Construction Projects In Iran Research Articles

Accurate estimation of cost and time utilizing risk analysis and simulation (case study: road construction projects in Iran)

Cost and time are essential decision-making factors in the early stages of road construction projects. It has been observed that road construction projects often lack adequate risk analysis before they are scheduled and costed. Also, there is a lack of data in a comprehensive operational plan. The estimated time/cost of the scheduled program (without considering the risks) differs greatly from the time/cost of delivered projects. Risk analysis is essential for preventing enormous losses resulting from delays and cost increases. With the help of an integrated modelling framework, this study examines the effects of risks on the cost/time of road construction based on three delivered projects in Iran. For this purpose, the Delphi method is used to identify the main risks. Next, a questionnaire is developed using the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis method to prioritize critical risks as well as their probability and severity of occurrence. Afterwards, Monte Carlo Simulations and regression models are employed to perform quantitative analysis. On average, the estimated time and cost values of the proposed method differed by only 4% and 6% from the values of the delivered projects, respectively. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis revealed a strong correlation between critical risk occurrence probability and simulated/scheduled time/cost differences. Road project managers can use these findings to estimate the time and cost of projects more accurately. By controlling critical risk probabilities, they can also reduce and control cost overruns and delays.

Maximizing projects’ profitability, environmental score, and quality: a multi-project scheduling and material ordering problem

The proper trade-off between various project costs is often disregarded when planning projects. This leads to several detrimental effects, such as inaccurate planning and higher total cost, far more significant in a multi-project environment. To overcome this limitation, this study proposes a combined approach for the multi-project scheduling and material ordering problem (MPSMOP), which maintains the proper trade-off among various costs. Moreover, the environmental impact and project quality objectives are optimized alongside the economic criterion. The proposed methodology involves three stages: (a) quantifying the environmental performance of suppliers; (b) measuring the activities’ quality through the Construction Quality Assessment System approach; and (c) building and solving the mathematical model of the MPSMOP. The MPSMOP is modeled as a tri-objective optimization approach aiming to determine project scheduling and material ordering decisions so that the net present value, environmental score, and total quality of implemented projects are maximized simultaneously. As the proposed model comes into the nondeterministic polynomial optimization problem category, two powerful metaheuristics are customized and used to solve the problem. The efficiency of both algorithms was assessed on several datasets. The proposed framework is applied to railway construction projects in Iran as a case study, which presents the validity of the model and the decision-making options provided to managers.

Linking mental health to safety behavior in construction workers: The mediating effect of work ability and sleep quality.

The severity of occupational accidents and injuries in the construction industry is the greatest across all industries. Few studies have examined the causal relationships among physical and psychological variables affecting the safety behavior of construction workers. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among three factors (metal health, work ability and sleep quality) influencing the safety behavior of construction workers. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 204 workers in civil construction projects in Iran. The data were gathered via self-reporting questionnaires. The acquired data were analyzed by the Smart PLS3 software using structural equation modeling with the partial least squares (PLS) regression approach. The R square revealed an acceptable fineness of the structural model. Similarly, as Q square values were higher than 0.15 for all factors, the predictability of the model was approved. The direct effect of mental health on safety behavior was not significant, but work ability and sleep quality had significant direct effects on safety behavior. Moreover, a decrease in mental health significantly reduced construction workers' sleep quality and work ability. The results of this study prove that sleep quality and work ability mediate the relationship between mental health and safety behavior. The deterioration of construction workers' mental health can increase the risk of unsafe behavior and occupational injuries. Therefore, appropriate measures need to be taken to maintain and improve the mental health of construction workers.

Analysis of Factors Affecting Safety Outcomes in Construction Projects: A Field Study in One of the Large Construction Projects in Iran

Background: In addition to detrimental effects on economy and people, safety consequences could negatively affect the efficiency and productivity of construction projects. This study aims to analyze the factors affecting safety consequences in construction projects.
 Method: This was a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study conducted in 2020 in a large construction project (a sewage treatment plant) in Tehran. The 250 people working in this construction project participated in this study. Data for this study were collected based on a safety parameter assessment checklist. Independent variables in this study were age and work experience, education, daily working hours, harmful physical and ergonomic factors, and unsafe practices. Analytical variables included Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) and Safe-T score. A multiple linear regression model and SPSS version 22.0 were used for data analysis.
 Results: Age and working experience of the participants were 35.8± 9.8 and 3.4± 1.7, respectively, and nearly half of them had high school diploma (47.6%). AFR for two consecutive years of 2019 and 2020, were 5.16 and 4.43 accidents, respectively. Safe-T-Score was calculated as – 0.011. The results of regression analysis revealed a significant relation (p<0.05) between Safe-T-score and working experience, daily working hours, unsafe practices, noise and thermal stress exposure, carrying and moving loads, and safety risk factors variables.
 Conclusion: Results of this study indicated that although safety performance at the studied construction site was relatively favorable, several variables had an impact on the safety consequences of the project. Hence, the safety consequences of construction projects might benefit from the results of this study. 

The Housing Cost Predicting Model for Conventional Private sector Construction Projects in Iran

The Housing Cost Predicting Model for Conventional Private sector Construction Projects in Iran

Identifying and Evaluating the Essential Factors Affecting the Incidence of Site Accidents Caused by Human Errors in Industrial Parks Construction Projects.

In terms of safety management, the implementation of industrial parks construction projects (IPCPs) is incredibly challenging due to the special working conditions and the specific type of use of the buildings. On the other hand, the possibility of causing accidents in these areas based on human errors is high and important for project execution due to the risks of human errors and financial losses. Therefore, this study tries to fill this existing research gap by identifying and evaluating the effective key factors leading to the occurrence of construction accidents caused by human errors in the development of IPCPs. After a holistic review of the reported literature, four rounds of fuzzy Delphi survey were launched to capture the individual opinions and feedback from various project experts. Accordingly, 41 key factors affecting human errors in the implementation of industrial parks construction projects in Iran were identified and classified into nine main groups of wrong actions, observations/interpretations, planning/processes, equipment, organization, individual activities, environmental conditions, rescue, and technology. Then, the step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method was adopted to rate and rank the identified factors of human errors in the implementation of IPCPs in Iran. The research findings indicated that among the elicited factors, time factor (0.1226), delayed interpretation (0.1080), and incorrect diagnosis/prediction (0.0990) are the three most crucial factors leading to human errors in the implementation of IPCPs in Iran. The results of this research study have provided various major project stakeholders with an effective decision-aid tool to make better-informed decisions in managing and reducing the occurrence of construction site accidents particularly caused by human errors associated with IPCPs.

TOWARDS AN EFFICIENT APPROACH FOR IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY

The goals and objectives of a project as well as the needs, requirements and expectations of the project stakeholders may contradict or non-fulfillment of them may have different detrimental and negative consequences for the project. Therefore, project stakeholders should be effectively managed, but it is not possible to satisfy all project stakeholders and meet all of their expectations and requirements. As a result, project team must strike a balance between the project goals and objectives and the needs, requirements and expectations of the project stakeholders in order to complete the project successfully. Despite highlighting the significant importance of project stakeholder management, there exists a notable gap in exerting an effective decision support system to adopt stakeholder engagement strategies particularly in oil and gas construction projects. This study proposes a comprehensive framework for the identification, prioritization and selection of the stakeholder engagement strategies in one of the large size oil and gas construction projects in Iran. In this paper, a hybrid method which is the combination of the SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threat) analysis and fuzzy Delphi method is first exploited for identifying the appropriate stakeholder engagement strategies. Subsequently, fuzzy SWARA (Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) is employed to weight the crucial criteria, and finally, fuzzy WASPAS (Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment) is utilized to prioritize the identified stakeholder engagement strategies. This research contributes to the body of knowledge on project stakeholder management by presenting a novel framework for identifying, ranking and selecting the suitable strategies for effective stakeholder engagement considering one of the largest oil and gas construction projects in the country. The value of this study is in applicability of the proposed methodology for project managers and practitioners in other oil and gas construction projects.

Perceptions of Safety Climate in Construction Projects between Workers and Managers/Supervisors in the Developing Country of Iran

What are the different perceptions on safety climate (SC) by workers and managers/supervisors engaged in the construction industry of developing countries? Reconciling these two differing views is pivotal for mitigating and avoiding both the injured and fatal accidents in the construction industry, especially in those developing countries where safety conditions are poor and unpredictable, and safety measures are inadequate in most cases. To answer this research question, the collective perceptions of 118 construction workers and 123 managers/supervisors on the SC in construction projects in Iran were gleaned and investigated. In particular, these perceptions were initially collected by two different empirical surveys validated by a sample of university professors and construction managers and then analyzed through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett’s test of sphericity under factor analysis, together with a one-sample t-test. Results indicated that “workers’ attitudes and perceptions”, “safety knowledge and training”, “working relationships and roles of colleagues”, and “workers’ risk perceptions” are important categories of SC factors perceived by construction workers, whereas “safety rules and management practices” is the essential category of SC factors discerned by managers/supervisors. The difference in perceptions between workers and managers/supervisors is considered to be beneficial for an overall understanding of SC in general and for developing countries in particular. Moreover, a series of effective suggestions for improving SC in the construction industry of developing countries are provided with reference to each category. The views of SC factors are reinforced as a social process combining the synergies of workers and managers/supervisors, as well as proper safety training to be pushed forward as an essential activity that should be incorporated in human resources development of construction organizations so as to improve the existing level of SC, leading to fewer accidents at the industry level.

Assessing Financial Risk in Public-Private Partnership Financing for Road Construction Projects in Iran Using Uncertainty Conditions Approach

Abstract Private section investment in the construction of transportation infrastructure, one of the most important of which is freeway projects, has been extensively used in developing countries in recent decades. However, in many cases due to the lack of necessary investigations and studies, the criteria have not been properly identified and, as a result, the proper way of participating in large-scale transport projects has resulted in numerous problems and, in some cases, project failure. However, choosing a private-public partnership will have a major impact on the success of freeway construction. However, due to the current conditions of the country’s economy, these projects are following with some risks. Therefore, in this study, the financial risk assessment of “public-private partnership” financing for road construction projects in Iran was investigated using the uncertainty approach and the BAS method. The research population of this study consisted of 23 researchers and experts with Ph.D. degree in finance with minimum degree of associate degree and experience of research and financial consulting in investment firms. According to the results, the lack of stability in planning and implementation of government programs and political risks, increases the risk of road construction projects and, in this regard, controlling the price fluctuations and bank financing of road construction projects can reduce the risk of these projects.

Designing a financial risk assessment model for public-private partnership financing for road construction projects in Iran

One of the most important issues in Iran’s road construction projects operated by public-private partnership financing is the financial risk. This research aims to design the financial risk assessment model for these projects. The factors for financial risk assessment were identified using a semi-structured interview with 23 experts. A total of 14 factors were extracted including liquidity risk, market risk, inflation rate risk, interest rate risk, Government stability in planning, the nature of Iran’s capital market, political risk, the way of bank finance for project, price changes at macroeconomic level, changes of expected return rate, credit risk, and exchange rate risk. The interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach is applied to identify the relationship between the factors and model levels. MICMAC analysis also is used to specify the characteristics of the factors. The results of the analysis showed that among these variables the operational risk of autonomous variable, exchange rate risk and political risk of independent variables and other variables of the model are the type of interface variable. The results obtained by ISM consisted of a five-level model with 14 factors. Model analysis showed that political risk is the most influential variable and liquidity risk, market risk, inflation rate risk, credit risk, project bank financing, expected rate of change and financial performance are the most influential variables of this model.

Evaluating the Role Played by BIM in Successful Execution of Construction Projects in Iran

Researchers in the field of construction industry are currently studying new techniques to improve sustainability of buildings. One of these solutions is using recent technology such as building information modeling (BIM). Project success depends on many factors which create many complexities in achieving project goals within project planning, time, cost, and quality framework. Main part of project’s success can be subjected to coordination between different sections in a project; so, emphasis put on new technologies such as BIM can play an important role in terms of this success. The research has been performed through descriptive analytical method of research in form of survey and to the aim of evaluating BIM role in successful execution of construction projects in Iran. Some parts of data and theoretical foundations of the research have been collected through studying documents and library references including books, articles, and university thesis related to the research subject. Then, performing field study, final short list has been extracted through AHP technique (analytic hierarchy process), formation of expert panel, and preparing a list of main and sub indices, in addition to usage made of views provided by experts in the field of construction industry. The list has been presented to statistical population (25 individuals) in form of questionnaire. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire has been verified through Lawshe test and Cronbach’s alpha. Then, data obtained from views provided by statistical population has been presented and analyzed via Expert Choice software, as well as excel charts and graphs. According to the results, review of main indices showed that index of “management problems” with weight of 0.352 has been of highest level of importance and indices of “security problems”, “executional problems”, “economic problems”, and “technical problems” have been respectively ranked from second to fifth with following weights: 0.256; 0.136; 0.133; and 0.123.

Applying social network analysis to identify the most effective persons according to their potential in causing accidents in construction projects

Human errors are one of the main causes of accidents in the construction industry. Controlling all persons involved in a project with respect to safety issues are time-consuming and costly. It is clear that in each working group there is a person who affects others because of his experience, knowledge and etc. Therefore, improving the safety of an effective person's behaviour can lead to the safety of other people's behaviours. This study presents a new framework to detect effective persons by using social network analysis. To do this, firstly the most frequent accidents are identified and next, for each accident according to their activities and working groups the most influential person is identified. Finally, the influential level of each person in different accidents is combined with a new decision-making method to find the most influential person. The proposed framework was implemented in one of the construction projects in Iran.

Risk Assessment in Bridge Construction Projects in Iran Using Monte Carlo Simulation Technique

AbstractRisks are an inseparable part of every project, and risk management must be one of the main requirements of every project. According to risk management experts, risk identification and anal...

Investigating cost overruns and delay in urban construction projects in Iran

Urban construction, as one of the most important sectors of construction industry in Iran, commonly faces significant cost overruns and delay. The main objective of this study is to evaluate how small, medium and large urban construction projects perform in terms of cost and time. Moreover, different types (road or building) and nature (new or renovation) of construction projects are considered in this research. This study looks at the urban construction projects in Karaj, the capital of Alborz Province, Iran. In this study, 72 urban construction projects are surveyed by reviewing their documents and their real performance. To analyze the collected data, the statistical analyses including class range analysis, independent-sample T-test and correlation analysis are used. This study shows that large urban construction projects are faced higher cost overruns and delay. Moreover, the time- and cost-performance of the new-build projects in overall is better than renovation projects. Furthermore, the cost-performance of urban road projects is better than building projects. The findings offer descriptive statistical cost and time performance information to support realistic time and cost estimation in urban construction projects.

The impact of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Phases on Project Performance: A Case of Large-scale Residential Construction Project

The Construction Industry is a complex and fragmented industry worldwide with regards to its supply chain, products, and processes, and is faced with a similar dilemma as faced by manufacturers during its time in past decades. Scope, time, and cost are the triple constraints of project management and leading factors in defining the project performance. Productivity and efficiency of each construction project is measured through its triple constraints, therefore the factors that affect project success are significantly important. Despite the importance of understanding project performance indicators, few empirical studies have been conducted over the last decade in terms of analyzing the factors that determine the performance of high-rise buildings in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyze and rank EPC critical activities across large-scale residential construction projects in Iran, by using the TOPSIS method as a multi-attribute group decision-making technique. Results indicate that engineering design, project planning and controls are significant factors contributing to the project performance. In addition, engineering has a pivotal role in project performance and this significance is followed by the construction phase. On the contrary, all believe procurement is more important than Construction phase.

Critical success factors for subway construction projects – main contractors’ perspectives

Successful subway construction projects involve many socio-economic, cultural and environmental challenges. These projects enhance public convenience, and are complex and uncertain, involving multiple governmental organizations. The critical success factors (CSFs) of these projects have been identified and prioritized from a main contractors’ perspective, to enable project managers to prioritize their efforts and concerns. This study sheds light on CSFs in subway construction projects and contributes to the project delivery success literature with an overarching focus on the contractors' perspectives. Our investigation revealed that, for subway construction projects in Iran, goal setting through clear and realistic project goals, project management competency, competent project team, good cultural fit, top management support and adequate funding throughout the project are the top-ranking CSFs. An extensive body of literature is reviewed, and 140 potential success factors are identified. Then, a focus group has been conducted in which the potential CSFs reduced to 39 success factors. The priorities and ranking of the success factors were evaluated according to the views of 63 project managers of subway projects. The correlation coefficients analysis was used to analyze the results, and it revealed that 23 success factors such as goal setting, top management support and PM competency were perceived to be critical by the respondents. No other research has, until now, found the critical factors leading to success in subway construction industry in Iran. The results have been verified against other research done in other countries.

BIM applications toward key performance indicators of construction projects in Iran

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has recently emerged as a novel technology worldwide however literature review reveals a salient gap in the identification of BIM capabilities in Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of construction projects in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify and prioritize the BIM applications toward KPIs in light of the construction stage of projects life cycle in Iran. To do this, a review of literature was performed on the KPIs and associated BIM contributions and the resultants were customized for Iranian context through a two-round Delphi study. An advanced Fuzzy-AHP approach was then applied in the prioritizations of KPIs and associated BIM capabilities via collecting data from construction practitioners. It was identified that quality improvement, sustainable construction and construction cost reduction are the top three KPIs that can be benefitted from BIM applications in the construction stage of building projects. It was also concluded that project coordination, clash detection, 4D and 5D BIM are the subsequent beneficial effects of BIM on the construction project KPIs in Iran. This study is a point of departure for BIM-based research and its managerial perspectives outlining an insight toward the application of BIM in the construction projects of Iran.

Risk Manageability Assessment to Improve Risk Response Plan: Case Study of Construction Projects in Iran

AbstractThe majority of qualitative risk assessment studies on construction projects assess manageability indicators (e.g., detectability, preventability, and controllability) independently of risk...

Building a rough sets-based prediction model for classifying large-scale construction projects based on sustainable success index

PurposeTo address requirements and specifications of construction project, academics need to build a project classification model. In recent years, project success concept, particularly on large-scale construction projects, has been a controversial issue, especially in developing countries. Hence, in this paper, after introducing a sustainable success index (SSI), a novel method called “rough set approach” had been adopted to induce decision rules and to classify construction projects. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachAt first, 20 effective success factors and 15 success criteria based on three pillars of sustainability of economy, society and environment had been categorized. The research data used for analysis had been collected from 26 large-scale construction projects in Iran and five other countries. After collecting data collection, observations had been analyzed and 51 decision rules were generated, and the projects were classified. Eventually, in order to evaluate the performance of the generated rules, confusion matrix was applied, and the model was validated.FindingsThe results of the present study show that rough set theory (RST) can be an effective and valuable tool for building expert systems. Practical applications of these results along with limitations and future research are described.Originality/valuePerhaps for the first time, in the present study, a number of large-scale construction projects are classified based on SSI. Applying RST for building rule-based system and classifying projects in construction project area are novel attempts undertaken in this paper. The rules induced in this study can be applied to develop a sustainable success prediction model in the future studies.

Evaluation of Project Critical Success Factors for Key Construction Players and Objectives

Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are used to support and evaluate the success of a strategic and tactical approach in project implementation in order to increase the probability of success. This system is used by executors in project delivery to achieve improved performance capabilities with limited resources. The present paper aims to identify the impact of CSFs amongst the main elements involved in construction industry of projects in Iran (Owner, Contractor, and Consultant). Therefore, 41 CSFs-related indices based on present research conditions in Iran were selected and classified into five major categories: (1) Financial, (2) Interactive Processes, (3) Human Resources, (4) Contractual Arrangements, and (5) Project Characteristics. To analyze the CSFs of project, the required data were collected by questionnaire based on randomized sampling method by project managers, chief executive officers, and experts of construction industry of Owners, Contractors, and Consultant who have working experience in major projects in Iran. The results indicated that indices related to human resources group from the point of view of Owners and Contractors as well as the indices related to financial and project participants from the point of view of Consultant are the main success priorities in projects. Moreover, the indices of “adequacy of plans and specifications” and “Project manager competency” were elected indices common in previous and present studies. The results of this study will provide the project managers with practical solutions in order to benefit the findings as guidelines for CSFs formation according to Construction projects in Iran.