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Despite the positive impacts of the construction sector on enhancing economic growth and ensuring societal well-being, its negative impacts on the environment from unsustainable resource consumption levels, emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and waste generation is monumental. Circular economy (CE) concept is identified globally as an avenue to address problems regarding adverse impacts of construction on the environment. This paper presents the principles of CE as an avenue for enhancing environmental sustainability during the pre-construction stage within Sri Lankan construction projects.

This research was approached through a qualitative research method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with subject matter experts. The number of experts were limited due to lack of experts with knowledge on the subject area in Sri Lanka. Data were analysed using content analysis.

Findings revealed a range of activities under each R principle of CE, that is, reduce, reuse, recycle, redesign, reclassification and renewability that could be implemented during the pre-construction stage, thereby providing a guide for construction professionals in implementing CE at the pre-construction stage. The need to expand knowledge on CE concepts within the Sri Lankan construction sector was recognized.

This study provides a qualitative in-depth perspective on how 6R principles of CE could be integrated to a construction project during the pre-construction stage. By adopting the proposed activities under CE principles, construction professionals can enhance the environmental sustainability of construction projects.

This paper aims to explore UAE's transition towards circular economy (CE) through construction and demolition waste (CDW) management in the pre-construction stage. The extent of circularity is assessed by five key aspects of CE, such as policies and strategic frameworks, design for waste prevention, design for disassembly or deconstruction, use of prefabricated elements and CDW management plans.

Multiple case studies were conducted in the context of the Dubai construction industry (UAE). Three significant and unique construction projects were selected as the cases. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect data, and the thematic analysis technique and NVIVO 12 software were used for data analysis.

Findings reveal several positive initiatives towards CE in the UAE context; yet it is identified that the transition is still at the initial stage. Selected case studies, the best-case scenarios of UAE (i.e. influential cases), demonstrated adequate measures in relation to four key CE aspects out of five. For instance, (a) policies and strategic frameworks such as lean standards, green building standards and standards developed by the local authorities, (b) design for waste prevention (e.g. adherence to the 3R principle, and construction planning with BIM), (c) use of prefabricated elements and application of innovative construction technologies (e.g. 3DPC, DfMA) and (d) CDW management planning such as 3R principle were evident. However, the selected cases hardly showcase designing for disassembly or deconstruction.

The existing CDW practices are mostly conventional, as most constructions in UAE are procured through conventional building materials and methods. Therefore, there is a necessity of encouraging CE principles in CDW management. Even though the transition towards CE was evident in four key CE aspects out of five, the UAE construction industry has yet to adopt more effective CE-based CDW management practices to accelerate the circularity. Hence, it is necessary to enforce standard waste management guidelines, including the 3R principle, to standardise CDW management in UAE and encourage construction practitioners to adhere to CE principles.

The findings of this study provide valuable insights for decision-making processes around CDW management towards a CE. This paper contributes to the literature by bridging the CE concept with CDW management in the pre-construction stage. The study provides insights for industry practitioners for planning CE in terms of policies and strategic frameworks, CDW management planning, construction planning and application of innovative construction technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the timing with which decisions are made about how to control work health and safety (WHS) risks in construction project (i.e. either pre- or post-construction) and the quality of risk control outcomes.

Data were collected from 23 construction projects in Australia and the USA. Totally, 43 features of work were identified for analysis and decision making in relation to these features of work was mapped across the life of the projects. The quality of risk control outcomes was assessed using a classification system based on the “hierarchy of control”. Within this hierarchy, technological forms of control are preferable to behavioural forms of controls.

The results indicate that risk control outcomes were significantly better in the Australian compared with the US cases. The results also reveal a significant relationship between the quality of risk controls and the timing of risk control selection decisions. The greater the proportion of risk controls selected during the pre-construction stages of a project, the better the risk control outcomes.

The results provide preliminary evidence that technological risk controls are more likely to be implemented if WHS risks are considered and controls are selected in the planning and design stages of construction projects.

The research highlights the need for WHS risk to be integrated into decision making early in the life of construction projects.

Previous research has linked accidents to design. However, the retrospective nature of these studies has not permitted an analysis of the effectiveness of integrating WHS into pre-construction decision making. Prospective studies have been lacking. This research provides empirical evidence in support of the relationship between early consideration of WHS and risk control effectiveness.

This study aims to leverage the implementation of building information modelling (BIM) in facilities management (FM), and thus the integration of BIM and FM are explored. It looks at identifying the information needed to implement BIM application in FM, to determine the level of implementation of BIMFM as well as to recommend BIMFM application mapping for building life cycle.

This study applied qualitative methodology, upon which a purposive sampling to 16 interviewees were conducted among professionals involved in any BIM, FM, BIMFM projects. Final analysis was conducted using thematical analysis by ATLAS.ti software.

The types of information required to implement BIMFM range from managerial information, commercial information, technical information and all full life cycle data. The implementation of BIMFM is agreed as beneficial, as it builds up efficiency of building performance, able to close gap of loses information, helps to improve FM in terms of data management, mitigates the problems, identifies priority defects and to enhance the FM processes. Respondents also believed that the causes where there is no implementation of BIMFM is in the situations where things are in order and when it becomes very expensive.

This paper has managed to gather the essential elements toward leveraging the implementation of BIMFM in digital construction project which are in the means of information types, the needs of BIMFM implementation and towards the end drawing the BIMFM implementation plan framework that could be used as a reference for the practitioners and industry.

The purpose of this research is to determine the perceptions of a public sector agency’s representatives who are involved in the selection of procurement methods about the benefits and barriers of implementing early contractor involvement (ECI). There have been widespread calls for the public sector to use of non-traditional delivery methods so as to obtain better “value for money”. ECI is one form of delivery approach that has begun to attract the attention of many Australian State Governments, as it allows a contractor to proactively participate in design development, risk management and the construction programming processes. Design and construction processes can also be integrated which, therefore, overcome the impediments and barriers that have conventionally existed between designers and contractor. Within Western Australia, the use of ECI has been limited and therefore perceptions about its potential application are obtained.

Using questionnaire surveys and follow-up semi-structured interviews, the research sought to determine the perceptions of a public sector agency’s representatives who are involved in the selection of procurement methods about the benefits and barriers of implementing ECI.

It is revealed that a significant proportion of contractors did not have the capability and experience to be involved within an ECI approach. Their preference was the use of a traditional lump-sum method. Where there was limited scope for using competitive tendering, particularly on large complex projects, then ECI could be a preferred option for future projects.

To date, there has been limited empirical research that examined the public sectors views on the use of ECI despite the calls for the greater use of integrated procurement methods of this nature. The research indicates that there is a need to develop strategies to better educate public sector clients, designers and contractors about how ECI can contribute to the development of innovative solutions and better value for money.

According to the construction literature, the number of projects applying integrated project delivery (IPD) principles is expected to increase in the new-normal era. However, given that the pandemic is not yet fully over, accurate and measurable data are not yet available. Also, there is a lack of empirical studies that could provide guidelines as to the application of IPD principles at the various stages of construction projects. Thus, the goal of this paper is to address this knowledge gap through case studies.

This paper follows a multi-step research methodology, namely, a literature review, case study and focus group discussions in the context of Canadian construction projects.

Based on the conducted literature review and focus group discussions, the authors identified: (1) new challenges in the various stages of the construction projects' life cycle, (2) their related proximity aspects (technological, organizational, geographical and cognitive) and (3) IPD principles that can address the identified challenges within their associated proximities. The results show that IPD relational principles can improve a project's organizational and cognitive proximities, while IPD digital integrative principles can enhance a project's geographical and technological proximities.

This study contributes to the theoretical checklists of challenges that the construction industry has experienced since the beginning of the pandemic, and to the practical guidelines of implementation of IPD principles to meet these challenges. The conducted case studies are timely and relevant, and their results provide new insights for key project stakeholders into the application of IPD to tackle new-normal challenges based on their proximity perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative approach for the development of a methodology to systematically assess the economic performance and for the assessment of the economic sustainability of a building, through the calculation of an economic sustainability index, within the sustainability framework according to the rules defined in EN 16627.

The methodology follows the principle of modularity, where aspects and impacts that influence the economic performance of the building during the phases of its life cycle are assigned to levels. It presents a model based on the construction costs of the building. The methodology in centered in the before use phase and restricted to residential buildings.

Definition of a model for assessing the economic performance and calculation of an economic sustainability index.

The methodology is focused only in the before use phase of the buildings, assuming they have the same functional equivalent. It can be expanded to include the other phases of the building life cycle.

The developed methodology will allow the selection of construction procedures, based on economic sustainability, contributing to more rational and support decisions.

Contributing to a more sustainable society.

The European framework of EN 15643 and EN 16627 for the assessment of building sustainability is new and, as such, not implemented in most practical tools. Also, economic sustainability is not usually considered in detail in existing models. This paper presents a methodology following the framework and, simultaneously, possible to integrate in existing approaches.

A better cooperation among all stakeholders working towards enhancing the disaster resilience of societies can only be achieved if the expectations or the needs of each stakeholder are understood. This study attempts to outline the needs of communities affected by disasters for the purpose of aligning the needs and skill requirements with the abilities of built environment professionals serving these communities. Therefore, the study aims to identify and describe community needs and skills requirements for enhancing disaster resilience.

The study adopted literature review and semi-structured interviews. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with key members of some communities affected by disasters and with some of the professionals who participated in the restoration/reconstruction of those communities. Data obtained were analysed using NVivo 10.

The study revealed the current and emerging needs and skills of communities related to the built environment professionals from the viewpoint of enhancing disaster resilience. Thus, 29 classifications of skill and needs were derived and classified under five major disaster resilience dimensions to include social, economic, technological, environmental and institutional aspects.

This study focuses only of the needs and skills of the “community”, which is the major stakeholder that is basically the receiver of all that the other stakeholders of disaster resilience have to offer.

This study would help the built environment professionals involved in disaster resilience to become aware of the specific needs and skills of the communities affected by disasters for the purpose of developing their competences.

The study findings would be useful for both the built environment professionals and higher education institutions. Because it is important for professionals to update and upgrade their knowledge towards enhancing their capabilities and meeting stakeholders’ expectations in a bid to enhance societal resilience to disasters across all domains of resilience.

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the sequence of forces acting as barriers in the usage of drones in the construction industry using interpretive structural modelling (ISM). The usage of drones in the construction industry is brought out phase-wise with the help of literature and live cases. Barriers to the usage of drones in construction and steps to derive the interaction between them are described in detail.

The extraction of barriers to the usage of drones in construction is done through cases and supported by the literature. The identification of the interaction between the barriers is done through multi-criteria decision models, namely, ISM and Matriced Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliquee a un Classement (MICMAC) and the results are presented in the form of a hierarchical structure. The paper highlights the potential for the usage of drones in every phase of construction across three stages of construction and eight different applications.

The findings on the interaction between barriers show that technical and research and development-related barriers have a higher driving power, ultimately influencing negativity among stakeholders in drone usage for construction. By analysing interrelationships between barriers, management can frame suitable strategies to adopt drone usage in projects. Awareness about the strength of certain barriers can help management take steps to mitigate the same.

By analysing interrelationships between barriers, management can frame suitable strategies to adopt drone usage in projects. A major limitation is a restriction of the study area to the Indian subcontinent. However, the authors believe that the results can be applied across countries where drone technology is at the nascent stage.

Awareness about the strength of certain barriers can help stakeholders take steps to mitigate the same.

The results of this research also give some inputs to the government’s drone policy for wider usage of drones in the construction industry.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, most studies on drones in construction industry bring out a list various challenges to their adoption. In this study, the authors have gone further to perform a hierarchical sequencing of barriers to drone adoption based on challenges faced in an emerging economy like India.

One of the greatest challenges facing academic libraries is maintaining necessary space for collections and services. Academic administrators are forced to balance the need for space to support new and expanded programs, while supporting the traditional needs of the educational enterprise. With many of these situations, the answer comes from redeploying library space for other purposes. The net result for libraries is that functions and services run for years might no longer be possible with these changes in space. This is exactly the problem faced by the Kresge Business Administration Library at the University of Michigan when a major gift led to a construction project that saw the library’s footprint decrease by over 80%. As Kresge went through this change, there was a concerted effort to retain jobs, even though many would be dramatically changed with the new world order. This chapter focuses on the response undertaken at Kresge Library to balance the changing needs of the library that accompany dramatic space reduction. Additionally, this chapter will explore the literature on staffing trends in light of major changes to our work, political posturing to generate more work or “business” for library staff, exploration of the assessment program to ensure that we have the right staffing levels.