Construction Stakeholders Research Articles

Challenging Tendering-Phase Factors in Public Construction Projects—A Delphi Study in Saudi Arabia

Public construction projects in Saudi Arabia are fraught with several challenges threatening open and fair competition, which consequently negatively influence the decision of contractors to participate in bidding. Nevertheless, the construction sector has witnessed rapid reforms since 2016, which have resulted in the issuing of new legislation and regulations as well as the creation of governing bodies. Hence, the concept of open and fair competition plays a significant role in the governance of these challenges in the upstream process of construction tendering. Therefore, this paper explores challenges that are hindering contractors’ participation in the tendering phase of public construction projects in light of these new legislations and authorities. Twelve challenging factors were identified from a structured literature review of previous relevant empirical studies available in online search engines since the 1980s. Those factors were measured through Delphi survey questionnaires, which provided respondents with the option of adding new challenging factors. Thus, twenty factors were identified. A descriptive method was used to determine and prioritize these challenging factors. The survey findings indicate that the most influential hindering factors are (1) awarding contracts based on the lowest bidder, (2) inadequate or incomplete specifications, (3) poor contract documents, and (4) poor cost-estimating practices. These findings are vital in exposing the lack of relationships between the construction industry, regulators, and stakeholders for robust partnerships, thereby helping to ensure the fair participation of contractors, which boosts open and fair competition concepts for public construction projects.

The Barrier Factors to the Implementation of Building Information Modelling for Construction Industry in Sarawak

Building Information Modelling (BIM) Construction Lifecycle Process offers digital construction solutions throughout the whole project lifecycle by providing sustainable productivity and quality and increasing the work collaboration and efficiency of the design teams. BIM represents the development and application of computer-generated n-dimensional (n-D) models to simulate building construction planning, design, construction, and operation. In Sarawak, the BIM technology does not meet the construction stakeholder's expectations during the project lifecycles in different stages, which resulted in low BIM implementation. Therefore, this research study aims to identify the salient barrier factors to the implementation of BIM in the Sarawak construction industry, specifically in the design stage. To achieve the research study, the methodology is applied through literature review, followed by an online interview with BIM experts in Sarawak Construction Industry. Lastly, the findings of this study indicate the most salient factors faced by the Sarawak construction industry until the present, in terms of Technology, Cost, Management, Personal and Policy, such as (1) Lack of active participation from consultants in the project team, (2) Low enforcement from client, (3) Lack of senior management support, (4) Lack of desire to change of the older generation to implement BIM and (5) Lack of the knowledge regarding the cost benefits for implementing BIM.

How is the construction sector perceiving and integrating the circular economy paradigm? Insights from the Brussels experience

In recent years the government of Brussels Capital Region has put considerable effort into leading the transition from a linear to a circular model of economy. Within the construction sector, identified as key by the local authorities, specific measures have been developed to stimulate and support this change. While some actors have embraced the challenge, placing themselves as frontrunners, a large part of the construction sector has still to fully engage in the transition. Building on the review of the main strategies and researches, as well as on direct observations and in-depth discussion with practitioners and other construction stakeholders, this article dives into the reality of the day-to-day practice to provide feedback on the level of acceptance, understanding, development, and implementation of circular strategies and tools in Brussels’ construction sector, thus aiming at strengthening the link between research and practice. It emerges that Circular Economy principles and strategies are not yet broadly understood and applied. To generate a deeper engagement of all the actors it seems crucial to create a shared culture around Circular Economy by addressing knowledge gaps, developing technical support, and clarifying the integration of circular practices within the other regional strategies for the sector's decarbonisation and sustainability. • The interest around the Circular Economy is rising in the construction sector. • Stakeholders face major awareness and knowledge gaps. • The lack of life-cycle perspective is a major challenge. • Circular design principles must be translated in concrete solutions and tools. • Uncoordinated strategies jeopardize the adoption of Circular Economy by the sector.

IMPROVEMENT OF DFS PERCEPTION OF CONSTRUCTION STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

All construction stakeholders have to participate in the safety and health management of workers in order to prevent possible accidents during the construction life cycle. Moreover, it is most effective to control risks from the design stage. For this reason, many countries have implemented systems to eliminate risks at the design stage under the name Design for Safety (DfS). Numerous studies have shown that the effectiveness of DfS is influenced by stakeholders' perception. In this study, meta-analysis was conducted to analyze the level of awareness of DfS by stakeholders, and through this, a plan to improve the DfS system in Korea was proposed. While the awareness of stakeholders in Korea for DfS was estimated at 63.9%, it was estimated that 87.5% of the respondents agreed with the necessity of DfS. The awareness in Korea for DfS is lower than that of other countries. However, analysis has shown that the level of necessity for DfS implementation in Korea is higher than that of others i.e., although DfS was evaluated as a highly effective method of preventing construction accidents at sites by the stakeholders, the low awareness of DfS can be a significant obstacle in deriving effective DfS results. In addition, analysis has shown that the prejudice resulting from low awareness of stakeholders in relation to DfS could cause problems of attitude of stakeholders. Therefore, it is thought that the enhancement of awareness of DfS among stakeholders is the first necessary step to promote the positive perception of DfS.

Supporting construction stakeholders with the circular economy: A trans-scaler framework to understand the holistic approach

Although the construction sector is one of the least digitized sectors, the last decade has been a period that some qualify as the 4th industrial revolution, notably with the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM). However, the construction industry is still one of the most resource-intensive sectors, generating Megatons of waste every year. To decrease the impact of the construction on the environment, authorities are getting interested in adopting a circular economy (CE) approach, including servitization. Although there is an emulsion around the circular economy approach, organisational tools to help construction practitioners to move to a CE approach are dramatically lacking. The purpose of the paper is to develop a BIM-based trans-scalar theoretical framework to support practitioners in their understanding and the implementation of the CE approach. The trans-scalar theoretical framework is established with data extracted from a research portfolio fuelled by three main databases, Scopus, RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Plan of Work and BIM standards. First, the RIBA framework and the information delivery cycle were adjusted to incorporate the sustainable end-of-life, as a phase in the CE context. Based on theoretical foundations, the main contribution of this paper is the trans-scalar theoretical framework developing and clarifying what are the main asset lifecycle phases (including the end-of-life), their related stakeholders, and the interplays between them, in the UK context. The paper also organizes holistically two scales, the asset lifecycle phases and the material flow, whether new or recovered, in the context of BIM and CE. Some future areas of research are presented, including how the BIM-based trans-scalar theoretical framework could be improved with inputs from construction experts.

Government Intervention Through Collaborative Approach in Promoting The Adoption of Green Procurement for Construction Projects

Thegreen procurement (GP) for construction industry and its implementation requires government interventionparticularly through policies, initiatives, and incentives. GP is relatively a new concept especially in Malaysian construction industryand its implementation is stillambiguous even though GP is globally recognised. Hesitationin implementing GP among construction stakeholderisdue to lacking of familiarity, lack of available standard guidelinesand awareness among stakeholders. These are the challenges that hindered the adoption of GP among construction stakeholders in Malaysia. In construction industry, collaboration among construction stakeholder is fundamental towards construction projects’ success and also depending on the support from various stakeholders to meet the project objectives.Thus, this conceptual paper is intended to highlight the importance of collaborative approach and way forward with GP as a strategy to solve environmental problems. Specifically, it looksinto government’s intervention to promote, empower the understanding, creating awareness, and willingness of construction stakeholders to implement GP in construction projects. The preliminary framework is developed through literature review and questionnaire surveywereusedas the method to collect and analyze the findings. The paper concludesthat collaborative approach providesa better platform forall the parties,particularly the construction stakeholders to be better engaged, in terms of communication, well informed, more aware and willing to implement the GP throughout the construction process.

Investigation on the Compliance of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Legislations among Contractors and Potential Interventions to Improve Construction Safety Performance

The Malaysian construction industry contributes more than one-third of fatalities out of all industries and further proves that safety performance in the construction industry lags behind most other industries. One of the causes is due to the lack integration of technological system and people in safety and health (OSH). This study suggests that one of the ways to avoid accidents at construction site is through an effective OSH management planning tool, with proper management of the interaction between technological systems and people. As an initial step towards the development of the tool, this study aims to investigate the contractors’ compliance with OSH legislation in the Malaysian construction industry. It also attains construction stakeholder’s perceptions of the current situation and intervention to improve OSH performance in the construction industry by providing information or creating a system that can provide information according to the acts and regulations. The information was collected through interviewing selected respondents from several organizations and enforcers in construction industry. The results revealed that the majority of construction organizations followed the OSH requirements, though they did not comprehensively follow them. Lack of knowledge about OSH was also acknowledged by the organizations, even though they were aware about the OSH requirements. The findings also revealed that there is no available tool that can provide information about legislation on OSH requirements which can facilitate the construction teams effectively and lead to prevent an accident happens at the construction site.Therefore, it is essential to improve the safety performances including provide the guidelines of the OSH according to the acts and requirements and enhancing the management in improving the safety at construction sites.

Factors influencing buildability assessment implementation in the Nigerian construction industry

PurposeDue to the need to enhance the buildability of building designs in building construction industry, a buildability assessment framework was developed for use in Nigeria. This paper aims to investigate and determine the factors influencing buildability assessment implementation in the Nigerian construction industry with the view to improving buildability of building designs. To address the aim, this study will provide answers to the following research question: what are the factors hindering and supporting the implementation of buildability assessment in the Nigerian construction industry?Design/methodology/approachSurvey research method was adopted for the study. Questionnaires were administered to purposively selected group of architects, engineers, builders and quantity surveyors involved in construction project delivery within the client, consulting and contracting organisations in Nigeria. A total of 368 questionnaires were distributed among the sampled participants, out of which a total of 219 representing 60% were sufficiently filled and returned. Data collected were analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics.FindingsThe results revealed owner’s commitment, clients’ awareness of the benefits of conducting buildability assessment on building design, unity among different professionals in the construction industry, designers consider buildability important, adequate coordination among different design disciplines, adequate channel for coordination and communication between designers and constructors at the design stage and adequate support from the government as the topmost seven factors supporting buildability assessment implementation in the construction sector of Nigeria. Second, the study revealed that poor coordination among different design disciplines, lack of buildability assessment awareness, design review pattern where construction personnel (builders) are invited to assess the building production information, unwillingness to invest extra money and effort during the early stage of project and designers value aesthetics and functionalities more than buildability in their designs are the topmost five factors hindering buildability assessment implementation in the Nigerian construction industry.Originality/valueThe study provides detailed insights into the factors supporting and hindering buildability assessment implementation in the Nigerian construction industry. The findings indicate the need to enlighten principal stakeholders in construction about buildability and the outcome of the buildability assessment tool. This information can motivate principal stakeholders in implementing and practising buildability assessment.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Construction Work Progress: An On-Site Analysis from the Sarawak Construction Project, Malaysia

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the economy of the world as well as the construction industry in Malaysia. Many projects were plagued with time and cost overruns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Site work progress came to an abrupt halt, and productivity stagnated. With that in mind, this study was conducted on the basis of first-hand experience in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected the construction industry. This study investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction projects in Sarawak, Malaysia. The target respondents were the clients, consultants, and contractors involved in projects under the purview of the Public Works Department Sarawak. The purpose of the research was to obtain a better understanding of the current situation, in readiness for a similar situation in future. To achieve the objectives of the research, a questionnaire survey of current ongoing projects was used for this study’s data collection purpose. To analyse the data, SPSS version 26 and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method were used to achieve frequency analysis and to determine the priority importance of the effects of this pandemic on those construction projects. The findings of this study provide necessary information to construction stakeholders in Sarawak on how to deal with such pandemics in the future and to create awareness, foster resiliency, connote preventive measures, avert delays, and manage progress control.

Assessment Level of Compliance with Public Procurement Act

Public procurement is the acquisition of works, goods, and services by procuring entities using public funds. The study assesses the level of compliance with the public procurement act (PPA) 2007 in the north-central states of Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to construction stakeholders in those seven (7) institutions that make up the northern-central. A census survey was used to collect data from contractors, physical planning unit staff, consultants, and procurement administrative units that have executed Tertiary Institutions Fund (Tetfund) projects within 2012-2016. Data collected were analyzed using the relative importance index (RII), Kruskal Wallis, and Dunnett's test. The study revealed that all institutions have a good level of compliance with the tenet and component of the act for the procurement process. The study also shows that there is a significant difference in the level of compliance with the Act by Federal Universities. There was no significant difference in the level of compliance in University of Ilorin (UniIlorin) and Federal University Lafia (UniLafia), University of Abuja (UniAbuja) and Federal University Lokoja (FULokoja), University of Jos (UniJos), and Federal University of Technology Minna (FUT Minna), UniIlorin and FUT Minna, FULokoja and UniJos. The level of compliance of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is significantly different from other universities. The study indicated that the compliance level is very high, with an overall RII of 80.3% and 91.2% of respondents affirmation of the use of open competitive bidding, which represents fairness, accountability, and openness. The study also affirmed that understanding of tenets of the Act is very high in the study area. The study recommends that there should be a strong understanding between the stakeholders in the construction industry to increase the compliance rate of the PPA (2007) and enhance adequate monitoring of unethical behaviours.

Economic Model of Green Building Construction: A Conceptual Model

The current research shows that green building received inadequate support from industry parties due to its high up-front cost. There are no existing guidelines focussing on how to minimize the issues of high up-front cost and for that reason, not all clients willing to get involved in green building construction. Hence, to increase their interest in investing in the green building, this research aims at formulating an economic model of green building construction using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The objectives of this research are to identify the green buildings elements, examine the most expensive elements, recommend the strategies in minimizing the cost of green building construction and to formulate and validate an economic model of green building construction. The model is one of the strategies to minimize the total cost, increase the client’s interest to invest in green building as well as facilitate construction stakeholders from inception to completion stage; in line with the Twelve Malaysia Plan “Economic Empowerment and Environmental Sustainability”.

Venezuela: Construction problems and sustainable construction. Collecting data to put the puzzle together. Part 1

The Venezuelan construction sector faces complex problems from multidisciplinary causes. The severe consequences keep the country far from the sustainable development goals established by the UN by 2030. With the certainty that education is fundamental to finding long-lasting global solutions and the aim to address Venezuela into the sustainable path progressively, the article adds new data about the main problems that confront the construction sector and the fundaments of sustainable construction education performed in Venezuela. With the participation of some construction stakeholders and public data, the authors try to progressively assemble the puzzle of the Venezuelan case in an attempt to help to develop a consciousness about the importance of improving education, with an emphasis on construction, incorporating sustainability concepts from the basic processes to be able to identify opportunities, risks and to be resilient, evolve and succeed in the current changing and unpredictable world.

The Impact of Internal Stakeholders on Building Sustainability

Building collapses are becoming more common, resulting in the loss of lives, a waste of resources, time, and money. When a building collapses, the shock has a societal, and often even international impact, and causes disgrace to the entire chain of stakeholders in the building industry. This study identified the contributions of internal stakeholders on building collapse as well as identify the factors that influenced building collapse in Lagos State. A survey of one hundred and fifty (150) construction stakeholders was conducted with ninety-two (92) questionnaires successfully retrieved and processed for analysis. Random sampling technique was used. Data collected were analyzed using the frequency table, mean score, and ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). The result reveals that there is significant difference in the contributions of internal stakeholders on building collapse in Lagos State. The study concludes that all internal stakeholders have a significant role to play on building construction projects.

Perceived Benefits of Automation and Artificial Intelligence in the AEC Sector: An Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach

Increasing demand for infrastructure amidst the surge in the urbanization of cities and newly emerging commercial nerves has spurred the need to reinvent and rethink traditional approaches for delivering infrastructure. This has been identified as even more critical given the global drive and discourse on the sustainability of the construction sector and its health and safety performance. Given the potential gains of adopting construction automation and AI in infrastructure delivery, stakeholders’ convincing appreciation of its benefit is vital to its widespread adoption in the AEC sector. This explored and evaluated the critical benefits of integrating automation in construction processes in the architectural, engineering, and construction sector and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in driving its systems and workflows. The study adopts an interpretive structural modeling approach based on interviews of construction stakeholders in diverse countries to develop a hierarchical model of the interrelationships of the benefits. Furthermore, the Matrice d’Impacts croises-multiplication applique a classement analysis (MICMAC) was used to categorize the benefits. Highlighted perceived benefits such as improved project quality, simplification of construction tasks, workflow improvements, and safety performance, amongst others, were fractionalized into levels. The study’s findings are critical in satisfying a cost-benefit index of adopting automation and AI in the AEC sector. The results provide recommendations on effective approaches pivotal to driving automation and AI for practice and research. This is of further importance to construction stakeholders, policymakers, and local authorities in building strategies and roadmaps for proper integration of these systems and widespread adoption.

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE FORMATION OF INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES IN THE DYNAMIC BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT

The scientific-applied task of increasing the accuracy of the determination of the estimated value of the construction object (estimated cost of the construction object) requires new methods of solution, especially for construction objects that are planned for inclusion in the investment program. There is still no complete information about the processes of formation of the ECCO and the system of management decisions that ensure planning, regulation and cost control during the implementation of investment programs. What is needed is not just information, but a knowledge base, which, as the analysis showed, is rather characterized by its absence, since the composition of the input data and the requirements for them have not been determined for the substantiation of the ECCO and its management. According to the author, in order to solve this task, it is advisable to create an organizational and economic mechanism for the management of ECCO, the key blocks of which are the developed economic-mathematical model of ECCO (EMM ECCO) and the organizational model of management of ECCO (OMM ECCO) in order to provide informational support and interaction of construction stakeholders. Within the framework of the research methodology, the conceptual and methodological principles of the implementation of the project of strategic innovative changes for construction stakeholder enterprises are substantiated: these principles are formed through the integration of methodical platforms of enterprise economy, strategic management and construction development is considered as a target project and a regulated environment for the achievement of planned improvements by stakeholders enterprise and changing the enterprise's position in the market of construction works and services through the implementation of the intra-firm strategic innovation project. The key to the success of the application of the created methodological foundation for the needs of adaptation and development of the construction enterprise is the properly identified "state of enterprise adaptability and identified maturity to the implementation of changes." Within such identification, the limits of the situational-strategic maturity of implementing changes for the enterprise-stakeholder are stratified, and the economic features of the processes that take place in the enterprise at each level of maturity are summarized. Five levels of maturity are defined, each of which has its own characteristics of strategy, description and formalization of business processes, structuring of management technologies, and the state of formation of the information and communication space.

MODERN VECTOR OF CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT RENOVATION IN THE CONTEXT OF INTEGRATED PROJECT DELIVERY STRATAGEMS

The article is devoted to the development of economic and applied tools for the management of construction enterprises within the framework of the formation and implementation of a stakeholder-oriented management strategy to increase their investment attractiveness, which made it possible to substantiate the directions for increasing the effectiveness of the level of stakeholder interaction based on the methodology for assessing the level of stakeholder relations, the results of economic and mathematical modeling and the proposed analytical diagnostic system of local and integral stakeholder indicators. The existing methods of assessing the effect of the introduction of information modeling and integrated implementation of the project in construction were analyzed. A methodology for integral assessment of the level of stakeholder relations of construction enterprises is proposed based on the application of a complex of analytical subsystems: a) a subsystem for evaluating construction projects as potential components of the economic portfolio of a construction enterprise-stakeholder; b) a subsystem for diagnosing the competitiveness of the project customer as the initiator and leading subject of the construction and investment process; c) a subsystem of ensuring compliance of the characteristics of construction development projects with the leading dominants of the operational system productivity of the enterprise-stakeholder construction;; d) a subsystem of economic monitoring of the growth of the value of qualified assets of the developer company and the growth of its image as a leading stakeholder in the market of commercial housing and infrastructure construction. The improvement of the system of indicators for evaluation and selection of projects for the economic portfolio made it possible to build an effective means of formalized management of the performance of the operating system of the construction stakeholder enterprise as part of the toolkit; through the prism of preventive assessment of the productivity of implementation of operational and production cycles of projects (strategic economic units as part of the economic portfolio of a construction stakeholder enterprise).

METHODICAL REGULATION AND ANALYTICAL AND INFORMATION SUPPORT OF "SMART HOME" PROJECTS IN THE MODERN CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM

The article is devoted to the impact of the development of information, communication and digital technologies on the transformations taking place in "smart home" construction projects. Modern technological trends in the development of the digital economy have been studied. Prerequisites, challenges and drivers of digital transformation of domestic business structures are structured, with their division into external and internal, which can act as a basis for determining the vectors of innovative development of enterprises based on "numbers". It was determined that digital technologies and data obtained from their use can provide new sources of knowledge, innovation and profit for business. It is noted that information and communication technologies are a fundamental stimulus for the growth of international production. Coordination of increasingly complex and scattered global production networks could not be possible without significant improvement in communication capabilities. The directions of the main transformations taking place in the existing approaches to the organization and management of international production systems are determined. As a systematic scientific and applied support for the competitiveness of enterprises implementing construction projects on the basis of the introduced methodology and the corresponding apparatus of formalized decision-making, the toolkit of digital administration was substantiated by the activities of СЕ-S (construction enterprise-stakeholder). The leading subsystems of the toolkit are the following: an integrated analytical and diagnostic subsystem, which, using a special system of indicators adapted to the economic, operational-production, functional-technological and administrative features of СЕ-S, provides a comprehensive analysis of the equilibrium level of BP-S regarding the enterprise's preservation of progressive development or certain (non-critical, risky, to critical, critical) deviation of the enterprise in this trajectory; subsystem of organizational management with the introduction of innovative management, organizational-administrative and information technologies; СЕ-S personnel motivation subsystem, which is integrated into the enterprise management circuit. With the use of the specified subsystems, the toolkit provides economic controlling, administration and adjustment of CE activities. On its basis, the obligation of economic, managerial, organizational, technical and administrative measures aimed at adaptive adjustment of the content, operational and strategic priorities in BP-S activities, countering risk factors, with the aim of avoiding and countering cost-economic, administrative-management and structural-technological deviations from the directive trajectory of the enterprise as a whole, and, in particular, within the scope of the project in which CE-S is currently conducting its activities. In this way, the toolkit provides the essence of the digital transformation of enterprises to the format of the integrator of the functional, production and logistics subsystems of the operating system of the enterprises of construction stakeholders.

A blockchain-based framework for on-site construction environmental monitoring: Proof of concept

On-site construction environmental monitoring (OCEM) can help to govern the behaviors of construction stakeholders in terms of pollutant emissions and environmental protection. Current OCEM systems, nevertheless, were built utilizing a centralized architecture, such as the government's local database, which leads to information imbalance and disputes among multiple stakeholders. When there are no trustworthy data records to justify construction companies' compliance, for example, arguments or even conflicts may emerge between neighboring residents and the contractors. Blockchain has the potential to be a reliable platform for environmental monitoring due to its decentralization, immutability, transparency, and autonomous enforcement of agreements. However, there has been limited investigation into the blockchain's possibilities in OCEM. Aiming to bridge the knowledge gap, this paper proposed a blockchain-enabled framework for OCEM. To begin, an overall conceptual framework was created, in which construction pollutant data was collected via sensors and then uploaded to the blockchain network. Then, based on the consensus algorithm, the on-chained information flow was introduced. Smart contracts were programmed to automatically monitor the level of construction pollutants and evaluate environmental performance. Finally, a case study was carried out to validate the theoretical viability of the proposed framework in a laboratory environment, in which a blockchain prototype based on the Hyperledger Fabric architecture was presented. The results indicate that blockchain can assist OCEM by supplying trustworthy environmental data and allowing for continuous monitoring. This research investigated the blockchain's potential in OCEM and created a prototype system that can be fine-tuned for use in real-world scenarios.

Analysis of BIM-Based Digitising of Green Building Index (GBI): Assessment Method

There is currently an increasing demand for Building Information Modelling (BIM) to be integrated into green projects. BIM is able to evaluate green building assessment tools by digitising and assessing buildings during their development stage. In Malaysia, the Green Building Index (GBI) promotes sustainability in the built environment. Six categories of criteria will be assessed in three of the certification stages. This study focuses on how BIM applications can digitise the GBI criteria for GBI processes. It examines BIM uses and tools of each GBI credit and defines the responsibility and role of construction stakeholders in using BIM to examine the assessment methods used for new non-residential building construction based on GBI. The primary method for data collection is the focus group interview which involves the groups of stakeholders involved in a BIM and GBI project. The result of the BIM–GBI assessment method showed that BIM could digitise and assess 25 credits in Design Assessment (DA), which can achieve 55 points of the total 100 points. This study helps stakeholders define the design team and facility manager’s roles to obtain GBI certification and maintain the certification during the building’s operation stage.

Prospects of Joint Venture in Local Road Bridge Construction of Nepal

Purpose: The trend of forming a Joint Venture (JV) to enter into the bidding procedure is high in local road bridge construction (LRBC) in Nepal. As we know that the construction industry is complex, firms are facing a new type of problem in every next project. In such an unpredictable working environment working jointly with different firms is a challenge. So, this study was carried out to analyze the prospects of JV in LRBC in Nepal. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study covers the bridges which are built by DoLIDAR under different projects. Various data collection tools were used for the study. Primary data were collected from a questionnaire survey, sample bridges of DoLIDAR, field observations, and focus group discussions. Secondary data were collected from reports, journals of previous studies, and trends of JV formation in international constructions. Strength Weakness Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analysis based on a questionnaire survey was also carried out. Findings/Result: It was also found that to fulfill the gap between the documentation and implementation of JV, a policy is required. As the client's intention for provision of JV is the actual requirement of the project, no to change the scope and scale of contractors so, JV must be formed and followed as per the requirement of the project. Joint ventures should make a detailed agreement among themselves clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each partner, usage of the resources, and the implementation of the project. For the proper management of JV, a management committee should be formed which shall manage the working team and resources suitably as per the requirement for the project. The presence of at least one partner from each partner in every meeting should be made mandatory by the client. A separate policy should be formulated focusing on detailed agreement clause, institutional arrangement for better functioning of JV. The database system of active contractors should be maintained by MoPIT which shall be used as a major tool while evaluating as well as awarding contracts. Originality/Value: The scope of this study is to identify the practice and prospects of JV's in LRBC. It addresses the understanding of clients and contractors about the JV. The study area covers the bridges built by DoLIDAR funded by GoN, SDC, World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), etc. The study includes local bridges built in DRCN roads covering the Himalayan region, mountain region, and Terai region. The study outcome is significant for the construction stakeholder to overcome the challenges of JV for taking the benefits of JV. The study is significant for policymakers for formulating policies to reduce the problems of JV. Paper Type: Action Research