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Delays in construction projects can be very expensive due to their adverse effects on project cost and profit margin. To overcome this problem, clients in the construction industry sometimes use schedule incentive/disincentive (I/D) contracting strategy. However, previous studies have shown that inadequate understanding and wrong implementation of schedule I/D provisions could result in unintended results. Moreover, the use of the I/D contracting method is in its initial stages in many countries such as India. The purpose of this paper is to identify various factors that are essential for schedule I/D success in construction projects.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among experienced professionals (clients, contractors and consultants) from across the Indian construction industry.

Top success factors related to clients in the descending order of their importance are: realistic targets; detailed guidelines for I/D implementation; close coordination with other stakeholders; correct estimation of I/D duration and amount; and imposing disincentives after due consideration. Meanwhile, factors related to contractor organisations are: continuous monitoring and control; thorough understanding of schedule I/D targets; specific considerations in appointing senior project personnel; effective communication; and proper labour management.

This empirical research was conducted in the Indian construction industry. Similar studies from developed construction markets may provide more insights into the successful use of schedule I/D provisions in construction projects.

The uptake of these recommendations is likely to increase the success of schedule I/D provisions in construction projects, especially in developing countries where the use of I/D contracting strategy is not very popular.

This research highlights the specific roles of both clients and contractors in the success of schedule I/D projects in developing countries such as India.

While mobile Information and Communication Technologies (mobile ICTs) have been adopted by many construction organisations, research on the usage of mobile technologies in the context of construction project management has been scarce. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of how Construction Management Professionals (CMPs) currently use mobile ICTs at work and the factors affecting their usage of mobile ICTs in the context of the Australian construction industry.

In this research, the aim is addressed by a survey-based empirical research approach. A questionnaire was used to collect data about CMPs’ current mobile ICT usage and the factors affecting the usage. Then, relative importance index, factor analysis and χ² test were used to identify the most significant factors affecting their mobile ICT usage.

This research found that user characteristics such as age or years of experience are not the major factors affecting CMPs’ mobile ICT usage. The research also found that there are several barriers hindering an effective usage of mobile ICTs, namely work-family spillover, system quality issues, inconsistency in the way of using mobile ICTs among CMPs and the lack of organisational support.

The results of this research imply that to fully reap the potential benefits of mobile ICTs in construction projects, those barriers need to be addressed appropriately at the individual, organisational and industry levels. Also, this research informs construction organisations of how mobile ICTs can be deployed and used in the most cost-effective way in their projects.

Many buildings fail to meet user expectations, causing a performance gap. Pre-occupancy evaluation (PrOE) is believed to have the potential to close the gap. It enables designers to obtain end-user feedback in the design phase and improve the design for better performance. However, PrOE implementation faces challenges due to still maturing knowledgebase. This study aims to understand the state-of-the-art knowledge of PrOE, thereby identifying future research needs to advance the domain.

A systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework was conducted. A thorough search in five databases and Google Scholar retrieved 90 articles, with 30 selected for systematic review after eliminating duplicates and irrelevant articles. Bibliometric analyses were performed using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny on the article metadata, and thematic analyses were conducted on their contents.

PrOE is a vehicle for engaging building end-users in the design phase to address the credibility gap caused by the discrepancies between the expected and actual performance of buildings. PrOE has gained limited applications in healthcare, residential, office and educational building design for two broad purposes: design management and marketing. Using virtual reality technologies for PrOE has demonstrated significant benefits. Yet, the PrOE domain needs to mature in multiple perspectives to serve its intended purpose effectively.

This study identifies four knowledge gaps for future research to advance the PrOE domain: (1) developing a holistic PrOE framework, integrating comprehensive performance evaluation criteria, useable at different stages of the design phase and multi-criteria decision algorithms, (2) developing a mixed reality tool, embodying the holistic PrOE framework, (3) formulating a PrOE framework for adaptive reuse of buildings and (4) managing uncertainties in user requirements during the lifecycle in PrOE decisions.

The issue of low productivity has remained a very stern and chronic problem in construction projects. Previous studies have found poor communication as one of the leading causes of low-construction productivity. Recent advances in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to enhance communication and access to information in construction projects. However, the implications of the use of mobile ICT on construction productivity have not been investigated in sufficient depth, especially from the perspectives of its users, i.e. construction management (CM) professionals. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A focus group session involving ten experienced CM professionals from different organisations of the South Australian construction industry was moderated by a group of four researchers to gather data on mobile ICT usage and its implications for construction productivity.

Lack of training and guidelines on effective applications of these technologies to construction projects is a major bottleneck. Results indicate that despite noticeable advances in mobile ICT, differences in usage style and user attitude have limited their overall impact on productivity.

This paper is based on data gathered from CM professionals working in the South Australian construction industry.

The study highlights the importance of strategising the use of mobile ICT to achieve the desired productivity rates through policy, training, work-life balance, and deeper and wider understanding of these technologies.

The study examines the perceptions of CM professionals on the usefulness of mobile ICT in construction projects and its implications for construction productivity.

Although the adverse effects of construction activities on the environment and the need for sustainable construction practices are recognised in both research and practice, any significant shift in the selection and use of construction materials from the sustainability perspective has not taken place in many building projects. Still, conventional construction materials are widely used in building projects in both developed and developing countries. This study attempts to identify the main barriers to the use of sustainable materials in building projects in an advanced economy such as Australia.

This study adopted a questionnaire survey approach to examine the main reasons behind the low usage of sustainable materials in building projects. Based on the relative importance index, exploratory factor analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis, the study examined the main barrier measures and barrier factors to the use of sustainable materials in building projects.

The findings reveal that critical barriers to the use of sustainable materials are related to cost and profit considerations, the unwillingness of the key stakeholders to incorporate these materials into building projects, lack of incentives and government policies. The factor analysis reduced the critical barrier measures into three factors: techno-economic considerations, cost and delay concerns and resistance to use. Furthermore, multinomial regression analysis based on the extracted factors identified techno-economic considerations as the main barrier factor to the use of sustainable materials in building projects.

The empirical results of this research can inform construction practitioners, organisations and policymakers on how to increase the use of sustainable building materials in the construction industry.

Identification of barriers to the use of sustainable building materials is a prerequisite to improve their uptake and use in the construction industry. The study fills a gap in the existing research on the use of sustainable materials in building projects in Australia.

The poor quality of construction work in war-affected regions is a significant issue. The large-scale destruction to the existing infrastructure from the war necessitates cost and time-efficient delivery of construction projects during and post-war to bring normalcy to affected lives and places. Consequently, there is always a tendency to finish construction projects in the shortest possible time on a limited budget without following the proper quality management processes. However, the poor quality of construction projects continues to affect the country's development, growth, credibility, reputation, and public safety for several years after the war. To this end, the present study was conducted to evaluate the significant attributes and factors contributing to the poor quality of construction projects in the war-affected Afghan construction sector.

A total of 31 attributes influencing construction project quality were ranked based on 110 completed survey responses collected from Afghan construction professionals. Moreover, independent samples t-test, Spearman's rank correlation test, and exploratory factor analysis were conducted.

The study found a moderate consensus between clients and contractors on attributes' rankings. In addition, the independent samples t-test showed statistically significant differences in means values of responses from clients and contractors for eight attributes. Based on factor analysis, 19 important attributes (median value greater than or equal to four) were classified into 4 latent factors – (1) poor-quality assurance and control, (2) unethical practices, (3) design and drawing errors, and (4) knowledge and skills gap.

Evaluating the factors affecting the quality of construction projects will help clients, government departments, and construction practitioners improve the construction quality management practices. The findings will also inform the policies and procedures of international aid providers.

Data from different countries suggest a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression and suicides among manual and trade workers in the construction industry than in the general population. The present review examines the causes and effects of poor mental health and the effectiveness of interventions to improve manual and trade workers' mental health in the construction industry. It also identifies gaps in research and makes several suggestions for practice and future research.

A systematic literature review was conducted to examine and consolidate evidence reported in 54 relevant journal articles published between 2010 and 2021 on the mental health of manual and trade workers.

Three major themes emerged in the review of the 54 journal articles: causes of poor mental health, effects of poor mental health and interventions to improve mental health. The leading causes of poor mental health among construction manual and trade workers are poor work-life balance, high job demand, poor cultural norms and mental health stigma, chronic bodily pain, lack of social support, workplace injustice and job insecurity. The prominent effects of poor mental health are suicidality, drug and alcohol addiction, poor workplace safety and poor work performance. Moreover, the study found that some of the strategies recently implemented in the construction industry to improve mental health are deemed ineffective, or their effectiveness remains inconclusive.

The review's scope is limited to research on manual and trade workers, and it did not investigate the mental health of construction professionals and construction management students.

The review provides valuable insights into the causes and effects of poor mental health among manual and trade workers and the effectiveness of mental health interventions in the construction industry.

The construction industry has a poor reputation for an unhealthy lifestyle and a high prevalence of health problems such as obesity, stress and hypertension among construction workers. The review examines the factors influencing the design and delivery of health promotion programs implemented by construction organisations to educate workers and promote a healthy lifestyle. It also identifies gaps in research and practices and proposes directions for future research.

A systematic review of 51 relevant journal articles published during 2010–2019 was undertaken to achieve the aim of the study.

The review reveals 46 different factors grouped into four major themes related to individuals, organisations, industry and the program, influencing the successful implementation of health promotion programs. The top ten most cited factors are cost, time, facilities and resources, transient workforce, delivery method, influence from managers, long working hours, masculine culture, production pressure and interest. The review also found a noticeable lack of studies on implementing health promotion programs in the context of developing countries, small and medium-sized construction organisations, residential sector workers, and construction professionals and female workers.

The review's scope is limited to research on health promotion programs, and it did not investigate the factors affecting the health of construction workers in construction projects.

A better understanding of various influencing factors present at different decision levels will inform the future implementation of targeted workforce health promotion strategies to foster construction workers' health and well-being.

The review reveals bottlenecks that need to be addressed to successfully implement health promotion programs in the construction industry. It provides new insights that can improve existing health and workplace policies and health promotion programs in the construction industry. Finally, it identifies new research directions in a neglected but crucial area of workers' health and safety management.

The Afghan construction industry faces resource shortages and heavily relies on foreign aid to fund public projects on the path to recovery and reconstruction. While the resource constraints demand cost-efficient delivery of construction projects, many Afghan public projects experience delays and cost overruns. This study aims to evaluate various attributes and factors influencing cost performance in public construction projects in Afghanistan.

The literature review and Delphi method identified 30 cost performance attributes relevant to the context of Afghanistan. Next, a questionnaire survey was conducted with construction management professionals working in the public sector in the Afghan construction industry to evaluate these attributes.

This study found that the lack of resources, poor project management skills and corruption in procurement are the leading causes behind cost overruns in Afghan public projects. This study also identified five latent factors influencing cost performance in public projects in Afghanistan: competency of the project team, socioeconomic and political support, governance and public procurement, planning and risk management and project characteristics.

The exploratory factor analysis did not reveal the relative significance of different cost performance success factors. Moreover, the ranking of cost performance attributes is based on the responses from the public sector construction professionals only.

The construction industry in Afghanistan significantly contributes to the country’s social and economic growth and employment. This study’s findings will help researchers, project sponsors, government departments and industry practitioners interested in improving the cost performance in Afghan public projects.

Given the scarcity of research in war-affected and conflict-sensitive regions, this study fills a research gap on project cost performance by providing insights into the cost performance success factors in public projects in Afghanistan.

A significant amount of work has been performed in the area of identification of factors affecting construction productivity. Previous studies have tried to determine the most important factors affecting construction productivity in different countries for a long time. As a result of continuous effort in this direction, researchers have identified a wide range of factors. While the subject area has matured, no general agreement could be made on the factors affecting construction productivity. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to undertake a comprehensive systematic review of mainstream studies on factors affecting construction productivity published in the last 30 years (1986–2016).

A total of 46 articles from different sources such as journals, conference proceedings, dissertation and PhD theses were identified and thoroughly reviewed.

Gaps in research and practices are discussed and directions for future research have been proposed. The literature review indicates that despite noticeable differences in the socio-economic conditions across both developed countries and developing countries, an overall reasonable consensus exists on few significant factors impeding productivity. These are, namely, non-availability of materials, inadequate supervision, skill shortage, lack of proper tools and equipment and incomplete drawing and specifications. Nevertheless, implications of technology, site amenities, process studies, project culture, and impacts of physiological and psychological factors were not adequately covered in existing literature. The study also found that traditional construction projects have remained the main focus of these studies while green construction projects have been generally overlooked.

The review does not include studies that report productivity at the organisational or industry level as well as total factor productivity. The scope of the review is limited to work on identification of factors affecting productivity at the activity level in construction projects.

The outcomes of this study would help researchers and practitioners by providing the findings of previous studies in a concise manner. It is also expected that presenting a deeper and wider perspective of the research work performed until now will direct a more focussed approach on productivity improvement efforts in the construction industry.

This review paper undertakes a comprehensive systematic review of studies on identification of factors affecting construction productivity published during the last three decades.