scholarly journals A Review of 3D Printing in Construction and its Impact on the Labor Market

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8492
Author(s):  
Md. Aslam Hossain ◽  
Altynay Zhumabekova ◽  
Suvash Chandra Paul ◽  
Jong Ryeol Kim
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
3D Printing ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Immigrant Workers ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Laborious Work

Construction industry is very labor-intensive and one of the major sources of employment in the world. The industry is experiencing low productivity with minimum technological innovations for decades. In recent times, various automation technologies including 3D printing have received increasing interests in construction. 3D printing in construction is found to be very promising to automate the construction processes and have the potential of saving laborious work, material waste, construction time, risky operation for humans, etc. There has been a comprehensive body of research conducted to understand the recent advances, future prospects and challenges of large-scale adoption of 3D printing in construction projects. Being one the labor-intensive industries, this study also investigates the possible impact on the labor market with increasing adoption of 3D printing in construction. It is found that 3D printing can reduce significant number of labors which can solve the labor shortage problem, especially for the countries where construction is heavily dependent on immigrant workers. In contrast, 3D printing might not be favorable for the countries where construction is one of the main workforces and labor is less expensive. Moreover, 3D construction printing will also require people with special skills related to this new technology.

scholarly journals Using a Cable-Driven Parallel Robot with Applications in 3D Concrete Printing

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 563
Author(s):  
Tuong Phuoc Tho ◽  
Nguyen Truong Thinh
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Trust Region ◽  
Parallel Robot ◽  
Inverse Kinematic ◽  
Programming Algorithm ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Inverse Kinematic Problem ◽  
Robot Configuration ◽  
Printing Method

In construction, a large-scale 3D printing method for construction is used to build houses quickly, based on Computerized Aid Design. Currently, the construction industry is beginning to apply quite a lot of 3D printing technologies to create buildings that require a quick construction time and complex structures that classical methods cannot implement. In this paper, a Cable-Driven Parallel Robot (CDPR) is described for the 3D printing of concrete for building a house. The CDPR structures are designed to be suitable for 3D printing in a large workspace. A linear programming algorithm was used to quickly calculate the inverse kinematic problem with the force equilibrium condition for the moving platform; this method is suitable for the flexible configuration of a CDPR corresponding to the various spaces. Cable sagging was also analyzed by the Trust-Region-Dogleg algorithm to increase the accuracy of the inverse kinematic problem for controlling the robot to perform basic trajectory interpolation movements. The paper also covers the design and analysis of a concrete extruder for the 3D printing method. The analytical results are experimented with based on a prototype of the CDPR to evaluate the work ability and suitability of this design. The results show that this design is suitable for 3D printing in construction, with high precision and a stable trajectory printing. The robot configuration can be easily adjusted and calculated to suit the construction space, while maintaining rigidity as well as an adequate operating space. The actuators are compact, easy to disassemble and move, and capable of accommodating a wide variety of dimensions.

Demystifying performance difference between local and foreign contractors through organisational culture

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chipozya Kosta Tembo ◽  
Franco Muleya ◽  
Emmanuellie Phiri
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Overall Response Rate ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Projects ◽  
Grade One

PurposeThis 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.Design/methodology/approachThe 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.FindingsFindings 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.Originality/valueForeign 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.

scholarly journals A review of causes of variation order in the construction of terrace housing projects in Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 277 ◽  
pp. 03013
Author(s):  
Noraziah Mohammad ◽  
Zabidi Hamzah
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Housing Projects ◽  
Building Project

Variation order refers to any changes from the scope, plan, specification or contract document in the construction project. This changes of work is a common problem in construction projects in Malaysia. It is inevitable in any construction project and this problem can become more serious when variation order causes work progress to be impaired as a results it increased the construction time and cost that affects the construction industry in Malaysia. This paper critically review the causes of variation order in the construction industry on the double-storey terrace housing project in Malaysia. The discussions began with the construction industry in Malaysia and then related parties involved in the construction industry. The extensive local and abroad literature review on the definitions of variation order and analysis of past studies conducted on variation order and the previous study of the prediction model of variation. The extensive literature on variation order in the construction of building project may help to improve the performance in term of time, cost and quality of the construction of building projects in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Assessing of Modern Machinaries used by Large Scale Construction Firms for High Cost Construction Projects

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2S4) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
New Venture ◽  
After Effects ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Growing Economy ◽  
The One

India is one of fastest growing economy in the world which attracts many foreign investors to our country. With the economy being liberalized, foreign players have a vital stake over our countries growth and it’s after effects. The Construction area has consistently been progressively to this financial development which all in all is an exceptionally divided industry. It needs to impart on a huge scale other related help business lines prone to be materials, types of gear, merchants, providers, subcontractors, customers and furthermore the undertaking plan and funds. All these elements which this sector deals with are subjected to potential risks involved which have to be predicted, monitored and managed. Construction industry has been following method for managing these risks and issues to be arising from a project. They have been managing these risks by foreseeing them with the experience and knowledge that the company has gained over the period of time. But this will be a question for a firm if they diversify or when they enter into any new venture of business domain. The conventional model is the one using the manual techniques for assessing risks involved from the experience, knowledge and competency gained in the business domain. Using Primavera (P6) the risk is been managed by creating several models generated which explains the process of additions of risks, identification of type of risk, calculation of exposure values, calculation of risk impact, assigning the person responsible to the risk, time frame of risk, preparation of control plans if the risk occurs. Finally the results thus obtained from both the methods are been compared and the results

Investigating the managerial ‘‘nuts and bolts’’ for the construction industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-348
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap ◽  
Ian Ni Chow
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Planning And Control ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
And Control

PurposeManagerial shortfalls can considerably undermine the delivery performance of construction projects. This paper appraises the project management essentials (PMEs) for successful construction project delivery.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a detailed literature review, a questionnaire survey was developed encompassing 20 PMEs that were identified. An opinion questionnaire survey was used to facilitate data collection from key construction stakeholders in the Malaysian construction industry. The survey data were subjected to descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis.FindingsFindings indicated that the leading PMEs are competency of the project team, competency of project manager, good leadership, effective planning and control and realistic cost and time estimate. Spearman’s rank correlation tests affirmed a good agreement on the ranking of PMEs across stakeholder groups. The present study found that PMEs for construction have a total of four dimensions, namely: scope, communication and competence management; stakeholder commitment and collaborative engagement; construction time–cost planning and control; and environment, health, safety and quality management.Practical implicationsThe findings could potentially contribute to the development of appropriate project management best practices to address managerial shortfalls in Malaysia and other developing countries.Originality/valueThis paper bridges the identified knowledge gap about critical managerial dimensions for successful project management in construction. The present study adds to the existing body of knowledge around this under-explored area in the construction management literature.

scholarly journals Adoption of Prefabrication in Small Scale Construction Projects

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1099-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabir Hussain Khahro ◽  
Nafees Ahmed Memon ◽  
Tauha Hussain Ali ◽  
Zubair Ahmed Memon
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Dynamic Change ◽  
Construction Cost ◽  
Scale Construction ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Housing Project ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Design Changes

The construction industry is facing numerous difficulties in managing construction waste, quality, environment, permanence, safety, and greater construction cost. Dynamic change is needed today to overcome new challenges in the construction industry. Adoption of prefabrication is one of the possible solutions to such problems. This paper explores the advantages in prefabrication adoption with its possible disadvantages (barriers) through the qualitative study. This paper is an addition to the existing literature of prefabrication specially for developing countries where the acceptance rate of new approaches is difficult. It covers private residential project and a public housing project. This study also aims to evaluate the current status of prefabrication adoption in small-scale construction projects. A set of the questionnaire is used to collect the data and Average Index (AI) method using SPSS has been used to analyze the results. Shorter construction time, Low site waste and better supervision are the main advantages. Higher initial construction cost and Strict & difficult design changes are the key disadvantages. It is analyzed that the conventional construction method is more frequently used when compared with prefabrication concept.

scholarly journals Understanding the Hiring Issues of the Craft Workers in the UAE’s Construction Labor Market: Project Managers Perspective

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Mohammed Albattah ◽  
Amna Shibeika ◽  
Muhammad Sami Ur Rehman
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Project Performance ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Completion ◽  
Labor Issues

The construction industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is faced with negative project performance, including low productivity, higher costs, delays in project completion, and defects during construction. One of the main reasons for these issues is the engagement of unskilled craft workers. Despite these labor issues, demand for construction projects in the UAE has been explosively increasing, in part due to Dubai winning the hosting of Expo 2020, which has given rise to an unprecedented demand for skilled construction craft workers. This study aimed to investigate the views and experiences of construction project managers regarding the reasons and challenges associated with the hiring of skilled craft workers in the construction labor market of the UAE. To fulfill the study purpose, the authors conducted structured open-ended interviews with UAE construction project managers. The results revealed several reasons for hiring craft workers despite a clear lack of qualifications and suggest some potential solutions.

Decision Making and Economic Analysis for Accelerated Bridge Construction

2013 ◽  
Vol 423-426 ◽  
pp. 2196-2201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeng Zhong Wang ◽  
Bin Shi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Accelerated Bridge Construction ◽  
Bridge Construction ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
The Impact

Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) is recognized as an important method to design and rehabilitate highway bridge structures. ABC is bridge construction that uses innovative planning, design, materials, and construction methods in a safe and cost-effective manner to reduce the onsite construction time that occurs when building new bridges or replacing and rehabilitating existing bridges. ABC uses both new technology and innovative project management techniques to reduce the impact of bridge construction projects on the public and to reduce bridge construction costs. In the early stages of a construction project, engineers need to assess whether elements of ABC are achievable and effective for a specific bridge location. Use of decision-making tools in early stages of planning is advocated as a mechanism for helping decision maker assess alternatives with more confidence and for preventing investment in alternatives that are more costly. In this study, a set of decision making tools, based on the Bridge Construction Index (BCI) were developed. This tool is prepared for transportation specialists and decision-makers to determine if ABC techniques are more effective than traditional construction for a given bridge replacement or rehabilitation project.

scholarly journals Construction machinery hire rates deviation in Malaysia: an inflation rate effect analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-105
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali Musarat ◽  
◽  
Wesam l Salah Alalou ◽  
Mohd Shahir Liew ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Inflation Rate ◽  
Cost Overrun ◽  
Effect Analysis ◽  
Construction Machinery ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Moderate Relationship

Machinery has been used in the construction industry in both small and large scale projects for a long time. Machinery is one of the main components of any construction projects and rates deviation within the hiring of the machinery can result in cost overrun of the project. To deal with the issue of deviating the machinery hire rates in the construction industry, this study has been conducted. The study accesses the machinery hire rates and aims to investigate the percentage deviation from 2013 to 2018, where statistical analysis was performed to identify the influence of the inflation rate in deviating the machinery hire which results in cost overrun. The analysis shows that the inflation rate possesses a weak relationship with nine of the machinery hire rates, where five shows a moderate relationship. It is therefore recommended to observe other factors which deviate the machinery hire rates within the construction industry.

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