Commercial Construction Industry Research Articles

Application of Data Science in the US Commercial Construction Industry: Current Trends and Future Opportunities

ABSTRACT The technologies and innovations accompanying the Fourth Industrial Revolution are reshaping industries worldwide; the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is no different. This study specifically investigates the application of data science in the US commercial construction industry, which has been relatively limited and understudied. This study assessed the current state of data science utilization, identified potential benefits and challenges, and explored future directions. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with representatives from eight general contracting firms listed in the ENR top 100 contractors. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed several prominent themes. The findings indicate that while technical support for data storage and management exists, challenges persist in terms of data consistency and leveraging data for advanced analyses. Encouragingly, top management is recognizing the importance of data science in their daily operations, leading to a growing trend of hiring individuals with specialized data skills in construction companies. The establishment of dedicated data science departments and fostering, mitigating the current challenges of data consistency and interoperability with a mind-set of continuous improvement are viewed as strategic approaches to harness data for a competitive edge in the commercial construction industry.

Overcoming Head Contractor Barriers to Sustainable Waste Management Solutions in the Australian Construction Industry

The construction industry has one of the highest waste intensities in Australia. While there are barriers to the implementation of sustainable waste management (WM) practices, there is a lack of viable solutions for head contractors to overcome these barriers. This research investigates the role of incentives in achieving sustainable WM in the Australian commercial construction industry. A qualitative approach was adopted through interviews with experts in the field to explore the role of incentives as possible solutions to the barriers presented. The findings show that participants are willing to use more sustainable WM practices. However, the barriers are perceived to be too substantial. Many types of incentives can encourage changes in behavior, which contribute to better waste outcomes. The findings also indicate key stakeholders such as the client, government, and industry regulators may provide incentives, including enhancing relevant key performance indicators, amending existing legislations, and implementing government programs to foster a Circular Economy to improve sustainable WM practices. This study contributes to the field by raising awareness about the role of incentives for head contractors to achieve sustainable WM practices.

The perception of commercial construction companies on using technology to review contracts in New Zealand

A lack of understanding of project risks and the use of unnecessarily complex contracts have been identified as weaknesses in construction procurement. Contract reviews are often rushed, and risks are not assessed and allowed for appropriately. This process can be improved using digital technology solutions. This research investigated the NZ commercial construction practitioners’ views about adopting computational tools to review construction contracts. A mixed-methods study using a survey questionnaire was undertaken and accompanied by descriptive statistical analysis. The sample consisted of 66 participants from different groups within NZ’s commercial construction industry. The study found a strong positive response towards digital technology adoption, and the overall perception is that there are benefits to using computational tools for contract review. Findings confirmed that these have not been widely adopted for contract review, mainly due to the lack of familiarity with existing solutions. Further research is recommended to investigate how a small portion of the population is currently using computational solutions. The benefits of manual contract reviews may also be explored to enhance software systems for easier adoption.

A comparative study of project risk management with risk breakdown structure (RBS): a case of commercial construction in India

The construction industry deals with the growing complexity and dynamism exposed to numerous and interdependent risks which, evolve throughout the project. In most risk management processes, risk identification forms a long list or matrix, which it difficult in identifying more influenced risks. Preparing a risk list or risk matrix in the identification process has become inadequate for prioritizing risks. The construction industry is classified as commercial, industrial, and residential; identifying and managing the project risk for them on a common platform is difficult. In the present work risk breakdown structure (RBS) tool is used for the brief, clear identification of risks by interviewing and brainstorming with the experts involved in three commercial construction projects. It provides a means for grouping all possible individual project risks into risk categories (RC), linked by father/son relations, and risk events (RE) form the hierarchy. Further, analyzed to find the impact on the three main pillars of sustainability: Environmental, Financial, and Social. The plotted results are further structured with the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and found the global weight of each RC’s. The method is applied to illustrate the principle of process and highlights risk identification and its assessment in the Indian commercial construction industry.

Designing a Participatory Total Worker Health® Organizational Intervention for Commercial Construction Subcontractors to Improve Worker Safety, Health, and Well-Being: The "ARM for Subs" Trial.

Background: Evidence supports organizational interventions as being effective for improving worker safety, health and well-being; however, there is a paucity of evidence-based interventions for subcontracting companies in commercial construction. Methods: A theory-driven approach supplemented by formative research through key stakeholder interviews and focus groups and an iterative vetting process with stakeholders, resulted in the development of an intervention for subcontractors in the commercial construction industry. We piloted the intervention in one subcontracting commercial construction company. We used these findings to adapt and finalize the intervention design to be tested in a future large-scale trial. Results: There were several key findings from the formative research, including challenges faced by companies and assets that should be considered in the intervention design. This resulted in a communication infrastructure company-based, continual improvement, participatory intervention design, consisting of a needs assessment and report, committee-led prioritization, action planning and implementation, and worker communication/feedback cycle. The pilot contributed to the final intervention design with modifications made with respect to timing, implementation support, capacity building, adaptability and sustainability. Conclusions: The use of a theory-driven participatory approach to developing an integrated organizational intervention for commercial construction subcontracting companies was important and necessary. It allowed us to consider the empirical evidence and relevant theories and tailor these to meet the needs of our target population. This study gives pragmatic insight into the early development of a complex intervention, with practical experience of how we adapted our intervention at each stage. This intervention will be tested in a future randomized trial.

SME employee performance appraisal formalization and trust in leadership change

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of employee performance appraisal (PA) formalization on changes to one component of the employee–leadership social exchange relationship within the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Specifically, it builds upon extant research on human resource management within SMEs, performance appraisals and social exchange theory to consider the role of performance appraisal formalization in effecting change in the level of trust employees have in their leaders.Design/methodology/approachTo test study hypotheses, this study analyzes responses to two survey waves completed by employees of a US-based SME operating within the commercial construction industry. This SME formalized the PA process in between the administration of the first and second surveys. Study data were analyzed using hierarchical ordinary least squares regression.FindingsThe results of this study suggest that the formalization of PA has a positive effect on change in trust in leadership (TIL). Study results also suggest that employee perceptions of PA utility, procedural justice and satisfaction with the PA process are positively related to changes in TIL. This study also found that the effects of employee perceptions of PA utility and procedural justice on changes in TIL are mediated by employee satisfaction with the PA process.Research limitations/implicationsAs a consequence of study design, the results found in this study may be limited with respect to their external validity. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to use caution before generalizing study findings to other contexts.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that PA formalization represents a means of increasing employee trust. Moreover, study results suggest that SME leaders hoping to increase employee TIL should be thoughtful about how they implement the PA process, paying particular attention to the usefulness of the feedback they provide and ensuring that the process of PA is viewed as being fair by employees. In doing so, SME leaders will enhance their employees’ satisfaction with the PA process, thereby increasing the trust they place in SME leadership.Originality/valueThis study extends research by considering the consequences of PA formalization with respect to changes in SME employee TIL. In doing so, this study heeds calls for additional research on the consequences of PA within SMEs, as well as sheds light on how PA formalization shapes the relationship between SME employees and leaders.

A purchasing portfolio model for the commercial construction industry: a case study in a mega mall

The procurement phase is known as a major component of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. One of the main reasons for the lack of timely completion of projects and creating additional costs is the poor performance of companies in this phase. The complexity of the purchasing process arises from a wide variety of project purchasing items and their suppliers. A purchasing portfolio model (PPM) has been developed based on the Kraljic model in the context of multi-criteria decision-making. The proposed hybrid model consists of a combination of DEMATEL and ANP (DANP) and VIKOR. The contribution of the work presents a hybrid MCDM method to clarify the interactive relationships among the criteria, Development of the Application Range of the Kraljic portfolio model, and a managerial tool for solving classification issues. Our study outcomes verified by a real Mall project and can be used by project professionals and academic researchers.

Integration of facility management and building information modeling (BIM)

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate factors that impede the integration of facilities management (FM) into building information modeling (BIM) technology. The use of BIM technology in the commercial construction industry has grown enormously in recent years. Its application to FM, however, is still limited. The literature highlights issues that hinder BIM–FM integration, which are studied and discussed in detail in this paper.Design/methodology/approachA review of literature is conducted to identify and categorize key issues hampering the application of BIM to FM. This paper has also designed a questionnaire based on a literature review and surveyed FM professionals at two industry events. Using the collected responses, these issues are analyzed and discussed using non-parametric statistical analyses.FindingsA total of 16 issues are identified through the literature review of 54 studies under the four categories of BIM-execution and information-management, technological, cost-based and legal and contractual issues. The results of the survey of FM professionals (with 57 complete responses) reveal that the single most important issue is the lack of FM involvement in project phases when BIM is evolving.Originality/valueThe findings of this study could assist the construction industry (e.g. building-material and equipment manufacturers, design professionals, general contractors, construction managers, owners and facility managers) with creating guidelines that would help in BIM–FM integration. BIM is a virtual database that contains important design and construction information, which can be used for effective and efficient life cycle management if building data are captured completely and accurately with a facility manager’s involvement.

Financialisation and labour in the Australian commercial construction industry

AbstractFinancialisation and financial risk have become current buzzwords, but the connections between finance and labour are not well developed. Often labour is cast simply as the distributional victim of developments like shareholder value, the privatisation of public infrastructure and labour market reform. This article engages developments in the construction industry and locates a growing financial logic inside ‘production’ and work in that sector. Through the concepts of liquidity and risk, we identify causal connections, not just parallels, between financial innovation and the reorganisation of the logic and structure of work in the Australian construction and property services industry.

Use of Personality Profile Assessments in the U.S. Commercial Construction Industry

ABSTRACTEmployee turnover is a continuing challenge in the construction industry with negative effects on construction companies. Other industries have begun using personality profile assessments as a tool for reducing employee turnover, and more specifically in their hiring, promoting, team building, and leadership development processes. However, it was unknown if this trend was effecting the construction industry. The purpose of this research was to determine if and how U.S. commercial construction companies utilize personality profiles in their employee retention processes. A survey was randomly sent to 235 of the top 400 commercial construction companies in the United States to determine if these companies were using assessments, and if it had any effect on the turnover within these companies. Interviews were conducted over the phone with human resources representatives from these companies, and responses were sorted into similar themes and ideas using qualitative pattern coding techniques. Of the 78 responding companies, one-third were using employee personality profiles within their business practices. This article reports the experiences and general attitudes for both the companies that do and do not utilize personality profiles. The results of this research provides strong evidence that using personality profile assessments can help construction companies reduce employee turnover.

A Quantitative Study of the Relationship between Project Performance and BIM Use on Commercial Construction Projects in the USA

ABSTRACTThis article reports the findings of a quantitative study on the relationship between various project performance outcomes and the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM), within the commercial construction industry. The literature review identified inconsistent results among prior qualitative and quantitative work concerning the relationships of key project performance measures and BIM use. Data on 13 variables from 93 completed construction projects were collected and examined through a causal comparative research design. Projects that used BIM (in design or construction) were not found to experience significant performance outcomes when controlling for the contribution of other independent variables and covariates at the 95% confidence level (CL). At the lower 90% CL, however, projects using BIM in construction experienced significantly higher levels of schedule growth than projects that did not use BIM in construction. Recommendations are made for training of construction management staff as a step to avoid unwanted schedule growth associated with BIM use during construction. This study is one of a very small group of rigorous quantitative analyses of BIM project performance outcomes conducted to date; additionally, it is the only study that has analyzed BIM in a multivariate context that controlled for the contribution of other project variables not directly related to BIM use.

Exploration and Exploitation Approaches for Various Stages of Firm Growth through Diversification

Using a qualitative case study, we investigate an innovative firm’s 65-year history of exploration and exploitation in the commercial construction industry to examine temporal approaches to strateg...

The role of social heuristics in project-centred production networks: insights from the commercial construction industry

Project production networks or PPNs are now the primary means for organizing in many industries including fashion design and manufacturing, moviemaking and construction projects. PPNs enable professionally and geographically distributed participants of a common project to bring their expertise and resources together to achieve an economically and technically superior product than a single firm could produce. PPNs also have benefits over purely market-based contracting relationships as participants often recombine to work on projects serially allowing knowledge and relationships to develop in ways that support production outcomes. The growth in the use of PPNs has led to a number of studies describing the structural characteristics and benefits of this organizing strategy as compared to firms and markets. Relatively little analysis has been done of the ways in which PPNs govern themselves, however. We report here on PPN governance in commercial construction focusing on the role that social heuristics as sh...

Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery in the Commercial Construction Industry: A Conceptual Study

Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery in the Commercial Construction Industry: A Conceptual Study

Best Practices for Dealing with Price Volatility in Commercial Construction

In the commercial construction industry, the problem of price volatility as it pertains to materials and labor is a consistent problem. The changing instability of market conditions presents a challenge for construction companies to accurately estimate and complete projects within budget. This volatility can lead to higher costs and more risk to suppliers, contractors, and owners which can cause financial distress for all parties involved in the construction process. Volatility in construction will continue to be a risk that participants in the construction industry will face. Price volatility can be economically dangerous when price changes affect the assumptions on which the contract is based. In an effort to identify the best practices being used by parties in the commercial construction industry for dealing with the risk of price fluctuation, panel members consisting of construction industry experts in the state of Utah were given rounds of questionnaires. This research report summarizes the responses of these industry professionals as to what they feel the best practices for dealing with the risks volatility creates in construction. Among the best practices given by the panel members were timely buyout, contract language, stockpiling materials, proposal time expirations, and good communication.

Mandatory Online Training: Transmissive Learning, Issues of Abuse and Hidden Agendas

This paper is based on two studies of mandatory online learning which although unrelated and conducted eight years apart nevertheless provide an illuminating comparison of mandatory training delivered online. The first study was carried out in 2002 in a state government department and the second in 2010 with the commercial construction industry, both in Western Australia. The key findings from both studies are that learning outcomes mirror the learning goals that are imposed and legitimized by the organization or industry. Mandatory learning is often transmissive learning that may not have transformative effects and online training may be open to abuse because it lacks the controls necessary to ensure that those registering actually are the ones that complete the training.

Social Heuristics: Decision Making and Innovation in a Networked Production Market

In a study of failed innovation in the commercial construction industry we find that social heuristics - collectively constructed and maintained interpretive decision making frames - influence economic decision making practices and material outcomes. Social heuristics are widely institutionalized and commonly relied upon to reduce uncertainty in decision making; they provide actors with both a priori and ex post facto justifications for economic decisions that appear socially rational. In the commercial construction industry, social heuristics sustain market order but also discourage novel technologies and impede innovation. Social heuristics are actor-level constructs that reflect macro-level institutional arrangements and networked production relations. The concept of social heuristics offers the promise of developing a genuinely social theory of individual economic choice and action that is historically informed, contextually situated, and neither psychologically or structurally reductionist.

Alliance Concrete: Just One More Thing

After having negotiated major financial and operating decisions with its parent company, the CFO of this small ready-mix concrete subsidiary is asked to provide a valuation of the subsidiary. A one-year forecast of financial statements is provided along with information on long-term operating expectations and capital costs. This otherwise straightforward valuation exercise is enhanced by (1) the need to select between the parent- or comparable-firm costs of capital, (2) sufficient guidance to perform an illuminating sensitivity analysis, and (3) a sufficiently clear and rich context in which to illustrate the linkages between operating and financing choices. A teaching note and instructor and student Excel spreadsheets are available. Excerpt UVA-F-1535 Rev. Jun. 30, 2011 ALLIANCE CONCRETE: JUST ONE MORE THING Alliance Concrete was a small ready-mix concrete producer in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula. The company operated 14 mixing plants and owned a fleet of 240 mixing trucks. Its customers were predominantly in the residential and commercial construction industry with some additional sales related to road construction and repair. The company had been extremely successful, with substantial revenue and income growth over the last few years driven by a strong residential real estate market. Although Alliance was purchased in 2006 by National Industrial Supplies, a Canadian construction conglomerate with assets in both the United States and Canada, it continued to operate as a separate legal entity. For Martin Harris, Alliance's chief financial officer, late January 2006 was the best of times and the worst of times. Harris had been recently promoted to this position after the departure of some of Alliance's senior management upon the completion of the acquisition. His first major task was to forecast Alliance's operations for the coming year. What he discovered was that despite strong growth and profitability, Alliance was going to find itself short on cash. This meant the company would have to skip a dividend to the parent company, miss a principal repayment to its bank, or defer much-needed capital investments. Harris was able to renegotiate the principal repayment with Alliance's bank, who agreed to reset Alliances borrowing limit to an amount greater than their current outstanding loan. In the subsequent conversations with Alliance's parent company, Harris successfully argued for making the full capital improvements recommended by his plant manager which meant a slightly smaller than anticipated dividend. . . .

Acoustics of modular construction—Industry overview

This session will provide an overview of the issues and efforts impacting the commercial modular construction industry throughout North America, with particular focus on acoustics in relocatable classrooms. The Modular Building Institute is the international nonprofit trade association representing manufacturers and dealers of commercial modular facilites, both temporary and permanent, serving educational, health care, retail, industrial, military, and multi-family markets.

Theft and Vandalism on Construction Sites

Theft and vandalism on construction sites in the commercial construction industry is a problem that can affect productivity and drain profits. To explore the impact of theft and vandalism in the commercial construction industry, a survey was sent to commercial construction firms to gather information by which the magnitude of the problem of theft and vandalism could be estimated; and to determine what techniques have been successfully used to deter thieves and vandals. The responses were analyzed and several conclusions were developed. Firms engaging in all types of projects are susceptible to theft and vandalism. Theft is more costly to large sized firms ($100 million and over in annual volume of construction work) than smaller firms, but vandalism is more costly for smaller firms. This occurs despite the fact that larger firms use a greater number of measures to combat theft and vandalism on their construction sites. The results should be of particular interest to construction firms that want to reduce the number of theft and vandalism incidents.