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Construction organizations' investment in effective talent-development programs is a key strategy in attracting, developing and retaining staff. Such programs are especially important given the current challenges in the construction workforce, including labor shortages, an aging workforce, generational differences in the workforce, supply chain disruptions and the need to effectively train staff in the skills that are essential in a constrained labor environment. To address these challenges, this study proposes a performance measurement strategy that construction companies can use as input to design their talent development programs.

The strategy intends to assess the performance of project managers and develop criteria that define categories of their performance, including the top performers' category. This enables construction organizations to provide each project manager with individualized training that addresses areas of weakness and in turn, develops the skills that correspond with being top performers. The proposed strategy was developed and tested by surveying the immediate supervisors of 187 project managers working for general and specialty contractors in the United States. Principal component analysis was used to develop a single performance construct from seven performance criteria.

This construct was used to organize the project managers into the categories of top, above-average and below-average performers. According to the findings, top-performing project managers have well-rounded skills in the areas of leadership, communication, technical proficiency and overall job knowledge.

The outcomes of this study can help construction organizations focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with PMs being top performers.

This study provides construction organizations with a comprehensive performance-measuring construct to focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with top-performing project managers. Researchers can use this study as a foundation for further understanding how performance is related to various construction professions.

Request for information (RFI) documents play a pivotal role in seeking clarifications in construction projects. However, perceived as inevitable “non-value adding” tasks, they harbour risks like schedule delays and increased project costs, underlining the importance of strategic RFI management in construction projects. Despite this, a lack of literature dissecting RFI processes impedes a full understanding of their intricacies and impacts. This study aims to bridge the gap through a comprehensive literature review, delving into RFI intricacies and implications, while emphasising the necessity for strategic RFI management to prevent project risks.

This research study systematically reviews RFI-related papers published between 2000 and 2023. Accordingly, the review discusses key themes related to RFI management, yielding best practices for industry stakeholders and highlighting research directions and gaps in the body of knowledge.

Present RFI management platforms exhibit deficiencies and lack analytics essential for streamlined RFI processing. Complications arise in building information modelling (BIM)-enabled projects due to software disparities and interoperability hurdles. The existing body of knowledge heavily relies on manual content analysis, an impractical approach for the construction industry. The proposed research direction involves automated comprehension of unstructured RFI content using advanced text mining and natural language processing techniques, with the potential to greatly elevate the efficiency of RFI processing.

The study extends the RFI literature by providing novel insights into the problemetisation with the RFI process, offering a holistic understanding and best practices to minimise adverse effects. Additionally, the paper synthesises RFI processes in traditional and BIM-enabled project settings, maps a causal-loop diagram to identify associated issues and summarises approaches for extracting knowledge from the unstructured content of RFIs. The outcomes of this review stand to offer invaluable insights to both industry practitioners and researchers, enabling and promoting the refinement of RFI processes within the construction domain.

Chinese construction projects commonly implement subcontracting, but organizational arrangements have received little attention. Some studies have debated the impact of firm capabilities on subcontracting. To address these issues, this study differentiates the general contractor’s technological capabilities and alliance management capabilities and investigates how capabilities affect the degree of subcontracting and subcontracting dispersion based on the resource-based view and transaction cost economics.

By conducting a survey, 219 valid questionnaires were collected from Chinese construction companies. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the influence of capabilities on subcontracting organizational arrangements and the moderating role of uncertainty.

The results show that technological capabilities decrease the degree of subcontracting, whereas alliance management capabilities increase the degree of subcontracting as well as subcontracting dispersion. The results also indicate that the positive effects of alliance management capabilities are weakened by project uncertainty.

This study provides a better understanding of the diversity of subcontracting organizational arrangements in China. In addition, the findings may help general contractors carry out a rational arrangement by considering their capabilities and transaction hazards.

This study contributes to a holistic understanding of how capabilities determine subcontracting by distinguishing technological capabilities and alliance management capabilities and refining the degree of subcontracting and subcontracting dispersion. Meanwhile, the findings highlight the complementarity of the resource-based view and transaction cost economics by examining the moderating effect of uncertainty.

With proper design and work planning, falls through fragile skylights are preventable. Skylights pose a hazard to workers when their work tasks for operations, maintenance and repair require them to be on roofs. The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety produced guidelines and special alerts to address the dangers that are present around skylights, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations have prescriptive requirements for work performed around skylights, and yet incidents still occur. The purpose of this study is to investigate and raise awareness for the causality of the incidents involving skylights in the USA.

The authors investigated and analyzed 204 incidents involving skylights recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to characterize their nature and to determine any correlation with the roof environment or the nature of the work performed. Using Google Earth and Google Maps roof geometry, proximity of skylights to roof edge and rooftop mechanical equipment was determined.

The majority of falls through skylights occur during roof maintenance and repair activities. Falls through skylights are underreported. Because of a general lack of good design to reduce or eliminate the risk of falling through skylights, facility managers carry the burden to properly assess work and access on roofs where fragile skylights are present.

The phenomenon of falling through skylights was made aware on a national level in the USA in 1989; however, little has been done from a design and planning perspective to reduce these incidents. This paper presents a unique perspective on the role of facility managers in understanding the hazards associated with roof maintenance near skylights.

In the construction industry, an under researched area of study is how main contractor (MC) sub-contract design responsibilities to sub-contractor (SC). This lack of knowledge is particularly serious in the context of delivery methods such as design and construct where design responsibilities are pushed down the supply chain. In this study, it is aimed to explore which level of design responsibility MCs sub-contract to SCs, for what reasons, and what the impact of sub-contracting decisions is on projects.

A qualitative in-depth multiple case study was conducted. Six sub-contracting cases were examined in two civil engineering projects. In each project, the MCs sub-contracted pre-fabricated beams, reinforcement and railing to SCs. Data collection included document analysis and interviews. A within-case and cross-case analysis was conducted to examine emerging empirical patterns. These patterns were used to elaborate theory and develop propositions.

MCs sub-contracted design responsibilities to SCs as suggested by literature. However, despite that sub-contracting was in keeping with literature, several problems were reported in the cases where MCs involved SCs no earlier than in the construction stage. This is not to be expected according to theory.

This study adds value to the sub-contracting field as it provides new insights in relationships between the level of design responsibilities sub-contracted and the impact of that on projects. The study also revealed new factors such as building information modelling (BIM) interoperability that should get more attention in sub-contracting.

This paper aims to identify the different system approach using Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology that is equipped with decision making processes. Maintenance planning and management are integral components of the construction sector, serving the broader purpose of post-construction activities and processes. However, as Precast Concrete (PC) construction projects increase in scale and complexity, the interconnections among these activities and processes become apparent, leading to planning and performance management challenges. These challenges specifically affect the monitoring of façade components for corrective and preventive maintenance actions.

The concept of maintenance planning for façades, along with the main features of information and communication technology tools and techniques using building information modeling technology, is grounded in the analysis of numerous literature reviews in PC building scenarios.

This research focuses on an integrated system designed to analyze information and support decision-making in maintenance planning for PC buildings. It is based on robust data collection regarding concrete façades' failures and causes. The system aims to provide appropriate planning decisions and minimize the risk of façade failures throughout the building's lifetime.

The study concludes that implementing a research framework to develop such a system can significantly enhance the effectiveness of maintenance planning for façade design, construction and maintenance operations.

Under the background that engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracting model is introduced to adapt to the highly fragmented characteristics of prefabricated construction, the schedule management of general contractor is faced with the challenge of dynamic transmission and interaction of construction scheduling-related risk. The purpose of this paper is to develop the hierarchy of prefabricated construction scheduling-related risks from the perspective of the general contractor, and to analyze the transmission mechanism between risks. The paper also aims to further distinguish the difference of the impact degree of scheduling-related risks, and provide reference for formulating the strategy to alleviate the construction delay.

Based on a review of the literature on prefabricated buildings, this paper identifies 22 scheduling-related risks in construction from the perspective of the general contractor. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted to obtain experts' views on the interrelationships among these risks. Following this, their overall structure was determined by using a hierarchical structure established by using interpretive structural modeling (ISM), and Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliqués à un Classement (MICMAC) technique was applied to classify them into four groups according to their driving and dependence powers.

The results indicate that the 22 scheduling-related risks in construction followed the inherent path of step-by-step transmission, and all of them could cause different degrees of delays in prefabricated construction. Among them, general experience in contracting projects, the use of emerging technologies and the completeness of the relevant standards and specifications were strong drivers of scheduling delays in construction, and should be prioritized by the general contractor in schedule management. The transitive link between scheduling risks can guide them in developing prevention strategies.

Data quality and reliability risks are the major drawbacks of semi-structured interviews. These were minimized by engaging experts with rich theoretical and hands-on experience in prefabricated construction projects. The hierarchical model only reflects static influence relationships, and so dynamic interactions among scheduling-related risks should be studied in future.

The primary value of this study is in its development of a hierarchical model by using the integrated ISM–MICMAC approach that reflects the interaction between scheduling risks in the construction of prefabricated buildings. The hierarchy of these risks and the results of a “driving-dependence power” analysis can guide the general contractor in taking targeted preventive measures to avoid scheduling delays in the construction of prefabricated buildings.

Although trust is generally taken as a fundamental factor in influencing relational behavior in contractor–subcontractor collaboration, the determination of an optimal level of trust is still lacking. Trust with an optimal tipping point that matches dependence best is considered the optimal trust to improve relational behavior between general contractors and subcontractors. To fill the knowledge gap, this study explores how combinations of trust and dependence trigger relational behavior between general contractors and subcontractors through a configurational approach.

Questionnaires were administered to 228 middle management and technical staff members of the general contractor. The data were analyzed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), and the inductive analytic method allowed researchers to explore configurations of different dimensions and levels of dependence and trust.

Necessity analysis results indicated that neither dependence nor trust was a necessary condition for facilitating relational behavior. Through sufficiency analysis, four configurations of optimal trust matched with dependence were identified in contractor–subcontractor collaboration. Even if contractors rely only on subcontractors for resources, the optimal trust between contractors and subcontractors should include both institution- and cognition-based trust. In the event that contractor–subcontractor collaboration involves relational dependence, both affect- and cognition-based trust are necessary for the optimal trust.

This study enhances existing research by delving deeper into a nuanced understanding of optimal trust in dependence scenarios, and enriches project governance theory by uncovering the internal transmission of relational governance. Practically, this study offers general contractors guidance on how to establish optimal trust strategies based on the dual dependence level with subcontractors, which can facilitate subcontractors' relational behavior, and ultimately improve contractor–subcontractor collaboration performance.

This study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices given the simultaneous conditional effects of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainability orientation (SO).

The authors conducted a survey of US firms focused on their relationship with their top supplier or buyer by spend. This study used conditional process analysis to measure the relationship between stakeholder pressure and adoption of SSCM practices as well as the double moderation effects of EO and SO on this relationship.

The results show that both EO and SO simultaneously function as moderators of the effect of supply chain stakeholder pressure on the adoption of social and environmental SSCM practices. However, EO will only get firms so far in the adoption of SSCM practices. Once a strong SO takes effect, higher practice adoption ensues but the effect of stakeholder pressure weakens.

For those firms that have lower levels of SO, EO and supply chain stakeholder pressure are still essential drivers for the adoption of SSCM practice. The results of this study suggest that focal firms should work closely with suppliers to increase their levels of SO while also maintaining pressure for the adoption of SSCM practices.

This study shows the concurrent effect of two organizational level drivers on the adoption of SSCM practices, indicating that efforts in developing a strong SO are more likely to prepare firms for the adoption of SSCM practices.

Previous studies have established to a great extent that regulatory frameworks and, in particular, procurement approaches – that are common in a particular context – have a major impact on the success of building information modelling (BIM) implementation in construction projects. Despite the close links between these two concepts, research on the effect of procurement approaches on BIM implementation is scarce. To address this gap, this paper aims to investigate the barriers that affect BIM implementation through the lens of procurement approaches.

A mixed-method approach was adopted using a questionnaire survey (n = 116) and interviews with key stakeholders (n = 12) in Jordan. The outcomes of the quantitative parts were augmented with findings from interviews.

It was revealed that the deployment of unfavourable construction procurement approaches represents a major hurdle towards BIM implementation. Though essential for enhancing BIM implementation, it is revealed that a fundamental change from the common design-bid-build (DBB) to more collaborative procurement approaches remains infeasible in view of the realities that govern the construction industry.

It was revealed the deployment of unfavourable construction procurement approaches represents a major hurdle towards BIM implementation. Though essential for enhancing BIM implementation, it is revealed that a fundamental change from the common DBB to more collaborative procurement approaches remains infeasible given the realities that govern the construction industry.

As the first of its kind, a set of recommendations for establishing supportive, workable procurement that does not deviate significantly from common procedures and practices is presented. Rather than advocating a shift to procurement approaches that are aligned with BIM, the findings offer novel insight into the necessity of developing a framework within the boundaries of the current and widely adopted procurement approaches to address the identified construction procurement issues and facilitate BIM implementation.