Search results

This study aims to explore DroneSim, a virtual reality (VR)-based flight training simulator, as an alternative for real-world drone-mediated building inspection training.

Construction, engineering and management students were asked to pilot drones in the VR-based DroneSim space and perform common flight operations and inspection tasks within the spatiotemporal context of a building construction project. Another student group was also recruited and asked to perform a similar building inspection task in real world. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)–Task Load Index (TLX) survey was used to assess students’ inflight workload demand under both Real and DroneSim conditions. Post-assessment questionnaires were also used to analyze students’ feedback regarding the usability and presence of DroneSim for drone building inspection training.

None of the NASA–TLX task load levels under Real and DroneSim conditions were highly rated by students, and both groups experienced comparable drone-building inspection training. Students perceived DroneSim positively and found the VR experience stimulating.

This study’s contribution is twofold: to better understand the development stages involved in the design of a VR-based drone flight training simulator, specifically for building inspection tasks; and to improve construction students’ drone operational and flight training skills by offering them the opportunity to enhance their drone navigation skills in a risk-free, repeatable yet realistic environment. Such contributions ultimately pave the way for better integration of drone-mediated building inspection training in construction education while meeting industry needs.

Construction managers face many work-related stressors induced by unrealistic schedule expectations, tight budgets, and long hours. Over time, these stressors can result in both mental and physical exhaustion, a condition referred to as burnout. Early-career managers are a key worker demographic, as they represent the near-term future of the construction industry, yet they have a high risk for burnout. The purpose of this study is to explore the prevalence of burnout in new construction managers, and to identify which individual or work-related factors are associated with feelings of burnout.

Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), data from 146 early-career professionals (less than 10 years of experience) with construction management degrees in the USA were collected and analyzed using correlational and best subset regression techniques.

The results show that the early-career demographic in the USA experiences both the Emotional Exhaustion and Cynicism dimensions of burnout at comparable levels to prior studies with more mid-to-late career respondents. However, the Professional Efficacy dimension was significantly higher in early-career professionals than any other sample. No individual factors, such as gender, marital status, or number of children, were predictive of any dimension of burnout. Instead, only work-related factors including co-worker friendliness, opportunities for personal development and promotion, and the ability to control the work pacing were strongly associated with one or more dimensions of burnout.

This study is the first to explore burnout in the key early-career demographic for construction managers in the United States construction industry. This work provides evidence that organizational policies and culture have a greater efficacy in alleviating burnout in this demographic, when compared to the work–life balance of the individual.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors found on US construction projects that are perceived by contractors to strengthen or weaken trust between contracting stakeholders and to develop a framework for evaluating these relationships.

A comprehensive framework containing a number of factors (54) that could impact trust on construction projects was first developed. A survey questionnaire was then developed and administered via phone to contractors selected from the Engineering News Record top 400 US construction companies. The survey findings were then used to develop a trust model and case studies were used to validate and revise the trust model.

A trust model is developed that helps large US contractors measure and improve trust with other stakeholders on their projects.

Large US contractors are now provided with a tool not previously available to help them measure and improve trust between the different contracting parties on construction projects which can help them decrease project time and costs, and improve project results.

The proposed trust model adds a number of different dimensions to the existing trust models found in the literature and as such improves the contractor’s ability to foster and enhance trust on a US construction project.

The purpose of this paper is to obtain an understanding of the perception of trust between US construction contracting parties. The research objectives were to identify the factors on construction projects that impact such trust and to identify how trust affects factors on construction project.

A survey of construction professionals working for the Engineering News Record’s Top 400 US contractors was conducted.

The findings showed that paying on time, competency, reliability and effective collaboration were the most important factors that affected contextual conditions trustworthiness. Factors perceived to strengthen trust included face-to-face communication, electronic documents, and timely and adequate responses to requests for information. The presence of construction managers on construction projects, and corrective changes orders from neutral third parties were perceived to weaken trust. Trust was perceived to assist leadership, team building, communication and information sharing.

The main contribution of this study is the discovery of additional factors that impact trust and factors that require trust and that were not identified by previous researchers.

The purpose of this paper is to expand understanding of the factors that affect knowledge sharing in construction organizations. The outcome of this study will enable further understanding of knowledge sharing in construction and will therefore contribute towards successful implementation of knowledge sharing as part of organizational knowledge management (KM) initiatives in construction organizations.

A survey was conducted of the 2005 Engineering News Record Top 400 US contractors to assess their perceptions of how factors such as organizational culture (OC), trust and information technology (IT) impact knowledge sharing in their construction organizations.

The survey respondents strongly agreed on the perception that a proper organizational culture will enhance mutual trust in the organization. The respondents also perceived that IT will assist but not motivate people in sharing their knowledge and that not all types of knowledge can be shared using IT.

The results are limited to the respondents' perceptions of how knowledge is shared in large construction organizations. By encouraging the participation of a larger number of construction companies, a higher confidence level can be achieved for the responses.

Knowledge sharing is one of the key processes in KM and, as such, understanding the perceptions of how knowledge is shared in large construction organizations is very important in their implementation of KM.

Very few studies have been conducted in the USA on the perceptions of management level employees about knowledge sharing in large construction organizations. The study is an important first step in collecting such data.

This paper aims to provide a framework that might be used to tackle the multifaceted challenges facing humanity, which are increasing in seriousness and complexity. The Millennium Project had identified such challenges, and over time periods until and including 2050, which pose the question, how would societies cope with these challenges averting any disastrous results? contemplating the suggested ethical principles, and the three central beliefs of “end-based”, “rule-based” and “care-based”. In some cases, individuals might not be blamed to think that “it is only a miracle” that might save humanity.

This paper, through the use of literature review, intends to provide an insight into these challenges, the suggested ethical principles and the three central beliefs, providing brief overview of the concept “miracle” leading to discussion on ethical mindsets, its components and their dimensions.

Concluding with framework for the way forward tackling these challenges.

The limitation of this paper might lie in the fact that it is only a conceptual paper, but it calls on researchers to conduct further research using the suggested framework.

This might seem to be forward thinking, but it is a call for researchers to conduct more research in this area, and for governments to fund such research, to allow for the establishment of a method to refine the mindsets of individuals around the world to change into “ethical”, and thus, the world becomes better equipped to face and reduce the challenges and threats that are being faced by the world.

Most educational institutions worldwide have shifted to online teaching and learning approaches to mitigate risks imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This causes several issues, particularly in delivering the construction management (CM) courses which require site visits, interpreting technical drawings and developing 3D building models. This paper aims to identify the key strategies for online learning and teaching adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate the implications for construction management education.

The research approach is twofold. First, the study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) through a synthesis of the existing literature to identify the key strategies and lessons learned about online education during the COVID-19 pandemic in tertiary programs. It also discusses their implications in the context of the construction management (CM) sector in particular. Secondly, the authors shared their hands-on experience as construction management course facilitators – using the autoethnography approach – during the COVID-19 crisis.

In addition to identifying the key strategies such as online course delivery and assessments, the paper critically discusses the barriers to online learning and teaching, including (1) the technological and infrastructure barriers; (2) required online teaching skills and competencies; (3) issues surrounding mental health and wellbeing; (4) lack of consistency in the online delivery of various courses in a given program (5) difficulties around students' engagement and (6) the course characteristics and requirements.

The study offers some implications and recommendations not only for educational institutions and staff but also for vendors of online course delivery software. To prepare educational institutions for future online course delivery, the paper proposes several strategies. These include developing a set of guidelines for online course delivery, incorporating online teaching training modules into the recruitment process for academic staff, applying agile and resilience teaching and learning methods, wellbeing and mental health support and continuously improving course features to adapt to the online environment.

With the increasing attention acquired from researchers and practitioners in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, building information modeling (BIM) has fundamentally changed the approach we design, construct and delivery, as well as operate and maintenance of buildings and civil infrastructures. This study tries to provide an innovative perspective on BIM research. This study aims to analyze the necessity and feasibility of BIM user satisfaction research and define what BIM user satisfaction is, and then to develop a quantitative method for the measurement of BIM user satisfaction.

As it is indicated in the content, BIM user satisfaction is measured by the sum of the user's weighted reactions to a set of factors. To be specific, the entropy method was adopted to calculate the “weighting” of the factors, and the triangular fuzzy number (TFN) method was selected to compute the “scoring” of the factors. Through the literature review, methodology and tool development, as well as case study and discussions, this paper was generated sequentially.

This study found that the proposed tool for the measurement of BIM success is valid and reliable; it formerly translated the conceptual definition of BIM user satisfaction into an accurate measurement instrument. It also indicated that many factors are affecting the BIM users' satisfaction, and each of the factors inherited various importance and score, and the findings are expected to improve the performance and effectiveness of BIM management.

Through the translation of the conceptual BIM user satisfaction into a valid quantitative measurement instrument, this research provides an excellent framework for the management of BIM from the user's perspective, and it could help to stimulate user's acceptance of BIM in the AEC industry in future.

This paper aims to further our understanding of the career success of the self-employed and how it is influenced by their psychological capital (PC), persistence (P) and risk-taking propensity (RTP). This study explores the direct effect of PC on success and investigates the potential mediation of P and RTP on the PC-success association.

In this quantitative study, questionnaires were administered to measure PC, P, risk-taking and success. Data was collected using purposive sampling with an expert judgment that represented a cross-section of the entrepreneurial population in three Malaysian northern states. Structural equation modeling by means of partial least square was used for hypotheses testing of the 252 usable responses.

Statistically significant and positive relationships were found between PC and success, whereas P and risk-taking were found to mediate the PC-success association. The mediation effects of P and risk-taking were more pronounced when entrepreneurial self-efficacy and optimism were included in the PC as a second-order construct than individually separate constructs.

The importance of the transitional progression of self-efficacy and optimism to success through P and risk-taking were verified and so can be used for nurturing efforts that activate positive self-efficacy and optimism for entrepreneurial career success. The lower mediation effect of risk-taking on the optimism-success association denotes caution when managing risk.

There is a relative dearth of supporting research that has not examined the inter-relationships between PC and career success of entrepreneurs. Exploring the intervening effect of P and risk-taking on that relationship is unprecedented.