Key competencies for identifying construction activities that produce recyclable materials: a competency gap analysis
Built Environment Project and Asset Management
ISSN: 2044-124X
Article publication date: 2 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the competency gap among construction industry professionals concerning the competencies required for identifying construction activities that produce recyclable materials. Accordingly, the study objectives are threefold: to identify key competencies, analyze the disparity between the level of importance and level of competence for each competency, and quantify the criticality of the competency gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted to identify and categorize 20 competencies into knowledge, skills, and abilities. The competencies formed the basis for a questionnaire survey distributed to construction industry professionals. 120 valid responses were collected and analyzed using mean and normalized values, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, and competency gap analysis.
Findings
The findings highlight eight key competencies: ability to prepare sustainable designs, skills in trading construction waste materials, skills in lean construction techniques, skills in designing out waste in construction activities, knowledge of diagnosing construction waste generation, knowledge of construction-related waste design, knowledge of the practice of sustainable facilities management, and knowledge on the sustainable characteristics of construction activities. Despite their importance, critical competency gaps exist among these key competencies and must be addressed.
Originality/value
This study equips decision-makers with insights to manage natural resources efficiently, offers practitioners a list of key competencies for sustainable project management, and provides researchers with a solid foundation for further investigations to advance sustainability in construction.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2019/TK06/UMP/02/1). The authors are also thankful to the industry practitioners that participated in this work and grateful to the editors and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, which helped improve this paper’s quality.
Citation
Omer, M.M., Rahman, R.A., Fauzi, M.A. and Almutairi, S. (2024), "Key competencies for identifying construction activities that produce recyclable materials: a competency gap analysis", Built Environment Project and Asset Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-10-2023-0181
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited