Defining the Maturity Levels for Implementing Industrial Logistics Practices in Construction

Logistics practices are processes that require alignment and coordination among project actors to support successful construction operations. While recent research has underlined the effects of single material logistics practices on project performance, practitioners need more knowledge on development paths toward successful overall logistics solutions. Based on a review of current practices obtained from the literature, this research proposes the maturity levels of planning, organizing, operating, use of technology, and information flow regarding the logistics practices in construction. Moreover, the study devises a recommended order for implementing logistics practices and investigates how companies can advance their logistics maturity from one level to the next. The proposed model has been validated via case examples from the industry. The paper contributes to construction logistics research by describing how companies can navigate development efforts to gradually improve their logistics practices. Future research could conduct more case studies within different project contexts.

An Auto-Calibrating Semi-Adiabatic Calorimetric Methodology for Strength Prediction and Quality Control of Ordinary and Ultra-High-Performance Concretes

A timely knowledge of concrete and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) strength is possible through the so-called strength-equivalent time (Et) curves. A timely knowledge of concrete strength is useful, for instance, to precisely determine when the shores of a hardening structural element can be safely removed. At the present time, the preparation of the strength-Et curves requires time-consuming and labor-intensive testing prior to the beginning of construction operations. This paper proposes an innovative method to derive the strength-Et and total heat-Et curves for both normal strength and UHPC. Results confirmed that the proposed method is fast, inexpensive, self-calibrating, accurate and can detect any variation of the concrete mix proportions or components quality. In addition, the quality of predictions of strength–maturity curves can be constantly improved as the specimens’ population increases. Finally, results obtained with the proposed method were compared with those obtained using standard methods, showing a good agreement.

Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Construction Fieldworkers’ Safety Risk Assessments

Construction operations are hazardous, leading to thousands of accidents, injuries, and fatalities annually. Safety risk assessment (SRA) is a key component necessary to respond to hazards effectively. Individuals have different perceptions of the riskiness of construction hazards, and studies have shown that different sociodemographic factors among employees can alter their SRA skills. However, their role in the US construction industry has been understudied, and this analysis investigates this topic further. Following a detailed systematic review of the relevant literature, quantitative data were collected from 181 construction fieldworkers in the United States using images integrated into an interactive questionnaire survey. Responses on the severity and frequency of seven potential accident causes were captured and analyzed. Findings from the literature review revealed six key sociodemographic factors—age, education, training, gender, ethnicity, and work type—that could impact fieldworkers’ SRA. However, a quantitative analysis suggests that only education is a significant influence, and sociodemographic factors had a statistically significant impact on less than five percent of the assessments. Therefore, the present study proposes that future investigation within the SRA domain should complement sociodemographic factors with critical behavioral factors that are rarely discussed, such as cognitive biases, personality traits, and safety behavior. As a foundational study for safety researchers and practitioners, the results provide information on SRA that can help enhance the safety and workforce sustainability of construction companies with a diverse workforce.

Carbon emissions management in construction operations: a systematic review

PurposeThe demand to reduce carbon emissions has become an increasingly important social factor due to the unprecedented impacts of climate change. However, most existing publications have focused on minimizing emissions during the operational phase of buildings. At the same time, there is a lack of comprehensive research conducted on carbon emissions, specifically during the construction phase. The purpose of this paper is to identify, review and classify current practices related to carbon emissions management in construction operations to gain greater insight into how to reduce and mitigate emissions and achieve more sustainable solutions.Design/methodology/approachThis study reviewed the published literature on carbon emissions from construction. A total of 198 bibliographic records were extracted from the Scopus collection database and analyzed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). PRISMA is used as a basis for reporting possible trends, research methods and strategies used in published literatures. A total of 99 papers related to carbon emissions in the construction operations were further reviewed and analyzed. This review paper draws on existing research and identifies current carbon management patterns in construction projects.FindingsData indicated an upward trend in the number of publications in carbon emissions research during the last few years, particularly in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The most significant contributions to the domain were reported from China, Europe and the USA. This paper found that most studies conduct the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method to estimate carbon emissions. This paper found that the primary studies have focused on construction machinery and equipment emissions. The strategies such as establishing uniform standards for carbon emissions policies and regulations, equipment and logistic planning and low carbon design material will potentially impact carbon emissions reductions.Practical implicationsThis paper provides information that will be beneficial for the construction industry to design and manage construction operations. It will also be of interest to those looking to reduce or manage construction emissions.Originality/valueAlthough there is a diversity of current thinking related to the practical estimation and management of carbon emissions in construction projects, there is no consolidated set of keys of standardized carbon emissions management in practice. By assessing the existing paradigms of carbon assessment methods and tactics in the construction industry, this study contributed to the existing knowledge base by providing insights into current techniques in the construction sector for monitoring and mitigating emissions.

A simulation-based decision support tool for integrating site layout and construction planning of tunneling projects

Purpose Integrating construction and site layout planning in mechanized tunnel infrastructure projects is essential due to the mutual impacts of construction planning and site layout decisions. Simulation can incorporate site layout planning and construction planning of tunneling projects in a unified environment. However, simulation adoption by industry practitioners has remained relatively limited due to the special skills required for building and using simulation models. Therefore, this paper aims to create a simple-to-use simulation tool that supports site layout and construction operation planning of tunneling projects. This tool intends to promote the simulation application in site layout planning. Design/methodology/approach The current paper proposes simulation as a decision support tool (DST) to provide an integrated environment for modeling tunnel construction operations, site layout and capturing the mutual impacts. A special purpose simulation (SPS) tool was customized and developed for typical mechanized tunneling projects, by tunnel boring machines, to facilitate building the model and allow access to users with limited simulation knowledge. Findings The results show that the developed SPS tool is of great assistance to construction industry practitioners to analyze a variety of site layout and construction plan scenarios and make informed decisions based on its comprehensive and intuitive outputs. Originality/value The main contribution of this research is to promote simulation application in site layout planning of tunneling projects through the development of a simple-to-use tool, which has sufficient details for site layout planning and constraints. The developed DST enables planners to make decisions simultaneously on the site layout, other construction planning variables and identify the most efficient plan.

Remote Cementing Enabled with Automation Drives Reliability, Consistency and Efficiency; A Case History from Norwegian Continental Shelf

Cementing is the fundamental first step and foundation for well construction. The traditional "let's go, mix it, pump it and bump it" cannot be the standard for the current and future offshore cementing operations. As oil and gas operators continue to push the envelope for both innovation and efficiency in well construction operations, to drive energy transition, lower carbon footprint, service providers continue to look for ways to "do more, with less". The latest innovation is redefining offshore cementing operations with a powerful combination of field-proven expertise, equipment, processes, and software. Remote Cementing Operations, the first of its kind in the industry, offers real- time and remote-operation capabilities, controls, and diagnostics of offshore cementing units. While conventional operations would typically involve a cement specialist working in an adjacent room on the rig, Remote Cementing Operations allows all cementing procedures to be controlled offsite by a cementing SME (Subject Matter Expert) from a Remote Operations Center (ROC), miles away from the offshore rig simplifying the operations, minimize errors and improve reliability. As the industry moves forward with a goal to lower carbon footprint, remote cementing enabled by automation will play a key role to implement innovative technologies that will help operators accomplish zonal isolation today and in the future while improving reliability, consistency and driving efficiency. The new implemented process thus results in reduced costs, risks, and non-productive time (NPT) with fewer personnel on-board (POB)—all without sacrificing quality, safety, and performance. A recent success case study is presented, where in an entire offshore well all the cementing operations have been mixed and pumped flawlessly from the ROC in one of the NCS (Norwegian Continental Shelf) rigs. This work explores the relationship between the process of planning, execution and troubleshooting remotely when performing cement operations. By analyzing and reviewing different previous experiences on remote operations, the authors developed a more comprehensive decision support system for remote cementing operations.

Methodology of making organizational and technological decisions at the stage of operational management of construction operations based on the forecasting system

The article discusses the issues of forecasting two key parameters of an investment and construction project: time and cost, while the building company is considered as a complex dynamic system. Taking into account the long-term nature of the creation of construction products and, as a consequence, the high level of work in progress, the need to use forecasting models is justified, both at short-term planning intervals (week, month) and at longer intervals (quarter, year). The article examines the formalized forecasting methods, gives a characteristic of the methods most widely used in practice. These methods include forecasting based on ARIMA models. DSTU has developed a pilot software package for an intelligent construction management system, which includes a software package for forecasting the time and cost parameters of a construction object at the stages of operational and current management.

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Dynamic Site Layout Planning in Large-Scale Construction Projects

Construction sites are increasingly complex, and their layout have an impact on productivity, safety, and efficiency of construction operations. Dynamic site layout planning (DSLP) considers the adjustment of construction facilities on-site, on an evolving basis, allowing the relocation of temporary facilities according to the stages of the project. The main objective of this study is to develop a framework for integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their capacity for effective photogrammetry with site layout planning optimisation and Building Information Modelling (BIM) for automating site layout planning in large construction projects. The mathematical model proposed is based on a mixed integer programming (MIP) model, which was employed to validate the framework on a realistic case study provided by an industry partner. Allocation constraints were formulated to ensure the placement of the facilities in feasible regions. Using information from the UAV, several parameters could be considered, including proximity to access ways, distances between the facilities, and suitability of locations. Based on the proposed framework, a layout was developed for each stage of the project, adapting the location of temporary facilities according to current progress on-site. As a result, the use of space was optimised, and internal transport costs were progressively reduced.