Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

Danso, Frederick Owusu; Agyekum, Kofi; Manu, Patrick; Adinyira, Emmanuel; Ahadzie, Divine K.; Badu, Edward

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-02-2022-0113

Although many health and safety (H&S) studies have widely examined safety risk perception in the construction industry, few studies have explored how this perception influences site workers' risk-taking behaviours during construction. This study aims to examine how construction site workers perceive and judge safety risks in risk-taking behaviours of site workers for intervention safety policy framework that may encourage safe work.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed Pictorial-based Q-Methodology, which documented 63 picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours from building sites and submitted them for validation from H&S inspectors. In total, 33 pictures emerged as having great potential to cause harm. After using these 33 pictures to elicit data from randomised site workers, the study used Frequency Tabulation, Relative Importance Index (RII) and Kruskal–Wallis Test to analyse the collected data. To fully explain the analysed data for deeper understanding, the study conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with these site workers to share the thoughts of site workers on these pictures.FindingsTwo distinctive pictures emerged from these analyses: one showing risk-taking behaviour likely to contract internal and skin disease and the other likely to fall from height. One of the implications is that construction site workers are unfamiliar with the dangerous contaminants in the materials the site workers use to work, which can potentially harm the site workers' skin and internal organs. Hence, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours. The other is that site workers are aware of and can mention catastrophic physical injuries attached to site workers' jobs. However, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours because of site workers' safety plights and rely on the favour and mercies of a supreme being as coping strategies to escape from these physical injuries.Originality/valueThis study is original in that the study uses picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours to amass an empirical-based understanding of how site workers perceive and respond to H&S risks during construction. This piece of evidence is missing in the numerous research studies in this area. Again, the findings contribute to the state-of-the-art literature regarding risk-taking behaviours on construction sites.

Wang, Xiaowei; Yang, Yang; Chan, Albert P.C.; Chi, Hung-lin; Yung, Esther H.K.

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-10-2022-0990

With the increasing use of small unmanned aircrafts (SUAs), many countries have enacted laws and regulations to ensure the safe use of SUAs. However, there is a lack of industry-specific regulations accounting for the unique features of construction-related SUA operations. Operating SUAs in the construction industry is attributed to specific risks and challenges, which should be regulated to maximize the utility of SUAs in construction. This study, therefore, aims to develop a multi-dimensional regulatory framework for using SUAs in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to compare seven selected national/regional SUA regulations to identify the applicability of implementing the existing regulations in construction. The interview surveys were then conducted to diagnose the challenges of construction-related SUA operations and gather interviewees' suggestions on the regulatory framework for SUA uses in construction.FindingsThe research found that some challenges of construction-related SUAs operations were not addressed in the current regulations. These challenges included the complex and time-consuming SUA operation permit, lack of regulation for special SUA operations in construction, insufficient regulatory compliance monitoring and a lack of construction-related remote pilots' training. A regulatory framework was then developed based on the findings of comparative analysis and interview surveys.Research limitations/implicationsThis study mainly compared seven representative countries/regions' regulations, leading to a small sample size. Further research should be carried out to study the SUA regulations in other places, such as South Africa, South America or Middle East countries. Besides, this study's respondents to the interviews were primarily concentrated in Hong Kong, which may cause the interview results to differ from the construction industry in other countries/regions. A large-scale interview survey should be conducted in other places in the future to validate the current findings.Practical implicationsThe proposed regulatory framework provides a reference for the policy-makers to formulate appropriate industry-specific SUA regulations and improve the applicability of SUA regulations in the construction industry. It sheds light upon the future of SUA regulations and the development of regulatory practice in this area.Originality/valueThis study is the first to propose a multi-dimensional regulatory framework for operating SUAs in construction by comprehensive policy comparisons and interviews. The regulatory framework offers a fresh insight into the unexplored research area and points out the direction for subsequent studies on SUA regulations in the construction industry.

Cutcu, Ibrahim; Atay, Guven; Gerlikhan, Selcuk Gokhan

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-10-2022-0944

This study aims to analyze the relationship between the consequences of the pandemic and the housing sector with econometric tests that allow for structural breaks.Design/methodology/approachStudy data were collected weekly between March 9, 2020, and February 4, 2022, and analyzed for Turkey. In the model of the study, housing loans were used as a housing market indicator, and the number of new deaths and new cases were used as data related to the pandemic. The exchange rate, which affects the use of housing loans, was added to the model as a control variable. This study was analyzed to examine the relationship between the pandemic and the housing sector, time series analysis techniques that allow structural breaks were used.FindingsBased on the result of the analyses, it was concluded that there is a long-run relationship between the pandemic stages and housing markets along with structural breaks. As a result of the time-varying causality test developed to determine the causality relationship between the variables and its direction, a bidirectional causality relationship was identified between all variables at certain dates.Research limitations/implicationsStudy data were collected weekly between March 9, 2020, and February 4, 2022, and analyzed in the case of Turkey.Practical implicationsBased on results of the study, it is recommended that policy makers and market actors take into account extraordinary situations such as pandemics and create a budget allocation that is always ready to use for this purpose.Originality/valueThe empirical examination of the relationship between the pandemic and the housing sector in Turkey provides originality to this study in terms of its topic, sample, methodology, contribution to the literature and potential policy recommendations.

Zeng, Ningshuang; Ye, Xuling; Liu, Yan; König, Markus

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-01-2022-0036

The unstable labor productivity and periodic planning method cause barriers to improving construction logistics management. This paper aims to explore a demand-driven mechanism for efficient construction logistics planning to record the material consumption, report the real-time demand and trigger material replenishment from off-site to on-site, which is aided by Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the Kanban technique.Design/methodology/approachThis paper follows the design science research (DSR) principles to propose a system of designing and applying Kanban batch with 4D BIM for construction logistics planning and monitoring. Prototype development with comparative simulation experiments of a river remediation project is conducted to analyze the conventional and Kanban-triggered supply. Two-staged industrial interviews are conducted to guide and evaluate the system design.FindingsThe proposed BIM-enabled Kanban system enables construction managers and suppliers to better set integrated on- and off-site targets, report real-time demands and conduct collaborative planning and monitoring. The simulation results present significant site storage and schedule savings applying the BIM-enabled Kanban system. Feedback and constructive suggestions from practitioners are collected via interviews and analyzed for further development.Originality/valueThis paper brings to the limelight the benefits of implementing BIM-enabled demand-driven replenishment to remove waste from the material flow. This paper combines lean production theory with advanced information technology to solve construction logistics management problems.

Gan, Xueqing; Jia, Jianyao; Le, Yun; Hu, Yi

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-04-2022-0323

Infrastructure projects are pivotal for regional economic development, but also face low project effectiveness. Leadership is always regarded as a key enabler for project team effectiveness, including vertical leadership and team-level leadership. The purpose of this paper is to examine how vertical leadership facilitates shared leadership in infrastructure project teams.Design/methodology/approachThis paper develops the conceptual model based on the literature review. Then the questionnaire survey was conducted. The empirical data obtained from 117 infrastructure project teams in China were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for validating the proposed model. Finally, the results were comparatively discussed to explain the dual-pathway between vertical leadership and shared leadership. And the practical implications were presented for the project managers in infrastructure project teams.FindingsDrawing on social learning theory and social cognitive theory, the results show that both participative leadership and task-oriented leadership can facilitate shared leadership. Further, team atmosphere fully mediates the link between participative leadership and shared leadership. Team efficacy fully mediates the relation between task-oriented leadership and shared leadership. Also, role clarity has a negative moderating effect on the former path.Originality/valueThe study extends the knowledge of leadership theory in the construction field. Based on the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results, this study unveils the black box between vertical leadership and shared leadership and contributes to the theory of leadership on how the impact of different vertical leadership on team process promotes shared leadership.

Mousa, Kawther; Zhang, Zhenglian; Sumarliah, Eli

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-08-2022-0791

The scarcity of literature related to the PPP (public-private partnership) barriers in construction projects within war areas, and hence the dearth of information to deliver viable and effective strategies to those barriers, are the primary causes for the failures of PPP schemes in such areas, particularly in Palestine. Financial and non-financial investments are more problematic in war zones than non-war nations and may escalate barrier for projects' success. The investigation purposes to discover proper answers to the barriers of PPP infrastructure schemes and highlight the execution of barrier reactions.Design/methodology/approachSpecialists were asked to deliver approaches to alleviate 21 barriers and recommend the period needed for applying them. Later, the relevance of alleviation events was examined through prioritization according to the results attained from three elements, i.e. the impact of every barrier and the strategy's viability and efficacy.FindingsWhile the most unfavorable barrier was finalized to be the unfeasibility of delivering physical security, the most valid answer was associated with the lack of government cohesiveness and responsibility to perform its duties. The discovered barriers are typical within warring nations, but the paper concentrated on Palestine.Originality/valueThis study is an initial effort to examine PPP barriers in Palestinian infrastructure projects. The presented strategies can be applied as a novel set for barrier reaction improvement in occupied nations such as Palestine. Moreover, the results can develop the usage of PPP and enhance the barrier sharing in this scheme.

Bello, Abdulkabir Opeyemi; Khan, Ayaz Ahmad; Idris, Abdullahi; Awwal, Hamzat Mohammed

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-10-2022-1001

This study aimed to identify and assess the barriers to implementing modular construction systems (MCS) in developing country's architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, targeting built environment professionals from Nigeria and South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a quantitative research method, using a structured questionnaire to seek the opinions of the professionals on the identified categories of barriers.FindingsResults indicated that all identified categories of barriers were statistically significant using a one-sample t-test at p = 0.05 significance level which indicates they are critical towards the implementation of MCS in developing countries. Assessment of the opinion of the professionals using the Kruskal–Wallis scale showed that they hold similar views on the barriers to the adoption of MCS. Pearson correlation shows a high correlation coefficient amongst the barrier categories and an acceptable level of significance (p = 0.05).Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to two significant African countries (Nigeria and South Africa) selected based on the gross domestic product (GDP). Further studies can consider developing countries outside Africa and investigate broader respondents.Practical implicationsThe study provides implications on the barriers affecting MCS in developing countries for the academia, industry and government to have an insight into the barriers and make informed decisions and policies.Originality/valueThe research satisfies the need to study the barriers affecting the MCS in developing countries that can mitigate housing deficits. This innovative construction method has been adopted and implemented in developed countries, and the result has been positive.

Hon, Carol K.H.; Sun, Chenjunyan; Way, Kïrsten A.; Jimmieson, Nerina L.; Xia, Bo; Biggs, Herbert C.

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-07-2022-0617

Mental health problems are a grave concern in construction. Although the distinction between high job demands and low job resources, as reflected in the Job Demands-Resources (JD–R) model, has been used to examine the extent to which psychosocial hazards influence mental health for construction practitioners, limited research has reflected on the nature of these psychosocial hazards by exploring experiences of site-based construction practitioners.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a phenomenological approach to examine people’ experiences and thoughts of the complex phenomena of psychosocial hazards and mental health in construction. In total, 33 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with site-based construction practitioners in Australia to unveil construction-focused psychosocial hazards and their effects on mental health. The data were analysed via content analysis, employing an interpretation-focused coding strategy to code text and an individual-based sorting strategy to cluster codes.FindingsEighteen psychosocial hazards were identified based on the JD–R model. Six of these represented a new contribution, describing salient characteristics inherent to the construction context (i.e. safety concerns, exposure to traumatic events, job insecurity, task interdependency, client demand and contract pressure). Of particular importance, a number of interrelationships among psychosocial hazards emerged.Originality/valueThe significance of this qualitative research lies in elucidating psychosocial hazards and their complex interrelatedness in the context of the mental health of construction practitioners, enriching the understanding of this central health and safety issue in the high-risk setting of construction work. The findings contribute to addressing mental health issues in the Australian construction industry by identifying higher order control measures, thereby creating a mentally healthy workplace.

Hou, Huiying (Cynthia); Lai, Joseph H.K.; Wu, Hao; Wang, Tong

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-06-2022-0596

This paper aims to investigate the theoretical and practical links between digital twin (DT) application in heritage facilities management (HFM) from a life cycle management perspective and to signpost the future development directions of DT in HFM.Design/methodology/approachThis state-of-the-art review was conducted using a systematic literature review method. Inclusive and exclusive criteria were identified and used to retrieve relevant literature from renowned literature databases. Shortlisted publications were analysed using the VOSviewer software and then critically reviewed to reveal the status quo of research in the subject area.FindingsThe review results show that DT has been mainly adopted to support decision-making on conservation approach and method selection, performance monitoring and prediction, maintenance strategies design and development, and energy evaluation and management. Although many researchers attempted to develop DT models for part of a heritage building at component or system level and test the models using real-life cases, their works were constrained by availability of empirical data. Furthermore, data capture approaches, data acquisition methods and modelling with multi-source data are found to be the existing challenges of DT application in HFM.Originality/valueIn a broader sense, this study contributes to the field of engineering, construction and architectural management by providing an overview of how DT has been applied to support management activities throughout the building life cycle. For the HFM practice, a DT-cum-heritage building information modelling (HBIM) framework was developed to illustrate how DT can be integrated with HBIM to facilitate future DT application in HFM. The overall implication of this study is that it reveals the potential of heritage DT in facilitating HFM in the urban development context.

Wang, Qi; Appolloni, Andrea; Liu, Junqi

2024 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-04-2022-0364

Carbon reduction in the construction industry is related to the achievement of carbon emission peaks and carbon neutrality targets. Therefore, exploring the influence of current carbon reduction policies on the construction industry is necessary. China’s low-carbon pilot (LCP) policy has been extensively studied, while LCPs mechanism and effectiveness on carbon reduction in the construction industry remain to be explored.Design/methodology/approachThis study selected four provincial LCP regions as case studies and adopted the grounded theory method for case studies to analyze the implementation mechanism of the LCP policy on carbon reduction in the construction industry. Then, this study adopted the propensity score matching and difference-in-differences regression (PSM-DID) approach to evaluate the influence of the LCP policy on carbon intensity (CI) in the construction industry by using panel data taken from 30 provinces in China between 2008 and 2017.FindingsThe authors found that (1) the LCP policy promotes carbon reduction in the construction industry through the crossing implementation mechanism of five vertical support approaches and five horizontal support approaches. (2). The LCP policy can significantly reduce CI in the construction industry.Originality/valueThe study not only explored how is the LCP policy implemented, but also examined the effectiveness of the LCP policy in the construction industry. The policy implications of this study can help policy-makers better achieve low-carbon development targets in the construction industry.