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This research investigates the distinct characteristics of blockchain technology to safeguard against the deterioration of handover information quality in the post-construction phase. The significance of effective management of handover information is highlighted by global building failures, such as the Grenfell Tower fire in London, UK. Despite existing technological interventions, there remains a paucity of understanding regarding the factors contributing to the decline in the quality of handover information during the post-construction phase.

This study employed a multi-case studies approach across five higher education institutions. It involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 52 asset management professionals, uncovering the underlying reasons for the decline in handover information quality. Building on these insights, the study performed a mapping exercise to align these identified factors with blockchain technology features and information quality dimensions, aiming to evaluate blockchain’s potential in managing quality handover information.

The study findings suggest that blockchain technology offers advantages but has limitations in addressing all the identified quality issues of managing handover information. Due to the lack of an automated process and file-based information exchange, updating handover information still requires an error-prone manual process, leading to potential information loss. Additionally, no solutions are available for encoding drawings for updates and validation.

This study proposes a framework integrating blockchain to enhance the information management process and improve handover information quality.

Currently, owners find it difficult to manage their assets throughout their project life cycle. The fact that asset information models (AIMs) are mandatory as deliverables for building information modeling-driven projects makes it a key requirement for the client to understand in detail those factors affecting asset operation. Hence, because the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the most significant market in the Middle East, this study aims to investigate those factors where blockchain and AIMs could impact the asset management (AM) life cycle.

Researchers used a hypothesis-based approach over a systematic literature review and a workshop (descriptive statistics) to understand the current challenges in AM. Later, a second workshop was run to understand the impact factor analysis affecting the operation of the asset life cycle by using asset information modeling and blockchain technology over a multiquantitative method.

Results found that factors affecting the operation of assets could be the improvement of trust and stakeholder’s influences; the availability of handover process products’ accurate data; manufacturers providing detailed product models; increasing the speed of preparing holistic and integrated AM systems; improving collaboration between stakeholders; and returning clients’ investments faster.

Understanding the factors affecting AM life cycle based on the utilization of AIMs and blockchain then allows investors and their team members to work in a secure and collaborative environment that helps them to pre-identify certain risks and improve decision-making in a more effective way, as is required by ISO55000.

The building commissioning (BCx) phase is a critical stage in a building's lifecycle. It is also a complex process that involves a large number of actors and activities. While the use of building information modeling (BIM) in the commissioning phase of building equipment and systems could be beneficial, few studies have investigated the processes behind its implementation. The research presented in this paper aims to investigate the implementation of BIM for the commissioning phase within a general contracting company through action-research.

Through direct involvement with the research partner, a large general contractor, a diagnosis on the current limitations of the commissioning process was conducted. An action plan to implement BIM for commissioning was developed and implemented in two pilot projects. Evaluation was performed through on-site observations and informal discussions with field staff. Learning was specified through the development of a formal protocol for BIM-enabled BCx.

This action-research project helped the partner organization identify the challenges and a way forward to formalize its BIM-enabled BCx process. The action plan aimed at countering the lack of knowledge about the status of equipment and system commissioning as well as the lack of standardization. The research team co-developed and tested a formal protocol, including BIM-enabled processes and technologies to address these observed problems. A complete implementation ecosystem was structured and deployed. Preliminary feedback indicated that improvements were obtained using a BIM-enabled approach over a traditional approach.

While past studies have investigated the BCx process, this study identified current challenges considering recent advances in BIM and focused on a large general contractor. This work provides an in-depth account of a large general contractor attempting to streamline its BCx process. The results of the study could help guide practitioners in implementing more streamlined BIM-enabled BCx processes.

This research compares consultants' and contractors' professional practices and perspectives on the use of specifications in the engineering of built environment projects.

The study initiates with a review of literature, toward realizing (1) the need for inclusion of specifications, throughout the projects' stages (design, tender, construction and handing over), as well as the (2) causes and effects of defective specifications in design and execution of engineered projects. Additionally (3) the study investigates the challenges and causes of specification variations to projects' design and execution. The systematic methodology adopted in this research utilizes frequency indicators, to rank and correlate the perspectives of 60 professionals, who are experienced in consulting and contracting of mega public and private projects.

The research considers the uncertainties and differences that could be present in engineering developments and use of design specifications for projects' execution and handing over. The two groups of experts' (consultants and contractors) perspectives are usually observed as conflicting, in practice. Practices comparison of their experiences with engineering projects' specifications usability provides unique empirical findings. The analysis and assessment of the experts' knowledge, this research addresses gaps identified in the literature, providing valuable insights.

The study provides in-depth recommendations and discusses possible trends and methods for enhancing specifications' usability in design engineering and execution of built environment projects. The analysis and recommendations present and assess experts' knowledge while bridge gaps identified from the literature.

A lack of suitably qualified Building Information Modelling (BIM) professionals is understood to be a major barrier towards higher uptakes of BIM in the Australian construction industry. In response, Australian universities have tried to integrate the teaching of BIM into construction-related curricula, but with limited success. The acknowledged impediment is the lingering mismatch between what universities offer and what industry actually needs. However, the exact nature of that mismatch has yet to be identified. This study addresses that knowledge gap. It assesses both the current status of BIM competencies among university graduates and explores how BIM education at Australian universities may be improved to deliver BIM work readiness, as required by the industry.

This paper employed a qualitative research approach, utilizing 17 semi-structured interviews with experts in the Australian BIM industry. The Person-Organization (PO) fit theory, which emphasizes the congruence between individual and organizational characteristics, was utilized as a theoretical framework to examine the compatibility between “demand” and “ability” perspectives. The resulting data were analysed using this theoretical framework to gain insights into the PO fit perspectives in relation to BIM industry practices.

Findings reveal that graduates are generally competent regarding the use of BIM software. However, employers require much more than software skills, and expect recruits to have the capability to implement BIM as a process according to information management standards. Specifically, graduates are significantly deficient in matters of BIM protocols, collaboration and coordination, information workflows as well as completion and handover procedures.

This study is the first of its kind that bridges the gap between industry expectations and university education, in the Australian context, moving beyond the common discourse in education literature, which is exclusively focused on assessing students’ perceptions about BIM.

Building defects are becoming recurrent phenomena in most high-rise buildings. However, little research exists on the analysis of defects in high-rise buildings based on data from real-life projects. This study aims to develop dashboards and models for revealing the most common locations of defects, understanding associations among defects and predicting the rectification periods.

In total, 15,484 defect reports comprising qualitative and quantitative data were obtained from a company that provides consulting services for the construction industry in Victoria, Australia. Data mining methods were applied using a wide range of Python libraries including NumPy, Pandas, Natural Language Toolkit, SpaCy and Regular Expression, alongside association rule mining (ARM) and simulations.

Findings reveal that defects in multi-storey buildings often occur on lower levels, rather than on higher levels. Joinery defects were found to be the most recurrent problem on ground floors. The ARM outcomes show that the occurrence of one type of defect can be taken as an indication for the existence of other types of defects. For instance, in laundry, the chance of occurrence of plumbing and joinery defects, where paint defects are observed, is 88%. The stochastic model built for door defects showed that there is a 60% chance that defects on doors can be rectified within 60 days.

The dashboards provide original insight and novel ideas regarding the frequency of defects in various positions in multi-storey buildings. The stochastic models can provide a reliable point of reference for property managers, occupants and sub-contractors for taking measures to avoid reoccurring defects; so too, findings provide estimations of possible rectification periods for various types of defects.

The cost of residential building maintenance can harmfully affect low-income earners' expenditure if not checked. A customised maintenance concept via a framework will ensure efficient and proper building maintenance operations. The outcome may keep the life cycle cost down. Studies concerning the low-cost housing (LCH) maintenance concept through a framework are scarce in Malaysia. Thus, the study aims to investigate the state of LCH and develop a framework to improve LCH maintenance practices in Malaysia.

The study adopted a soft system methodology (SSM) to comprehend Malaysia's LCH building maintenance practices. The SSM allowed an alternative approach to improve LCH maintenance practices via a developed framework. Virtual interviews were conducted with experts, and findings were presented. It was in line with the SSM seven steps.

The findings show that apart from the poor state of LCH maintenance, there is the absence of a framework to improve maintenance practices, especially in LCH across Malaysia's cities. The findings developed a framework that would reposition the joint management body and management corporation in collaboration with the proposed maintenance agency for better service delivery via substantive, technical and administrative aspects.

This study's data collection is restricted to Pulau Pinang, Kuala Lumpur and Johor through a qualitative research design approach. Future research is needed to consider more extensive coverage and validate the developed framework from this study via a quantitative research design.

Apart from the conceptual model that was developed, the suggested framework can be employed by Malaysia's maintenance practitioners and policymakers as a guideline to improve LCH building maintenance practices across the cities.

This study examined Malaysia's LCH maintenance practices via SSM to identify the state of the houses, identify the information required and propose a suitable framework to improve Malaysia's LCH maintenance practices.

The purpose of this study is to explore the suggestions that construction processes could be considerably improved by integrating building information modelling (BIM) with 3D laser scanning technologies. This case study integrated 3D laser point cloud scans with BIM to explore the effects of BIM adoption on ongoing construction project, whilst evaluating the utility of 3D laser scanning technology for producing structural 3D models by converting point cloud data (PCD) into BIM.

The primary data acquisition adopted the use of Trimble X7 laser scanning process, which is a set of data points in the scanned space that represent the scanned structure. The implementation of BIM with the 3D PCD to explore the precision and effectiveness of the construction processes as well as the as-built condition of a structure was precisely captured using the 3D laser scanning technology to recreate accurate and exact 3D models capable of being used to find and fix problems during construction.

The findings indicate that the integration of BIM and 3D laser scanning technology has the tendency to mitigate issues such as building rework, improved project completion times, reduced project cost, enhanced interdisciplinary communication, cooperation and collaboration amongst the project duty holders, which ultimately enhances the overall efficiency of the construction project.

The acquisition of data using 3D laser scanner is usually conducted from the ground. Therefore, certain aspects of the building could potentially disturb data acquisition; for example, the gable and sections of eaves (fascia and soffit) could be left in a blind spot. Data acquisition using 3D laser scanner technology takes time, and the processing of the vast amount of data acquired is laborious, and if not carefully analysed, could result in errors in generated models. Furthermore, because this was an ongoing construction project, material stockpiling and planned construction works obstructed and delayed the seamless capture of scanned data points.

These findings highlight the significance of integrating BIM and 3D laser scanning technology in the construction process and emphasise the value of advanced data collection methods for effectively managing construction projects and streamlined workflows.

An interaction between emerging technologies (ETs) for facility management (FM) activities and stakeholder skills is necessary to promote the optimization of FM performance. Previous studies do not show strategies for the selection of ETs in FM considering the technological competencies of stakeholders. Thus, this study analyzes the interactions between ETs and FM from the perceptions of Brazilian professionals, identifying the most appropriate and effective technological solutions, based on a broad literature review.

The steps of the methodology are as follows: systematic literature review (SLR); detailing the ETs for FM; online questionnaire based on SLR findings; sample of Brazilian FM professionals; statistical treatment; and discussion.

Results indicate wireless sensor network, Internet of Thing, building information modeling and Big Data as ETs in FM with greater potential for optimization in the performance of FM activities, from survey respondents.

The scope of possible findings may have been biased, considering the small number of research participants and current transformations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. changes to standard operating procedures).

The results ensure greater security to facility managers in the effective implementation of ETs in FM activities.

The research explores the published studies and the consultation with Brazilian FM professionals in the selection of ETs.

Information management workflow in building information modelling (BIM)-based collaboration is based on using a common data environment (CDE). The basic premise of a CDE is exposing all relevant data as a single source of truth and facilitating continuous collaboration between stakeholders. A multitude of tools can be used as a CDE, however, it is not clear how the tools are used or if they fulfil the users’ needs. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate current practices of using CDEs for information management during the whole built asset’s life cycle, through a state-of-the-art literature review and an empirical study.

Literature data is collected according to the PRISMA 2020 guideline for reporting systematic reviews. This paper includes 46 documents in the review and conduct a bibliometric and thematic analysis to identify the main challenges of digital information management. To understand the current practice and the views of the stakeholders using CDEs in their work, this paper used an empirical approach including semi-structured interviews with 15 BIM experts.

The results indicate that one of the major challenges of CDE adoption is project complexity and using multiple CDEs simultaneously leading to data accountability, transparency and reliability issues. To tackle those challenges, the use of novel technologies in CDE development such as blockchain could be further investigated.

The research explores the major challenges in the practical implementation of CDEs for information management. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on this topic combining a systematic literature review and fieldwork.