Commercial Construction Projects Research Articles

Subcontractor Engagement in the Two-Stage Early Contractor Involvement Paradigm for Commercial Construction

Commercial construction projects (CCPs) in New Zealand contribute more to the economy than other project types. However, many face cost and time increases due to inadequate planning. Procurement pathways that involve contractors during design development provide more time to plan, collaboratively. Nevertheless, most projects are procured through traditional tender where contractors are only involved after detailed design. Through two-stage early contractor involvement (2S-ECI), contractors can provide design buildability advice for complex projects, contribute value management, carry out exploratory works, and order materials. The role of subcontractors in 2S-ECI can be significant. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with clients, consultants, main contractors, and a subcontractor involved in large complex commercial construction projects. The findings build on the emerging body of knowledge about 2S-ECI by providing insight into subcontractor early involvement. Project complexity and market conditions were the main reasons for early subcontractor involvement. Common challenges include a lack of information sharing among the parties, non-competitive selection, and a lack of standard contract documentation. Opportunities for improvement include clarifying client expectations, educating stakeholders, and providing more equitable compensation for pre-construction services. Key drivers for subcontractor involvement include project complexity, market conditions, ordering long-lead-time systems, and performance specifications. Specialist early sub-trades include electrical, mechanical, structural steel, and façades. Subcontractors should typically be engaged as early as possible, often concurrently via main contractors to share performance risk. Pre-construction services provided by subcontractors include planning and sequencing; design buildability analysis; risk mitigation; value management; budget advice; systems procurement; design solutions; and document control systems. Advantages include obtaining specialist project knowledge and improving completion certainty. Producing a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) for subcontractors may address challenges, as has been carried out for main contractors, but there is still a gap in the contractual framework for 2S-ECI for subcontractors.

On Commercial Construction Activity’s Long and Variable Lags

We use microdata on the phases of commercial construction projects to document three facts regarding time-to-plan lags: (1) plan times are long—about 1.5 years on average—and highly variable, (2) roughly one-third of projects are abandoned in planning, (3) property price appreciation reduces the likelihood of abandonment. We construct a model with endogenous planning starts and abandonment that matches these facts. Endogenous abandonment makes short-term building supply more elastic, as price shocks immediately affect the exercise of construction options rather than just planning starts. The model has the testable implicationthat supply is more elastic when there are more “shovel ready” projects available to advance to construction. We use local projections to validate that this prediction holds in the cross-section for U.S. cities.

Legal Response to the Problem of Rotten Commercial Housing Construction Projects

Legal Response to the Problem of Rotten Commercial Housing Construction Projects

Precise control mode for concrete vibration time based on attention-enhanced machine vision

In concrete construction, vibration is an essential process used to ensure the structural soundness and long-term durability of concrete structures. Automating concrete vibration monitoring enables far more precise control compared to subjective human judgments. In this paper, a control mode for concrete vibration time used on the vibrating robot is proposed. The control mode utilizes YOLOv8 model to recognize the best-vibrating position and eliminate the rebar part of concrete surface image and employs attention-enhanced squeeze-and-excitation neural network to regress the vibrating completion degree. After deployment to the embedded system of vibrating robot, experimental results demonstrate superior performance of the proposed method over state-of-the-art algorithms with the highest recognition rate and maximum R2 value. The control mode enhances vibration quality while liberating workers from manual tasks. A commercial mall construction project validates the practicality of the presented control model.

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC); An Eco Friendly Building Material: A Brief Study

Abstract: Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) is an eco-friendly building material. It is a product of fly ash which is mixed with lime, cement, aluminum powder and water in a certain proportion. The use of fly ash, a waste product collected from coal based thermal power plant can be consumed as a significant resource as building material. AAC is a best option for traditional red clay brick and cement brick. It is useful in residential, commercial and industrial construction projects. In this study, the review covers the study about AAC concrete blocks, advantages and its importance, AAC block manufacturing and its potential use as green construction material.

Investigating the Source of Claims with the Importance of BIM Application on Reducing Construction Disputable Claims in KSA

The construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a significant sector in the Middle East, with annual expenditures surpassing USD 120 billion. It employs approximately 15% of the workforce and consumes more than 14% of the country’s energy resources. However, the Saudi construction sector encounters numerous challenges, including a deficiency in skilled labor, escalating costs, disputes, and material shortages. This study aims to investigate the origins of construction disputes in KSA and emphasize the significance of employing Building Information Modeling (BIM) applications to diminish the factors causing claims in both commercial and residential construction projects. The methodology employed comprises a comprehensive literature review and a field survey consisting of interview sessions. This study analyzes a total of 50 contributing factors to the causes of claims, along with conducting a field survey interview session involving 35 participants. The findings reveal seven substantial sources that give rise to construction claims in the KSA, impacting 75 projects, as discussed in this study. Furthermore, the research critically evaluates the advantages of utilizing BIM technology to mitigate construction disputes in the KSA. The data analysis results indicate that the reliance on traditional project management approaches is one of the catalysts for the emergence of disputes in the construction industry, particularly in the KSA.

Feasibility analysis of automation for commercial construction project

The use of automation technology in the construction sector may cover a wide variety of operations, from the early design stage through on-site building construction, building maintenance, building control, and finally building disassembly or demolition. The extent of automation adoption varies greatly from one construction phase to the next. These days, as opposed to using automation for on-site operations, the use of automation in the construction sector has several important advantages, including increased worker safety at work, improved quality and cost-effectiveness above that of trained labor, and increased productivity and job efficiency. Research gaps need to be filled to address automated manufacturing process innovation. This study has been carried out most promising areas where automation is required with the help of scientific analysis through a questionnaire survey. This study identifies critical areas for improvement in automation in the work process in commercial construction projects. The respondents comprised site engineers, project managers, and supervisors of construction firms. The relative importance index is used in this study. Using the results of this study, categorized the primary variables for improvement like workers' safety alert procedures, reducing labor cost and construction delay, core test team under multiple projects, impropriate construction method, and better quality of life of the structure.

Evaluation of Design Process of Commercial Construction Project Based on Lean Design Concept

To determine design reliability, this study paper evaluates the design process of commercial construction projects. To streamline design efforts, decrease needless design errors, and boost design reliability, a new design workflow will be developed using commercial building concepts. The suggested procedures will give team members input on the state of the design and enable ongoing development. One of the pioneering applications of the lean methodology to building project design will be the proposed processes. Labour overruns, inadequate monitoring, and control, a lack of competence on the part of the contractor's key staff, poor planning or scheduling, and poor planning and monitoring of the refurbishment project were the top 5 variables influencing the commercial construction design process.

Cost-Related Risks and Completion of Commercial Building Construction Projects in Kisumu County, Kenya

For any country to succeed in the 21st century, infrastructure development is critical. Its objective is to create a significant number of employment and accelerate economic growth. Therefore, there is a need for heavy financial investment in projects involved in infrastructure development. However, one needs to consider the waste of resources a country could incur if the project is not managed properly. These losses result from a variety of risks connected to these sorts of development initiatives. These risks have a significant influence. For a project to be completed successfully, it has to be within the schedule and allocated budget. The objective of the study was to determine the influence of cost-related risks on completion of commercial building construction projects in Kisumu County. This research was guided by theory of constraints. The research used a descriptive survey research design. The research was conducted in Kisumu County and the target population constituted of structural engineers, civil engineers, construction project managers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers making a total of 400 respondents. Yamane formula was applied in determining the sample size which was 234 respondents. Stratified sampling method was applied in selecting a sample size. Questionnaires were used to obtain primary data while contract documents, journals and progress reports from the identified projects were utilized to collect secondary data. With the assistance of a computer software, Statistical package for Social Sciences, descriptive statistics was applied in analyzing quantitative data for statistics. Inferential statistics was done through Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Regression Analysis was utilized. It was established that cost related risks with r=0.430, r2=0.185, β=0.004, t=7.151 and the F (1, 173) = 47.79 at p=0.000<0.05, concluded that the variable had a positive significant completion of commercial building construction projects. The research recommended that there is need to consider cost of the project intensely in the start period to prevent problems that bring construction delays. The research suggested that research should be done on how to create a predictive model for the execution of commercial construction building.

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.

The challenges confronting the growth of sustainable prefabricated building construction in Australia: Construction industry views

The construction industry has played a huge role in sustaining the economy of Australia during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. However, construction activities tend to be limited due to the restrictions on travel, transport, and workforce availability which in turn affects the lack of materials and workforce for construction. On the other hand, the prefabricated construction method is known to provide a sustainable solution to reduce the labour and material demand. However, prefabricated construction methods are less preferred over traditional construction in Australia. This is due to the lack of knowledge on the benefits, limitation, design and construction of the prefabricated construction. Therefore, in this study, the authors have conducted a survey to identify the construction industry views on the prefabricated construction in terms of sustainability, technical, cultural, economic, practical and other aspects. A total of 310 construction professionals responded, and the data were analysed using both qualitative (thematic) and quantitative (Severity index) analyses. Results revealed that reduced construction time, high levels of quality control, and reduced on-site noise and disruption were the major benefits when using prefabricated construction compared to traditional construction. The restrictions and limitations of transport; reduced on-site design flexibility; and shortage of specialised workforce hindered the growth of prefabricated construction. These survey results also highlighted that production and manufacturing of prefabricated construction are not affected significantly by the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, significant amount of traditional, residential and commercial construction projects were replaced by prefabricated construction during Covid-19 pandemic, suggesting a future growth in prefabricated construction in Australia.

Measuring the impact of blockchain and smart contracts on construction supply chain visibility

This work assesses the impact of blockchain and smart contracts on the visibility of construction supply chain and in the context of payments (intersection of cash and product flows). It uses comparative empirical experiments (Charrette Test Method) to draw comparisons between the visibility of state-of-practice and blockchain-enabled payment systems in a commercial construction project. Comparisons were drawn across four levels of granularity. The findings are threefold: 1) blockchain improved information completeness and information accuracy compared with the digital state-of-practice solution; 2) the improvements were significantly more pronounced for information queries that had higher product, trade, and temporal granularity; and 3) blockchain-enabled solution was robust when faced with more granular information queries, while the conventional solution experienced 50% and 66.7% decline respectively in completeness and accuracy of information. The paper concludes with a discussion of mechanisms contributing to visibility and the implications for the construction industry.

Integrated Approach to Construction Risk Management: Cost Implications

Managing risk in construction projects has proven to be a challenge for many project managers and stakeholders involved in projects. The lack of a systematic approach and standardized processes are key factors influencing improper risk management techniques. This research introduces a new model to evaluate and assess risk in terms of cost impact, utilizing a fuzzy Monte Carlo simulation approach for the first time. The method consists of ranking the top risks using a fuzzy logic system utilized in an objective manner by setting criteria for experts to rank the risk based on cost impact and probability to reduce human biases, then evaluating their cost impact through a Monte Carlo simulation both pre- and postmitigation. This work proposes a new strategy to elicit risk for construction projects based on risk cost impact, project type, project location, project contract type, and project delivery method. Based on the findings, implementation of a risk mitigation response plan can decrease the project cost remarkably. This model proved to be beneficial in forecasting risk impact when executed on a commercial construction project in California. This model can be applied as a general tool for risk mitigation processes for the construction industry.

Construction payment automation using blockchain-enabled smart contracts and robotic reality capture technologies

This paper introduces an autonomous payment administration solution, integrating blockchain-enabled smart contracts and robotic reality capture technologies. The construction progress is captured, analyzed, and documented respectively using sensing, machine intelligence, and as-built building information models (BIM). The progress data is stored in a distributed manner using content addressable file sharing; it is then broadcasted to a smart contract which administers payments and transfers lien rights respectively using crypto currencies/tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFT). The method was successfully implemented for payments to 7 subcontractors in two real-world commercial construction projects in Canada and United States where progress was captured using a camera-equipped unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) equipped with a laser scanner. The method eliminates reliance on today's heavily intermediated payment applications and showed promise for achieving accurate, efficient, and timely payment administration. Future work should further explore the connections between off- and on-chain realities.

A Conceptual Model of Multi-Spectra Perceptions for Enhancing the Safety Climate in Construction Workplaces

Construction safety climates can reflect organizational safety behavior and commitment, employees’ safety perceptions and attitudes, and the supervisory and support environments. Maintaining a healthy safety climate can help prevent workers from fatal accidents and illnesses. To enhance the safety climate and, consequently, improve safety performance at a construction site, it is very important to analyze the elements that affect the safety climate and are significant for different types of construction work organizations. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to develop a multi-spectra perception model to investigate which factors were considered critical from four key perspectives: managers, superintendents, skilled laborers, and general helpers. To achieve this goal, a survey questionnaire was conducted to collect empirical data from one commercial building construction project. Based on a stepwise regression analysis, it was revealed that the most significant factors enhancing the safety climate are: from the managers’ perspective, a combination of improvement in the support environment and reduction in work pressure; for superintendents and skilled laborers, increasing worker competence; and for general laborers, increasing worker involvement. This research contributes to a better understanding of the significant factors and provides a measure for each important role in enhancing the safety climate at a job site.

Flow-down of safety from general contractors to subcontractors working on commercial construction projects

Small and medium construction firms have high injury rates but lack resources to establish and maintain effective safety programs. General contractors with exemplary safety programs may serve as intermediaries to support development of smaller firm’s safety programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the flow-down influence of general contractors’ safety programs on the safety climate and safety behaviors among workers employed by small and medium sized subcontractors. This study collected workers’ perception of safety climate and safety behaviors while working on projects with general contractors with exemplary safety programs and other general contractors. We also documented the safety program policies and practices of subcontractors, and recorded the changes in safety policies required from general contractors with exemplary programs. We examined differences in safety program changes between small and medium sized subcontractors. Results showed workers perceived general contractors with exemplary safety programs had stronger safety climates than other general contractors. Smaller subcontractors had less robust safety programs with fewer safety elements than larger subcontractors, and therefore, many of the smaller subcontractors had to adopt more safety policies and practices to work for general contractors than large subcontractors. These findings suggest that general contractors with robust safety programs can serve as intermediaries and influence the development of the safety programs of small sized firms. Future work will need to determine if smaller firms eventually adopt safety policies and practices as part of their permanent safety program.

A hybrid simulation approach for site layout planning in construction projects

Purpose This study aims to propose a hybrid simulation approach for site layout and material laydown planning in construction projects considering both the project’s continuous and discrete state. Design/methodology/approach Efficient site layout planning (SLP) is a critical task at the early stages of the project to enhance constructability and reduce safety risks, construction duration and cost. In this paper, external and internal conditions affecting SLP gets identified. Then dynamic features of project conditions and project operations are analyzed by using a hybrid simulation approach combining continuous simulation (CS) and discrete event simulation (DES). Findings An efficient site layout plan regarding the project conditions results in cost efficiency. Instead of using DES or CS alone, this paper uses a hybrid simulation approach. Such a hybrid method leads to more accurate results that enable construction managers to make better decisions, such as material management variables. The proposed approach is implemented in a real construction project (i.e. earthmoving operation) to evaluate the hybrid simulation approach’s performance. Practical implications The proposed approach is implemented in a real construction project (i.e. earthmoving operation) to evaluate the performance of the hybrid simulation approach. Originality/value Although DES is used widely in construction simulation, it involves some limitations or inefficiencies. On the other hand, modeling resource interactions and capturing the construction project’s holistic nature with CS or system dynamics face some challenges. This study uses a hybrid DES and CS approach to enhance commercial construction projects’ SLP.

Profit optimization for multi-mode repetitive construction project with cash flows using metaheuristics

The article presents the profit optimization model for multi-unit construction projects. Such projects constitute a special case of repetitive projects and are common in residential, commercial, and industrial construction projects. Due to the specific character of construction works, schedules of such projects should take into account many different aspects, including durations and costs of construction works, the possibility of selecting alternative execution modes, and specific restrictions (e.g., deadlines for the completion of units imposed by the investor). To solve the NP-hard problem of choosing the order of units’ construction and the best variants of works, the authors used metaheuristic algorithms (simulated annealing and genetic search). The objective function in the presented optimization model was the total profit of the contractor determined on the basis of the mathematical programming model. This model takes into account monthly cash flows subject to direct and indirect costs, penalties for missing deadlines, costs of work group discontinuities, and borrowing losses. The presented problem is very important for maintaining a good financial condition of the enterprise carrying out construction projects. In the article, an experimental analysis of the proposed method of solving the optimization task was carried out in a model that showed high efficiency in obtaining suboptimal solutions. In addition, the operation of the proposed model has been presented on a calculation example. The results obtained in it are fully satisfying.

The antecedents of construction project change: an analysis of design and build procurement application

Purpose This study aims to excoriate, define and delineate the main drivers of “change” in commercial construction projects and generate guidelines on how to minimise exposure to the associated adverse effects upon project stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts mixed doctrines through a combination of epistemological lenses, embracing two primary philosophical stances: interpretivism, to identify the primary drivers of change based on a systematic literature review and a post-positivist, inductive approach to analyse the results of change within a Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Design and Build (D&B) construction project case study. Findings The causal nexus of change during the construction phase is assessed and delineated; the key affecting factors are thematically grouped under headings: extent and severity; time in relation to implementing; instigating party; individual(s) responsible for managing the change; reason for the change; available resource; recoverable or non-recoverable; contract/project type; and type of client. Following this, the effects of change on key elements of the project are encapsulated and recommendations for adaptations which may provide improved experiences are offered. Originality/value The study tackles the common issue of managing the deleterious effects of change on commercial construction projects, defining management techniques to minimise stakeholder tribulation.

Overcoming barriers to direct current power: Lessons learned from four commercial building case studies

While distribution systems deliver power to buildings using alternating current (AC), the loads in commercial buildings have increasingly shifted to those using direct current (DC) power. In addition, on-site generation, such as rooftop solar (which provides a DC source of electricity), is becoming more common in commercial buildings. As a consequence, numerous DC-to-AC and AC-to-DC conversions occur in commercial buildings, each of which results in wasted energy. This makes converting building electrical systems from AC to DC power an attractive energy efficiency measure. In the present study, barriers and advantages of DC power in commercial buildings were examined by interviewing personnel who worked on four commercial construction projects in Colorado. The cases, two new construction and two retrofits, varied in their level of successful implementation. The participants included general contractors, facilities managers, engineers, and financial officers. Interviews were coded for statements about people, technology, and the construction process. The results revealed that successful implementation required an owner who championed the project, along with a team that demonstrated positive motivations (e.g., enjoying a challenge, accepting uncertainty). Technological issues faced by the projects were largely due to limited availability and incompatibility of DC parts. Finally, pre-construction processes (financing, bidding, and contracting) emerged as important differentiators between successful and unsuccessful projects. These findings provide a roadmap for increasing successful implementation of DC power in commercial construction projects.