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This study aimed to investigate the suitability and cost-benefit of using copper tailings as partial replacement of sand in concrete production. The study was motivated by the accumulation and non-use of copper tailings in dams among them tailing dam 25 also known as TD 25 in Kitwe city of the Copperbelt province in Zambia that take up approximately 111 hectares of unused land.

Laboratory experimental approach of concrete production based on water/cement ratios of 0.3 and 0.5 was used because this was an exploratory study designed to establish the primary performance of concrete. In total, 30 concrete cubes were cast based on the two water-cement ratios. In total, 0% to 30% partial sand replacement with copper tailings was used in both mixes with the 0% copper tailings replacement being the control mix and reference point. Other concrete tests included workability, density, compressive strength and element composition analysis.

Results revealed that copper tailings from TD 25 were suitable for partial replacement of sand in concrete. Thirty per cent of sand replacement with copper tailings was established as the maximum replacement amount to produce optimum compressive strength values from both mixes. The drier mix of 0.3 water-cement ratios produced higher compressive strength results of 23 MPa at 28 days of concrete curing with 2.34% as optimum concrete cost reduction.

The research results provide the cost-benefit analysis and savings that can be attained from using cheaper copper tailings based concrete. The study further provided the quantity of land available for development arising from absorption of copper tailings as a sustainable construction material. The local authority now has statistics and numerical values that it can use to absorb copper tailings as a concrete raw material.

The study provides guidance on optimum concrete grade produced and cost reduction details of copper tailing-based concrete to support for local authorities in suitable land wand waste management using real data.

Digital data acquisition is crucial for operations in the digital transformation era. Reality capture (RC) has made an immeasurable contribution to various fields, especially in the built environment. This paper aims to review RC applications, potentials, limitations and the extent to which RC can be adopted for cost monitoring of construction projects.

A mixed-method approach, using Bibliometric analysis and the PRISMA framework, was used to review and analyse 112 peer-reviewed journal articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases.

The study reveals RC has been applied in various areas in the built environment, but health and safety, cost and labour productivity monitoring have received little or no attention. It is proposed that RC can significantly support cost monitoring owing to its ability to acquire accurate and quick digital as-built 3D point cloud data, which contains rich measurement points for the valuation of work done.

The study’s conclusions are based only on the Scopus and Web of Science data sets. Only English language documents were approved, whereas others may be in other languages. The research is a non-validation of findings using empirical data to confirm the data obtained from RC literature.

This paper highlights the importance of RC for cost monitoring in construction projects, filling knowledge gaps and enhancing project outcomes.

The implementation of RC in the era of the digital revolution has the potential to improve project delivery around the world today. Every project’s success is largely determined by the availability of precise and detailed digital data. RC applications have pushed for more sustainable design, construction and operations in the built environment.

The study has given research trends on the extent of RC applications, potentials, limitations and future directions.

The importance of ethical considerations in the construction industry is acknowledged. This is particularly the case that the industry plays a significant part in a nation’s development. The Zambian construction industry has seen an increase in activity due, in part, to massive infrastructure development programmes adopted by successive governments, increase in foreign direct investment and housing development. The Zambian construction industry, like any other, is not immune to unethical behaviour. This study aims to investigate students’ perception of the prevalence of unethical practices in the Zambian construction industry. A review of literature demonstrated that a number of contextual factors including location can influence the perception of unethical practices. A focus on Zambia was therefore considered necessary.

In total, 121 students took part in a questionnaire survey to examine their perception of the extent to which unethical practices were prevalent in the Zambian construction industry.

The findings suggest that students perceived bribery/corruption and political/societal influences as the two most common unethical practices, while the least prevalent unethical practices were perceived to be alcohol/drug abuse and workplace violence. The findings are largely consistent with previous studies investigating the ethical perception of professionals in the Zambian construction industry. In addition, the findings suggests that when the year and programme of study are taken into consideration, the differences in perception of unethical practices are evident for these demographic groups.

This study provided an added dimension to the understanding of ethical issues in the Zambian construction industry as it was the first of its kind involving students’ perceptions. This paper therefore contributes to the list of countries where similar studies have been undertaken.

This research aimed to investigate the extent to which organisational culture is practised in local and foreign contractors in grade one and two categories and how it affects their performance.

The approach for this research was positivist in nature adopting a mono-method of data collection through a survey using self-administered questionnaires. A total of 138 questionnaires were distributed among public clients and large-scale contractors registered in the stated grades, and 112 questionnaires were returned for analysis representing an overall response rate of 81% for contractors and clients.

Findings revealed that in organisational culture, significant differences were found for management style and dominant characteristics of the organisation between local and foreign contractors. Differences were not found for leadership styles, measures of success and organisational glue. Results suggest that for local contractors to perform better, significant changes are needed to their management style and dominant characteristics of their organisations.

Foreign contractors in the Zambian construction industry are reportedly outperforming local contractors making them preferred contractors on larger public projects accounting for 85% of construction projects by value of works. This study presents the differences in organisational culture between foreign and local firms. It further demonstrates that organisational culture plays a key role in determining performance of a contracting firm. The study presents areas that local contractors can improve in organisational culture in order to remain competitive.