Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

Sustainable development has become one of the major objectives in building and operating healthcare facilities, as they exert a major impact on the environment and society. It is also critically important for modern healthcare facilities to adapt to an aging population, rapid technology upgrades, and the increasing demand for quality health care. In this background, sustainable healthcare facilities (SHFs) have attracted growing attention from researchers in the past decade. However, there has not been a clear scope of SHFs, which undermines the theoretical foundation of SHFs evaluation. This study identifies, aggregates, and analyzes the existing body of knowledge to address such issue. We attempted to reveal the dimensions of sustainability in the context of healthcare facilities, the links among the dimensions of sustainability, and the framework of SHFs themes based on a systematic scoping review. A four-dimensional model of sustainability was discussed and a framework of SHFs themes is proposed, consisting of core business, supporting service, and organizational environment layers. We suggest future research to focus more on the core business and organizational environment layers and the links among the different attributes of sustainability in the SHFs field.

The construction industry is among the most hazardous occupations. Workers are expected to fulfill physically and mentally demanding tasks in construction environments while they are exposed to numerous safety hazards. The dynamic and demanding nature of construction activities makes workers vulnerable to experience levels of fatigue on a daily basis. Fatigue is ubiquitous among construction workers and has been frequently cited as an underlying cause of the accidents. Despite the high rates of accidents in construction, research has shown that most of them can be prevented if workers identify hazards and perceive the associated safety risks. However, the impact of fatigue on the two leading safety indicators (i.e., hazard recognition and safety risk perception) has not been empirically studied before in the construction industry context. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by investigating the impact of fatigue on construction workers’ hazard recognition and safety risk perception. To achieve the research goals, 135 construction workers were recruited to participate in the study. A validated safety instrument and three subjective fatigue assessment scales were used to measure safety performance and fatigue levels of the participants, respectively. The analysis of the data showed statistically significant correlation ($p\text{-}\text{value}<0.001$) between fatigue and hazard recognition ($r_p=-0.58$) and fatigue and safety risk perception ($r_p=-0.51$). Linear regressions associated 37% of the variability in hazard recognition and 28% of safety risk perception with elements of fatigue. The findings revealed that among all aspects of fatigue, intershift recovery and acute fatigue have the most profound impacts on the safety performance of workers. A novel model was developed and tested to explain how construction workers’ safety performance (i.e., hazard recognition and safety risk perception) are impacted by elements of fatigue. This study offers practical recommendations for construction professionals and practitioners to control and mitigate the undesirable influences of fatigue on workers. These recommendations are presented as the hierarchy of fatigue interventions in the order of most effective to the least effective including (1) Elimination, (2) Substitution, (3) Engineering Solutions, (4) Administrative Interventions, and (5) Personal Assistive Equipment (PAE).

The traditional resource-constrained project scheduling problem makes the amounts of resource input fixed and ignores the joint effect of multiple time constraints, which may lead to the failure of traditional algorithms. This paper introduces a new practical problem called the resource input optimization problem with combined time constraints (RIOP/CTC), which studies the influence of resource input schemes. The new problem combines three types of time constraints, including precedence relations, resource calendars, and interruptability for the first time, which makes it closer to the actual scheduling problem. We propose a new network diagram called node network diagram and develop an optimization model based on constraint programming (CP) and the technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS). A three-step guideline and an actual project case are provided for schedulers to help them better use the model to solve RIOP/CTC, which also proves the validity of the model. Computational experiments are carried out to show that the CP optimizer is superior to the three common metaheuristic algorithms in solving quality and speed and can provide a near-optimum solution for large-scale scheduling problems in an acceptable time. The proposed model contributes to improving the practical decision system to support the formulation of real-life project resource input schemes, scheduling plans, and employee work plans.

The construction sector exerts great pressure on natural resources, and its role in the transition to a circular economy (CE) is fundamental. Despite the growing prominence of circular business models (CBMs), based on strategies of slowing and closing resource flows, there is uncertainty with regard to how to implement them in the construction sector. This study analyzed how the construction sector approaches business models (BMs) to achieve sustainable buildings. Through a systematic literature review, 89 articles were analyzed to (1) explore how the sector is implementing circular strategies; and (2) verify how these strategies are distributed in the BMs described in the literature. The review showed that CBMs are concentrated in clusters, with a focus on energy efficiency strategies and the search for more information and understanding of circular actions in the sector. From the results, a model for value creation and a framework were created to facilitate CBM implementation. The model is a roadmap for embedding the process of innovation and value creation in CBMs. The framework relates CBMs to the building life cycle, aiming to introduce circular principles into policies, actions, and value chains. This study contributes to innovation and value creation, associating BMs with the circular principle of closing the cycles of materials and systems in the construction sector.

All over Europe, the management of bridge integrity is carried out primarily through inspections that allow collecting information about the condition of bridges and support decisions about remedial interventions. Different approaches to bridge inspection have been developed among different states. The adoption of harmonized regulation and standards on bridge inspections at the European level would greatly benefit the efficiency of transport infrastructure. Several comparative studies have been conducted in the literature on inspection procedures in different European countries; however, most of them are incomplete due to lack of information or inaccessibility of sources. In this paper, a wide-ranging review of bridge inspection practices carried out in several European countries is provided. The novel contribution of this paper concerns the definition of a framework to classify and assess different bridge inspection procedures entailing the definition of different indicators relating to different aspects of the quality of data, specifically: completeness, timeliness, correctness related to human and technical factors, and level of data processing.

Many developing countries (DCs) are currently spending on construction projects due to the high demand resulting from rapid urbanization. However, the results of these projects in terms of time, cost, and quality do not tend to meet the expectations of the stakeholders. Despite the relevance and high visibility of this situation in many DCs, this topic has received little research attention. This study examines the combined effect of six factors that are commonly signaled in the project management literature as determinants of successful project management in construction projects. Our ultimate goal is to identify the extent to which traditional factors play a role in project management in DCs because recent studies have highlighted the uniqueness of project management in these countries, therefore requiring specific analysis within this context. To empirically address this goal, we rely on an ad-hoc survey that collected the responses from 120 project management practitioners in Ghana. First, building upon existing works, we construct and validate a scale that evaluates project management practices in DCs. Next, we use qualitative comparative analysis to scrutinize which combinations of the aforementioned six factors lead to successful project management in construction projects. The findings support the initial intuition about the existence of distinct pathways, suggesting that there is no unique formula, but that different situations (i.e., combinations of factors) might require the adoption of diverse project management practices. The primary contribution of this research stems from adding to the project management body of knowledge the understanding of how a combination of factors can assist construction engineers and project managers to plan and implement successful construction projects in DCs.

Public supports for mitigating revenue risk in public–private partnership (PPP) projects are used for attracting private financing for public infrastructure. The difficult assessment of impacts that these supports may have on PPP projects may lead to choosing a nonoptimal form of guarantee. The intrinsic PPP project characteristic of partnerships among different actors lasting a long period imposes the simultaneous achievement of competing objectives and a greater transparency in risk allocation. This paper proposes a structured model for assessing and benchmarking the impact of different public supports released to mitigate revenue risk in PPP projects, from the standpoints of the private and public actors, for choosing the public support that better ensures the achievement of a win–win condition. First, we quantify the net benefit gained by each party under three support instruments, namely the minimum revenue guarantee (MRG), least present value of revenue (LPVR), and price cap (PC), by identifying the condition of satisfaction of the involved actors and analyzing the probability that such condition is not achieved for each party. Then, by applying the Monte Carlo simulation, we benchmark and choose the public support that ensures compliance with the win–win condition. We use two case studies to apply the model and a plan of experiments for investigating how the choice of the optimal form of public subsidy for revenue risk mitigation may change based on contextual factors and project characteristics. The results reveal that public supports are not beneficial to all parties, since they generate, under different conditions, unequal net economic benefits for the two parties and/or unfair risk allocation. The results of the sensitivity analysis show that the win–win condition achievement, in terms of actors’ performance and risk allocation, depends on the characteristics of the project and of public supports. The findings of the study emphasize the importance of the accurate selection of the form of public support before its releasement in order to ensure a successful PPP.

Innovation capability is an important factor to strengthen the market competitiveness of enterprises of the construction supply chain. This study aims to explore the impact of collaborative innovation activities and building information modeling (BIM) application on innovation capability in the construction supply chain and the role of explicit and tacit knowledge sharing in their relationship. The study quantitatively evaluates the relationships among collaborative innovation activities, BIM application, explicit and tacit knowledge sharing, and innovation capability using structural equation modeling with survey data from 210 construction enterprises. The results show that collaborative innovation activities did not directly affect innovation capability but did so indirectly via tacit knowledge sharing. BIM application had a positive impact on explicit knowledge sharing and innovation capability and had no significant impact on tacit knowledge sharing. Tacit knowledge sharing played mediating role between BIM application and innovation capability, and explicit knowledge sharing played mediating role between BIM application and tacit knowledge sharing. This study provides a theoretical basis for the research of innovation management from the perspective of knowledge sharing. Moreover, this study is conducive to improving the implementation strategy of BIM application and collaborative innovation activities.

When subjected to traffic loading, one response mechanism of a pavement structure is to endure surface deflections. These surface deflections are a quantitative function of the pavement’s integrity and are often used for pavement structural condition and performance evaluation. In this paper, the principal component analysis (PCA) method was utilized to model the pavement surface deflections as a function of wheel load, wheel speed, number of load cycles, and temperature under accelerated pavement testing (APT) using the MLS30 device. The APT test site comprised typical flexible pavement structures with an asphalt surfacing layer, a base, and a subbase resting on the subgrade. The scope of work included indoor APT trafficking with the MLS30, surface deflection measurements, PCA model formulation, and data analysis. Among the surface deflection basin parameters evaluated, the maximum deflection and area factor exhibited the best correlation with temperature, registering a coefficient of correlation exceeding 90%. Overall, the study contributes to the literature enrichment through substantiation of the PCA as a potential analytical method for simulating and modeling the pavement surface deflections under moving wheel loads and fluctuating temperature conditions.

An asphalt mixture is a heterogeneous material composed of coarse/fine aggregate, asphalt, and admixtures. The damage of asphalt mixtures under vehicle load is closely related to the movement law of various materials. In order to study the mechanical response of each structural layer of asphalt pavement and the movement velocity of particles in the upper layer under vehicle load, the vehicle–road coupling model was established in this paper using commercially available software. The dynamic force of the tire is obtained in the model. Then, in the discrete-element software, a three-dimensional discrete-element model of asphalt pavement with random distribution of coarse aggregate is constructed according to the material gradation and porosity. Finally, the dynamic force of the tire is loaded into the discrete metamodel by means of moving load. The dynamic response of each structure layer and the moving speed of particles of the asphalt pavement can be solved under the action of vehicle load. The results show that the vertical displacement response of each pavement structure layer is solved by the discrete-element method, and the trend is similar by comparing its vertical displacement curve with the curve obtained by the finite-element method. The difference between the two is 8.9%, which indicates that it is feasible to use the discrete-element method to establish the pavement model in this paper. The following data are obtained by the discrete-element method: as the depth of the pavement structure layer increases, the vertical displacement continues to decrease, and the vertical displacement above the base layer accounts for 75% of the total displacement. The pavement bears both compressive stress and tensile stress in the horizontal and vertical directions. The largest transverse and longitudinal compressive stresses appear in the upper layer, but the largest transverse and longitudinal tensile stresses appear in the middle layer. When the vehicle load crosses the measuring point, the shear stress changes in both ${\tau }_{xz}$ and ${\tau }_{xy}$ directions, but does not change in the ${\tau }_{yz}$ direction. At the beginning and end of the vehicle, the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical velocities of the upper-layer particles change dramatically. In the process of stable vehicle running, the velocity value of particles in each structural layer is small. The transverse and vertical velocity curves of particles are arranged in an antisymmetric way, whereas the longitudinal velocity curves of particles are symmetric. To sum up, under the action of vehicle load, the movement of particles in each structural layer of asphalt pavement has certain rules. The movement behavior of particles will damage the asphalt pavement to a certain extent.

Due to the dynamics of changing construction-related entities at construction sites and the hazardous work environment, safety accidents occur frequently, especially falls from heights. The current practice of fall risk assessment for construction workers, which mainly relies on manual observation by safety experts, is a static risk assessment that is time-consuming and laborious. A proactive, dynamic risk assessment framework is urgently needed to address this issue. In this work, computer vision has been combined with dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) to propose a dynamic risk assessment framework. The aim of the proposed framework is to improve the efficiency of risk assessment and reduce fall risk by automatically detecting onsite risk factor information. The proposed framework was tested using the activity of climbing ladders as a case study. The results show that the proposed dynamic fall risk assessment framework is feasible. It can be used to dynamically assess the fall risk of workers by automatically detecting the states of fall risk factors and capturing dynamic changes among the risk factors. The framework also includes a method of sending targeted early warnings to workers while assessing their risk levels, reducing the possibility of falls.

The digital transformation in the construction industry affects how information is exchanged and disrupts the way construction sites operate. The levels of operational technology (OT) to control and monitor site activities by utilizing robotic, autonomous, and remotely controlled machines raise cybersecurity concerns. As construction sites are places where humans and machines work together, the potential safety outcomes of cybersecurity vulnerabilities are magnified. This study’s motivation was to understand the current state of the art and identify gaps to suggest future directions regarding OT in construction from the cybersecurity perspective. To achieve that, a bibliometric analysis was conducted. The analysis utilized the Scopus database to retrieve related publications and VOSviewer version 1.6.15 software to visualize bibliometric networks. Main research themes were identified, and each theme was reviewed from a cybersecurity perspective. The limitations of the analysis include the lack of industry-based categorization, the domination of publications focusing on the cybersecurity of industrial control systems (ICSs), and the set of keyword combinations used for the literature search that could be expanded to cover a broader range of research topics. The findings reveal the lack of focus on the construction phase in the construction cybersecurity research. Moreover, cybersecurity aspects are absent in the construction automation studies, and there is a need for bespoke threat modeling and intrusion detection systems for all the phases of construction projects. Suggestions for further research on the potential threats against the construction phase are provided. Future directions include possible adaptations of the available cybersecurity frameworks considering the utilization of OT on construction sites and investigating the methods to evaluate security levels on construction sites and countermeasures against cyberattacks.

As a matter of course, the private party in public–private partnerships (PPPs) assumes the responsibility for roadway safety management (RSM). However, because most PPPs are performance-based, public highway agencies must articulate the specifications and methods they develop to enforce RSM practices. Despite the increased interest in PPPs in recent decades, little has been published on developing and propagating the RSM practices used with this delivery system. To fill this research gap and explore RSM practices in PPPs, this work took a synthesis research approach, using content analysis to critically review and analyze 16 PPP agreements in seven states and provinces leading in PPP contracting in North America. The study discovered several methods and organized them under five mechanisms: Mechanism 1, integrating roadway safety into project performance specifications and initiating new tools such as safety compliance orders; Mechanism 2, imposing nonconformance monetary deductions based on point and classification systems; Mechanism 3, regulating safety payments on the basis of crash statistics; Mechanism 4, promoting safety initiative programs; and Mechanism 5, enforcing administrative countermeasures such as work suspension and default/termination triggers for persistent developer noncompliance. Mechanisms 1 and 5 were the default mechanisms in all toll- and availability-based projects, whereas Mechanism 2 was common in availability-only projects. The research reviewed the RSM packages in the PPP agreements, elucidating the particulars of the RSM mechanisms, highlighting RSM design considerations, presenting implementation guidelines, and articulating research needs. The research results were validated against PPP highways in five other states and provinces. This synthesis research provides highway agencies with an extensive practice review to support RSM package design for future PPP projects.

Tower-crane accidents occur frequently with serious consequences, including deaths, serious injuries, and economic losses. To identify the critical causes and paths of tower-crane accidents, the network analysis method is utilized. First, according to the relevant laws, regulations, and standards regarding tower-crane safety, a system of tower-crane accident causes is decomposed into 6 subsystems and 34 causal factors through system thinking. Then a sample of 194 tower-crane accident reports is used as empirical data. Accident causes are considered the nodes, and correlations among the causes are considered edges, through which a network model of tower-crane accident causes is established. The statistical indicators of the network model, such as the degree, strength, and shortest path, are calculated, after which seven critical factors and three critical paths of tower-crane accident causation are identified. Finally, a major tower-crane collapse accident in the city of Yueyang is adopted to conduct a case study and verify the practicality of the established systematic model and the reasonability of the analysis results.

Risk management is widely recognized as a best practice for public agencies to ensure the successful implementation of major transportation projects. The conventional approach to identify and evaluate project risks is dominated by getting input from subject matter experts at risk workshops. However, the uniqueness of such a risk assessment approach remains unexamined. How different are the risks among various projects? Does the risk register reflect the unique feature of a project? The goal of this study is to measure the similarity of project risks across various groups by evaluating 70 major transportation projects delivered under various methods. The similarity index is calculated at three levels, that is, the entire document of the risk register, individual risk item, and the probability and consequence of each risk using a systematic comparative analysis based on natural language processing (NLP) and a state-of-the-art deep learning algorithm named Word2vec. Our study reports a high similarity of risk registers among different projects at all three levels. The analysis does show a lower similarity of risk registers for public–private partnerships (P3) projects. The primary contributions of this study are (1) develop a new approach to analyze the risk registers at the project level as the main output of risk management practice, and (2) establish the relation of risk uniqueness and project delivery method in transportation projects. Results suggest that a data-driven approach may be possible to help project teams develop a common risk register while allowing the teams to focus on each project’s unique risks.

Leaders and coworkers have a critical influence on construction workers’ safety behavior, but limited attention has been paid to how they work together. This study took an integrative perspective, exploring the combined effects of leaders (safety leadership) and coworkers [coworkers’ safety knowledge and behavior (CSK/B)] on construction workers’ safety behavior (compliance and participation) through their risk perception. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey administered to 348 frontline construction workers in China, and hierarchical linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. Results show that both safety leadership and CSK/B positively affected workers’ safety compliance and participation via risk perception. In addition, compared with safety leadership, CSK/B had a stronger impact on workers’ risk perception, as well as a stronger impact on safety compliance and safety participation via risk perception. This study deepens understanding of the forming mechanism of construction workers’ safety behavior by examining the mediating role of risk perception and comparing the influence of safety leadership and CSK/B. Practically, this knowledge will enable construction managers to develop appropriate strategies for fostering construction workers’ safety behavior.

Leadership has increasingly been advocated as a potent organizing practice, linked positively to several performance dimensions as well as successful organizational development and change. Despite these alleged promises, the specific characteristics of leadership processes as they unfold in a construction context have not been fully captured by construction researchers. This paper is predicated on an identified lack of methodological richness underlying leadership studies in construction. While a growing number of contributions have quantitatively tested the ideas and models of leadership scholars, few have qualitatively explored the experiences and interpretations of the actual people that practice leadership in their daily work in construction companies. Drawing on a rich qualitative interview study, this paper analyzes open-ended stories about leadership in the largest construction companies in Sweden. The findings show how leadership styles have been shaped to align with traditional work and organizing principles, but also how they, by the same token, pose a seemingly unresolved tension with change initiatives that seek to reorganize to improve organizational performance. Altogether, these findings indicate that there are grounds to question the transformative potential of leadership in construction companies, as practiced today. The paper concludes by outlining the practical implications of these findings, together with some analytical generalizations that can serve as pointers for a strengthened leadership agenda in construction research, one that is characterized by an increased methodological richness and accentuated focus on the context-specific aspects of leadership.