Construction Management Research Research Articles

Artificial intelligence for production, operations and logistics management in modular construction industry: A systematic literature review

Artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered significant attention within the modular construction industry, emerging as a prominent frontier development trend. A comprehensive and systematic analysis is required to gain a thorough understanding of the existing literature on the use of AI in the management of production, operations, and logistics within the modular construction industry. This review delves into the various aspects of AI implementation in this sector, adopting a critical perspective. The objective of this paper is to analyze the progress, suitability, and research patterns in the field of AI for the management of productions, operations, and logistics within the modular construction industry. First, a concise overview of AI technologies pertaining to the contemporary research on the production, operations and logistics management of the modular construction industry is provided. Second, a bibliometric analysis is performed to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing publications pertaining to this subject matter. Subsequently, this paper presents literature reviews and outlines future directions for each component, specifically AI in the context of production management, operations management, and logistics management within the modular construction industry. The review provides a valuable knowledge base and roadmap to guide future research and development efforts in AI-enhanced modular construction management.

Exploring the application of PLS-SEM in construction management research: a bibliometric and meta-analysis approach

PurposeThe partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach for construction management (CM) scholars has become the preferred approach for its capability of assessing the complex relationship and relaxed normality and sample size assumptions. This paper systematically maps the structure of knowledge about PLS-SEM in CM using bibliometric analysis. Also, the study employs meta-analysis to explore how data and model characteristics, model evaluation and advanced modeling techniques have been utilized in the CM domain.Design/methodology/approachThis study integrated two methods: bibliometric analysis on a sample of 211 articles identified using the PRISMA framework and meta-analysis on 163 articles identified based on the availability of full-length articles and relevant information.FindingsThe results revealed the leading knowledge formation entities (countries, institutions, authors, sources and documents). Also, the study employs full content analysis to identify six research themes, and meta-analysis is used to explore the use of PLS-SEM based on the following criteria: (1) reasons for using PLS-SEM in CM, (2) data characteristics, (3) model characteristics and evaluation and (4) use of advanced modeling and analysis techniques. Further, the study uses regression analysis and identifies “advanced modeling and analysis techniques” as the critical feature responsible for the publication in a journal with high scientific prestige. Finally, the study presented the comprehensive guidelines to be used by construction management scholars who wish to use PLS-SEM in their research work.Originality/valueTo the author’s knowledge, it is the first study of this kind to use PLS-SEM in CM research. This study provides an extensive analysis of the Scopus database and an in-depth review of the data characteristics, model characteristics and use of advanced modeling techniques in CM research.

Modern methods of construction (MMC) and innovation negativism in the UK public sector

PurposeThe recent failures and insolvencies of organisations related to the modern methods of construction (MMC) have gained increased attention and controversy across the UK construction sector. Such failures are linked to their inability to achieve an economy of scale and drive key clients to accept the MMC as an alternative to traditional methods. This paper aims to unravel whether a phenomenon of “innovation negativism” has manifested and is contributing to public clients' indecision towards broader MMC, whether this is only linked to past negative experiences formed after the Second World War or whether additional contributing reasons exist to influence adoption.Design/methodology/approachThis study focusses on exploring the decision-making of the UK public construction sector; therefore, this paper adopts a qualitative approach, utilising interviews with 14 carefully selected MMC experts, government advisors and public clients. The phenomenological stance adopted herewith enables the authors to make better sense of the perceptions of the interviewees, leading to the conceptualisation of the innovation negativism phenomenon.FindingsThe paper identifies nine themes that may be argued to promote a profound understanding of the MMC negativism influencing public clients' decision-making. The study has found that more than just the previous negative perceptions formulated post Second World War are driving innovation negativism in the UK public sector. Notably, the emerging themes are incomprehension, lacking evidence, communication, relationship history, bad experiences, uncertainty, inadequate experimentation, the business case and localism.Originality/valueThis study is the first construction management research that acts as a fair departure point to conceptualise the reasoning behind innovation negativism in the construction setting. Through mirroring demand's unipolarity for traditional methods, policy and decision-makers can now rely on the conceptualised reasoning to determine practical solutions to overcome clients' indecisions towards MMC.

Uncertainty network modeling method for construction risk management

In recent decades, uncertainty management has increasingly elicited attention in construction management research due to increasing project complexity. However, existing management methods have not been able to solve the issues around risk and uncertainty, and regardless of the proposed network-based risk modeling approaches, there are insufficiencies in contemporary methods, such as their practical applicability. This study examined the current state and issues of uncertainty and risk management and proposed a novel uncertainty network model (UNM) as a solution. The uncertainty network model was designed and validated using design science methodology (DSM), drawing on literature and empirical data from interviews, questionnaires, case observations, and case testing. The UNM visually presents project risks, uncertainties, and their interconnections and criticality transforming project stakeholders’ tacit knowledge into an explicit, systematic representation of a project’s uncertainty and risk architecture. Applied to a real-world construction project, the model received positive feedback, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing practitioners’ understanding of networked risks and the potential to guide cost-effective risk-control activities by applying a systemic lens to project management. This practical validation showcases the model’s potential in addressing the shortcomings of existing methods and improving construction project risk management.

Research Progress on Intelligent Control Heading Machine

Background:: With the development of society, the demand for underground works, such as to control road traffic and enhance the development of mineral resources, is increasing. Simple human and mechanical resources can no longer meet people's needs. Therefore, the development of the heading machine has advanced the construction of underground engineering and the development of mineral resources, leading to a significant change in tunneling efficiency. However, the increase in the scale of engineering facilities, changes in geological conditions, the reduction in human resources, and other factors, accompanied by the arrival of the era of big data, have prompted the heading machine to become more and more efficient, advanced, and intelligent. Objective:: This article aimed to describe the classification, characteristics, and development of existing heading machines. It also takes into account the impact of changing engineering facilities, geological conditions, and limited human resources. The research and development direction of the equipment in intelligent perception, intelligent construction, and safety management is proposed. Methods:: In this study, the working principle and related patents of the heading machine have been summarized. The structural characteristics, differences, and application characteristics of the heading machines in different fields are introduced, and the limitations of previous methods have been analyzed. Results:: By analyzing and comparing the existing heading machines and summarizing their typical features, the main problems in the development of heading machines have been analyzed and the development trend of heading machines is predicted. Finally, the current research status and future development trends of heading machines and their patents are discussed. Conclusion:: The heading machines are divided into two types based on the operation object: tunnel boring machine and ordinary heading machine. Among these, the full-face heading machine is the most widely used, and heading machines with different working faces are the most typical among ordinary heading machines. Currently, the application of intelligence in heading machines has gained widespread traction both domestically and internationally. The future development direction of heading machines must focus on intelligence, ensuring safety and efficiency, lightweight design, and environmental sustainability.

Organisational culture and construction employee safety

Organisational culture plays a critical role in the functioning and identity of an organisation. The study examined Schein’s model based on artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions to determine the level of influence on construction employees’ safety. Online questionnaire administration among medium-sized construction firms in the Central Region of Ghana was employed for the data collection. The designed questionnaire was used to gather the opinions of supervisors, foremen, and workers in the construction industry. Descriptive statistics and the Relative Importance Index (RII) were utilised to analyse the findings. The results reveal that work environment design and workplace cleanliness were the most influential artifacts impacting employee safety. Regarding espoused values, the organisation’s strategies and employee safety played a significant role in ensuring a safe workplace. Additionally, variables related to self-awareness and freedom of expression had substantial importance in the realm of basic underlying assumptions. Understanding the relationship between organisational culture and employee safety is crucial for creating safe work environments and fostering a safety culture. Construction firms can enhance employee safety and achieve corporate goals by addressing artifacts, espoused values, and assumptions. The results of this study are beneficial to construction project managers, contractors, and construction management researchers, as they offer insights into creating safer work environments and improving employee well-being through organisational culture.

Ecosystems in construction management and urban development: a comprehensive review of conceptualizations and contributions

To solve grand challenges, the collaboration between construction management and urban development professionals is essential. This article proposes that ecosystem conceptualizations can enhance our understanding of collaboration, but how these concepts contribute to this field is unclear. Therefore, a literature review is presented on how ecosystem concepts are operationalized in construction management and urban development research. The article classifies conceptualizations into seven categories and analyzes their potential for contributions to ecosystem theorizing. An ecosystem research agenda is developed, arguing that it can serve as a theoretical bridge between these disciplines. The article also highlights how research on ecosystems in the built environment sector can contribute to management and organization research fields more broadly. Notably, conceptualizations of ecosystems as project-based or location-based are valuable contributions to ecosystem research.

Research on the application of BIM-based green construction management in the whole life cycle of hydraulic engineering

Abstract Taking the construction management of green water conservancy projects combined with BIM as the research background, we analyzed the application of BIM technology in green construction management. The results also showed that the overall trend of green construction management research is on the rise, the research on green construction management at home and abroad is relatively close, and the research directions tend to be intelligent and informative, but there is relatively little research on water conservancy engineering. Combining the current green construction standards of water conservancy projects, the related literature, and the current situation of the application of BIM technology in water conservancy project construction management, the concept of green construction of water conservancy projects and the core requirements of BIM technology for whole-life-cycle green construction are proposed. The new green construction technology was applied in combination with BIM to form a collaborative and scaled multiparty management structure map for the whole process area, build a framework system for green construction management of water conservancy projects, and design a specific implementation process for the application of real-time green construction simulation systems in BIM.

A Review of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Applications in Construction Management: 2016–2021

With the rapid advancement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technologies in recent years, their uses have been increasingly adopted in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. To satisfy the needs of various types of construction projects, a considerable amount of research work has been performed to implement and refine the operations, safety, and accuracy of UAVs. This paper presents the findings of a comprehensive literature review that focuses on UAV research in construction management during the timeframe of 2016 to 2021. A total of 95 papers were identified and collected from a list of 21 relevant journals and conference proceedings, and were then categorized by their research topic, sensor types, and targeted structures. The results of 47 exemplary studies were reported in two categories, namely UAV uses and construction uses. The research topics identified for UAV uses include algorithm, applications, operations, framework, and training, while research topics identified for construction use include inspection, surveying, safety, and monitoring. The connection between the research topics, sensor types, targeted structures, and other advanced technologies were also discussed. This paper summarizes the current results of UAV research in construction management, reviews the methodology, benefits, and limitations of the reviewed literature, and provides valuable knowledge for the future trend of UAV applications in the civil, infrastructure, and construction industries.

Long-term Trends in Construction Engineering and Management Research in Korea

Long-term Trends in Construction Engineering and Management Research in Korea

Self-organizing in urban development: developers coordinating between construction projects

Sustainable urban development districts have become an answer to the challenge of increasing urbanization while decreasing human impact on the environment. Like other domains of public administration, urban development has in recent decades moved towards heterogeneous governance. Urban development becomes project ecologies, where several construction projects are carried out in parallel and in sequence. This paper sheds light on public and private developers’ coordinating between their construction projects and the influence this has on the built environment of urban development districts. The space between projects in project ecologies is relevant to explore further to understand how the long-term goals of urban policy are achieved in practice. Through the theoretical lens of self-organizing, the discussion is informed by a qualitative study of two cases where developers built together in sustainable profiled urban development districts. The paper contributes to construction management research by illustrating how developers play a key role in finalizing the design and construction of new districts through self-organizing. In effect, new urban districts can only be realized through joint efforts and coordination amongst developers. The paper also provides policymakers with insights into how developers become key players in organizing new neighborhoods.

Green and Sustainable Construction Industry: A Systematic Literature Review of the Contractor’s Green Construction Capability

Contractors are the main implementers to achieve green construction, and the contractor’s green construction capability (CGCC) is far-reaching for green construction. Research on CGCC exists in a number of disciplines, with major contributions in construction management, environment management, and sustainable management research. Despite the fact that CGCC is widely utilised in both research and practice, its formation and action mechanism remain obscure due to the multi-disciplinary nature of CGCC. This study is motivated by this research gap. This study conducted a comprehensive investigation of CGCC by using a systematic review covering 74 relevant publications published from 2005 to the first half of 2022. Five main research clusters were identified: (1) CGCC implementation; (2) CGCC performance; (3) CGCC profound impact; (4) CGCC and green building; and (5) CGCC and sustainability. Existing research collaborations on CGCC are infrequent, although this is an area of research that requires multi-disciplinary collaboration. Studies such as CGCC enhancement mechanisms and evaluation systems have received less attention. An integrative framework was proposed for future scholars to build upon as well as a guidance for executives.

Evolution of construction risk management research: historiography and keyword co-occurrence analysis

PurposeThis study collected the bibliographic data of 2034 journal articles published in 2000–2021 from Web of Science (WoS) core collection database and adopted two bibliometric analysis methods, namely historiography and keyword co-occurrence, to identify the evolution trend of construction risk management (CRM) research topics.Design/methodology/approachCRM has been a key issue in construction management research, producing a big number of publications. This study aims to undertake a review of the global CRM research published from 2000 to 2021 and identify the evolution of the research topics relating to CRM.FindingsThis study found that risk analysis methods have shifted from simply ranking risks in terms of their relative importance or significance toward examining the interrelationships among risks, and that the objects of CRM research have shifted from generic construction projects toward specified types of construction projects (e.g. small projects, underground construction projects, green buildings and prefabricated projects). In addition, researchers tend to pay more attention to an individual risk category (e.g. political risk, safety risk and social risk) and integrate CRM into cost, time, quality, safety and environment management functions with the increasing adoption of various information and communication technologies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focused on the journal articles in English in WoS core collection database only, thus excluding the publications in other languages, not indexed by WoS and conference proceedings. In addition, the historiography focused on the top documents in terms of document strength and thus ignored the role of the documents whose strengths were a little lower than the threshold.Originality/valueThis review study is more inclusive than any prior reviews on CRM and overcomes the drawbacks of mere reliance on either bibliometric analysis results or subjective opinions. Revealing the evolution process of the CRM knowledge domain, this study provides an in-depth understanding of the CRM research and benefits industry practitioners and researchers.

Research on the topic discovery and hotspot evolution of the LIS field from the perspective of papers supported by the National Foundation

Exploring the fine-grained characteristics of the results of papers funded by national funds is helpful to help researchers more accurately grasp the research hotspots and frontier trends of the discipline to identify the frontier topics of scientific research. Starting from the projects approved by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Social Science Foundation of China from 2010 to 2019, this study took the state-funded papers published in the core journals in the field of Library and Information Science from 2010 to 2020 as the research object, constructed a domain dictionary according to the funds and keywords of the papers, and conducted topic discovery for the abstracts of the funded papers based on the LDA model. And explore the evolution trend of common keywords in highly cited papers. The results show that in the field of LIS, the social science fund has more diversified project themes than the natural science fund. Information resource construction and library management research are hot topics in the LIS discipline. With the development of The Times, topics such as information service, network public opinion, and big data gradually become the focus of research.

Employing Technology to Enable Remote Research Charrettes as a Method for Engaging Industry and Uncovering Best Practices: A Novel Approach for a Post-COVID-19 World

Methods to collect data in construction engineering and management (CEM) research are evolving, informed by recent technological advancements. One such method is research charrettes that allow effective interactions and knowledge sharing between expert industry practitioners and academic researchers, all colocated in a single venue, enabling rich data collection and live communication. A pivot point in technological evolution occurred with the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing a global shift to remote work. Hence, planned in-person research charrettes had to shift to remote sessions, relying on virtual conferencing platforms and online data collection mechanisms. Technology-enabled charrettes have allowed the authors to collect significantly richer data sets and ensure a more diverse representation of participants, while saving tremendous amounts of time. With the continuing emergence of technological applications, the world might not go back to functioning fully in person. The authors believe remote research charrettes (RRCs) will still be used in a post-COVID-19 world because of their superior performance. This paper builds on a previous publication that described traditional research charrettes as a method to enhance CEM research a decade ago; it offers a significantly updated and improved RRC method based on the knowledge gained from transitioning a dozen in-person charrettes into RRCs. It also presents performance comparisons between RRCs and traditional charrettes by quantifying metrics indicating how RRCs are more time-efficient and cost-saving, harness more participants from more diverse locations, and enable the collection of richer data sets and four times more industry comments and expert feedback. This paper also provides guidance on the integration of technology with traditional research charrettes, hence contributing to the CEM body of knowledge.

Methodology for Extended Reality–Enabled Experimental Research in Construction Engineering and Management

Extended reality (XR) technologies are increasingly being used as a novel research instrument to facilitate scientific inquires in the construction engineering and management (CEM) domain. By allowing humans to interact with immersive environments in controlled and monitored experimental settings, XR technologies have opened new opportunities for researchers to conduct CEM research involving human participants or concerning human behavior. Yet, XR-enabled research, as an independent, rigorous methodology for the CEM domain, is still underexplored. This paper serves as an effort to build an organized knowledge base and workflow for using XR technologies in various CEM research areas and methodological contexts. The paper first investigates the status quo of XR-enabled CEM research, by identifying current research areas in the CEM domain where XR technologies are considered the preferred or recommended methodological solutions. A process model for XR-enabled research is then proposed, with actionable recommendations about how XR-enabled research should be planned, designed, implemented, analyzed, verified, and validated. This process model is demonstrated with two illustrative case studies. Last, the paper discusses the philosophical, methodological, and technological roots of the evolution of XR-enabled CEM research and describes our vision of more enabling, adoptable, and value-adding XR-enabled research in CEM in the near future.

A Bibliometric Study of Industry 4.0 in Construction Industry Using Oesterreich and Teuteberg (2016) As A Key Marker

This study examines how Industry 4.0 has been discussed in the construction industry and construction management (CM) research over the past four years using Oesterreich and Teuteberg’s (2016) article as a key marker. The techniques adopted in this paper were Bibliometric analysis. Citation, co-citation, and co-occurrence analyses were applied to the articles published between 2016-2019 in the WoS database. This study concluded that most CM research themes had been impacted by Industry 4.0. Also, CM scholars, journal editors, and decision-makers have expressed significant interest in Industry 4.0. Finally, this research has focused on research themes that have been less examined by scholars and have identified areas for future research on how CM literature may benefit from Industry 4.0. Twenty-one main research themes were identified, a co-occurrence network was constructed and examined. The results indicate that there are a sufficient number of references to Industry 4.0 in the themes of management, smart factory, and digitisation. On the other hand, other themes have received less scholarly attention, such as performance, simulation, and supply chain management. Those less explored themes possibly require additional studies.

Combining decentralized decision-making and takt production in construction planning and control to increase production flow

Takt production and decentralized decision-making have been recent areas of interest in (lean) construction management research. Both have the potential to improve flow and contribute to increased production performance. Despite the interest, the efforts toward decentralization have not effectively considered the first-line workers; simultaneously, takt production studies suggest that neglection of workers’ involvement has led to implementation challenges and hampered flow. Thus, combining decentralized decision-making (including the involvement of the first-line workers) and takt production could have the potential for further improving production flow and performance. By utilizing design science research, this explorative single-case study aimed to evaluate the effect of decentralized decision-making and takt production to production flow through formulating, implementing, and validating a decentralized takt production framework. The primary data were collected from three production planning sessions and 17 semi-structured interviews, supported by site observations, resource tracking data, schedule data, cost data, and production progress reports. The framework formulation and validation were also supported by six expert workshops. The findings indicate that decentralization can be combined with takt production, aiding production flow. Good operations flow was especially aided by decentralized decision-making. These positive effects were supported by observations of improved utilization of site teams’ knowledge in planning, better commitment, communication, team-building process, and positive competition between teams. In addition, 23% duration savings were achieved in the production phase in which the framework was implemented. Also, stable resource utilization of trades was achieved. The decentralized decision-making practices were successfully implemented in the planning phase; however, the elements of decentralization were not adequately utilized in the control phase, resulting in the intended benefits not being obtained to their full potential magnitude. An extensive effort over single projects and organizations would be needed to gain all the intended benefits, while the competence to successfully operate with (decentralized) takt production increases with experience. The study makes scientific and managerial contributions to improving construction production planning and control practices and flow by exploring the combination of decentralized decision-making and takt production and by considering site teams and first-line workers’ viewpoints, which have been scarce in previous research.

Mitigating Common Method Bias in Construction Engineering and Management Research

Mitigating Common Method Bias in Construction Engineering and Management Research

EDITORIAL SCOPE – BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT EDITION

The second editorial scope of the Journal of Civil Engineering, Science, and Technology (JCEST) emphasizes one of the main disciplines of civil engineering, namely building and construction management. The continued development of management theories has continuously influenced construction project delivery practices. The knowledge gained from R&D could enhance construction management practices towards excellent performance in the delivery of built-environment projects. This brief editorial piece highlights the themes of building and construction management in the last 10 years by gathering information from the freely-accessible Scopus database and the most published area of JCEST from the perspective of common keywords found in published papers. Based on the civil, building and construction management research field, the top 10-ranked keywords were found based on Scopus database and “Construction” is the top keyword found based on the articles on building and construction management published in JCEST. The aim of this exercise is to provide a brief guide to researchers to explore the state-of-the-art knowledge in the area of building and construction management in the construction industry.