Large Construction Projects Research Articles

Assessment of the causes and effects of design deficiencies for large construction projects using social network analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the latent interrelationships of causes and effects of design deficiencies (DDs) and to identify the most crucial ones by considering the interactions among them.Design/methodology/approachFirst, through a comprehensive literature review, the most critical causes of DDs were identified. The review eventuated in a list of 22 causes and 12 effects, which were categorized into six groups. Second, through the rules of system dynamics and the interactions between the causes and effects were modeled and illustrated using causal loop diagrams (CLDs). With the aid of semi-structured interviews with 20 competent experts, the resultant CLDs were also validated. Third, the opinions of 54 experts, who were chosen from the Iranian community of clients and consultants, were solicited concerning the degree of influence which each factor (causes or effects) exerts on others. Finally, the social network analysis (SNA) approach was deployed to analyze and prioritize factors based on the gathered data from experts.FindingsSNA results indicated that factors such as “design firms' staff rework” and “design firms' loss of reputation” are the most central factors affecting DDs. The model results also identified that factors such as “schedule variance”, “workload” and “lack of quality control and supervision during the design phase” have the highest overall impact on DDs. In the end, some recommendations to address major factors and links were also put forward. Overall, more communications between the pair of stakeholder groups and continuous learning from project experiences are believed to be the main strategies.Originality/valueIt is believed that this study has provided a comprehensive understanding of causal mechanisms among factors, which can assist project managers of different parties (clients, contractors and consulting firms) in taking more effective actions to ameliorate the quality of design documents.

Climate and landscape changes enhance the global spread of a bloom-forming dinoflagellate related to fish kills and water quality deterioration

Global inland water biodiversity is under mounting stress facing future scenarios of climate change, biological invasions, pollution, diversion, damming of rivers, and increase of water abstractions. Apart from having isolated effects, all these stressors threats act synergistically and thus pose additional emerging threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Native to Northern Europe, the nuisance and potential toxic dinoflagellate Ceratium furcoides (Levander) Langhans 1925 is a silent invader that blooms in freshwater systems; it has one of the most rapid spread rates globally. We propose a framework to determine the worldwide most vulnerable areas for the invasion by C. furcoides shortly (2041–2060) by combining future scenarios of climate change (a proxy for invasiveness) derived from ecological niche models with future dam construction data (a proxy for invasibility). The nine models applied in four future scenarios of greenhouse gas emission from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 showed a general increase in areas suitable for the invasion success of C. furcoides. High susceptibility overlapped with areas densely occupied by large and medium-size dams and future dam construction projects. Considering that C. furcoides can reproduce from a single cell, produces resistant stages, and has several strategies to cope with local environmental constraints, early detection protocols, and mitigation actions are urgently needed to avoid biodiversity declines related to this invader.

Significant factors affecting the effect of safety program implementation on construction projects in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

This research indicated 16 important factors that affect the result of labor safety program performance. The research was carried out by sending survey questionnaire to both foreigners and Vietnamese who are working for a medium and large scale construction projects. Most of them said that the most critical factor which influences the effect of labor safety program implementation on construction projects is “periodic evaluation of safety programs”. In addition, MEAN is used to rank significant factors basing on two group of respondents: Safety Managers (SM) and Project Managers (PM).

Method of Assessing the Risk of Implementing Railway Investments in Terms of the Cost of Their Implementation

Exceeding the approved budget is often an integral part of the implementation of construction projects, especially those where unforeseen threats may occur. Therefore, each construction investment should contain elements of risk forecasting, mainly in terms of the cost of its implementation. Only a small number of institutions apply effective cost control methods, taking into account the specifics of a given industry. Especially small construction companies that participate in the structure of the implementation of large construction projects as subcontractors. The article presents a method by which it is possible to determine, with certain probability, the final cost of railway construction investments carried out in Poland. The method was based on a reliable database of risk factors published in sources. In this article, the main presumptions of the original method are presented, which take into account the impact of potential, previously recognized, risks specific to railway investments, and enable project managers to relate them to the conditions where the implementation of a specific object is planned. The authors assumed that such a relatively simple method, supported by a suitable computational program, would encourage teams that plan to implement railway projects to use it and increase the credibility of their schedules.

Employer’s Information Requirements: A Case Study Implementation of BIM on the Example of Selected Construction Projects in Poland

Case studies available in the literature clearly point to the numerous benefits of BIM (Building Information Modeling), in addition to the barriers that participants of such projects may face. This paper is a case study of Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR) for preparing and managing BIM models in the design and construction of selected large public construction projects: the Cogiteon Lesser Poland Science Center (LPSC Cogiteon), the Krakow Music Center (KMC) and the Copernican Revolution Studio (CRS). The paper presents the main aspects included in EIRs. It discusses the technical (e.g., requirements for the Common Data Environment platform—CDE), management (including the scopes of responsibility of staff in charge of BIM) and strategic sections (primary expectations concerning Data Drops) of the EIR. Projects executed using BIM by public institutions allow for the application of insight gained as a result of their completion and the creation of a knowledge base or checklist for future projects. The projects discussed here, carried out using advanced BIM solutions, could potentially be developed further by the proposed content extension concerning levels of detail (this paper cites potential guidelines that can be applied), component elements concerning price and qualifications, so as to easily generate bills of costs, and information used in facility management which can also encourage facility manager cooperation. Examples of EIR provisions are presented based on an analysis of three completed construction projects carried out using advanced BIM solutions. BIM is still a new form of management and this paper expands the range of available EIR standards, in addition to presenting guidelines for their practical application in the construction industry.

Impact of the Coronavirus disease 2019 and the post-pandemic construction sector (Pakistan)

PurposeThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected project management organisations especially those conducting large construction projects that involve a large number of people, complex supply chains, and lack of experience and preliminary arrangements in managing remote work. This study aims to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector and how to minimise the effect of pandemic disruptions.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on the reviews of relevant reports, articles and semi-structured interviews of the construction experts working in the Pakistan construction industry during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The primary data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with the construction experts and analysed them using thematic analysis. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted in this study.FindingsThrough thematic analysis, this study identified approximately 55 initial raw data themes, 15 first-order themes, 11 second-order themes and 4 general dimensions of the impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector. The authors identified working style and behavioural changes, challenges and risks, stakeholders and new directions for the construction sector in the post-pandemic world as the four main dimensions of the effect of the pandemic on the construction sector. Further, least digitalisation, complex cash flow, abundance of labour-intensive methods, diverse stakeholders, and dependencies on foreign expertise, imported material and machineries were identified as the most important reasons for poor resiliency of the construction sector during COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.Originality/valueThis study major contributions are: (1) analysing the impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector in relation to Pakistan, (2) discussing new directions for the construction sector and (3) putting in place a set of mitigation measures that will help minimise disruptions in construction-related projects to ensure that set objectives are achieved.

Monitoring Algorithm of Stress Point of Concrete Penstock in Large Construction Engineering

With the rapid development of the national construction industry, cracks and other problems often appear in the concrete structure during the initial and subsequent construction. When these problems develop further, the structural safety of the entire building may be compromised. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the causes of cracks and other problems in concrete buildings, and be able to monitor and analyze these problems in time, and then propose reasonable solutions. This is already a problem that the entire construction technicians urgently need to solve. This paper studies the algorithm for monitoring stress points of concrete penstocks in large construction projects. Firstly, it uses literature research to explain the form of stress nodes in large-scale construction projects and the deficiencies in the research on the stress nodes of concrete penstocks in large-scale construction projects. In the experiment, the existing 3 algorithms are used to detect the force points, and compare their detection degree and false alarm rate. The experimental results show that the detection effect of the KNN algorithm is obviously inferior to the other two algorithms with the same neighbor parameters. Its detection rate is only 91%, and the false alarm rate reaches 30%. The other two algorithms are equivalent. The detection effect of the KNN algorithm is obviously inferior to the other two algorithms, the detection rate is poor, the outlier force points that are obviously deviating from the whole around the dense force points are not recognized, and the data of many normal force points located at the edge of the sparse area Instead, it was recognized as abnormal. Among the three algorithms, the detection rate of the NLOF algorithm is better, reaching 99%, which is significantly higher than the other two algorithms.

A study on the effect of pore and particle distributions on the soil water characteristic curve of compacted loess soil

Compacted loess soil is used as a geo-material in many engineering projects, such as building foundations and highway embankments. Water infiltration characteristics and post settlement of the compacted loess in large construction projects of Northwest China have received increasing attention from researchers and investors. These behaviors are closely related to the soil water characteristics. This study aims to investigate the soil water characteristic curves (SWCCs) of compacted loess soil with different dry densities and to reveal the responsible micro-mechanisms for soil water characteristics. Loess soil collected from the new district of Yan’an City, China, is prepared into five dry density groups. The SWCC of each group in the suction range of 0–105 kPa is measured using the filter paper method (FPM). Two-dimensional (2D) images and the pore size distribution (PSD) curves of the specimens are tested by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the mercury pressure method (MIP), respectively. The results of this study highlight that the compaction behavior mainly influences the pores with a radius (r) in the range of 1–10 μm, and has no influence on the pores of r < 0.5 μm. The particle shapes among the five dry densities groups are similar. The characteristics of the PSD curves of the compacted loess soil correspond well to the SWCCs. The suction of the SWCCs increases with increasing dry density in the lower suction range of 0–100 kPa. In contrast, suction among the five dry density groups is almost identical in the suction range exceeding 100 kPa. The results of the study are helpful to understand the SWCC and microstructure characteristics of compacted loess with different dry densities.

Highly specialized geophysical methods for undergroud construction works – Semmering Base Tunnel, a practice report

AbstractThe use of geophysical methods for the planning of complex underground structures such as deep tunnels has made significant progress in the last two decades. The realization of large underground construction projects in complex geological environments has led to an increase of geophysical exploration during excavation activities, drilling, and geological documentation. The aim is to continuously update and improve the geological model in order to identify and mitigate potential risks. Flexible planning of geophysical measurements and their fast and efficient implementation are required to minimize the impact on ongoing construction works.During construction of the Semmering Base Tunnel geophysical measurements were and are used to supplement exploratory drillings and tunnel documentation. This paper presents results from the construction lots SBT1.1 (Gloggnitz) and SBT3.1 (Grautschenhof) with an emphasis on carbonate prediction, and from the Göstritz cavern where sudden water ingress required an update of the geologic model. For each assignment a tailored‐made geophysical methodology was designed and applied.

The role of public actors in construction logistics: effects on and of relational interfaces

Public actors are increasingly enforcing the use of specifically designed construction logistics setups (CLS) to cope with logistical challenges and minimising disturbances on third parties in large construction projects. The organising of these CLS is contingent on the interaction among several types of actors. The purpose of the paper is to advance the understanding of the design and use of CLS and the distribution of various outcomes of such arrangements on the actors involved. The paper analyses the role of public actors in the initiating of CLS and how this affects the relational interfaces in the CLS triad of developers, contractors and logistics service providers, and the outcomes of their interactions. First, the main reason for a public actor to initiate a CLS is not cost, productivity or innovativity gains, but to decrease disturbances on third parties. Second, developers and contractors are forced to use the CLS initiated by the public actor. This makes them take on a forced customer role, explaining why these actors are often resistant to adopt to a certain CLS. Third, ripple effects, such as unintended costs and productivity impacts, occur in the construction supply chain because of the use of CLS.

Mitigation Controller: Adaptive Simulation Approach for Planning Control Measures in Large Construction Projects

AbstractProbabilistic Monte Carlo simulations are often used to determine a project’s completion time given a required probability level. During project execution, schedule changes negatively affec...

A system of continuous training of employees in the field of occupational safety and health used in the implementation of investment projects by construction companies

An analysis of causes of injuries occurred in construction companies that implement large investment construction projects shows that the lack of skills of employees is a factor that determines the likelihood of risk events in the field of occupational safety and health: dangerous behavior of employees, dangerous working conditions created by managers and engineering and technical employees. The lack of competencies is the main cause of major and significant incidents in 10-12 cases out of 100; in 35-40 cases, it is a concomitant cause. The current state of affairs has determined the direction of efforts to achieve and maintain the highest indicators in the field of environmental and industrial safety and labor protection. In particular, JSC "Scientific Research and Design Institute for Gas Processing", LLC "SIBUR", JSC "Gazpromneft" and LLC "Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk" are improving the safety of construction production through training of employees. The article presents the results of the study on developing required skills in employees of construction organizations at construction sites when implementing large investment construction projects.

Design and feasibility analysis of a solar PV array installation during the construction of high-rise residential buildings

Effective energy utilization is a key parameter to meet the increasing global energy demand, and this paper proposes to install a solar PV array during the construction of a high-rise building. Electrical energy auditing is an essential tool for the planning and installation of solar PV systems. The outcome of energy auditing and the space availability are subsequently utilized for planning the sequential installation of solar PV systems in the four segments of the construction process. Several challenges in harnessing and utilizing solar energy during the construction, along with the strategic utilization of solar PV energy are presented for the benefit of building owners after the completion of the construction process. A case study (seven 200 m high rise buildings and associated facilities) is considered to validate the proposed energy-efficient construction process, and the same is compared with the conventional construction process. From the comparison, a significant reduction in the power drawn from the grid during the construction process is noticed. It has been found from the simulation results that an estimated annual energy of 7377 MWh is generated from the 3.63 MW roof-top solar PV systems. Further, a techno-economic assessment of the proposed solar PV system is drawn to bring out the financial benefits to the contractor, and the owners of the newly constructed high-rise residential buildings. Embracing sustainability in buildings with energy-efficient construction practices in large construction projects can substantially minimize the impact of environmental pollution.

A Building Information Modelling (BIM) Approach to the Systematic Management of Construction Projects

Recent advancements in information technology have benefited the construction sector in more effective storage, analysis, and transmission of information. Making proper project decisions is hinged upon the verified and timely information provided by systems. It is especially the case in large construction projects in which many partners collaborate to deliver a project. Building information modeling (BIM) as an intelligent 3D model-based approach provides construction managers with insight on how to integrate elements of project configuration. In this paper, we theorize the potential contribution of BIM to the systematic management of projects at the project and corporate level. The findings guide practitioners on how to take advantage of this approach towards the integrated planning and control of construction projects.

Traditional puesteros’ perceptions of biodiversity in semi-arid Southern Mendoza, Argentina

The relationship between nature and culture is conceived as a dialogue, not as a dichotomy. Sociocultural and ecological systems are linked, in which language encodes the foundations of collective knowledge in a way that is often untranslatable but inextricably links its speakers to their landscape and each other. We describe the social practices and ethnotaxonomic knowledge of traditional people living in the semi-arid south of Mendoza, Argentina (locally called puesteros) in order to understand their adaptations and resilience strategies and clarify the fundamental link between past and present traditional land use practices and cultural identity. We detail the dynamics that link inhabitants and the biophysical environment, partly because this community is threatened with exile by a large hydroelectric project. If it is built, it would significantly alter the biocultural ecosystem and reduce the cultural heritage of the puesteros. This case study combines participant observation and 12 in-depth interviews. The results show knowledge of 39 plant speciesused as construction, firewood, medicine, and toxins. The community shows a close attachment to this place, past and present, in terms of identity, cultural practices, and local knowledge of biodiversity and geographic features. Given the interaction between puesteros and the landscape, we refer to the place and interactions as an ecocultural keystone landscape. This deserves particular consideration in the face of large construction projects.

Integrated InSAR monitoring and structural assessment of tunnelling‐induced building deformations

Structural deformation monitoring is crucial for the identification of early signs of tunnelling-induced damage to adjacent structures and for the improvement of current damage assessment procedures. Satellite multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (MT-InSAR) techniques enable measurement of building displacements over time with millimetre-scale accuracy. Compared to traditional ground-based monitoring, MT-InSAR can yield denser and cheaper building observations, representing a cost-effective monitoring tool. However, without integrating MT-InSAR techniques and structural assessment, the potential of InSAR monitoring cannot be fully exploited. This integration is particularly demanding for large construction projects, where big datasets need to be processed. In this paper, we present a new automated methodology that integrates MT-InSAR-based building deformations and damage assessment procedures to evaluate settlement-induced damage to buildings adjacent to tunnel excavations. The developed methodology was applied to the buildings along an 8-km segment of the Crossrail tunnel route in London, using COSMO-SkyMed MT-InSAR data from 2011 to 2015. The methodology enabled the identification of damage levels for 858 buildings along the Crossrail twin tunnels, providing an unprecedented number of high quality field observations for building response to settlements. The proposed methodology can be used to improve current damage assessment procedures, for the benefit of future underground excavation projects in urban areas.

Impact of organizational decentralization degree on job satisfaction and job performance: a hierarchical linear model analysis for construction projects

PurposeModern construction projects are increasingly complex and rely heavily on multi-discipline collaboration, and this leads to a more and more decentralized project-based structure widely adopted in the construction industry. While job satisfaction (JS) and job performance (JP) have been heavily studied previously, few considered the impact of organizational structure and none investigated the relationship between the organizational decentralization degree with JS and JP. This research aims to fill this research gap and investigate the impacts of organizational decentralization degree on JS and JP and facilitate a better project management practice for large-scale construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThis research firstly establishes four hypotheses based on the literature review on general project-based organizations, then the hypotheses are tested by a survey covering 25 large complex construction projects in China. A hierarchical linear model analysis was carried out to analyze the survey data and to study the relationships between organizational decentralization degree, job satisfaction and job performance.FindingsAnalysis results show that projects' employees' JS and JP are positively correlated with the construction project organizations' decentralization degree, respectively. The decentralization degree has a higher impact on JS than on JP. Employees' JP is positively correlated with their JS, and a higher decentralization degree leads to a more significant positive impact that JS puts on JP.Originality/valueThe findings are new evidence of how construction organization structure and its decentralization degree can affect project employees' JS and JP. This research provides valuable guidance for the industry's management practice and is particularly important for large, complex and highly decentralized construction projects.

Thirty years of climate mitigation: lessons from the 1989 options appraisal for the UK

In April 1989, the UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, convened a full cabinet meeting on climate change addressed by leading scientists. The presentation on mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions was made by the Head of the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU), Ken Currie, and identified the key potential options for mitigation by 2020. In this paper, we compare the mitigation potential identified for each proposed option with the 2019 outturn. The largest mitigation options identified were improved end use energy efficiency across the economy and the generation and use of low carbon electricity. Our analysis finds that these have been the key options adopted. Reductions in primary energy use, resulting from improvements in energy efficiency were concentrated in the period 2005–2012 which in 1989 were widely considered to be ambitious. Decarbonisation of electricity has been achieved by the displacement of coal, initially by gas and more recently by renewable electricity. Renewable electricity has exceeded 1989 expectations in the last 5 years and is now the biggest source of CO2 reductions from electricity generation. The contribution envisaged by nuclear electricity has not occurred, largely due its failure to compete in liberalised generation markets. In all cases, the policy environment has been important. We draw lessons for mitigation options to achieve the goal of net zero emissions in the next 30 years. The contribution of demand side and other modular options will remain crucial, as mass-produced technologies tend to improve more quickly than those requiring large construction projects. Environmental, social and political factors will be important, so analysis should not be a purely techno-economic assessment.

DIRECTIONS OF LOGISTICS DEVELOPMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON RECYCLING OF WASTE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The article considers the research of the process of supply of resources for construction taking into account the logistical needs of reversible logistics. The result will be the gradual formation of logistics systems in the construction industry, which should lead to the formation of a single logistics system of the construction industry. This will create a set of integration effects. First of all, to identify the main objectives of the logistics system in the construction industry as a whole, it is necessary to determine the basic economic parameters of each system participant, decompose the logistics system, and then determine the integrated economic characteristics of its activities. It is noted that the current level of logistics development and the growing specialization of its individual functional areas require a focus on the whole chain of causal relationships. Most logistics systems are focused on one direction of movement of inventory - from producer to end consumer. As a result, the process of decomposition of the logistics system of the construction industry according to the main economic parameters of operation was created. The current trends in logistics development that emerged during the pandemic have been identified. The general and basic concepts of waste management of construction companies are considered. The scheme of the waste management hierarchy is given. It is established that the main principles of economic regulation in the construction industry of waste management are to reduce the amount of waste and involve them in economic turnover; payment for waste disposal; economic incentives in the field of waste management. The main problems of reverse logistics facing the business and the possibility of solving them through the introduction of a system of reverse logistics or recycling are identified. In conclusion, the introduction of integrated logistics systems was proposed, which is especially effective in large construction projects located in urban centers, where massive material flows must be managed.

Predictors of noise annoyance from construction of a large metropolitan highway project

The aim of this study was to investigate factors that may explain annoyance from noise generated by a large road construction project. A total of 1409 participants were divided in two groups based on the distance of their dwelling to the construction site. They responded to a socio-acoustic survey in order to describe their personal situation and their perception of various noise sources. Socio-demographically, there were no differences between groups. However, the target group (closer to the construction site) exhibited a higher level of annoyance. Noise levels generated by the construction work explained a marginal proportion of the variance in annoyance (<1%). Socio-demographic, psychosocial and contextual factors explained a much larger proportion of the variance (between 51.7 and 70.0%). When identifying a policy response for noise generated by the construction of a major road project, special consideration should be given to these factors.