Construction Related Research Research Articles

Integration of Blockchain-Enabled Smart Contracts in Construction: SWOT Framework and Social Network Analysis

The construction sector, one of the most ancient industries globally, holds a crucial role in the progress and development of societies. However, it faces persistent productivity and efficiency challenges, rendering it a relative setback when compared to other sectors. In the ever-evolving landscape of the construction industry, characterized by complex projects, numerous stakeholders, and intricate contractual agreements, the integration of emerging technologies presents an unprecedented opportunity for transformation. Smart contracts (SCs), underpinned by blockchain (BC) technology, hold the potential to streamline and revolutionize traditional construction processes. Current literature shows a lack of comprehensive quantitative understanding of how Blockchain-enabled Smart Contracts (BSC) can affect the construction sector. To address this gap, the authors have (1) conducted a systematic keyword analysis of literature on SC in construction from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases; (2) conducted a strengths–weaknesses–opportunities–threats (SWOT) analysis of BSC’s adoption in the construction industry from 174 peer-reviewed papers; (3) identified a holistic list of 72 factors steering BSC adoption in construction, categorized into the 4 aspects of the SWOT framework; (4) performed social network analysis (SNA) to quantitively assess the literature in terms of the identified factors; and (5) conducted clustering analysis to categorize combination of factors frequently highlighted in research publications into common groups. This research offers a comprehensive and methodical evaluation of the potential advantages, applications, and challenges associated with integrating BSC in the construction industry. The findings of SNA and clustering reveal a notable lack of investigation into certain combinations of factors in existing academic research. This disparity and the ensuing knowledge gaps may affect SC’s adoption in the construction sector. To this end, this study equips stakeholders with the insights necessary to make informed decisions in this rapidly evolving sector and contributes to a roadmap for future BSC construction-related research. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-05-020 Full Text: PDF

Blockchain technology in the construction industry: mapping current research trends using social network analysis and clustering

Blockchain represents an evolving technology for distributed and secure recording and sharing of information. Meanwhile, blockchain has thrived in banking, finance, and supply chain; its usage within the construction industry is still in its infancy. To this end, the existing literature falls short in providing comprehensive quantitative understanding, within a systems-based analytic context, of the factors affecting blockchain utilization in construction applications. This paper fills this knowledge gap. The authors: (1) conducted an extensive literature review on blockchain implementation in the construction domain; (2) identified a list of 41 factors affecting blockchain implementation in construction projects categorized in four categories: challenges, needs, requirements, and capabilities; (3) utilized a social network analysis (SNA) approach on a database of 111 publications to quantitatively analyze the literature as related to the aforementioned factors; and (4) performed clustering analysis on the SNA graphs to determine the combinations of factors that are most likely co-occurring in research publications. SNA results indicate that while the most investigated factor was “increased trust and transparency between project parties”, the least studied factors included: “cash upfront funding system”, “change payment processes and procedures”, “smart contracts design errors”, “cryptocurrency fluctuations”, “lack of sufficiently skilled personnel”, and “increased awareness and capabilities of personnel”. Also, clustering outcomes highlight that some combinations of factors are not well-represented in current scholarly efforts. Such imbalance and consequent knowledge gaps may contribute to the actual implementation rate of blockchain in construction applications. Ultimately, this paper provides a roadmap for potential future directions of blockchain construction-related research.

Research on E-Commerce Customer Feature Extraction Question Answering System Based on Artificial Intelligence Semantic Analysis

In order to analyze e-commerce customer behavior and preference, a migration identification method of consumer behavior tendency is proposed. Data mining technology is adopted to mine social data in individual online we-media platforms and to mine individual personal attributes and preferences from their unconscious social language. Its methods are through the customer identification model construction related research, consumer preference identification and analysis related research, based on data mining technology of consumer preference identification and analysis, and the introduction of feature extraction method: semantic analysis. According to the data, there are 2,990 customer interest consumption forecasts, 1,836 customer social network data consumption forecasts, and 3,652 customer preference consumption forecasts. In order to screen out the main factors that have the greatest impact on consumer behavior from all kinds of consumer behavior propensity factors, the multiple step-based regression method is adopted for factor selection. Because of the large difference in the multidimensional dynamic vector, the corresponding consumer behavior tendency changes greatly, so the migration identification method of consumer behavior tendency is feasible.

Exploring a body of knowledge for promoting the sustainable transition to prefabricated construction

PurposeThis paper aimed to introduce a systematic body of knowledge via a scientometric review, guiding the sustainable transition from conventional construction to prefabricated construction. The construction industry currently faces a challenge to balance sustainable development and the construction of new buildings. In this context, one of the most recent debates is prefabricated construction. As an emerging construction approach, although existing knowledge makes contributions to the implementation of prefabricated construction, there is a lack of a comprehensive and in-depth overview of the critical knowledge themes and gaps.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the scientometric analysis to review the state-of-the-art knowledge of prefabricated construction. It retrieved data from the Web of Science core collection database. CiteSpace software was used to conduct the analysis and visualization; three analysis methods identify the knowledge hotspots, knowledge domains and knowledge topics. Finally, according to integrating the hidden connections among results, a body of knowledge for prefabricated construction application can be inferred.FindingsThe results show that 120 knowledge hotspots, five critical knowledge domains and five prominent knowledge topics are vital for promoting implementation of prefabricated construction. Based on the afore analysis, a body of knowledge for prefabricated construction that can systematically cover a broad knowledge of prefabricated construction-related research and activities are integrated and proposed in this paper.Originality/valueBody of knowledge systematically covers a broad knowledge of prefabricated construction applications and is vital to guide researchers and practitioners to conduct related research and activities, thereby promoting the sustainable transition to prefabricated construction implementation.

Study on Strategy Planning of Sponge City Construction in Guizhou Province from the View of Resilient City

In recent years, extreme weather is constantly emerging on a global scale. Excessive development and construction of cities has changed the original water systems of citys, and lead to urban water hazards and water environment deterioration. Since 2014, after China has been vigorously promoting the plan of sponge city and relative construction, the problems of urban water systems gradually get relieved. By introducing the concept of resilience in this study into the development of sponge city planning strategies, a comprehensive and systematic top-level design of sponge city planning and construction is made from the four dimensions of ecological resilience, engineering resilience, economic resilience and social resilience. At the same time, combining with the issues in existing pilot sponge urban planning and construction process such as the lack of systematicness, integrality, fragmentation etc., based on the study case of pilot sponge city - Guiyang city in Guizhou province, with the resilience concept as the guidance, it is presented in this study the planning strategies of sponge city ecological pattern developing, systematic planning and construction guidance, and explored the extended industrial development of sponge city and the construction control mechanism, trying to provides a new way of thinking and a new approach of sponge city planning and construction related research.

A scientometric analysis and critical review of computer vision applications for construction

Abstract Practical interest in ‘computer vision’ has risen remarkably over the last 20 years, transforming the current state of construction-related research and attracting the worldwide attention of scholars and practitioners. This study conducts a scientometric review of the global research published between 1999 and 2019 on computer vision applications for construction, through co-author, co-citation, keyword and clustering analysis. A total of 1158 journals and conference proceedings from Scopus database were analyzed. Trends within the field are identified, as are the dominant sub-fields and their interconnections, as well as citation patterns, key publications, key research institutions, key researchers, and key journals, along with the extent to which these interact with each other in research networks. The provided results were analyzed to identify the deficiencies in current research and propose future trends. Among these is a bias in the research literature towards traditional on-site construction and a concerning gap of off-site construction research, as well as a lack of inter-relationships and collaboration between researched areas, the researchers themselves, and/or the research institutions. In the near future, computer vision will play a key role in the future development of smart construction and improvement of quality in construction projects. This study hopes to bring awareness to the industry, the journal editors, and the researchers of the need for a deeper exchange of ideas in any future research efforts.

Have we reached the organisational ceiling? a review of applied accident causation models, methods and contributing factors in construction

Work-related fatalities continue to represent a significant issue within the construction industry. Contemporary accident causation models are underpinned by systems thinking, however, it is unclear whether these theories have translated into the construction domain. This article presents the findings of a review that was conducted to determine if the construction accident analysis literature has applied a systems thinking approach to understand accident causation. Specifically, the review examined two key aspects: first the types of models and methods that have been applied to analyse construction incidents, and second, the types of contributing factors identified as playing a role in construction incidents. The findings are summarised using Rasmussen’s Risk Management Framework. The review revealed that contemporary models of accident causation have not yet been applied in construction-related research. It is concluded that the models and methods applied in the construction literature predominantly identify contributing factors associated with the company, management, and frontline work levels of the system, rather than considering broader, system-wide factors. Further, the relationships between individuals and organisations operating at each level of the system have not been typically examined. Further research underpinned by systems thinking is required to better understand accident causation in the construction domain.HighlightsThe review revealed that contemporary models of accident causation have not yet been applied in construction-related research;The models and methods applied in the construction literature predominantly identify contributing factors associated with the company, management, and front line work levels of the system, rather than considering broader, system-wide factors;Relationships between individuals and organisations operating at each level of the system have not yet been examined;Despite the efforts of regulators and construction entities, the consistently high rate of fatal accidents in construction highlights the challenges surrounding the practical management of safe production within complex and dynamic working environments;Accident analysis methods used in this industry have not kept pace with advances in the field of safety science.

Construction Bidding Markup Estimation Using a Multistage Decision Theory Approach

AbstractDetermining an optimum bid value maximizes the probability of winning a construction project while realizing proper profit. Thus, this issue has been one of the important research topics in construction-related research. Various models have provided different methodological approaches for bid pricing using statistical analysis of competitors’ prior bids. However, the accuracy of these models is compromised in cases where the data set of competitors’ historic bids is not complete and/or where such competitors utilize a dynamic behavior (i.e., having bidding schemes that change significantly with time). Through a multistage decision theory approach, this paper presents a more advanced model for construction bidding markup estimation that uses a Bayesian analytic framework. To this effect, a three-stage research methodology was utilized. First, the authors established a systematic procedure to fit competitors’ historical data into appropriate Bayesian prior density functions while taking the stochast...

Effect on Flat Surface Postural Stability following Extended Durations on a Pitched Roof Setting

A total of 8, 786 fatal work injuries were reported in 2001, one half of these fatal fall incidents were a result of falls from a pitched roof setting, as indicated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated nearly 4,000 serious injuries were associated with industry related falls from roofs in 2001. Previous roofing construction related research has focused on the changes on postural sway velocity as a result of decrements in one or more of the three major systems associated with balance (somatosensory, vestibular, and visual). Purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of exposure to a pitched roof setting on postural stability. All subjects who volunteered as participants (n=20; males,) were tested under three conditions: ten, twenty and thirty minute duration on a 12 × 15' pitched roof segment to determine if there was a difference in sway velocity following various exposure durations. Data were collected over four, ten-second trials, under eyes open and eyes closed conditions. Performance was measured using the recordings made by the NeuroCom Balance Master® System. Balance was recorded in sway velocity (degrees/second), where the value was representative of the change in center of gravity (COG) in the anterior, posterior, medial, or lateral directions. The angular change of the COG per unit time was summed and divided by ten-seconds to achieve an average sway velocity of the COG. The data were evaluated using 2 (eye) × 3 (duration) repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The analysis concluded that the average sway velocity of the COG resulted in a significant main effect at each level of duration (10, 20, 30 minute): p10= .041, p20= .034, p30= .029. The findings have practical implications when dealing with the construction industry. On a daily basis, roofers ascend and conduct roofing related tasks for prolonged periods of time. Following exposure to the pitched roof setting, roofers must move from the roof to scaffolding or a ladder to descend. These findings suggest that there is a significant decrement in postural stability due to exposure to inclination. Postural stability is critical in ascending and descending ladders and scaffolding on flat surfaces. Possible areas of future research that might impact postural stability could potentially involve roof jacks, work boot design, and work rest cycles.

INNOVATIONS IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION: TWELFTH PEURIFOY LECTURE, 1997

This paper is a summary of the remarks made by the writer for the 1997 ASCE Peurifoy Construction Research Award Lecture, October 6, 1997, Minneapolis, Minn. The paper discusses the traditional highway construction process and construction-related research done prior to 1990. The many catalysts for changes in the highway construction industry in recent years and the research related to these changes are then discussed. Future challenges in the highway construction industry and opportunities for construction-related research for construction engineering faculty are covered in the remainder of the paper.