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Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls
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Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 May 2024 | Viewed by 8609

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sameh M. El-Sayegh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Professor and Head, Civil Engineering Department, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates
Interests: construction management; project management; sustainable construction; project delivery; risk management; decision making; project scheduling and project controls

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable Construction is the practice of constructing buildings and infrastructure projects that are material and energy efficient to minimize their environmental impact while reducing costs and improving the triple bottom line: economic, social and environmental. Sustainable Construction is a rewarding yet challenging field that requires effective sustainability-specific construction project management techniques. The current literature, on sustainability-specific construction management practices and their applications in real-life construction projects, is still very limited. Key players in the construction industry - owners, consultants, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers – are also experiencing varying degrees of resistance to updating the traditional construction project management practices. Despite the huge awareness raised over the past years to move towards sustainable construction, their success rate is still highly impeded, as the construction industry often fails to adjust the traditional management practices to meet the needs of sustainable construction. Indeed, improving conventional construction project management practices will help overcome the challenges of sustainable construction and prepare for the multidisciplinary, highly integrated and digitalized nature of sustainable construction projects. Thus, greening construction project management practices and project planning/controls are extremely significant to increase the success potential of sustainable construction.

This Special Issue entitled “Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls” aims to add to the body of knowledge and shed the light on the challenges, best practices, technologies, cutting-edge tools and future directions that the research community should focus on to emphasize the move towards sustainable construction project management.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Sustainable Construction Project Planning and Scheduling
  • Risk Management in Sustainable Construction Projects
  • Procurement and Contract Strategies in Sustainable Construction
  • Stakeholder Management in Sustainable Construction
  • Delay Analysis in Sustainable Construction Projects
  • Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Sustainable Construction Projects
  • Digitalization and Sustainable Construction Management
  • Contract Claims and Dispute Resolution in Sustainable Construction Projects
  • Communication and Co-ordination in Sustainable Construction Projects
  • Supply Chain Management in Sustainable Construction
  • Safety Management in Sustainable Construction
  • Benefits, Challenges and Barriers of Sustainable Construction
  • Lifecycle Cost Analysis
  • Construction Automation

I look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Prof. Dr. Sameh M. El-Sayegh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable construction
  • risk management
  • Building Information Modeling (BIM)
  • procurement
  • project scheduling
  • project controls
  • safety management
  • supply chain management
  • delays, cost overruns, and claims
  • lifecycle cost analysis

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1194 KiB  
Article
Developing a Project-Expectancy Inventory for the Construction Industry from the Owner’s Perspective
by Xin Wei and Liuying Zhu
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2675; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072675 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 534
Abstract
Although current research recognizes the importance of the Expectancy Theory in the construction industry, a standardized project expectancy (PE, hereafter) inventory is still an area for further exploration, especially from the owner’s perspective. This inventory is essential to identify the owner’s expectancy priorities [...] Read more.
Although current research recognizes the importance of the Expectancy Theory in the construction industry, a standardized project expectancy (PE, hereafter) inventory is still an area for further exploration, especially from the owner’s perspective. This inventory is essential to identify the owner’s expectancy priorities and help select partners aligned with their long-term and sustainable project goals. Based on the Expectancy Theory, a PE inventory is proposed after conducting a comprehensive literature review. It incorporates dimensions like goal difficulty, perceived control, and self-efficacy. The reliability of the inventory is confirmed by analyzing data from 197 construction-project openers through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM, hereafter). The findings indicate that perceived control is the most crucial dimension in PE, followed by self-efficacy and goal difficulty. A tunneling construction megaproject in Southeast China is presented as a case study. It suggests that when selecting partners for construction projects, the project owner should prioritize those amenable to control, thereby enhancing teamwork and collaboration quality. This strategy emphasizes the importance of the owner’s command over project operation, rather than merely focusing on the partners’ capabilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls)
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18 pages, 3048 KiB  
Article
Implementability of BIM Technology in Light of Literature Studies and Analyses of the Construction Market
by Elżbieta Szafranko and Marlena Jurczak
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1083; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031083 - 26 Jan 2024
Viewed by 768
Abstract
In 2014, the European Union Directive 2014/24/EU was issued, which has provisions including information about the use of electronic technology for modelling buildings, referred to as BIM. According to various sources in the literature, with the help of BIM technology building designs can [...] Read more.
In 2014, the European Union Directive 2014/24/EU was issued, which has provisions including information about the use of electronic technology for modelling buildings, referred to as BIM. According to various sources in the literature, with the help of BIM technology building designs can be prepared more quickly, while avoiding errors; it is also possible to generate and control any amendments in a building blueprint, promptly estimate costs of the building works planned, and implement a variety of activities connected with the maintenance of a new building once it is erected. In some EU states, initiatives have been launched leading to the introduction of BIM technology in public procurement, and the technology itself is now gaining popularity. However, the adaptation of this new technology is not always met with enthusiasm, and its implementation is hindered by many obstacles. The aim of this article is to conduct a broader analysis of the possibilities of BIM development in the construction industry based on data obtained from companies operating in the construction industry. The research used analysis of source materials, surveys, and targeted interviews. The study has demonstrated several barriers, of which the most important ones proved to be of financial nature, formal and legal considerations, and mentality, namely the unwillingness to learn, adopt novel solutions, and switch to a new way of working. The research was supported by a SWOT analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls)
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25 pages, 5340 KiB  
Article
Integrated Agent-Based Simulation and Game Theory Decision Support Framework for Cash Flow and Payment Management in Construction Projects
by Dalia H. Dorrah and Brenda McCabe
Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010244 - 27 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1561
Abstract
Effective cash flow management has become crucial for projects and stakeholders given the wide payment-related problems and financial risks encountered in the construction industry worldwide. Previous studies mostly addressed cash flow and payments from the perspective of a specific stakeholder, resulting in an [...] Read more.
Effective cash flow management has become crucial for projects and stakeholders given the wide payment-related problems and financial risks encountered in the construction industry worldwide. Previous studies mostly addressed cash flow and payments from the perspective of a specific stakeholder, resulting in an imbalanced cash flow management culture that is further intensified by the power asymmetry of the top-down payment decision-making process. This research proposes an adaptive decision support framework for evaluating and negotiating payment options in construction projects while incorporating the individual and collective financial roles of stakeholders. The framework is comprised of three modules for data acquisition, payment simulation, analysis, and negotiation, as well as decision support. It integrates agent-based simulation, data envelopment analysis, and game theory for a multi-level study of project performance while capturing the driving forces of stakeholders in payment negotiations. A case study project is used to demonstrate the framework implementation under varying payment conditions and interest rates. The results provide quantitative profiles of stakeholders to identify incurred charges, balanced payment conditions, and suitable compensation. Finally, the framework can be utilized by stakeholders and jurisdictions to move towards enhanced contractual arrangements that alleviate economic and financial risks with the informed collaboration of its entities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls)
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17 pages, 3310 KiB  
Article
Application of YOLO v5 and v8 for Recognition of Safety Risk Factors at Construction Sites
by Kyunghwan Kim, Kangeun Kim and Soyoon Jeong
Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 15179; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152015179 - 23 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2128
Abstract
The construction industry has high accident and fatality rates owing to time and cost pressures as well as hazardous working environments caused by heavy construction equipment and temporary structures. Thus, safety management at construction sites is essential, and extensive investments are made in [...] Read more.
The construction industry has high accident and fatality rates owing to time and cost pressures as well as hazardous working environments caused by heavy construction equipment and temporary structures. Thus, safety management at construction sites is essential, and extensive investments are made in management and technology to reduce accidents. This study aims to improve the accuracy of object recognition and classification that is the foundation of the automatic detection of safety risk factors at construction sites, using YOLO v5, which has been acknowledged in several studies for its high performance, and the recently released YOLO v8. Images were collected through web crawling and labeled into three classes to form the dataset. Based on this dataset, accuracy was improved by changing epochs, optimizers, and hyperparameter conditions. In each YOLO version, the highest accuracy is achieved by the extra-large model, with mAP50 test accuracies of 94.1% in v5 and 95.1% in v8. This study could be further expanded for application in various management tools at construction sites to improve the work process, quality control, and progress management in addition to safety management through the collection of more image data and automation for accuracy improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls)
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11 pages, 1850 KiB  
Article
A Performance Quality Index to Assess Professional Conduct of Contractors at Sustainable Construction Projects in Saudi Arabia
by Mohamed Essam Shaawat, Saleh Mohammed Saed Alqahtani, Altayeb Qasem, Rehan Jamil, Abdulaziz S. Almohassen and Umaru Mohammed Bongwirnso
Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7500; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097500 - 03 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2440
Abstract
The quality performance of contractors in sustainable construction projects is a major concern for the industry. Over the past decade, studies on measurements, factors, and indicators for assessment of the professional conduct of construction companies are to be found in the sustainable construction [...] Read more.
The quality performance of contractors in sustainable construction projects is a major concern for the industry. Over the past decade, studies on measurements, factors, and indicators for assessment of the professional conduct of construction companies are to be found in the sustainable construction management literature. There is adequate evidence over the last decade that an increasing number of construction professionals have adopted the measurement of the professional conduct of contractors as a tool to support their future decisions. The method of the Analytical Hierarchy (AHP) process has been deployed to identify the major factors and sub-factors involved in sustainable construction in Saudi Arabia. Using several governing factors, including quality of document submittals (QDS), quality system implementation (QSI), and quality of construction works (QCW), a working framework was developed by using the pair-wise comparison method. The results show that proper accountability and keen consideration of factors that could hinder sustainable construction by contractors contribute to the development of a better perspective on quality issues. After a critical analysis, a Performance Quality Index was developed, and a benchmark value was obtained. The benchmark value of PQI will assist project managers and owners in the sustainable construction sector as a reference for future improvement in the quality performance of contractors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Construction: Construction Management and Project Planning/Controls)
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