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Abstract There is a wide range of literature on adopting ontology to solve construction problems, but no review of existing studies has systematically analyzed and visualized the trends in ontology research. This study reviews ontology research mainly published in the Scopus database from 2007 to 2017 with the combination of scientometric analysis and critical review. Scientometric analysis (e.g. co-author, co-word, co-citation, and clusters) objectively visualized the research status quo while a critical review was used to identify the research themes and challenges of ontology research in the construction industry. The results identified a large network of co-authors in this field to understand collaboration relationships. Over half the papers (53%) were published by the following three countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The top co-occurring keywords were "project management" at which ontology facilitates knowledge management and information retrieval. When the time factor was taken into consideration, keywords naturally evolved from "project management", and "knowledge management" to "building information modeling", and "compliance control" with the successful adoption of information techniques in the construction industry. Four research themes were identified with the combination of cluster analysis and critical review: "Domain ontology", "Industry foundation classes", "Automated compliance checking", and "Building information modeling". This review provides an in-depth understanding of existing ontology research and indicates the emerging trends in this research domain. Graphical abstract Keyword evolution and hot topics of ontology research in construction industry were identified through co-word analysis, cluster analysis, and manually review. Unlabelled Image Highlights • 199 journal articles were analyzed through the combination of scientometric analysis and critical reviews. • Major scientific collaboration networks in ontology research are visualized and analyzed. • Keywords co-occurrence and evolution of ontology in construction industry was visualized. • Four research themes and the corresponding challenges of ontology research in the construction industry were identified [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops an equilibrium framework for strategic option exercise games. I focus on a particular example: the timing of real estate development. An analysis of the equilibrium exercise policies of developers provides insights into the forces that shape market behavior. The model isolates the factors that make some markets prone to bursts of concentrated development. The model also provides an explanation for why some markets may experience building booms in the face of declining demand and property values. While such behavior is often regarded as irrational overbuilding, the model provides a rational foundation for such exercise patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author compares mass production and construction industries with respect to the social location of work planning, administrative status structure, and content of administrative communication. This provides an empirical description of bureaucratic and craft administration of production. The lack of bureaucracy in construction is explained by economic instability. Based on these empirical materials, Max Weber's ideal type of bureaucracy is revised to include only those of its elements shown to be present in mass production and absent in construction, since if characteristics are present in craft administration they cannot be distinctive of bureaucracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practical interest in ‘off-site construction’ has risen remarkably over the last decade, and with it there has been a burgeoning of academic research in the field. Complementing this research, a number of literature reviews have been conducted. None, however, are systematic. This study addresses this lack, offering the first bibliometric study to explore the state of off-site construction research (OCR). A quantitative approach using ‘science mapping’ techniques is employed to examine 501 top-ranked construction journal articles. Longitudinal trends in publishing are identified, as are dominant research sub-fields, their connectedness with other areas of study, as well as citation patterns, publication journal areas of focus, key research institutions, key research persons, along with the extent to which these interact with each other in research networks. The findings are instructive in identifying the deficiencies in current research. Among these is a bias towards product research over operations and management, and a sharp compartmentalization of sub-fields, with little or no cross-fertilization between researcher areas, the researchers themselves, nor the research institutions. Clearly, this awareness will inform industry, journal editors and researchers of the need for a deeper exchange of ideas in any future research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the building industrialization has become the development direction of construction industry, the precast prefabricated buildings become the focus of the construction industry once again because of its unique characteristics. A new-type of fabricated beam-column connections with end-plates is presented and introduced on this background. To investigate the seismic behavior of the new-type precast connection, seven specimens are tested by pseudo-static test. The hysteresis curves are recorded during the test, and the seismic indicators, such as ductility and energy dissipation capacity, are determined. The test results indicate that the hysteresis curves of precast connection are plump, and all specimens failed in bending in a malleable way with a beam plastic hinge, which is fully consistent with the criterion of strong column weak beams. Additionally, the fabricated connection exhibits satisfactory ductility and energy dissipation capacity, showing better seismic performance. Besides, the flexural capacity of unbonded prestressed confined concrete beam is analyzed, and the formula of flexural bearing capacity is proposed based on the theory of concentrated plastic zone. The theoretical results agree well with the experimental data, which can provide reference for theoretical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional project design and construction delivery is segmental. Researchers and practitioners often cite the separation, or "silo effect," as a reason for poor project outcomes. In response, new forms of integrated contracts have emerged, fostering more collaborative efforts and a focus on successful project outcomes, instead of individual organizational outcomes. Relational contract theory provides a basis for understanding these new integrated forms of agreement through a set of relational contracting norms. This study operationalizes the relational contracting norms designed to measure project integration. The norms and their dimensions were developed through a rigorous construct mapping methodology and then tested, analyzed, and validated with a survey of owners and owners' representatives from 314 completed projects using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The study validates the measures and demonstrates the potential that the measures have to illuminate the nature of relational contracting in construction project teams. The validated scales can be used in future research to better understand when and how contracts influence integration and project performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modularization is a well-established method that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the construction industry. However, the industry continues to struggle with its implementation, and not all executed modular projects have resulted in successful project performance. This study investigates the combinatorial effects of modularization critical success factors (CSF) on the cost and schedule performances of industrial modular projects and derives a conceptual model of cost and schedule successes using information from actual cases by applying crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis. The findings confirm that CSFs interactively and collectively affect modular industrial project performance. The most commonly involved CSFs for cost and schedule successes are timely design freeze, owner-furnished/long-lead equipment specification, vendor involvement, and management of execution risks. This work contributes to researchers and practitioners in the industrial sector to improve understanding of the recipes (i.e., CSFs or combinations thereof) for successful modular project planning and execution, which will lead to improved modular project performance in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring productivity growth in construction has been a classic challenge, largely because reliable output deflators are scarce. This paper reports first results from a Bureau of Labor Statistics research group convened to measure construction productivity better. Results show that labor productivity growth has been positive, and fairly substantial, in all four industries where reliable deflators now exist. Shifts of labor between construction industries reduce productivity growth by 0.4% a year. Regulation is a significant negative effect on productivity, but reduces productivity growth by only 0.1% a year. Undocumented immigrants are important in construction, and often work off the books, but reasonable allowance for their increased presence reduces productivity growth by only 0.1% a year. The influences examined are not sufficient to explain why productivity growth is so much lower in construction than elsewhere. Later work will measure productivity growth in a broader range of industries, including some industries representing contractors. However, this further work requires access to restricted Census microdata, and so will take several years more to complete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of construction contractors are actively participating in international markets. One of the most fundamental issues confronting contractors moving offshore is where to do business. Although international market selection is a much studied topic, the market choices made by construction firms have attracted little attention. This paper aims to identify factors that influence international market selection and to develop an international market selection model for construction firms. The market entry choices of 39 large international Chinese contractors across 87 countries were investigated through logistic regression analysis. The results indicate that international contractors prefer to enter countries with large market potential, small culture distance, and, surprisingly, high country risk and high competitive intensity. Moreover, large, experienced contractors are more willing to compete in international markets. Contrary to generally accepted belief, geographic distance is not revealed to have any significant influence on international market selections by Chinese contractors. This paper will be of interest to contractors considering international market selection as part of their global expansion strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modular building construction method is the industry's effort for industrialization of building construction. Similar to other types of production, a product information model is required for lifecycle information management of modular buildings. In this research, the mutual hierarchy of typical multistory modular systems is identified and represented in a product architecture model (PAM). This provides the industry with an information model required for industrial design of this type of construction. Since modular construction is neither as heavily project-based as conventional construction methods nor as significantly mass-produced as manufactured products, none of the current in- formation management frameworks in manufacturing and construction industries are necessarily capable of addressing the needs of such projects. In the research reported here, this need is addressed by development of a product PAM for the most conventional modular systems. The PAM represents the hierarchy of modular building components along with their interactions, functionality, and attributes. This paper initially reviews major types of modular systems, and then focuses on the development methodology, validation, architecture, and content of the PAM. This is followed by an explanation of its different uses, including extension of the current construction industry's information management frameworks and platforms such as building information modeling (BIM) to support modular construction and providing a basis for product-base design of such buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have found that the evolution of women's presence in the Spanish construction sector is positive and progressive, but very slow, that there is horizontal and vertical segregation, and that barriers and inequalities in hiring conditions still exist. However, there has been little work focused on perceived career barriers for building engineering students, at least for the Spanish case. By means of a quantitative-methodology, the perceptions on career barriers that future Spanish building engineers may encounter for developing their careers in the construction industry are explored in two universities. Specifically, a gender perspective will allow to find out whether there are differences between men and women and to identify barriers for each professional profile. This information will be valuable for predicting the occupations to which women will be most attracted and those they will reject. Results show that both men and women perceive job market constraints and inadequate preparation as the two main career barriers. Moreover, it is confirmed that for professional profiles related to work on site, the gender variable determines students' perceptions, with women expecting to face a greater number of barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A project delivery system (PDS), as one of the crucial factors of project success, not only influences innovation in the construction industry but also strongly affects project schedules, costs, and quality. Traditionally, decision making concerning PDSs have often been made by owners or other decision makers on the basis of these individuals' experiences, which often fail to reflect the inherent laws and dependencies among various factors and different PDSs. Recent studies on PDS selection have primarily focused on owners' characteristics, project characteristics, and external environment. This study was first conducted exclusively on the project characteristics as the continuation of research on owners' and contractors' characteristics. First, 16 project characteristic factors affecting the PDS selection were described through a literature review. Next, project characteristics data from 101 domestic projects were collected using a questionnaire survey to determine the key factors that affect the PDS selection through rough set modeling. Project scale, project complexity, project type, flexibility, scope definition, and disputes were determined to be the six key factors affecting the decision making concerning the PDS, and the results can provide support for owners in selecting the appropriate PDS while also enriching the research methods in the field of PDSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schedule delays are an unfortunate prevalent occurrence in the construction industry. To clearly visualize, track, and mitigate them, graphical and analytical tools are needed. But traditional bar charts do not clearly show delays, and network charts all but hide them. Neither facilitates side-by-side comparisons of schedule updates. Networks can be converted into a modified slip chart from the aerospace industry, which is particularly adept at analyzing delays. Contributions to the body of knowledge include the ability to communicate schedule information more efficiently with less ink, yet in a time-scaled manner, including lead or lag constraints, performing side-by-side comparisons that immediately reveal float gain or loss versus criticality, rapidly identifying underperforming activities, and scrutinizing delay events and assigning responsibility to project participants. To validate the new approach, a delay example from the literature is reanalyzed to gain insights into schedule performance. Comparing the network conversion with a previously developed linear schedule one indicates that the entire approach provides a single framework to plan and control project schedules, which thus can be called the Unified Diagramming Method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving the construction industry towards a more-integrated approach to project delivery could improve its overall performance. The aim of this paper is to develop a unified framework for project integration by identifying the critical success attribute and different levels of attribute importance, and by determining if there are major differences among the perceptions of survey respondents depending on their industry role. The survey sample (N = 264) was composed of industry practitioners in the United States. The framework was developed using the Thurstone Scaling Method of Successive Interval Procedure; In addition, this method was complemented and validated using correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). According to the perceptions of respondents, 19 of the 45 attributes under study were identified as critical for successfully achieving project integration. Four other categories of importance were identified. There were minor differences found between the perceptions that different project participants had in regard to the importance of the different attributes for achieving project integration, leading to the conclusion that the perceptions of respondents in regard to this matter are very homogeneous within the context of the 45 Integration Attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction industry labor productivity is an important metric that provides feedback about industry level trends and improvements. However, labor productivity for the construction industry has historically been elusive to define and determine both qualitatively and quantitatively. Existing research studies have provided different methods to calculate productivity at a variety of levels (activity, project, industry), but none proved universally satisfying. This paper presents a new metric for quantifying productivity that was developed using RSMeans Building Construction Cost Data, which is a source that is reliable, repeatable, and developed from consistent and accurate data sources. The metric was developed using labor and cost information from a sample of typical construction activities. The study results showed a slightly sporadic, but consistent productivity decline in both output per labor hour and per dollar cost from 1990 through 2008. Other metrics were selected from existing research studies and sources for a comparative analysis against the new metric, which revealed varying trends across metrics on the basis of varying input data and sources. The paper presents the new metric, which has value in that it allows construction professionals to analyze industry level productivity by means of a generally used and consistently published reference manual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction labor productivity (CLP) is affected by numerous context-sensitive influencing variables made up of subjective and objective factors, practices, and work sampling proportions (WSPs), which cause complex variability. Modeling CLP is challenging because for any given context, the complex impacts of multiple variables have to be considered simultaneously, without sacrificing accuracy or interpretability. Such challenges are addressed in this paper through the development of a methodology that explicitly represents context in CLP modeling and optimizes context-specific CLP models in order to improve accuracy. In addition, interpretable, fuzzy inference system (FIS)-based, and context-specific CLP models have been developed for the purpose of modeling concrete pouring activity. The performance of the context-specific CLP models is then compared with a generic CLP model, which is developed by combining the context-specific data sets. The results of the investigation showed that the key variables vary between the studied contexts and that the respective context-specific models have better prediction accuracy than the generic one. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in construction project management by demonstrating the essential role of context in the CLP model development process using context attributes, which provide a useful approach for characterizing existing CLP models and facilitate the use and adaptation of existing CLP models in new project contexts. In addition, this study presents a series of highly interpretable, context-specific CLP models to predict labor productivity in various building project contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship quality as a measure of working relationships in construction has been associated with four general attributes of trust, commitment, teamwork, and performance satisfaction. These attributes have been previously explored and identified within New Zealand construction sector. However, much ambiguity remains as to what are the values or preference of parties involved in construction project procurement and how the attributes are traded-off in real decision making processes. Basically how do the industry practitioners judge their relationship quality based on the four mentioned attributes. Data is collected from New Zealand industry practitioners through a conjoint full profile questionnaire technique. Via conjoint and cluster analysis a judgment model for relationship quality is extracted. The overall aggregate conjoint analysis suggests that performance satisfaction is the most important attribute in judging relationship quality in construction activities. The other three attributes also attained a relatively large importance index inferring that all are valuable attributes and contributing to relationship quality. However, by assessing the conjoint measurements and utilities generated at individual level and applying hierarchical cluster analysis different clusters of practitioners with distinct patterns of judgment are identified. The largest cluster had performance satisfaction as their main decisive attribute followed by commitment and teamwork. Conversely the second cluster had trust and teamwork as the decisive attribute with performance satisfaction as the least important and finally the smallest cluster regarded trust and performance to be more decisive. Hence, judgment criteria for relationship quality in construction procurement are not unanimous and diverse perceptions exist as to what is relationship quality; with different managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Buildings are responsible for more than 40 % of global energy used, and as much as 30 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. In order to quantify the energy and material inputs and environmental releases associated with each stage of construction sector, life cycle energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost analysis of contemporary residential buildings have been conducted within two parts. Methods: This paper is the first part of the study which includes the literature review and methodology used for such a comprehensive analysis. It was determined that there are three basic methods used in life cycle analysis: process analysis, input-output (I-O) analysis, and hybrid analysis. In this study, Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE) is used for the calculation of primary energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions. The second part of this study is about the application of the methodology which considers two actual buildings constructed in Gaziantep, Turkey. Results and discussion: The proposed research focused on building construction, operating, and demolition phases. Energy efficiency, emission parameters, and costs are defined for the building per square meter basis. It is seen that the primary energy use and emissions of residential buildings around the world falls in the range of about 10 to 40 GJ/m and 1-10 t CO/m respectively. Conclusions: The literature survey demonstrates that there are limited number of studies about life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) of residential buildings in the world. It was decided to use the ICE database as it is one of the most comprehensive databases for building materials, globally. The results of the study show that minimizing energy, material, and land use by considering potential impacts to the environment on a life cycle basis are the basic steps in designing an energy-efficient and environmental-friendly building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost overrun in construction projects is an important problem that can have serious financial consequences. It also reduces the effectiveness of planning and decision making not only for the contractor but for all parties involved. The problem keeps occurring despite many attempts made over the years to improve cost estimation and forecasting methods. This paper focuses on analyzing cost overruns in Turkey and comparing the cost estimates produced using the traditional estimating method against cost forecasts produced using the reference class forecasting (RCF) method. RCF is used to predict the final cost of a project predicated on actual cost outcomes of accomplished similar projects in the same reference class. RCF has been so far used to address estimation bias in early project development before design is completed and before all risks are accounted for to help a client to produce a more realistic forecast of the final project cost. In this paper, however, it is used to produce a forecast of the final project cost based on the contract sum. The work described in the paper involves collection of contract sum and final project cost data from 420 completed building projects. In order to test the ability of RCF to produce realistic forecasts of projects' final costs, 75% of the data are used to produce the cost overruns distribution and to determine the required optimism bias uplift values for the building projects, while the other 25% of the data are used for testing the accuracy of the forecasts produced for the final costs of projects in the established reference class. The results have indicated that the required uplift values are in the range of 4 to 44%. For instance, if the acceptable chance of cost overrun is 50%, 65% of the test projects would have required only 4% uplift of the contract sum to produce accurate forecasts of the final costs. If, on the other hand, the acceptable chance of cost overrun is only 10%, 5% of the test projects needed to use a 44% uplift to enable more accurate final project cost forecasts for the contractor. Additionally, to check the accuracy of the test data results obtained through applicable optimism bias uplift values, three standard error measures-root-mean-square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE)-are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation has been regarded as a means of improving performance in construction. Despite its benefits, management of innovation is a difficult task and its measurement is complicated. A comprehensive model comprising interrelated components of construction innovation has not yet been developed and tested. The major objective of this research is to propose a framework to analyze construction innovation. In this respect, a total of 38 factors associated with innovation are identified and grouped under six components, namely the drivers, barriers, enablers, inputs, project-level benefits, and firm-level benefits. The interrelations among these components are examined through a questionnaire survey. Data collected from 110 projects were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings of the study suggest that the innovation decision is governed by those factors specified as the drivers; investment in innovation results not only in project-level but also firm-level outcomes; however, the hypothesized negative impact of barriers has not been found to be significant. The findings also reveal that innovation has major benefits such as increases in productivity and client satisfaction at the project level, improvement of company image, improvement of technical and managerial capability, and gaining experience at the firm-level. Research findings are expected to help project managers in construction business devise proper strategies to effectively implement innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building information modeling (BIM) tools hold promise for owners in terms of collecting the information needed for facility operations. The introduction of BIM technology has increased the need for project teams to deliver information earlier in the project timeline. BIM has been a catalyst for process change in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry in terms of earlier decision making and in identifying the need for more precise and accurate information throughout the design and construction process. Because of the use of collaborative project delivery methods, and the owner's participation on the project team, the same catalyst is now forcing owners to decide and specify in more detail their informational needs and deliverables. To date, owners are dependent on broad recommendations regarding what information they should collect as well as what methods may be used to collect it. To assist owners with specific recommendations, this study examined a microlevel view of the information required for owners to help them specify their closeout deliverables. The methodology included a Delphi panel of facility management personnel employed by universities in 18 states who were surveyed to establish a consensus resulting in a basic list of building information needs. The Delphi panel questions addressed the issue from the perspective of providing value as determined by the perceived need for product information in operations and maintenance (O&M), as well as the frequency of use of the product information categories. The final research results provide an established base list of product information needs for specifying project deliverables, i.e., a list of products and product formats, which can be used by owners integrating BIM in their facilities management (FM) efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to conduct an empirical analysis of the impact of diversification on construction company insolvency through a vector error correction model (VECM). The study focuses on a series of structural changes in the Korean construction industry as well as on the fluctuation process of construction business portfolios. This study calculated the diversification index to subrogate diversification level and used it as an analytical variable. The gross domestic product (GDP), Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), construction investment, and interest rate are used as analytical variables representing macroeconomic variables. Finally, the expected default frequency (EDF) is calculated to indicate the level of construction company insolvency and used as its proxy variable. The analysis results differed from what was previously understood about Korea. EDF fluctuation was in a positive direction owing to the impact of diversification and had a response of approximately 0.032% in Q10. Moreover, the EDF fluctuation relative to the impact of construction investment amount was also in a positive direction and had a response of approximately 0.02% in Q10. Normally, higher diversification results in a greater increase in firm value, and a better construction economy results in enhanced firm management. However, the results showed otherwise. This difference is apparently attributable to limited diversification in terms of the types of projects and project lifecycle in the Korean construction industry. To effectively generate diversification strategies under these conditions, Korean construction firms should focus on diversification in terms of project lifecycle, specifically seeking higher value project development, engineering, and consulting work in the short term, or seeking to enter the asset management field to pursue long-term operating profits. Moreover, these firms can enhance technical skills and business abilities in the civil engineering and plant fields for diversification in terms of the types of projects in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many foreign firms are expected to enter China’s growing construction market. The objectives are to: (i) identify the extent to which Porter’s generic business strategies and practices are adopted by local Chinese architectural, engineering and construction firms (Chinese firms) and foreign firms offering construction-related consultancy services in China (foreign firms); (ii) investigate the extent to which Porter’s generic strategies contribute to firms’ competitiveness in China; and (iii) propose a business model framework for construction services in China. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected via mail and face-to-face interviews. In total, 37 and 45 completed questionnaires were received from foreign and Chinese firms, respectively. Both foreign and Chinese firms adopt Porter’s differentiation and focus strategies to a significant extent. Foreign firms emphasize value offerings that incorporate superior design, technology and quality significantly more than Chinese firms. The findings show that Porter’s cost leadership and differentiation strategies are significantly correlated with firms’ competitiveness, especially the practices relating to cutting suppliers’ prices, reconfiguring the value chain, providing innovative services and offering comprehensive services. To help them succeed in China, it is recommended that foreign firms develop their business models based on the framework developed here. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The international market expansion process involves a combination of many strategic entry decisions. Most previous studies have dealt with entry location, entry timing and entry mode (ELETEM) decisions in an isolated way by considering one dimension or a combination of dimensions in particular. Although there have been various models relating to international market entry decisions, there is currently no model that attempts to integrate the factors linking the ELETEM decisions for construction firms. The purpose is to determine a linkage between the ELETEM decisions by incorporating the factors that are mutually inclusive and have significant influence on these decisions. Forty-five (45) Malaysian contractors undertaking projects in international markets responded to the survey. The findings suggested that the mutually inclusive and significant factors (MISFs) influencing the ELETEM decisions were: the firm’s ability to assess market signals and opportunities, the firm’s resources and the firm’s experience in similar works. It was observed that the firms had adopted long-term strategies, repositioned their knowledge from research and development activities and readapted their resources and experience in their global operations. The findings led to the development of the ELETEM decision model to guide interested firms in making better decisions for their future international ventures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental consideration within the Swedish construction sector can no longer be considered marginal. It is here discussed whether the same commitment is extended to facilitate deeper dimensions of sustainability in the provision of housing, beyond simply energy-efficient residential buildings? The paper presents the case of a multi-family 'green' residential area being developed in Göteborg, Sweden. An interview study with the seven housing developers building in the area provides primary empirical insights, further complemented by findings from a workshop with architects involved in the project. Conceptualizations of sustainability in housing are explored, based in discourses among these market actors. Issues identified in the inductive data analysis relate to the ambitions set and measures taken in new 'green' building, as well as market perceptions of housing standards, lifestyles and household configurations that are reproduced in the built environment. The paper shows that interpretations of sustainability in market-led housing development do not radically challenge the normative and resource intense contemporary ideals surrounding the urban home and that the realization of goals undertaken in the case of Kvillebäcken is generally dependent on economic considerations and market assessments. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the need to formulate an integrative approach to more holistic sustainable residential environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify the critical success factors for projects in the construction industry. A list of factors were identified from the existing literature and grouped into categories. The authors added project risk management and requirements management to the list of categories to test the hypothesis that these should also be considered as critical success factors in the construction industry. The study identified 58 success factors classified into 11 groups, which were tested using an elicitation technique. Forty-nine responses were collected from project managers, who had an average or 15 years of project management experience and had participated in more than 15 projects. Once the data was collected, the authors adopted the use of the relative importance index to rank the categories. From the results, the top five most important are (1) Project Organization, (2) Project Manager Competence, (3) Project Risk Management, (4) Project Team Competence and (5) Requirements Management. This lead to the conclusion that both project risk management and requirements management should be considered as critical success factors. Further analysis of the data highlights the importance of scope management and soft skills in Requirements Management and Project Risk Management respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of project management tools and techniques (PMTT) in private sector is increasingly becoming a vital issue in developing countries, particularly in a nation such as Nigeria where project of various magnitude and structures are embarked on. This application is largely applied in organisation in developed nations as a key management strategy in realising projects outcome and organisational objectives within precise time limit as well as budget limits via optimum usage of resources. In Nigeria, the application of modern PMTT is still not well recognized in private sector, for instance the construction industry. Hence, these results in project failure, budget overrun, low quality of project outcome and delay in project delivery. Therefore the purpose of this research is to identify the reasons why PMTT used in the construction industry in developed economies are not heavily used by Nigerian construction companies and to identify the factors influencing PMTT adoption. To realize this, an initial framework has been developed using resource based view theory (RBV) model as theoretical underpinning for empirical studies and will be further improved in the final phase of this study. A qualitative research method has been used by adopting semi-structured interviews with major project managers in Nigerian construction companies. Qualitative research gives room for the generation of rich data, providing an insight into the nature of phenomena. In-depth study has been carried out to gain useful preliminary insights into the current practice and the adoption process of PMTT in Nigerian construction companies.18 project managers had been interviewed in different construction organisations in Nigeria, to investigate factors that influence PMTT adoption process. Results so far have revealed the main challenges project managers face in adopting PMTT especially when it is so sophisticated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction industry is one of the main and the most conventional economic drivers which explain the participants or construction project teams' strong resistance to innovation tools and techniques. One of such widespread IT techniques is the process of generating, storing, managing, exchanging, and sharing building information in an interoperable and reusable way, known as building information modelling. The importance of BIM for construction project sustainability during a project life cycle is acknowledged by architectural, engineering, construction (AEC) companies worldwide. However, the efforts of implementing BIM in Russia had hardly been successful till they gained governmental support. The aim of the present research is to investigate BIM application in Russian construction projects by different project participants during a project life cycle and analyse its first evident results. Based on real case studies and state roadmap analysis, peculiarities of BIM implementation in Russian construction market sector were identified and the impact of BIM on construction project sustainability and providing value provided for client were revealed. In particular benefits of governmental support for the success of BIM spread in industry are defined and possible pitfalls AEC companies may encounter in construction project management processes are revealed. Analysis of the findings proves that BIM application allows companies to enhance their performance and competitiveness on the market. As for the key pitfalls, they are rooted in the lack of unified standards for dealing with building information modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of literature on BIM reveals a bias towards focusing on large companies and overlooking SMEs in South Australia. This paper explores the main barriers hampering the widespread adoption of BIM among SMEs within the South Australian construction industry building upon the theories of innovation diffusion. To achieve this questionnaire survey was administered and 41 responses were received from construction SMEs. Afterwards, semi-structured interviews with seven experts were conducted to compensate for the small sample size and to cross-validate the survey data. The findings brought to light that current knowledge of BIM in SMEs is negatively biased with an inclination towards underlining challenges and overseeing the advantages. The most influential barriers to BIM turned out to be associated with a lack of demand from clients and perception of unviability of setup costs of BIM for small sized projects. The study contributes to the field by providing an illuminating insight into the main barriers to adoption of BIM in SMEs in South Australia. Policy makers in other states and countries can also benefit from the findings in order to overcome the barriers and promote BIM adoption in SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper analyses the financial state and performance of large constructions enterprises by applying financial indicators. As there is no one single decisive financial indicator enabling to objectively assess enterprise performance, the multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods are applied with four groups of financial ratios (profitability, liquidity, solvency and asset turnover) acting as evaluation criteria, while the alternatives assessed are two enterprises compared throughout the reference period of three years, also with the average indicator values of the whole construction sector. The weights of the criteria have been estimated by involving competent experts with chi-square test employed to check the degree of agreement of expert estimates. The research methodology contributes to the issue of complex evaluation of enterprise financial state and performance, while the result of the multi-criteria assessment -- the ranking of enterprises and sector average with respect to financial state and performance -- could be considered worth attention from business owners, potential investors, customers or other possible stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There appears to be confusion regarding how to conduct a comprehensive benchmarking study, especially one on labor productivity. This paper details a six-step procedure for conducting a labor productivity benchmarking study. The procedure addresses the questions of how, who, and why. The procedure is illustrated using three case study projects. Alabor productivity study has several unique features. First, the objective must be precisely defined. A study of labor productivity can be done for many reasons, and the purpose must be clearly defined because the objective influences subsequent decisions involving protocols. Procedures for how the study will be conducted to assure valid comparisons must be developed. Next, the key performance indicators (KPIs) must be determined and a procedure must be established for evaluating multiple KPIs. Labor productivity is unique in that there is no single KPI that can be used to define best performance. Multiple KPIs are proposed and procedures are developed. Once a procedure is developed for evaluating multiple KPIs, data are collected and the best performer is identified. The last question is, "why is a project/activity/entity the best?" This question is often ignored in most so-called benchmarking studies. Once the best project/activity/entity is identified, principles can be summarized as a prescription for productivity improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retention of high quality management personnel is a priority for all companies in the construction industry, including mechanical contracting companies. Over the past several years there has been a decrease in managers in the construction industry, and firms that fail to retain these employees will be left with an understaffed workforce, which will hinder their ability to be competitive in the marketplace. In order to aid in retention efforts, mechanical contracting firms need to focus their attention on the factors that affect burnout, which leads to turnover of their management personnel. The majority of the research in the construction industry has focused on work related stress. There have been studies on life stressors in general and there are several tools available to measure these stressors, but no studies have been done on life stressors on mechanical contracting supervisors. Life stressors were identified using the LISRES-A survey for mechanical contracting supervisors. The results showed that these supervisors had well above-average levels of stress in regards to their children. The results suggest that contracting firms should tailor their employee assistance programs (EAPs) to help combat this stressor. By doing this, mechanical contracting firms can combat burnout and help retain their management personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The need for monitoring vehicles and equipment during their activity is growing as the globalization spreads. The companies require distinct information about their machines which can operate in various locations in large numbers for different purposes. Beside that information demand also appeared at the client side which has to be satisfied by the firms. This paper summarize the present possibilities and recent researches for gathering and distributing the necessary data first at the transportation then in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Belt and Road Initiative" is and will continue to be an overall strategy of China's all round open-ing-up for a long time into the future. It is the way China reaches out to the world, brings the new challenges to the listed construction enterprises which are becoming more aware of the significance to improve the operational efficiency and management style. Aiming at the problems, with the characteristics of the listed construction enterprises into consideration, through the enterprises management knowledge and DEA method, the appropriate decision- making unit (DMU) is screened, and also acorresponding input and output indicator is established. Then the aggressive cross-evaluation C2R-DEAmodel avoiding the faults of traditional DEA is used to evaluate DEA for operational efficiency of the listed construction firms chosen the samples in China during 2012 to 2014 years in order to provide relevant decisions and references. Analyzing the differences among the listed construction firms and ranking, it is concluded that the efficiency of a few is low relatively level. It is more accuracy and objective that domestic listed construction firms to evaluate their operational efficiency and relative competitiveness through comparing the variations in value. It is concluded the influence of the "Belt and Road Initiative". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural industry in Malaysia has grown rapidly over the years. Palm oil clinker (POC) is a byproduct obtained from the palm oil industry. Its lightweight properties allows for its utilization as an aggregate, while in powder form as a filler material in concrete. POC specimens obtained throughout each state in Malaysia were investigated to evaluate the physical, chemical, and microstructure characteristics. Variations between each state were determined and their possible contributory factors were assessed. POC were incorporated as a replacement material for aggregates and their engineering characteristics were ascertained. Almost 7% of density was reduced with the introduction of POC as aggregates. A sustainability assessment was made through greenhouse gas emission (GHG) and cost factor analyses to determine the contribution of the addition of POC to the construction industry. Addition of POC helps to lower the GHG emission by 9.6% compared to control specimens. By channeling this waste into the construction industry, an efficient waste-management system can be promoted; thus, creating a cleaner environment. This study is also expected to offer some guides and directions for upcoming research works on the incorporation of POC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction sector faced, after the economic crisis who affected deeply this sector, both with a lack of qualified staff and with reduced salary levels. The accounting records for the staff includes salary entitlements, bonuses, additions, awards of payroll, allowances for rest and those for temporary disability paid from the salary fund, the first representing staff participation in profit, granted by law, and other rights in cash and / or kind of entity due to staff for their work. In this paper we present the contributions due to the State Budget by society and by the employees and we present the recognition of these operations in accounting formulas in accordance with the OMFP 1802/2014. In Romania the level of contributions to the pension system was reduced for the employer with the aim of decreasing tax evasion recorded. In this paper we want to reflect the impact of this decision on the pension system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper presents a systematic and generic framework reference for the practice of stakeholder management in the construction industry. It contains findings from empirical studies, comprising six interviews, a pilot study, a questionnaire survey in Hong Kong, and 15 interviews in Australia. Six activity groups (i.e., precondition, project data identification, stakeholder estimation, decision making, action and evaluation, and sustainable support) and a total of 18 activities within these groups and their interrelations formulate the main body of the framework. The proposed framework was validated by five real-life projects, the results of which confirm the applicability of the proposed framework. This study serves as a reference for project-management teams to systematically manage stakeholders in construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Delay and Disruption Protocol was published by the Society of Construction Law in 2002 in the United Kingdom. It has been well received by construction professionals for its guidance in solving delay and disruption issues. This research attempts (1) to compare the Protocol's core features with the existing references for the contracting parties and (2) to determine the feasible use of the Protocol's distinguished features into the Malaysian construction industry as a case study. The distinguishing features were identified after reviewing and comparing the local contract forms and the Protocol. Subsequently, the questionnaire survey was carried out with local developers, contractors, and consultants based on an inductive reasoning approach. Statistical and variance analyses were conducted to determine the acceptance level of the Protocol's features. The results show that most of the features were agreed to by the respondents; for instance, the guidelines on float identification, concurrency identification, proper procedures on work program, and so on. The findings render useful information for future contract drafting by incorporating the guidelines into local contract forms, particularly for commonwealth countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) project delivery is rapidly being implemented to deliver the full gamut of highway projects across the United States. One issue that must be resolved before a public transportation agency can advertise a CMGC contract is whether or not to include price in the selection scheme, and if so, how much weight the price component will carry versus all other evaluation criteria. This paper discusses the results of research into this topic based on an analysis of the experience of 26 public transportation agencies on 36 CMGC projects in 14 U.S. states. The paper finds that there is a learning curve that can be mapped as the change in price factor weight over time as an agency gains experience with CMGC, and details that finding via a case study of the Utah Department of Transportation's CMGC program. The paper concludes that non--price factors, such as the CMGC contractor's approach to the preconstruction phase, are more important than price factors and should carry a greater weight in the evaluation plan. It also finds that weight accorded to price factors decreases as an agency gains CMGC experience. Finally, it recommends that agencies that are trying CMGC for the first time focus their selection scheme on factors that will reflect on a given contractor's ability to collaborate with the owner and designer during the preconstruction phases of the project rather than on obtaining the lowest price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hitherto, it is not known if the integration of relationship concepts into traditional public-sector construction contracts would improve project performance. This study hence examines the effects of contract strategies on project outcomes and relationship quality in the context of public-sector construction projects in Sydney, Australia. It also identifies the relational contracting (RC) practices that are in place when certain contract strategies are adopted. Using a two-pronged research design, data were first collected from public owners and private contractors and consultants through a questionnaire survey. The data were analyzed and the results were then validated by interviews. Correlation analysis shows that cost performance, client satisfaction, and relationship quality among contracting parties are significantly correlated with contract strategies. The findings indicate the important role that contract strategies play in project outcomes and interpersonal relationship. Among the 20 RC practices that are significantly correlated with contract strategies, 16 of them are related to clients and consultants, suggesting their important role in setting the tone of the relationship in a project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an information integration maturity model for the capital projects industry. Due to the trends of construction projects becoming more globalized and their processes being conducted more concurrently, information integration has been widely implemented in the capital projects industry. However, one issue for the planning of information integration is that the current practice tends to be ad hoc and centered on individual information integration opportunities. Also, the existing knowledge for information integration implementation is not helpful because different organizations have different idiosyncratic characteristics regarding work processes, culture, and information technology (IT) use. To address these issues, a research team consisting of 15 members from leading contractors, construction clients, and academia in the United States developed a capital projects information integration maturity model. The model can be used to assess the current state of work functions in terms of information integration. It can also be used to manage a portfolio of information integration opportunities that can help organizations make a systematic plan for further investment in information integration. The model has been applied to various real-world information integration cases. The application broadly validates the concept and utility of the model, showing it to be a useful and accurate characterization of information integration performance within the capital projects industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]