New report evaluates the challenges that women still face in the construction sector

Civil engineer Joana Palha of business consultancy Ayming introduces a report her firm published last year on the challenges still facing women in construction. Contributors included former Civil Engineering editorial panel member Liz King of Mott MacDonald.

A Review: Lifecycle Assessment of a Building by Using BIM

BIM is the most ruling software from last two decade in construction sector. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a digital representation of overall building. BIM is a 3 D model process that help us to work efficiently. BIM also help us to reduce the impact on environment. Several research paper, conference paper, articles were analysed based on their research focus. This paper gives a review on, Lifecycle Assessment of a building (LCA) of a building using BIM is discussed. LCA is the method that helps us to known the impact of our building on environment. The finding of these studies will be useful for the engineer, architects and for every construction industry as it will helps us to minimize the impact of our building on environment. Keywords: Software and Environment, BIM, Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), Eco-friendly, Computer and Construction, Sustainability, Virtual Design and Construction with Eco-friendly Application.

Evaluating energy consumption, indoor air quality, and student productivity

Smart energy conservation research is gaining traction in a variety of industries throughout the world. The current research is projected to cut energy consumption in the construction sector, which has already reached 49% globally and is expected to rise by 2% annually, costing millions of dollars per month. Balancing energy savings with thermal satisfaction is a current difficulty, as most researchers have concentrated on attaining energy savings without reaching the thermal contentment of the occupant, which could pose a health risk to both young and old occupants. To address the problem, we conducted empirical studies with 193 participants in the Northern part of Nigeria, where they were exposed to an indoor temperature of 22°C to determine their thermal environment, choice and comfort votes, viewed and favored control, and overall thermal satisfaction, which will help calculate and define the unused thermal satisfaction thermostat and later.

Reverse Logistics Performance Indicators for the Construction Sector: A Building Project Case

While the performance evaluation of reverse logistics (RL) practices in the construction sector is crucial, it is seemingly limited compared to that in the manufacturing sector. As the project life cycle in the construction sector is typically long, effective coordination among the stakeholders is needed to integrate RL into each phase of the project life cycle. This paper proposes a new model of RL for the construction industry, incorporating the dimensions, elements, and, most importantly, indicators needed for the evaluation of RL performance. The model was initially derived from the extant literature. It was then refined through (1) focus group discussion, by which suggestions pertinent to the proposed model were collated from academics and practitioners, and (2) judgments by academics and practitioners to validate the model. The validated model includes 21 indicators to measure RL performance, spanned throughout the green initiation, green design, green material management, green construction, and green operation and maintenance phases. The paper offers a new method for how RL can be adopted in the construction industry by proposing an innovative model that will benefit stakeholders in the construction industry.

Factors Affecting Construction Sector Safety Performance: Exploratory Factor Analysis Evidence from China

Construction industry is a significant contributor to the Chinese economy. The industry has more than 12 million employers with over 250 million employees and creates almost $1.9 trillion worth of structures yearly. Civil construction remains the main driver of growth in China. Basically, a task is developed to meet market demands or demands in a timely fashion. Different possibilities may be thought about in the conceptual drawing board, and also the technical and also financial feasibility of each alternative will be assessed and compared in order to select the very best feasible job. The construction industry in China is forecast to grow by 7.7% in 2021, driven by strong Y-o-Y growth in the first quarter, reflecting the comparison to the previous year's period when construction work was halted across most of the country. Thereafter, the construction industry is expected to record an average annual growth of 4.2% between 2022 and 2025. The industry's growth over the forecast period is expected to be driven by investments on new infrastructure, including investment in the areas of 5G networks, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and data centers. According to the government-backed think tank, the China Electronic Information Industry Development, the country is expected to spend CNY10 trillion (US$1.4 trillion) on new infrastructure projects between 2020 and 2025. This study evaluated factors affecting construction sector performance: explanatory factor analysis evidence from China. From the literature reviewed, it was established that entering the Chinese construction market is still seen as exciting but difficult by many foreign contractors and consultants. The study found out that rising material and labor costs, labor woes, increased competition and shrinking profit margins were some of the challenges construction firms in Chin face. The study concludes that the implementation of construction safety laws and the rate of subcontracting are relevant factors affecting construction sector in China, while neither the extent of using temporary workers, nor the availability of resources, nor the level of per capita GDP has any effects. Keywords. Construction sector, safety performance, construction sector, labor costs, increased competition, shrinking profit margins

Identifying Contractors’ Planned Quality Time in Egyptian Irrigation Projects

During an extremely competitive infrastructure sector such as irrigation projects, quality time (QT) must be determined to can recognize probable quality crisis parts and to direct mind on schedule enhancement chances. The consciousness of planners on the significance of QT could be reflected in their project schedule. This study appears a measurement of planned QT in five infrastructure irrigation projects performed by different five contractors in Egypt. The aim is to aid the contractors to develop their QT preparation and thus enhance their project time based on the results. QT is fundamental classified into two classes: conformance time (CT), and nonconformance time (NCT). Based on many studies, a register of quality proceedings that would be enclosed in every QT groups are then generated. The QT records for every group are recognized and gathered via questions and questionnaire designs. QT is calculated as a proportion of the project duration. It is uncovered that while enormous companies previously have clear information on QT in construction sector, these times are not scheduled in a defined method during a study of regular QT details. During time classification it is also appeared that greater conformance time (CT) lead to lesser nonconformance time (NCT). It is then ended that a lot of effort is still to be made by the contractors to establish a QT documenting procedure which be able to act as a base for their project enhancement planning.

Determining the Level of Market Concentration in the Construction Sector—Case of Application of the HHI Index

Background—competitive conditions are often distorted in the construction sector, therefore this affects the market position of all participants. This paper seeks to find the tools for properly assessment of participants by Herfindahl-Hirschmann index (HHI) and to identify what parameters have the greatest impact in the competitiveness of the construction sector. Methods: in this article the DEMATEL method was used whereas tool for assessing the balance of market concentration as it may help to determine factor with the greatest influence on a firm’s HHI. Results in this work showed how different parameters affect each other and their impact on a value of a firms’s HHI. When the parameters are determined, they can be useful for assesment of mergers their influence on the HHI and alteration of the market’s power balance. Conclusions—The calculation of the HHI by using the DEMATEL method allowed to check the empirical implementation check of the multicriteria assessment method, on the market power of business entities, operating in the distorted market conditions of the construction sector.

DEVELOPING OF SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT INDICATORS IN CONSTRUCTION

Most of the existing supply chain management methods and systems are being transferred to construction sphere regardless of the specifics of companies in the construction sector. Numerous complex factors such as ecological, social and economic are required for the continuous evaluation in the modern management of construction sector. The provided studies and the research to examine sustainable supply chain management in construction sector from a holistic perspective, concentrating on mostly longterm sustainable decision­making by the construction company rather than being centered only on the supply chain management for construction projects. This paper identifies a list of sustainability indicators for examining the supply chains of construction companies. Those indicators were categorized and assigned to one or a couple groups by reviewing their use in the previous literature agreeing to the reasoning to way better reflect the SSCM principle of their use in construction companies. The use of indicators can help develop strategies for the construction sector for sustainable policy makers and construction company managers.

Socio-Economic Challenges Affecting Construction Women Labourers (WCLs) in The Nigerian Construction Sector (NCS)

Women constitute about half of the population of Nigeria and thus a critical mass in the human capital of the country. They make significant contributions to social and economic development of the society, yet they are never appreciated nor supported by public or private institutions. Recently there have been a growing number of women in construction labour work in the Nigerian Construction Sector (NCS) - an area hitherto exclusively preserved of the male folks. This study investigates aspects of social and economic conditions of women construction labourers (WCLs) in Ondo State Southwest Nigeria. Convenience and Snowball sampling were used to sample 101 WCLs. Simple descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. The result indicates that most WCLs are low in education and skills hence they mostly participate in supportive roles that are energetic. The WCLs are exposed to multiple risks due to poor Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), welfare and social protection of Nigerian Construction Contractors (NCCs) in the informal construction sub sector of the NCS. The study recommends for the improvement and enforcement of HSE standards, welfare package and training in the NCS.