Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

The increasing commitment to safety over the last two decades has contributed to a 67% decline in recordable incident rates. The rate of fatalities, however, has recently increased. Human factors, like fatigue, strongly relate to fatalities. The prediction of fatigue would allow for an early intervention, thus mitigating safety risk. The literature suggests several potential predictors of fatigue onset; however, each of these was mainly studied in isolation, in laboratory settings, and their predictive validity in the construction industry remains unknown. The authors hypothesized that a set of measurable factors can predict construction worker fatigue. A field study of 252 US construction workers was conducted in which potential predictors and fatigue levels were assessed, and the first fatigue predictive models for construction workers were created. The models presented low to medium predictivity, demonstrating that laboratory research and results obtained from other occupations do not directly apply to the construction industry. Furthermore, fatigue predictive models showed to differ among trades. These models will serve the industry to better manage fatigue; however, further research in this area is needed.

This paper proposes an uncertain data clustering approach to quantitatively analyze the complexity of prefabricated construction components through the integration of quality performance-based measures with associated engineering design information. The proposed model is constructed in three steps, which (1) measure prefabricated construction product complexity (hereafter referred to as product complexity) by introducing a Bayesian-based nonconforming quality performance indicator, (2) score each type of product complexity by developing a Hellinger distance-based distribution similarity measurement, and (3) cluster products into homogeneous complexity groups by using the agglomerative hierarchical clustering technique. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the proposed approach, and a case study of an industrial company in Edmonton, Canada, is conducted to validate the feasibility and applicability of the proposed model. This research inventively defines and investigates product complexity from the perspective of product quality performance with design information associated. The research outcomes provide simplified, interpretable, and informative insights for practitioners to better analyze and manage product complexity. In addition to this practical contribution, a novel hierarchical clustering technique is devised. This technique is capable of clustering uncertain data (i.e., beta distributions) with lower computational complexity and has the potential to be generalized to cluster all types of uncertain data.

Building information modeling (BIM) has emerged as a pervasive and ubiquitous tool in the fields of construction and engineering. With BIM’s rise, so too has there been an explosion of research interest in BIM. Nevertheless, despite the prolific output of BIM-related publications, the cumulative theoretical and practical value of this body of research remains vague; alignment with current industry objectives and relevance to future global challenges remain unclear. This study systematically analyzes the current body of knowledge so far produced on BIM through a purely quantitative approach. Network analysis techniques are used to assess the status of research themes, cross-topic research, trends in topic concentration, and influence of outlets, as well as to map how research actors collaborate in creating knowledge on BIM. The results reveal that although 45 separate themes are closely associated with BIM literature, a further 15 relevant themes have been neglected. Moreover, much of the research is revealed to be increasingly self-referential, lacking in cross-disciplinary insights, and weak in theoretical rigor. This study contributes to the field generally, and to editorial boards of research journals in particular, by identifying the intellectual deficiencies in BIM research and skewed distribution of research output across BIM related topics, as well as priorities for future research in BIM.

This paper presents the first phase of the building information modeling (BIM) body of knowledge (BOK) research conducted by the Academic Interoperability Coalition (AiC). The AiC BIM BOK initiative identifies and examines the formation of a global BIM culture emerging from its ubiquitous adoption and implementation worldwide in the last two decades. It advocates both urgent needs and unprecedented opportunities to establish a BIM BOK to (1) develop a holistic and robust framework to capture BIM concepts, standards, best practices, and state-of-the-art innovations; (2) identify foundational knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to meet workplace BIM job task performance requirements; (3) benchmark desired learning outcomes and career-specific competency in cultivating future BIM talent; and (4) enable credible and authentic BIM education accreditation and training credentialing. This research proposes the working definition of BIM BOK as the systematically curated concepts and nomenclature, knowledge, best practices, standards, and expected outcomes pertaining to BIM and its implementation. It summarizes the literature and background review, identifies the theoretic underpinnings of the BIM BOK, and delineates a knowledge representation framework adopted by AiC to encapsulate the BIM BOK using a job task analysis (JTA) workshop. A preliminary inventory of the BIM BOK contents is also developed, which is further explored and evaluated using a rigorous three-round, consensus-building Delphi study in the next phase of the BIM BOK research. The intellectual contributions of this research include that (1) it promotes the broad awareness of an expanding global BIM culture and proposes a systematic approach, i.e., the BOK, to scientifically investigate its formation and impacts on advancing the field of BIM study; (2) it clarifies the theoretic underpinnings and justifies the practical implications of establishing the BIM BOK; (3) it creates a holistic and dynamic knowledge representation framework for comprehensive and multidimensional BIM BOK documentation across industry sectors; and (4) it lays the foundation for more comprehensive development, evaluation, and utilization of the proposed BIM BOK when evaluating building and use cases.

This paper aims to apply the building information modeling (BIM) body of knowledge (BOK) framework, established during the background, framework, and initial development phase, to determine what common knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) should be represented in the BIM BOK using a Delphi method with inputs from subject matter experts (SMEs). After three rounds of the Delphi study, a dynamic BIM BOK of 67 instances (line items) was developed and consensus was measured for each line item with importance ratings and levels of agreement (LOAs) achieved among the SMEs. The paper then plots heat maps to highlight varieties of perceived importance and consensus (i.e., calculated LOAs) of the BIM BOK line items and their distribution along different dimensions of the BIM BOK framework. The visualization aids supplied by the heat maps revealed significant trends of SMEs’ perceptions toward specific BIM competencies. Noticeably, better consensus and higher importance ratings were observed among BIM BOK line items that were associated with more seasoned professionals. Lower consensus was observed on what BIM competency young professionals were expected to develop. This disparity could be attributed to the lack of lucidity in foundational BIM education and training, and suggested gaps that needed to be filled in order to help young professionals grow into true experts. This phase of the BIM BOK research is expected to make considerable contributions to BIM curriculum and training development and competency cultivation in both academia and industry. It lays a solid foundation for standardizing baseline performance for BIM education accreditation and professional licensing and certification. These contributions are elaborated via the discussion of potential use cases of implementing the BIM BOK. The paper concludes with an outlook for future research to continuously enhance and update the BIM BOK via reinforced industry and academia partnership.

Traditionally, construction professionals have focused on time, cost, and quality tradeoffs for successful completion of public construction projects. In addition to this, no-dispute and safety criteria have also been added, but the distinguishing feature of public construction projects is the oversight mechanism. Therefore, compliance with audit regulation and transparency parameters is a must. Defenders of financial- and transparency-related regulations assert that these are necessary for fair performance and can help prevent corruption. However, their compliance is still felt to be a hindrance in the domain of public construction projects and remains a neglected area. It is hypothesized that public construction project performance is influenced by the compliance of norms, composed of transparency- and audit-related variables. This study validated the relationship between compliance of audit and transparency regulations and public construction project performance. Thereafter, the irregularities related to audit and transparency regulations were studied to develop a comprehensive list based on a questionnaire survey using the Delphi method of analysis. The findings reveal the frequently, sometimes, and seldom occurring irregularities, which, if taken care of, will help in making the project transparent and audit-compliant. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to adopt the compliance of audit and transparency norms as one of the criteria in public construction projects besides time, cost, quality, safety, and no-dispute to reduce corruption. This qualitative study from the Indian perspective can be applied to the entire public projects domain worldwide after customization of relevant items.

Hazard identification, as the first major step of risk management, is a crucial activity for reducing accidents and other related losses. However, recent research has revealed that a large proportion of workplace hazards remain unidentified, and the identification process is also time consuming. To improve workplace hazard identification performance, an associated hazard prediction method is proposed which consists of an equivalence class transformation (Eclat) algorithm, a change mining algorithm, data visualization, and other data mining techniques. Through the data mining of historical hazard information, the method can extract association rules and changes related to an identified hazard and then predict other associated hazard information, including types, probabilities, and change trends, to assist with hazard identification and management. The function of the method is twofold. Firstly, associated hazard information can be predicted to help superintendents enhance the pertinence of identification, and then the problem of incomplete hazard identification can be solved. Secondly, with the help of the data visualization technique, superintendents can intuitively understand the potential relationship between hazards and obtain more valuable information to identify and control hazards early, thus improving efficiency. Case studies of standardized management of Chinese enterprise workplaces are presented. The case studies show that up to 47.37% of the hazards can be predicted, and the efficiency is increased by an average of 31.53%.

A building façade is affected by the environment as well as the physical performances of the building-materials at every stage of the building’s life cycle. Although a number of studies have been conducted to overcome the nonsustainable conditions of building façade, they mostly focus on cost-based design. Accordingly, previous studies did not incorporate critical issues such as the durability of building façade at the design stage; therefore, a process for the selection of optimal façade materials is needed, with a particular consideration of durability, as well as the functional and economic performances of the materials. The aim of this study is therefore the development of the corresponding decision-making process for the selection of façade materials to minimize the potential defects at the design stage. The case study reveals that the priority of the material options for building façade can be changed if minimum 30% weighting of the durability for each option is reflected on the decision-making process. The research contribution here is the incorporation of a value-based decision-making process during the selection of optimal façade materials for sustainability.

Trust and formal control are two typical project governance modes used to manage contractor opportunistic behavior in owner-contractor relationships for construction projects. However, the question of what affects the owner’s choice of the two project governance modes remains unclear. This study applies regulatory focus theory to describe owner motivation orientation and tolerance of opportunistic behavior to represent the owner’s attitude to the contractor’s opportunistic behavior. In doing so, it reveals the role of owners’ regulatory focus and their tolerance of contractor opportunistic behavior on their choices between trust and formal control. The questionnaire data were analyzed with partial-least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to verify the theoretical hypotheses. The results show that owners’ tolerance of opportunistic behavior can affect their choices between trust and formal control. That is, the higher the tolerance level of contractor opportunistic behavior, the more likely the owner will choose trust to relieve contractor opportunistic behavior, conversely, an owner with a lower tolerance level of contractor opportunistic behavior exhibits a stronger propensity to use formal control. In addition, the promotion focus of owners can increase their tolerance levels of contractor opportunistic behavior, but their prevention focus does not have a significant effect on such a tolerance level. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by empirically confirming that owners’ inherent characteristics (motivation orientations and attitudes) play a significant role in predicting their choices of different project governance modes. The findings can help owners to understand their own motivation orientations and preference concerning project governance modes as well as those of contractors so as to wisely and rationally use the governance modes under various circumstances.

Collaborative approaches to infrastructure procurement are increasingly popular around the world due to their potential to provide improved project performance compared with more traditional approaches. The problem is that project outcomes continue to be unpredictable. Previous research has shown that this is the case regardless of whether the chosen procurement approach is based on price or nonprice selection of the project team. This is a major choice that clients make, but the presented research shows that governance choices for project execution are more important. This is significant because clients tend to focus more on procurement choices and typically do not differentiate governance based on those choices. This needs to change, and the authors show that optimal governance configurations vary on the basis of the chosen type of team configuration. For example, three specific governance arrangements for workshops are highlighted for single teams, and two specific governance arrangements for risk/reward sharing are highlighted for multiple teams. This study identifies governance actions that are associated with superior time and cost outcomes on collaborative infrastructure projects in Australia run by experienced public-sector clients under the two procurement scenarios. Based on a survey of 320 senior managers, independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare the application of governance actions among three distinct groups of projects, based on type of team selection and type of project outcome. The study provides evidence of the most effective approaches to project governance in a country that is a world leader. The results provide much needed recommendations for improved project performance based on large-scale quantitative analysis, which before now has not existed. Overall, the study recommends more attention be paid to noncontractual governance under both approaches to team selection, although the specific actions recommended vary.

Temporary structures are essential to support various activities of a construction project. Proper utilization of temporary structures can have a significant influence on critical aspects of the project such as cost, productivity, and safety. However, a process of planning temporary structures still relies on labor-intensive and error-prone efforts based on implicit knowledge of workers. Moreover, temporary structures are planned without detailed spatiotemporal analysis of their implications and systemized approach to safety. This tendency may yield the inefficient employment of temporary structures and unsafe job sites. Lack of systemized approach for identifying hazards related to the temporary structure would result in not only an economic loss but also fatalities and injuries. This paper introduces a building information model- (BIM-) based decision support system that provides safety plans for temporary structures considering their costs and durations. Focusing on scaffolding, the system automatically generates multiple scaffolding plans and quantitatively evaluates them regarding safety, cost, and duration. By analyzing project-specific spatiotemporal information to identify relevant hazards and variations of cost and duration, a specific plan for utilizing scaffolds, which is the most appropriate regarding safety, cost, and duration, is selected among the generated plans. The developed system was implemented using a BIM software tool and validated with an in-depth case study on a real-world construction project. This can be utilized as a decision-support system that enables the users to develop a plan with minimized safety hazards related to scaffolding while considering workflow, cost, and duration at the same time.

Falls from bridge decks are a common issue among highway and bridge maintenance workers. These workers generally rely on existing bridge guardrails for their protection against falls when working on bridge decks. Unfortunately, a large number of bridge guardrails do not provide the required barrier height of $107\pm 8\mathrm{cm}$ ($42\pm 3\mathrm{in.}$) for sufficient protection. To overcome this issue, a few departments of transportation (DOTs) have recently begun installing Fall Protection Supplementary Devices (FPSDs) on bridge guardrails—to temporarily increase the overall barrier height during work. However, many manufactured and marketed FPSDs are not compatible—or do not firmly attach onto every bridge guardrail. Therefore, workers are often tasked with assessing the compatibility of FPSDs with particular bridge guardrails before initiating work. Traditionally, this has been performed using an inefficient trial-and-error based approach—where potential FPSDs are procured, transported, and iteratively tested with a number of bridge guardrails. Apart from this inefficient testing procedure, current literature does not offer any guidance on the selection of efficient FPSDs based on the advantages they offer. Therefore, compatible FPSD systems that are not optimal for work efficiency, productivity, and safety are commonly adopted in practice. To resolve these challenges, the current research focused on identifying compatible FPSDs—that offer the most advantages—for 12 bridge guardrails that appear across 11,000 bridges in North Carolina. The study objectives were accomplished by (1) building virtual prototypes of existing bridge guardrails and FPSD systems and assessing compatibility in a virtual setting; (2) identifying desirable FPSD characteristics that can lead to improvements in work-efficiency, productivity, and safety (i.e., advantages); and (3) evaluating potential FPSD systems for each guardrail using the structured Choosing by Advantages (CBA) method—to identify FPSD systems that offer the most important set of advantages. The study addresses a nationwide safety issue experienced by all transportation agencies in the United States and beyond. It is expected that the findings will encourage more DOTs to adopt efficient fall protection measures and systems to protect their workforce.

This work proposes a deterministic and a probabilistic constructive heuristic for solving the project scheduling resource availability cost problem with tardiness (RACPT), as well as a new mixed integer mathematical formulation with disjunctive constraints and time modeled as a continuous variable. Despite its practical relevance, solution methods to solve this problem are scarce in the literature. The proposed algorithms combine the flexibility of an activity with the flexibility of a resource to select the next activity to be scheduled. Several priority rules from the literature were tested, and the best heuristic was selected. The proposed heuristics’ performances were compared with the mathematical formulation solved by an optimization software within a time limit, and the probabilistic constructive heuristic found optimal and near-optimal solutions for small instances. For medium and large instances, it obtained better results than the optimization model in about 20 times lower computational time. The heuristic was also compared with existing solution methods and was applied to a construction practical example, with good overall performance.

This paper presents a vector error correction (VEC) model for use in forecasting the short- and long-term prices of construction materials. This model characterizes the relationship between construction material prices and a set of relevant explanatory variables. The use of VEC models to forecast construction material prices addresses a gap in the existing literature that stems from overlooking the importance of forecasting both the short- and long-term movements of individual construction materials. The proposed model is applied to produce forecast models for asphalt, steel, and cement prices in the United States based on the identified variables that govern the prices of each material. Practitioners can use the proposed model to forecast construction material prices. The derived insights can be used to enhance the chances of project success.

This paper provides a solution to the covering of spaces in buildings by substituting masonry vaults comprising voussoirs for traditional horizontal slabs. They are made of precast concrete with cement mortar joints. They are intended for covers with maintenance loads but without live loads and their function is to create a singular vaulted interior space. The vaults must be supported by a vertical auxiliary traditional structure, such as a plane frame of beams and pillars made of reinforced concrete, or by masonry walls. The horizontal reaction forces have to be borne by steel braces or buttresses. The basic geometry is standardized by a span of 6 m, with a rise in the key of 0.80 m and a constant vault thickness of 0.28 m. The curvature of the arch is achieved by the modification of the thickness of the mortar joints; spans of 3–6 m, with different rises of the arch, can be easily obtained. The main aim of this research is the reintroduction of arches and vaults as structural elements in present day architecture, which have the added advantage of not needing the addition of steel; this eliminates the risk of steel corrosion. The use of these techniques can also provide an easy way to construct homes in developing countries that lack adequate resources and tools. The solution aims toward more sustainable construction and is specifically designed for new buildings; however, it can also be used in building rehabilitation cases.

As temporary structures, scaffolds have essential roles to hold workers, materials, and equipment throughout construction activities. However, because a safety inspection for scaffolds is primarily visual and labor intensive, the OSHA standards related to scaffolds are frequently violated. Improper management of scaffolds has caused scaffolding collapses that have a potentially detrimental effect and liability on workers’ lives. This paper discusses the significance of scaffolding collapses and explores a method to perform scaffolding monitoring. To establish an integrated method, this research cross-connects various components (e.g., strain data, finite element model (FEM)-based structural analysis, machine learning, and an actual scaffold) in the presented framework. More specifically, this framework for a smart monitoring system is involved with: (1) developing a wireless strain sensing module for data collection, (2) modeling an FEM and learning data for failure mechanisms through FEM to characterize scaffold behaviors under certain loading conditions, and (3) investigating a machine-learning algorithm (i.e., support vector machine) for decision making. The FEM simulation analyzes a scaffolding to calculate strain values for each scaffolding column from randomly generated 1,200 load cases. Load-related strain data form training and testing sets for the machine-learning algorithm that enables the distinguishing of scaffolding conditions such as safe, over-turning, uneven-settlement, and over-loading conditions. In the experimental validation, the developed wireless strain sensing modules perform the real-time strain measurement and the machine-learning algorithm to successfully estimate the status of the scaffolding structure with 97.66% accuracy on average. The proposed method could escalate a monitoring paradigm for temporary structures from a labor-intensive manual inspection to a systematic real-time approach.

This paper aims to develop a novel, data-driven simulation model to quantitatively assist decision support systems in quality-induced rework cost estimation and control for construction product fabrication. At the core of the model is a specialized absorbing Markov chain, which stochastically models the construction product fabrication process while considering quality-induced rework uncertainty. The model parameters are dynamically updated using real-time quality management and cost management information to achieve more accurate and reliable simulation outputs. Furthermore, two types of decision-support metrics are developed to support rework cost management processes, namely (1) rework cost estimation during the project planning phase, and (2) rework cost control during the project execution phase. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the functionalities of the model and the implementation of the decision-support metrics. Finally, the proposed approach is integrated into the previously developed simulation-based analytics framework and implemented by an industrial pipe fabrication company in Edmonton, Canada. The presented case study demonstrates the applicability and feasibility of the proposed approach to industrial pipe welding processes.

This study’s objective was to evaluate the status of building information modelling (BIM) implementation within the Dutch construction industry by means of a developed BIM maturity tool that could be applied within the construction industry’s various disciplines. Existing BIM maturity models tend to focus on technological aspects and have often been developed for specific disciplines. This paper first describes the development of a maturity model that enables the assessment of both technological and organizational aspects of BIM and enables comparison of all the disciplines in the construction supply chain. Second, the applicability of the proposed BIM maturity model is explored by using the model in in-depth interviews at 53 Dutch firms that represent the various disciplines within the construction industry. The output of the testing of the BIM maturity model shed light on the current implementation status of individual companies and, when aggregated, of the subsectors present. The latter information is valuable for sectoral associations because it identifies differences and similarities in BIM implementation across subsectors. The main finding is of strong strategic support for BIM among the leading companies evaluated. However, the formalization of BIM-related processes, tasks, and responsibilities is lagging behind BIM developments. Notably, respondents emphasized aspects related to people and culture when it came to implementing BIM, with awareness, education, and training regarded as essential elements in stimulating BIM maturity growth. Based on these findings, priorities have been identified to stimulate the BIM implementation process that can be included in sector-specific or industry-wide policies.

While many studies have identified contractual conflicts as a major cause of construction delays in international construction projects, their underlying causes have been rarely explored. The current study attempts to contribute to knowledge that could help minimize international construction project delays through an examination of contractual conflicts. Through qualitative analyses of interviews with 33 practitioners involved in large-scale international construction projects in Vietnam, this study has extracted 19 causal factors of recurring contractual conflicts falling under six categories. The causal factors have been adapted into a causality diagram that serve as a tool for mapping the sequential development and investigating the root causes of contractual conflicts in international construction project cases. The causality diagram is applied to five case studies in Vietnam, a country of which relatively few case studies on the construction sector can be found in the literature. Two case studies clarify how causality chains that develop into contractual conflicts are initiated by the following root causes: (1) low levels of political support; (2) low levels of international project management experience by the owner; (3) low utilization of relational-approaches; and (4) inadequate contract clarifications performed during the precontract period. Three project cases that have avoided contractual conflicts are then presented, along with descriptions of how one or more of the root causes were addressed in each project.