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The construction industry is a very important part of the Malaysian economy. The government's aim is to make the industry more productive, efficient and safe. Small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are at the core of the Malaysian construction industry and account for about 90 per cent of companies undertaking construction work. One of the main challenges faced by the Malaysian construction industry is the ability to absorb new knowledge and technology and to implement it in the construction phase. The purpose of this paper is to consider absorptive capacity in Malaysian construction SMEs in rural areas.

The research was conducted in three stages: first, understanding the Malaysian construction industry; second, a literature review on the issues related to absorptive capacity and discussions with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB); and third, multiple case studies in five construction SMEs operating in a rural area to validate the factors influencing absorptive capacity.

Nine key factors were identified influencing absorptive capacity in Malaysian construction SMEs operating in rural areas. These factors involved: cost and affordability; availability and supply; demand; infrastructure; policies and regulations; labour readiness; workforce attitude and motivation; communication and sources of new knowledge and; culture.

The key factors influencing absorptive capacity presented in this paper are based on validation from the case studies in five construction SMEs in Malaysia. The research focuses on how they operate in rural areas; however, the research results have wider application than just Malaysia. The key factors identified as influencing absorptive capacity can serve as a basis for considering knowledge absorption in the wider context by SMEs in other developing countries.

Additive manufacturing of concrete (AMoC) is an emerging technology for constructing buildings. However, due to the nature of the concrete property and constructing buildings in layers, constraints and limitations are encountered while applying AMoC in architecture. This paper aims to analyze the constraints and limitations that may be encountered while using AMoC in architecture.

A descriptive research approach is used to conduct this study. First, basic notions of AMoC are introduced. Then, challenges of AMoC, including hardware, material property, control and design, are addressed. Finally, strategies that may be used to overcome the challenges are discussed.

Factors influencing the success of AMoC include hardware, material, control methods, manufacturing process and design. Considering these issues in the early design phase is crucial to achieving a successful computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) integration to bring CAD and CAM benefits into the architecture industry.

In three-dimensional (3D) printing, objects are constructed layer by layer. Printing results are thus affected by the additive method (such as toolpath) and material properties (such as tensile strength and slump). Although previous studies attempt to improve AMoC, most of them focus on the manufacturing process. However, a successful application of AMoC in architecture needs to consider the possible constraints and limitations of concrete 3D printing. So far, research on the potential challenges of applying AMoC in architecture from a building lifecycle perspective is still limited. The study results of this study could be used to improve design and construction while applying AMoC in architecture.

The corrosion of concrete, and the factors causing or preventing it, present at least as complex a problem as metallic corrosion, and the two are frequently inter‐related. A vast tonnage of steel in all kinds of structures is protected by concrete from corrosion In the following article, the author outlines the various types of cement used in concrete, following this with a description of the chemical agents which can corrode concrete, such as organic acids, sulphates, etc. He then examines concrete as a means of preventing corrosion and also as a corrosive agent.

In recent years, fire accidents in engineering structures have often been reported worldwide, leading to a severe risk to life and property safety. The present study is carried out to evaluate the performance of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) and fly ash–blended laterized mortars at elevated temperatures.

This test program includes the replacement of natural river sand with lateritic fine aggregates (lateritic FA) in terms of 0, 50 and 100%. Also, the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was replaced with fly ash and GGBS in terms of 10, 20, 30% and 20, 40 and 60%, respectively, for producing blended mortars.

This paper presents results related to the determination of residual compressive strengths of lateritic fine aggregates-based cement mortars with part replacement of cement by fly ash and GGBS exposed to elevated temperatures. The effect of elevated temperatures on the physical and mechanical properties was evaluated with the help of microstructure studies and the quantification of hydration products.

A sustainable cement mortar was produced by replacing natural river sand with lateritic fine aggregates. The thermal strength deterioration features were assessed by exposing the control specimens and lateritic fine aggregates-based cement mortars to elevated temperatures. Changes in the mechanical properties were evaluated through a quantitative microstructure study using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The phase change of hydration products after exposure to elevated temperatures was qualitatively analyzed by greyscale thresholding of SEM images using Image J software.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on productivity as it unfolds during the execution of a particular task, i.e., reinforced concrete operations. The main aim is understanding whether the learning effect explaining the improvement of productivity in subsequent cycles of a given repetitive construction process is mainly attributable to a pure worker learning (independent on the specific site) or to the experience developed by the crew on the site conditions.

The authors conduct a research that empirically investigates and compares the change in productivity data of a single worker during his/her working life and that of a crew involved in specific repetitive work, such as the concreting activities of a multi-storey building.

The findings suggest differentiating between productivity gain as a result of the learning effect of the individual worker throughout his/her working life (which is independent of the specific project and site) and that of a crew composed by more workers which repeat reinforced concrete operations in a given specific project.

Despite the great attention reserved to learning in construction, few researchers discuss on the real applicability of the learning curve (LC) theory in the construction industry. The authors contribute to this literature by empirically investigating the contributions that the learning effect of the individual worker and that of a crew repeating a given task (i.e. reinforced concrete operations) in a given project have on the productivity improvement for subsequent cycles of the repetitive construction process.

The findings of this study have important managerial implications. The shape of the LC of the individual worker implies that learning increases relatively slowly in his/her working life (particularly after one to two years), while the effects of the crew experience are immediately significant in a time range of few weeks. This means that a single “one-off” multi-storey building project will show in the first storey the “historical,” individual productivity of the individual workers (i.e. not going to vary significantly in the next few weeks). The productivity improvement in the further storeys will only depend on the project-specific (and collective, for the crew) “learning” due, for example, to better coordination or to other issues that are progressively solved moving from the first storey to the following ones. So, the project-specific LC increases in a faster way than the individual one, and the overall productivity can be improved by accelerating the project-specific learning rate with more accurate project-specific design and management.

This paper enhances the understanding of the contributions that the learning effect of the individual worker and that of a crew repeating a given task (i.e. reinforced concrete operations) in a given project have on the productivity improvement for subsequent cycles of the repetitive construction process. This will contribute to improve the planning and control of site work activities, avoiding time and money wastefulness.

This study aims to present the results of an experimental evaluation of low (M30), mid (M40) and high (M50) grade self-compacting concrete (SCC) with three nominal maximum aggregate sizes (NMAS), namely, 20 mm, 16 mm and 12.5 mm, with Bailey gradation (BG) in comparison with Indian standard gradation (ISG).

This study was conducted in a laboratory by testing the characteristics of fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concrete.

Rheological and mechanical properties of SCC were evaluated in detail and according to the results, a concrete sample containing lower NMAS with BG demonstrated improvement in modulus of elasticity and compressive strength, while improving the rheological properties as well. Meanwhile, SCC demonstrated poor performance in split tensile and flexural strengths with lower NMAS gradations and a direct correlation was evident as the increase in NMAS caused an increase in the strength and vice-versa.

Upon comparison of BG with ISG, it was revealed that BG mixes succeeded to demonstrate superior performance. From the material optimization, rheological and mechanical performance study, it is recommended that BG with NMAS 16 mm can be used for conventional SCC.

The paper aims to explore the potential for using 3D printing technology as a more sustainable tool in various areas of the tourism and hospitality industry in Cyprus.

For the purpose of this study, qualitative research was conducted to explore the potential for 3D printing technology deployment in Cyprus and specifically in tourism and hospitality settings. Interviews were conducted with industry professionals and practitioners using a snowball sampling method.

The tourism and hospitality industry currently uses 3D printing technology mainly to assist with the restoration of cultural heritage, sites but there is significant potential to implement 3D printing more widely in support of other building work, souvenirs and food items.

The paper explores current applications and the wider potential for using 3D technology in building, restoration of cultural heritage, souvenirs and food-related printing that together could contribute to a more sustainable tourism and hospitality industry in Cyprus.

This study aims to find out the compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, bond strength and permeability of steel fibre reinforced concrete subjected to elevated temperatures ranging from room temperature to 800°C. The specimens were exposed to a heating rate of 10°C/min and the target temperature was maintained for 2 hours to achieve a thermal steady state. A total of 210 specimens of plain and fibre reinforced concrete were tested under the test program. Crimped steel fibres were employed in the study at three volume fractions i.e. 0%, 1% and 1.5%. The results show degradation in strength properties with an increase in maximum heating temperature in both plain and steel fibrous concretes. However, when steel fibres are incorporated in the mix, an improvement of fire resistance and crack resistance at elevated temperature was observed. The results indicate a reduced deterioration in residual compressive, split tensile, flexural and bond strengths of fibre reinforced concrete specimens as compared to controlled plain concrete specimens when the temperature was increased from room temperature to 800°C. Residual permeability characteristics of fibre reinforced concrete show better performance than plain concrete.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the system approaches and their application for managing IBS building in the context of Malaysian maintenance practice. Currently, the maintenance management method has affected the efficiency of the complex and high-rise industrialised building system (IBS) building maintenance management in Malaysia. Many issues such as poor service delivery, limited budgets, less competent staff and defect repetition emerged because of the usage of conventional method applications (paper-based form). The data revealed that the practice of maintenance management for complex and high-rise IBS buildings needs to be digitalised.

This qualitative research was carried out by conducting literature review and semi-structured interviews. Eight major maintenance organisations were selected based on a conventional method of practice in managing maintenance for complex and high-rise IBS buildings. The computerised system was developed using a data flow diagram and coding. Subsequently, the prototype system was tested.

By having this prototype system, the defect diagnosis and decision-making process become easier, faster and cost-effective in facilitating the maintenance assessment, defect diagnosis and control in relation to IBS building structure components.

In conclusion, the prototype system may improve the effectiveness of maintenance management practices for IBS building structure components in reducing defect design risks such as design calculation error to provide high-quality IBS building structure components for a safe and healthy environment.