Efficiency Of Construction Projects Research Articles

Unraveling the Phenomenon of Construction Labor Productivity: A Cutting-Edge Bibliometric Analysis

Construction Labor Productivity (CLP) is a critical factor in the construction industry that can significantly influence the success of a project. The lack of comprehensive knowledge and proficiency in CLP and its substantial impact on project outcomes is a significant concern. CLP is a highly effective concept that can significantly improve the overall efficiency of construction projects. While it has received considerable academic attention, it is still relatively underutilized in practice. This academic analysis aims to identify trends within the CLP as revealed by a comprehensive review of existing academic research. A bibliometric analysis, complemented by a descriptive quantitative statistical methodology, was utilized to evaluate the performance metrics and delineate the thematic landscape about the subject matter of CLP. Employing distinct keywords pertinent to the CLP phenomenon and applying specific criteria for metadata exploration facilitated a comprehensive search within the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The PRISMA flowchart was employed as a systematic approach for the identification, screening, and eligibility evaluation of metadata to be incorporated into this study. The study highlights growing CLP research, led by the US and the University of Alberta. Key trends include “improvement” and “construction equipment,” with future focus on “machine learning” and “artificial intelligence.” Despite their potential, data challenges limit their use. More research is needed in developing countries to enhance construction labor productivity

Wall Painting Robot

Abstract: The automation of wall painting processes has garnered significant attention due to its potential to enhance efficiency, safety, and quality in the construction industry. This project focuses on developing an Automated Wall Painting system for both interior and exterior surfaces. The system employs readily available components such as Arduino Uno, NodeMCU, L293N HBridge Motor Driver, DC Motors, and other essential elements to achieve its objectives. The system comprises two primary components: the base and the support. The support component houses essential elements such as photoelectric seansors, paint spray mechanism, spray motor, and reservoir. Meanwhile, the base component incorporates four wheels, each driven by a DC motor, an obstacle sensor, and a 12V DC lead-acid battery for power supply. Upon activation, the system initiates the stepper motor, which drives the linear motion necessary for the support's back-and-forth movement along the wall surface. Simultaneously, the spray motor activates to ensure synchronized operation with the support motion, facilitating uniform paint application. This project addresses the challenges associated with manual wall painting, including labor intensiveness, safety concerns, and repetitive tasks. By automating the painting process, it aims to streamline operations, reduce labor dependency, and improve overall efficiency in construction projects. The system's simplicity, portability, and predictable performance make it a viable solution for enhancing productivity and safety in wall painting applications.

The Readiness of the Malaysian Construction Industry for E-tendering After COVID-19 Pandemic

E-tendering implementation can bring significant benefits such as cost savings, transparency in contract and maximize the efficiency and resources to the construction industry. E-tendering also allows users to participate through internet where this increases the competition, lower down transaction cost and minimize the time consumption and errors in the bidding processes. This study determines the readiness level of E-tendering to the Malaysian construction industry so that the construction industries are capable to overcome the possible issues and enhance their implementation of E-tendering in Malaysia. The research applied mixed methodology. 89 respondents have participated in the questionnaire while five respondents were interviewed in the interview sessions. The results showed that E-tendering organization’s attitudinal readiness has several factors such as foresee the construction tendering practice trends, aware if the introduction of E-tendering is by the government, interested in E-tendering, foresee the increasingly importance of E-tendering to company and good knowledge of IT. The organization’s physical readiness has factors such as software facilities, network access, investment in IT, computer infrastructure and technical staff. The results can be used by policies makers to promote the adoption of E-tendering among the potential practitioners in Malaysia where this can improve the efficiency in construction projects tendering process.

Enhancing load capacity prediction of column using eReLU-activated BPNN model

In structural engineering, accurately predicting the load-carrying capacity of columns is paramount for ensuring the safety and efficiency of construction projects. This study introduces an innovative approach to tackle this crucial challenge through the development and evaluation of an Exponential Rectified Linear Unit (eReLU) activated Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN) model. The methodology initiates with the compilation of a comprehensive dataset, consisting of 120 samples representing column load-carrying capacity. This dataset undergoes meticulous curation, integrating findings from literature research and parametric analysis. Importantly, prior to model training, the dataset is subjected to thorough preprocessing to address outliers and undergo normalization. The eReLU activated BPNN model emerges as a superior performer when compared to conventional ReLU activated BPNN models. Demonstrating excellence in predictive accuracy, this novel model outperforms its ReLU-based counterparts. Key performance metrics, including a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 197.486 kN, a Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of 252.711 kN, and an R-squared (R2) value of 0.957 in the test set, underscore the model's robustness. Additionally, a feature importance analysis employing SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) analysis transcends mere variable identification, emphasizing the significance of key variables such as e/2b, fyofyi, and f′c in predicting column load-carrying capacity. The eReLU activated BPNN model's holistic consideration of variable correlations significantly enhances its predictive capabilities, distinguishing it from ReLU-based models. This study represents a substantial leap forward in load-carrying capacity prediction methodologies, offering a robust and efficient model with broad applications in structural engineering.

Strategic Leadership and Project Management Sustainability in Enugu, Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between strategic leadership and project management sustainability in Enugu, Nigeria, with a particular focus on construction projects in the State. The study aimed to achieve two specific objectives: first, to determine the relationship between visionary project coordination and resource efficiency of construction projects in Enugu State, Nigeria; and second, to establish the relationship between innovative thinking and waste reduction in construction projects in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study employed descriptive research design, collecting primary data with a structured questionnaire from forty-five registered Architectural firms in the study area. The data collected were analyzed using Spearman Rank Order Correlation due to the nonparametric nature of the data. The results show that visionary project coordination had a significant positive effect on resource efficiency in construction projects by Architecture firms in Enugu State, Nigeria (r = .849; p<.001), and innovative thinking had significant effect on waste reduction in construction projects by Architecture firms in Enugu State, Nigeria (r = .849; p<.001). It was concluded that strategic leadership had significant effect on project management sustainability, and it was thus recommended that project managers should anticipate, prepare and clearly communicate present and future developments to project staff to ensure that the goal of sustainable initiatives such as recycling and reuse are implemented in construction projects. Keywords: Strategic, Leadership, Project, Management and Sustainability

BIM in green building: Enhancing sustainability in the small construction project

The growing importance of green building practices in addressing environmental concerns, with a focus on energy efficiency, resource conservation, and occupant well-being, necessitates innovative solutions. Building Information Modeling (BIM), a sophisticated digital platform facilitating real-time collaboration and construction process visualization, emerges as a promising tool to enhance efficiency in construction projects. This study explores the role of BIM in advancing sustainability in smaller-scale construction projects. The methodology encompasses a comprehensive literature review and a quantitative analysis, including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), with a case study centered in Perak, Malaysia. The research aims to assess the impact of BIM on resource efficiency, energy performance, waste reduction, and collaborative decision-making in small-scale green buildings. The findings reveal significant positive correlations between BIM adoption and early-stage design optimization, energy efficiency analysis, material selection, life cycle assessment, waste reduction, and prefabrication. This study underscores the vital role of integrating BIM in smaller-scale construction to promote environmentally responsible practices and achieve sustainable outcomes. Future research avenues may explore strategies for optimized BIM integration and deeper insights into the financial aspects of BIM adoption.

Digital Twins in the Construction Industry: A Comprehensive Review of Current Implementations, Enabling Technologies, and Future Directions

This paper presents a comprehensive understanding of current digital twin (DT) implementations in the construction industry, along with providing an overview of technologies enabling the operation of DTs in the industry. To this end, 145 publications were identified using a systematic literature review. The results revealed eight key areas of DT implementation including (i) virtual design, (ii) project planning and management, (iii) asset management and maintenance, (iv) safety management, (v) energy efficiency and sustainability, (vi) quality control and management, (vii) supply chain management and logistics, and (viii) structural health monitoring. The findings demonstrate that DT technology has the capacity to revolutionise the construction industry across these areas, enabling optimised designs, improved collaboration, real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, enhanced safety practices, energy performance optimisation, quality inspections, efficient supply chain management, and proactive maintenance. This study also identified several challenges that hinder the widespread implementation of DT in construction, including (i) data integration and interoperability, (ii) data accuracy and completeness, (iii) scalability and complexity, (iv) privacy and security, and (v) standards and governance. To address these challenges, this paper recommends prioritising standardised data formats, protocols, and APIs for seamless collaboration, exploring semantic data modelling and ontologies for data integration, implementing validation processes and robust data governance for accuracy and completeness, harnessing high-performance computing and advanced modelling techniques for scalability and complexity, establishing comprehensive data protection and access controls for privacy and security, and developing widely accepted standards and governance frameworks with industry-wide collaboration. By addressing these challenges, the construction industry can unlock the full potential of DT technology, thus enhancing safety, reliability, and efficiency in construction projects.

A Study of Inventory Control Technique on Construction Industry

Inventory control techniques are crucial in the construction industry to minimize wastage, maximize efficiency, and reduce costs. This literature review analyzes various inventory control techniques used in the construction industry, including Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory, Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), and Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI). The review examines the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and highlights the challenges associated with their implementation in the construction industry. Additionally, the review explores the potential benefits of implementing innovative technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and building information modeling (BIM) in inventory control in the construction industry. The findings suggest that the adoption of these techniques and technologies can enhance inventory control practices and improve the overall efficiency of construction projects.

Critical Factors Influencing Adoption of Blockchain-Enabled Smart Contracts in Construction Projects

Construction projects are premised upon contractual arrangements, and contracts constitute the basis of their success. A contract enables execution of work and transfer of payments, tracking of key performance indicators, and facilitation of collaboration among project stakeholders. Historically, construction projects have faced critical challenges due to poor alignment between clients’ expectations, contract terms, and contractor performance. The advent of advanced digital technologies under the concept of Industry 4.0 has the potential to benefit construction projects through application of blockchain-enabled smart contracts. However, the adoption of smart contracts in construction projects is in its early stages, and the factors that will influence its adoption remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and establish the critical factors influencing adoption of smart contracts in construction contractual arrangements. This study administered an international questionnaire survey among experienced construction practitioners with involvement in smart contract initiatives and activities. The results obtained from descriptive statistics and fuzzy set-based analysis show that trialability, relative advantage, competitive advantage, and compatibility of smart contracts are the important predictors of the adoption of such contracts. The findings suggest that practitioners share a view that technological characteristics of blockchain-enabled smart contracts are critical to their adoption, regarding the technology’s perceived practicality in improving effectiveness and efficiency of construction projects. This study contributes to technology diffusion research in construction and highlights drivers that require practitioners’ and industry leaders’ attention to ensure successful adoption of smart contracts for cost-effective delivery of construction projects.

Knowledge extraction for solving resource-constrained project scheduling problem through decision tree

PurposeProject scheduling plays an essential role in the implementation of a project due to the limitation of resources in practical projects. However, the existing research tend to focus on finding suitable algorithms to solve various scheduling problems and fail to find the potential scheduling rules in these optimal or near-optimal solutions, that is, the possible intrinsic relationships between attributes related to the scheduling of activity sequences. Data mining (DM) is used to analyze and interpret data to obtain valuable information stored in large-scale data. The goal of this paper is to use DM to discover scheduling concepts and obtain a set of rules that approximate effective solutions to resource-constrained project scheduling problems. These rules do not require any search and simulation, which have extremely low time complexity and support real-time decision-making to improve planning/scheduling.Design/methodology/approachThe resource-constrained project scheduling problem can be described as scheduling a group of interrelated activities to optimize the project completion time and other objectives while satisfying the activity priority relationship and resource constraints. This paper proposes a new approach to solve the resource-constrained project scheduling problem by combining DM technology and the genetic algorithm (GA). More specifically, the GA is used to generate various optimal project scheduling schemes, after that C4.5 decision tree (DT) is adopted to obtain valuable knowledge from these schemes for further predicting and solving new scheduling problems.FindingsIn this study, the authors use GA and DM technology to analyze and extract knowledge from a large number of scheduling schemes, and determine the scheduling rule set to minimize the completion time. In order to verify the application effect of the proposed DT classification model, the J30, J60 and J120 datasets in PSPLIB are used to test the validity of the scheduling rules. The results show that DT can readily duplicate the excellent performance of GA for scheduling problems of different scales. In addition, the DT prediction model developed in this study is applied to a high-rise residential project consisting of 117 activities. The results show that compared with the completion time obtained by GA, the DT model can realize rapid adjustment of project scheduling problem to deal with the dynamic environment interference. In a word, the data-based approach is feasible, practical and effective. It not only captures the knowledge contained in the known optimal scheduling schemes, but also helps to provide a flexible scheduling decision-making approach for project implementation.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a novel knowledge-based project scheduling approach. In previous studies, intelligent optimization algorithm is often used to solve the project scheduling problem. However, although these intelligent optimization algorithms can generate a set of effective solutions for problem instances, they are unable to explain the process of decision-making, nor can they identify the characteristics of good scheduling decisions generated by the optimization process. Moreover, their calculation is slow and complex, which is not suitable for planning and scheduling complex projects. In this study, the set of effective solutions of problem instances is taken as the training dataset of DM algorithm, and the extracted scheduling rules can provide the prediction and solution of new scheduling problems. The proposed method focuses on identifying the key parameters of a specific dynamic scheduling environment, which can not only reproduces the scheduling performance of the original algorithm well, but also has the ability to make decisions quickly under the dynamic interference construction scenario. It is helpful for project managers to implement quick decisions in response to construction emergencies, which is of great practical significance for improving the flexibility and efficiency of construction projects.

РОЛЬ ИННОВАЦИОННЫХ МЕТОДОВ В ПРОЕКТИРОВАНИИ И СТРОИТЕЛЬСТВЕ

The article reveals the impact of innovation on the construction industry. The author identifies key trends and technological solutions that contribute to increasing the efficiency and quality of construction projects, identifies innovative trends in design, and examines their impact on the quality and efficiency of projects. The table summarizes the options for innovative technologies in the field of design, indicating the corresponding directions and areas of practical application. The article characterizes innovative approaches to design and construction, illustrates the directions of use and economic efficiency of implementation in practice. The importance of solving industry problems associated with the continuous development of technology, the emergence of new materials and methods to improve the efficiency of ongoing projects is emphasized. Innovations in the field of project management help minimize risks, optimize costs and meet customer requirements for the quality, timing and efficiency of construction projects. The author summarizes the key role of investing in research and development of innovative technologies for sustainable economic growth, increasing efficiency and improving the quality of construction projects.

Features and Conditions of Building Information Modeling Contracts

Building information modeling (BIM) has improved efficiency in construction projects by utilizing digital instrument capabilities. However, the use of this technology has brought new challenges, particularly legal and contract issues. Conventional construction contracts cannot respond to specific BIM conditions. Therefore, several contract solutions have been proposed to tackle this problem. Despite significant efforts, researchers are still attempting to develop a suitable contract framework and conditions due to the complexities of BIM technical and legal aspects. The present study reviews the solutions developed within seven pioneer countries in BIM and collects the views of construction experts selected by the snowball sampling method in order to identify the most crucial factors that should be considered in BIM contracts. This work incorporated and analyzed 47 questions relating to BIM legal and contract factors in five groups, including BIM contractual basics, BIM contractual obligations and approvals, BIM ownership and copyright, general rules, and other contractual topics. The findings could be exploited to develop a proper BIM contract framework in compliance with construction rules and conditions.

Influence of Takt Time Planning on Construction Efficiency

Creating continuous workflow and reducing variability of construction processes is one of the essential principles of Takt Time system. The Takt Time Planning is a powerful lean tool that creates a continuous flow of people, materials, and resources, therefore it is recognized as a technology with great potential for process innovation in construction. A takt is a demand-driven pace or rhythm of work, which ensures that professionals work at the same speed to free up workspace within standard time frames, leading to a more optimized production process. The main purpose of this article is to explore the practical application and influence of Takt Time Planning on the productivity and efficiency of construction projects by providing an overview of selected case studies. Results show that Tact Time helps to establish a continuous flow and, as a result, reduce waste, reduce the duration and number of inventory buffers, and therefore reduce costs of construction projects.

The important role of BIM in construction project management, quality, and investment schedule control

With the continuous development of the economy and technology in today's society, China's construction level has also made significant progress. At the same time, the complexity and difficulty of engineering projects have gradually increased as people's requirements for building functionalization, appearance, life span, green, and so on have increased. In addition, as the scale of engineering and construction continues to expand, engineering projects are vulnerable to the interference of many different factors. The project management is throughout the whole life cycle of the project. If the traditional project management method is followed, the problems of the construction schedule, construction quality, construction safety, construction cost control, etc., are very properly solved. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt new technology to fundamentally strengthen the construction quality and improve the construction efficiency of construction projects.

Modification of concessionary agreements and agreements on PPP in the conditions of growth of construction materials cost

In spite of the fact that laws in the field of public-and-private partnership and municipal-and-private partnership as well as in the field of concessions are adopted long ago and are constantly supplemented and changed, legal regulation of this sphere still should be considered imperfect. It is necessary to consider one more problem in modern conditions: that is the significant increase in prices for construction materials, having negative effect on the cost and efficiency of construction projects. At the end of 2021 it demanded a series of new amendments. The order of modification of concessionary agreements and agreements of public-and-private partnership, caused by the growth of cost of construction materials, is considered in the article, the main novelties are systematized.

Supply Chain Management and Big Data Concept Effects on Economic Sustainability of Building Design and Project Planning

Building design and project planning face significant challenges in the 21st century. On the one hand, it is the requirement of building users. On the other hand, new possibilities and technologies contribute to the overall efficiency of construction projects. The progress of information and communication technologies is one of the most extensive opportunities that can significantly streamline designing sustainable buildings. The big data concept is increasingly being implemented in all areas of industry. The design of buildings and the entire civil engineering industry is where these processes are becoming automated with the help of information technology. Supply chain management based on information systems represents a great potential in the design of buildings and planning of construction projects in materials procurement. These facts lead to the assumption that the concept of big data and supply chain management systems can effectively influence the sustainable design of buildings. These technologies are expected to improve economic sustainability by reducing costs and shortening materials’ delivery time and construction time. The research is carried out on a sample of construction projects. The level of use of the concept of big data and SCM systems and their impact on economic sustainability in the form of parameters such as construction project costs, delivery time of materials and building construction were examined. Data collection took place through a questionnaire survey. Within the used methods, this research worked data-free but also scaled to the Likert scale. Data processing was performed using Pearson dependence and the use of a correlation coefficient. The main goal of the research was to analyze the impact of using the concept of big data and supply chain management on the cost of the building, the time of delivery of materials and the construction of the building. It was found that the use of SCM and BD has an impact on the monitored parameters, and the correlation rate is high.

설계단계별 기계설비 BIM 설계 프로세스 및 모델링 상세기준 제안

Demand for BIM which is based on accurate and objective building information to reduce the gap and error between construction divisions via simulations, and to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of construction project has escalated. Yet, current MEP design practices, which claim that they apply BIM, have not been successful in improving productivity and efficiency of quantity take-off, cost, and maintenance, because most practices still manually build 3D geometry models by interpreting 2D drawings. In order to propagate practical and productive applications of BIM over actual MEP design practice, this study suggested BIM mechanical design process and level of modeling detail, both of which were in accordance with actual MEP design phase. A pilot project where the suggested design process and modeling details were applied was also presented.

Evaluating Efficiency in Construction Projects with the TOPSIS Model and NDEA Method Considering Environmental Effects and Undesirable Data

Evaluating Efficiency in Construction Projects with the TOPSIS Model and NDEA Method Considering Environmental Effects and Undesirable Data

Research on Application Practice of Rebar Mechanical Connection

The development of rebar connection technology is the key to improve the construction quality of construction projects, and the application of related technologies can also improve the construction quality and efficiency of construction projects. The connection process of mechanical connection of steel bar requires higher requirements, which is different from the welding and binding connection of steel bar. The quality of mechanical joint also needs strict inspection. At present, grade I joints are widely used in high-rise buildings. How to ensure the quality of mechanical connection has become one of the key points of high-rise building quality control. Combined with specific engineering projects, this paper mainly analyzes the practical application of rebar mechanical connection technology in construction, and elaborates on rebar processing, product protection, quality control, etc., in order to provide technical reference for the work of relevant personnel in the field of construction engineering.

Investment efficiency of business in Ukraine: realities and assessment methodology

The article systematized factors of investment attractiveness and investment climate in Ukraine. The expediency of supplementinganexistinglist of components of investment climate is substantiated by two additional factors. Themechanismo factionoftheproposedfactorsthatreflectthenegative effectin the developmen to freformsand innovations, aswellas the economic efficiency of construction projects on the financial result, expected from investigations, isrevealed. The trends in the developmen to finvestment activityinUkrainein 2015 - 2020, the existence of reserves for increasing the economic efficiency of investments and the need for their calculation witht hehelpof a special methodological approac hare analyzed. The methodical approach to the evaluation of investment efficiency of constructionis developed, which is based on the magnitude of the multiplier of capital investment in construction inthelong-termperiodandrefinedtheboundariesoftheretrospectivehorizon, which are necessary to determine such a multiplier. The rapid importance of aninvestment multiplier of construction isestablis hedand a methodological approach to qualitative interpretation of this indicator issubstantiated. The basis of a methodological approach is the results of a cluster analysis of aninvestment multiplier in the contex to fvarioustypesofconstructionandregions, the methodof K-medium, aswellaspostulatesofthetheoryoffuzzysets. Within the framework of the developed methodological approach, the "investment attractiveness of construction" characteristicsis presentedin the form of a fuzz yterm-shear, which combines three terms: "Lowefficiency", "averageefficiency", "highlevelofefficiency". Inaccordance with descriptiv estatistics of thereceived clusters, the parameters and type of functions of affiliation, the boundaries of clusters that directly affecttheuse of correctivea mendments to the value of the economic effectof capitalinvestment to the level of the contractor-executor of construction work are substantiated. The sizeofther is kfactorisestablishedtakingintoaccountthetypeofconstructionandmedium-layervalues ​​ofmultipliersofcapitalinvestmentinconstruction. Theuse of the proposed Metdic approach to the analysis of investment efficiency inconstruction makesitpossible to increase the accuracy of calculations on th epre-investmentst age of construction, aswellastoimprovemonitoring of capital investment development, carried out in the process of implementing national investment programs and international investment projects.