction in productivity rates, material price escalations, and others. The new opportunities that were created included projects involving the fast-track construction of medical facilities, construction of residential buildings, transportation-related work, and opportunities to recruit skilled workers. The risk management measures that were widely adopted included measures to enhance safety and reduce other project risks. The safety measures adopted included requiring employees to wear cloth face masks, adoption of social distancing protocols, staggering of construction operations, offering COVID-19-related training, administering temperature checks prior to entry into the workplace, and others. Measures to manage other project risks included the formation of a task force team to review the evolving pandemic and offer recommendations, advocating that construction businesses be deemed essential to combat delays and taking advantage of government relief programs. The study findings will be useful to industry stakeholders interested in understanding the early impacts of the pandemic on the construction industry. Industry stakeholders may also build upon the reported findings and establish best practices for continued safe and productive operations.

This paper presents a case study of a proposed regulatory future-proofing framework for the construction industry. The update to the crystalline silica standard by the Occupational Safety a...

Construction workers fail to recognize a large number of safety hazards. These unrecognized safety hazards can lead to unintended hazard exposure and tragic safety incidents. Unfortunately, traditional hazard recognition interventions (e.g., job hazard analyses and safety training) have been unable to tackle the industry-wide problem of poor hazard recognition levels. In fact, emerging evidence has demonstrated that traditional hazard recognition interventions have been designed without a proper understanding of the challenges workers experience during hazard recognition efforts. Interventions and industry-wide efforts designed based on a more thorough understanding of these challenges can yield substantial benefits&mdash, including superior hazard recognition levels and lower injury rates. Towards achieving this goal, the current investigation focused on identifying hazard categories that workers are more proficient in recognizing and others that they are less proficient in recognizing (i.e., hazard recognition patterns). For the purpose of the current study, hazards were classified on the basis of the energy source per Haddon&rsquo, s energy release theory (e.g., gravity, motion, electrical, chemical, etc.). As part of the study, 287 workers representing 57 construction workplaces in the United States were engaged in a hazard recognition activity. Apart from confirming previous research findings that workers fail to recognize a disproportionate number of safety hazards, the results demonstrate that the workers are more proficient in recognizing certain hazard types. More specifically, the workers on average recognized roughly 47% of the safety hazards in the gravity, electrical, motion, and temperature hazard categories while only recognizing less than 10% of the hazards in the pressure, chemical, and radiation hazard categories. These findings can inform the development of more robust interventions and industry-wide initiatives to tackle the issue of poor hazard recognition levels in the construction industry.

Infrastructure projects experience different regulatory impacts during permitting, operations, and decommissioning. However, no framework is in place to provide a foundation for infrastruct...

Driver license examiners serve as the first line of defense against unsafe drivers and driving practices. Nonetheless, these examiners themselves are exposed to high levels of safety risk as they test new drivers – with limited driving proficiency and experience. A deeper understanding of the safety incidents that driver license examiners experience can inform the development of effective injury prevention policies and interventions. Towards achieving this goal, the current study focused on performing exploratory content analyses of safety incident reports maintained by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) that involved driver license examiners. Apart from demonstrating that numerous incidents are experienced during driving tests, the five key findings include the following: (1) The most common event types that driver license examiners experience are collision with fixed object, overexertion and physical bodily reaction, and collision with another vehicle; (2) The most common contributing factors are failure to maintain control of vehicle and incidents experienced while examiners are exiting the vehicle; (3) Most incidents that result in injury involve injuries to multiple body parts, followed by injuries to the back, leg, and neck; (4) The most common injury types are strain, sprain, and bruising and contusion; (5) The injury outcomes are medical case, permanent disability, report only, and temporary disability. The results also reveal particular relationships that are overrepresented in the incident reports. For example, collision with fixed object is associated particularly with failure to maintain control of vehicle. The findings can inform future efforts that seek to reduce injury rates among driver license examiners.

North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) projects with construction costs of $50 million or more, known as mega projects, make up more than 50% of their total construction expenditures while representing less than 10% of the total project count. The estimated let dates and construction expenditures for these projects can vary significantly based on the type of project, work to be accomplished, and unpredicted events. This paper presents study results of various internal and external factors that relate to bid let date delays. The research methodology involved an extensive literature review and interviews with 23 NCDOT subject matter experts and construction contractors to better understand why mega project miss their planned let dates. Results revealed several factors that affect the let date including the owner's ability to acquire the right-of-way in a timely manner, the ability to coordinate with utilities and railroads, and delays in obtaining environmental permits. The study also collected and analysed data pertaining to strategic milestones and provides insights into the likelihood of meeting a particular let date.