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The quality of construction projects is mainly dependent on the process quality during the construction phase than product quality. The key factors that influence the process quality of building projects in Pakistan during the construction phase of building life cycle are evaluated from literature. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

The factors were ranked using the traditional relative importance index (RII) and the second synthetic grey relational analysis method. The findings indicate that during the construction phase the selection of an appropriate contractor is the most important factor. The existence of feedback system and quality of shop drawings received from subcontractors are also very significant factors, according to the grey relational model.

Measures for the improvement of process quality in Pakistan are suggested. The results from both methods are not entirely comparable; however, if one considers uncertainty in data, then the second synthetic GRA-based ranking should be preferred over RII in decision making.

The study is pioneer in the evaluation of key factors influencing process quality during building construction projects in Pakistan using a set of traditional and novel methods. The results of this study are significant in improving the process quality during different phases of construction.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a capacity building project on construction health and safety that is recently completed in Pakistan. The major objectives of this project are: first, to benchmark the current state of construction health and safety practices in Pakistan and to identify the data needs for continuous performance measurement; second, to develop health and safety guidelines; third, to develop adequate educational and training material; and finally, to improve the existing regulatory infrastructure for worker health and safety.

Mixed-methods approach is adopted for data collection which included site observations, surveys, semi-structured interviews, and case studies. The methodology consists of following major tasks: first, literature review and study of best practices; second, investigation of existing safety practices and development of guidelines; third, educational and training programs for construction professionals and educators; and finally, development of a strategic framework for continuous improvement in construction safety culture, laws, and practices. Collected data were analyzed using various qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods.

The enforcement of health and safety regulations on construction sites is very limited in Pakistan. Procedures for formulating, implementing, and monitoring safety rules and regulations are weak, and the implementation of safety management systems does not occur on most construction sites. The paper presents a detailed plan to improve the health and safety culture, laws, and practices in Pakistan.

Detailed proposals for improving existing construction health and safety laws and regulations are prepared for relevant regulatory and statutory bodies and ministries in Pakistan. From an educational perspective, comprehensive health and safety training material are developed and training workshops are conducted in major cities of Pakistan. Over 1,000 construction professionals benefited from these workshops.

The project helped in raising awareness about construction health and safety in Pakistan.

The project benchmarked existing health and safety practices in Pakistan. It identified data needs for continuous monitoring of health and safety performance and provided a mechanism for collecting such data. The project produced international standard health and safety training material that can fulfill the local needs. The project deliverables are extremely helpful for other developing countries in the region.

Lean construction (LC) is an innovative approach in the construction industry that has shown significant success in developed countries. Although LC has potential in the construction sector of Pakistan, it has not been extensively explored. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by identifying and predicting current lean practices and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of LC implementation in Pakistan.

Using robust statistical methods to analyze 92 valid responses, the study reveals that approximately 54% of lean practices are currently in use in the construction industry of Pakistan, with a population mean ranging from 52.7% to 55.6%.

Surprisingly, the research identifies instances where some construction firms in Pakistan are implementing LC practices, even though they have only a limited understanding of its underlying principles. Notably, certain subprinciples, such as visual management, top management commitment to change, employee training, process cycle time reduction and production optimization, are less integrated within the construction industry. Exploring the possibility of implementing LC, recommendations for strategies to implement LC in Pakistan are suggested, aligning with the conceptual model proposed by the researchers.

The novelty of this work offers insights that can serve as a comprehensive guide for developing nations. It provides a structured approach to assess and benchmark LC practices, which, in turn, can contribute to a more efficient and effective construction industry. Moreover, the strategies proposed in this research can aid developing countries in the efficient implementation of LC. This will have a positive implication for both economic and developmental outcomes.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects are widely spread throughout Pakistan with the potential to have a massive impact on Pakistan’s economic future. CPEC projects have, therefore, made it imperative that green practices are adapted to provide sustainability to the CPEC projects. The adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) framework will significantly increase the value attained from CPEC projects through the increased benefits to the socio-cultural and economic conditions of Pakistan without causing harm to the environment. The purpose of this paper is to identify and rank the GSCM practices for implementation in the construction industry of Pakistan according to expert opinion.

This study targets the experts who are employed as supply chain managers in the different construction industries of Pakistan. The opinions of these experts have been extracted through an online questionnaire that was based on six alternatives along with four criteria. The tool of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) that is a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) has been used to analyze the results.

Six alternatives that have been used for this study are green design, green procurement, green production, green warehousing, green transportation and green recycling. The top-ranked alternative as a practice for GSCM is green warehousing followed by green production. The lowest ranked alternative in this study is green recycling. The alternatives have been ranked on the basis of “cc” values derived through TOPSIS.

As the advancement in the construction industry will definitely going to impact the environmental sustainability of the country, the results derived through this research will assist the managers of the construction industry of Pakistan to adopt best practices among green supply chain in order to lower their impact.

Framework using TOPSIS in order to find the best GSCM practice in Pakistan has not been reported before this study.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a research thesis that investigates the role of procurement practices in effective implementation of infrastructure projects in a developing country, i.e. Pakistan. The research investigated and explored the issues and barriers to effective implementation of different procurement methods, the environment and its suitability for implementing different forms of procurement in context of public sector in Pakistan.

The research was carried out in two stages in the first stage archival analysis was conducted of government documents, reports including reports by international organisations, policy documents and literature. During the second stage case studies were selected based on archival analysis. The unit of analysis is the basis for the case and for this study, it was the procurement of infrastructure projects in public sector in Pakistan and that was the boundary of the research. Eight project case studies were selected from six public sector organizations (organizational case studies). A total of 24 respondents participated from these six organisations.

The research has identified the different procurement choices and reasons for a particular choice, the issues in procurement choice and the issues in procurement implementation in the public sector organisations in Pakistan. It has also described the impact of procurement practice on successful project outcomes. As a result multiple issues have been identified which affects the choice of procurement such as the need for efficiency and finances, client objectives, timely policy decisions, clarity of clients needs, delays in bidding and response, delays in approvals, proposal and bid evaluation procedures, need for relaxation of rules and project characteristics. The major barriers and constraints to implementation of procurement have been reported to be regulatory and legal, risks and contract management, principles of procurement, political, culture, inter and intra organisational issues, conditions of the country, lack of understanding, land acquisition, project revenue and finance issues. Procurement had a direct impact on successful outcomes of the project, the procurement systems in these organisations had a direct relationship and impact on performance and success of the project.

As a result of this analysis a vivid big picture of road map of the ongoing processes and practice of procurement in public sector in Pakistan has been created which vividly portrays the issues and barriers of the procurement practice in Pakistan.

The construction industry struggles in environmental and economic performance due to waste generation. Several studies have measured this waste in the construction industry of developing countries like India, Brazil, China, Nigeria and Iran, and proposed strategies to enhance the overall efficiency. But no such work exists in Pakistan's context. The construction industry of Pakistan contributes significantly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). And with several mega projects in progress to overcome the energy crises and improve the infrastructure of the country, the absence of proper waste management policies and plans calls for empirical research. Therefore, this study quantifies and benchmarks material waste in the local context, its impact on project cost and the effect of multiple subcontracting arrangements on waste generation. It also proposes a conceptual waste management plan (WMP) for local conditions which can be generalized for developing countries.

This paper uses a mixed research approach by leveraging Saunders's research onion model. To benchmark the current wastage practices, quantitative data of material waste in the Pakistani construction industry are gathered through document review of accounting systems, inventory and payment records of 40 completed building projects. Using the data, the waste rate of different materials is measured along with their impact on cost. Additionally, the role of subcontracting arrangements in waste generation is also investigated. Also, semi-structured interviews are conducted with project managers of high- and low-performing construction organizations to propose a conceptual WMP for the local industry and developing countries.

The highest wasteful materials by quantity are wood, sand and concrete blocks, and those by cost are wood, bricks and steel. By quantity, 123% more material was used on average than the actual productive work. Also, the labor only (L-O) subcontracting arrangement causes maximum waste. Moreover, the difference between the highest (155%) and lowest wasting company (104%) is 51%, highlighting the proactive and resistive waste management culture and approach by the worst- and best-performing companies. Further, the impact of waste quantities is more than 2% of the project cost. Finally, a conceptual model consisting of measures at the project, industry and national levels is also proposed as a guide for developing countries.

The findings of this benchmarking study can help improve the project planning, execution and monitoring, and control practices by providing a better understanding of the material waste potential. This will help economize the construction industry and improve its sustainability.

This is the first benchmarking study that quantitatively measures material waste in the construction industry of Pakistan. It highlights that costly as well as sustainability-implicating materials are frequently wasted in the local construction projects. Also, this study correlates the wastage with subcontracting arrangements. Additionally, an original conceptual WMP is proposed that could help the industry improve its performance. The findings could help the construction professionals identify the loopholes in their material management practices and not only save money but also ensure better sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of implementation of Six Sigma (SS) in the construction industry of Pakistan along with the current state of affairs and the challenges, and opportunities for a successful implementation.

The research is purely exploratory in nature. Based on published work, critical success factors are gathered, and a number of questionnaire surveys and interviews are conducted to refine and quantify their impact. A system dynamics framework to assess the SS influence on project success is developed and case study project are simulated.

The construction industry of Pakistan is still functioning in a traditional way; marred with low level of awareness and ad hoc approaches, the findings point to a huge improvement opportunity. Further, when under planning projects are exposed to SS, the chances of project success improve better than under execution projects.

The limited level of awareness possessed by the respondents constrains the possible outreach of this work in industrially developed contexts. However, this work may become an impetus for further research in managing quality in construction industry.

The findings can be used to improve the quality provision of construction projects.

This work may trigger an important debate over the research and implementation of SS in the construction industry of developing countries that may greatly benefit by improving the quality of their projects and rectify their diminishing reputation for project success.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected project management organisations especially those conducting large construction projects that involve a large number of people, complex supply chains, and lack of experience and preliminary arrangements in managing remote work. This study aims to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector and how to minimise the effect of pandemic disruptions.

This study is based on the reviews of relevant reports, articles and semi-structured interviews of the construction experts working in the Pakistan construction industry during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The primary data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with the construction experts and analysed them using thematic analysis. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted in this study.

Through thematic analysis, this study identified approximately 55 initial raw data themes, 15 first-order themes, 11 second-order themes and 4 general dimensions of the impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector. The authors identified working style and behavioural changes, challenges and risks, stakeholders and new directions for the construction sector in the post-pandemic world as the four main dimensions of the effect of the pandemic on the construction sector. Further, least digitalisation, complex cash flow, abundance of labour-intensive methods, diverse stakeholders, and dependencies on foreign expertise, imported material and machineries were identified as the most important reasons for poor resiliency of the construction sector during COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.

This study major contributions are: (1) analysing the impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector in relation to Pakistan, (2) discussing new directions for the construction sector and (3) putting in place a set of mitigation measures that will help minimise disruptions in construction-related projects to ensure that set objectives are achieved.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the barriers inhibiting the adoption of green building and measures to promote this approach in Pakistan.

Barriers and measures were identified and examined by using a combination of research methods, including literature review, questionnaire survey, and in-depth interviews with the construction industry-related practitioners working in Pakistan. Ranking technique and factor analysis were used to identify the significant issues associated with the adoption of green building practices.

As per the survey results, the most critical barrier is “lack of awareness among people about the importance and advantages of adopting green building practices,” followed by “lack of incentives from government” and “lack of green building codes and regulations,” respectively. The results also indicate that most important measure to promote the adoption of green buildings is “creation of public awareness toward green initiatives through seminars, workshops, and discussions,” followed by “availability of green building codes and regulations (mandatory to apply)” and “financial incentives and penalties by the government (e.g. soft loan, tax) for promoting green building practices,” respectively.

Research limitation is that its findings, other than Pakistan, cannot be generalized to other developing countries.

Findings of the research will be helpful in sensitizing the regulatory agencies, the policy makers, and the building construction practitioners about the barriers to adoption of green building practices. The suggested measures will help in devising policies and economic measures to promote the construction of green and environment-friendly buildings.

This research will help the common people to know about the importance of green buildings that may lead to a deviation from the practice of traditional buildings to a widespread trend of building green buildings. This will lead to drastic reduction in demand for energy and considerable monetary savings for the common people.

The findings of this study are expected to contribute valuable information to decision makers for the better understanding of key issues that call for more attention in the promotion of efforts of green building practices in Pakistan. The results are based on the perception of local stakeholders, but might also be helpful for policy makers in other countries.

The highest number of accidents in proportion to the employment rate is found in construction industry among all industries in Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the contributory factors of accident causation that can significantly reduce the rate of accident in the construction industry.

In total, 32 contributory factors of accident causation were identified through a triangulation strategy comprising eight face-to-face semi-structured interviews with the academic and industry experts coupled with a comprehensive literature review. Delphi survey was then conducted among the four respondent groups (clients, contractors, safety official and academia) to prioritize these factors. A consensus was achieved among the respondent groups after conducting two rounds of Delphi survey. Finally, the results were validated using the technique of inter-rater agreement (IRA) analysis.

All the shortlisted accident causation factors were graded as “important” to “extremely important”. Moreover, a “moderate” to “strong level” agreement was developed among the respondent groups. The three most significant factors were highlighted as “poor enforcement of safety rules and regulations by the Government agencies”, “insufficient allocation of safety budget and safety incentives by the client”, and “insufficient provision of safety training and resources by the contractor”.

The findings will help the key stakeholders to prioritize their energies towards achieving zero accident in the construction industry. Moreover, addition of academic experts as one of the respondent groups will enhance the linkages between the academia and the industry practitioners.

Besides highlighting the underlying causes of construction accidents in Pakistan, a detailed methodology is presented in this study for the analysis and validation of the Delphi survey data, which can be extrapolated in other regions and industries for elements prioritization. The findings of the study can also be generalized for other developing countries having similar work environment. The results validation through the use of IRA analysis is an addition to the field of construction safety research. The study also authenticates the applicability of IRA analysis to assess the agreement level among the respondents.