Survey Of Construction Professionals Research Articles

Comparing 5D BIM costs: stilt housing against conventional housing for flood management

Purpose Sustainable and resilient infrastructure projects aim to reduce flooding impacts and improve community adaptability. For instance, flood-resistant stilts elevate structures, mitigating flood damage. Comprehensive consideration is crucial when adding elements to housing projects, incurring costs for all involved parties. This study aims to assess the viability of concrete stilts for cost-effective flood mitigation in Malaysian terrace housing. Design/methodology/approach The study evaluates cost implications through a comparative 5D building information modeling (BIM) cost analysis of stilted and conventional (standard) housing models. This assesses the percentage increase in total cost. Furthermore, a survey of construction professionals was undertaken. The study used online convenience and stratified sampling techniques. Out of the 222 emails that were sent, 27 construction professionals located in Johor, Sabah and Selangor within Malaysia participated in the research survey. Their perspectives on stilt housing prospects and factors for costing such structures were analyzed through a descriptive analysis using SPSS. Findings The case study models revealed that the incorporation of stilts could lead to a 21.64% increase in the overall cost per unit. This cost increase was primarily attributed to the additional reinforcement required. However, the survey findings highlighted that a majority of construction professionals perceived the cost increment to fall within the range of 10%–20%. Consequently, it becomes imperative to meticulously consider cost factors such as foundational requirements, staircases, and the extended construction duration to effectively curtail expenditures. The prospect of heightened costs potentially posing a threat to profit margins and discouraging developers necessitates careful financial management. Notwithstanding these challenges, the survey's insights underscored that professionals in the construction industry indeed recognize the potential of stilt technology in the realm of flood mitigation and management, particularly within housing projects. Practical implications This research has significant practical implications. It provides a precise financial contrast between housing categories using 5D BIM and incorporates construction experts’ viewpoints on raised housing. Enhanced design considerations for raised housing can make it economically viable, offering a cost-effective, nature-based approach to flood mitigation. This approach can bring substantial benefits to residents by reducing flood-related damages and enhancing community resilience. Originality/value One of the notable aspects of this research is its originality. It uses a dual quantitative methodology involving modeling and survey techniques to address its objectives effectively. This approach contributes significantly to the relatively limited body of research focused on stilt housing and the application of 5D BIM. By combining these methodologies, the study explores a relatively uncharted area, making a valuable contribution to the field.

Animal and plant images in corporate marketing communications are ecosystem services that should be paid for

Animal and plant images are omnipresent in corporate marketing communications. In this short communication, we posit that this is an ecosystem service belonging to the “spiritual, symbolic and other interactions with natural environment,” irrespective of the beneficiary’s presence in the environmental setting. Using a case study of a large Polish producer of building materials that features a white stork in its marketing (advertising, packaging etc.), and a survey of construction professionals, we suggest that this company should actually pay back to white stork conservation. Such a scheme could follow the logic of payments for ecosystem services, and it is in line with previous calls for various species or wildlife royalties. We discuss the context of creating such payments, along with their key advantages and challenges. Ultimately, similar arguments could be made about the use of natural imagery in general.

Making a case for 3D printing for housing delivery in South Africa

PurposeConsidering the need for standard and cost-effective housing delivery in South Africa, this study aims to make a case for three-dimensional (3D) printing in housing delivery through an assessment of the inherent benefits and the factors that could acts as barriers to its adoption.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a survey of construction professionals currently actively involved in a construction project in the country. Analysis of data gathered was done using a four-step analysis approach and relevant descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted.FindingsThe study revealed through factor analysis that 3D printing in housing delivery promises better cost delivery, increased productivity and stakeholder satisfaction, socio-economic benefits, improved quality and faster housing delivery. While these benefits exist, factors such as technical and operational issues of the 3D printing itself, organizational and personnel issues as well as lack of awareness of the inherent benefits and understanding of the technology among stakeholders can prove to be barriers to the adoption of the technology.Practical implicationsIn the quest to achieve standard and affordable housing which is part of its National Development Plan 2030, the government can adopt 3D printing which promises significant benefits in terms of cost, time, quality, productivity and stakeholders’ satisfaction. Property developers can also adopt the technology to improve their housing delivery, competitive advantage and the economic value of their properties.Originality/valueThe study contributes significantly to the body of knowledge as it reveals the benefits and barriers of adopting 3D printing in housing delivery in South Africa – an aspect that has not gained significant attention in the fourth industrial revolution and housing delivery discuss in the country.

Construction sector views on low carbon building materials

As is the case in a number of countries, the UK construction industry faces the challenge of expanding production whilst making ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions. Embodied carbon constitutes a growing proportion of whole-life carbon emissions and accounts for a significant share of total UK emissions. A key mitigation strategy is increasing the use of alternative materials with lower embodied carbon. The economic, technical, practical and cultural barriers to the uptake of these alternatives are explored through a survey of construction professionals and interviews with industry leaders. Perceptions of high cost, ineffective allocation of responsibility, industry culture, and the poor availability of product and building-level carbon data and benchmarks constitute significant barriers. Opportunities to overcome these barriers include earlier engagement of professionals along the supply chain, effective use of whole-life costing, and changes to contract and tender documents. A mounting business case exists for addressing embodied carbon, but has yet to be effectively disseminated. In the meantime, the moral convictions of individual clients and practitioners have driven early progress. However, this research underscores the need for new regulatory drivers to complement changing attitudes if embodied carbon is to be established as a mainstream construction industry concern.

A framework to improve construction processes: Integrating Lean, Green and Six Sigma

The construction industry consumes a significant amount of resources annually, generates significant waste and produces a host of emissions. This study develops a framework and integrates three different approaches – Lean, Green and Six Sigma – in a systematic approach with the goal of improving the quality and environmental impacts of the construction process. A case study of pile cap installation was conducted to illustrate the application of the framework and associated results. The study highlights two issues within the pile cap construction process responsible for waste: delay and potential errors in material estimation and ordering. It describes the environmental impact arising from waste, and analyzes the root causes behind waste generation to enable improved process performance. A survey of construction professionals regarding the causal factors of waste in everyday construction activities identified ‘design changes during construction’ as responsible for 60% of waste occurrences during construction and thus confirm results from the literature. In conclusion, the Lean–Green–Six Sigma framework offers a comprehensive, multi-stage approach for process improvement and minimization of life cycle environmental impacts.

Slow Adoption of PPPs in Developing Countries: Survey of Nigerian Construction Professionals

The growth and development of any nation is greatly dependent on the availability of basic public infrastructure and services. The public Private Partnerships (PPP) has been in use for almost two decades helping developed countries improve their infrastructure stock to achieve their economic goals. Despite the link between infrastructure availability and economic growth, developing countries are yet to achieve adequate infrastructure provision to assist their quest for economic growth. Therefore, this study set out to determine the reasons for the slow adoption of the PPP procurement strategy in Nigeria through a survey of construction professionals. It was found that corruption in government was the major problem. Factor analysis further revealed five factors namely Government policy on infrastructure, Lack of consensus among policy makers, Political instability, Lack of understanding of the PPP concept, and High participation costs.

Builders' Perceptions of Lowest Cost Procurement and Its Impact on Quality

to the degree to which it meets the customer’s needs andexpectations. Dissatisfaction with the quality of building projectshas been widely reported in recent times. There are indicationsthat there may be some relationship between the procurementmethod used and customer satisfaction with the delivered product.In particular, traditional competitive bid contracting may havean adverse impact on quality in some circumstances. To shedsome light on reported industry attitudes, a survey of constructionprofessionals in the Sydney metropolitan area was undertaken.The respondents demonstrate mixed views on the effectivenessof the competitive tender system on quality project outcomes. Tosome extent contractors’ attitudes may be determined by theirpreferred current mode of operation. However, some supportis expressed for the contention that quality of outcome can bereduced by an overly cost driven contractor selection process. Inparticular, when economic pressures cause bidders to reduce thetime allocated for the tender process, an inaccurate and unreliablebid may win. This makes it very diffi cult for the reliable contractorto remain profi table. A move to value-based rather than cost-basedprocurement may assist industry performance and customersatisfaction.

Predicting Cost Deviation in Reconstruction Projects: Artificial Neural Networks versus Regression

This paper investigates the challenging environment of reconstruction projects and describes the development of a predictive model of cost deviation in such high-risk projects. Based on a survey of construction professionals, information was obtained on the reasons behind cost overruns and poor quality from 50 reconstruction projects. For each project, the specific techniques used for project control were reported along with the actual cost deviation from planned values. Two indicators of cost deviation are used in this study: cost overrun to the owner, and the cost of rework to the contractor. Based on the information obtained, 36 factors were identified as having direct impact on the cost performance of reconstruction projects. Two techniques were then used to develop models for predicting cost deviation: statistical analysis, and artificial neural networks (ANNs). While both models had similar accuracy, the ANN model is more sensitive to a larger number of variables. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of the reasons for cost deviation in reconstruction projects and provides a decision support tool to quantify that deviation.