Gauging the impact of personal lifestyle, indoor environmental quality and work-related factors on occupant productivity when working from home

PurposePersonal lifestyle, work environments and work-related factors can significantly affect occupant productivity. Although many studies examine the affecting factors of occupant productivity in offices, explorations for the home-based work environment, which is designed mainly for living purposes, are still scarce. Moreover, current pandemic has made work from home a new normal for workers around the world. Therefore, it is important to identify key causal factors of occupant productivity when working from home.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed descriptive analysis and regression analysis method to explore the relationship among personal lifestyle, indoor environmental quality and work-related factors toward occupant productivity. A questionnaire including a comprehensive list of key measures was designed and 189 valid responses were collected from more than 13,000 participants.FindingsResults show that a healthy lifestyle, the perceived satisfaction of visual and acoustic environment, communication, interest in work, workload, flexible schedule and privacy positively affect occupant productivity when working from home, while coffee consumption, outside views and windows have negative effect.Originality/valueOpportunities to enhance occupants' home-based work productivity include developing a healthy lifestyle by taking advantage of flexible schedule, equipping a working room at home with advanced and intelligent environment control systems, and improving communication, workload and schedule by changing the policy of companies.

Effect of photovoltaic installation power and façade glazing ratio on the energy performance of a nursery building

PurposeThe aim of the research is to determine the influence of photovoltaic (PV) installation and the share of façade glazing on the energy profile of nursery buildings in the Baltic Sea region, as well as defining the most favorable configuration in terms of energy efficiency.Design/methodology/approachThe article provides comparative calculations of energy performance indicators (Ep, Ed, Eu) and CO2 emissions (mCO2) made for the defined model of the nursery. It includes calculations concerning energy performance of the building, depending on its PV power (0–60 kWp), PV efficiency (100 and 85%) and façade glazing ratio (GR = 25%, 50% and 75%).FindingsThe results of the research indicate that an increase in the PV power exerts proportional impact on the reduction of the Ep and Ed indicators, as well as on the CO2 emissions. Only low GR values (25%) reduce the Eu indicator significantly. Decrease in high range of GR values (over 50%) does not provide proportional effects. In the variant: 60 kWp (100% efficiency) with GR = 25%, the biggest share (99.5%) of RES was obtained. This proves that the concept of energy independent nursery buildings is feasible and reasonable in the examined location.Practical implicationsDesigning buildings towards environmental neutrality requires laborious pre-design conceptual work before developing the right solutions. The set of results of the relationship between the variables of the building's envelope, energy performance indicators and the required involvement of active RES installations to achieve high energy performance of a building presented in the article is valuable. It allows for a preliminary decision of the direction of the design solutions selection in the design process of public utility buildings, such as nurseries. Thus, it may significantly shorten the pre-design analysis process for the location of the southern part of the Baltic Sea region.Originality/valueThe novelty of the paper relies on examining the dependences between PV power and façade glazing ratio in terms of their influence on energy profile of nursery buildings.

Diagnostic intervention program based on construction workers' internal factors for persistent reduction of unsafe behavior

PurposeThis study aims to show what interventions in human factors can effectively reduce construction workers' unsafe behavior.Design/methodology/approachA diagnostic intervention model targeted the construction workers' weakest internal factors. The workers' behavior and cognition data were collected via a questionnaire and a video camera system from two medium-sized construction sites. A safety supervisor accompanied each site supervisor to improve construction workers' internal factors by implementing the designed intervention measures.FindingsThe statistical analysis results confirmed a persistent positive effect on construction workers' safe behavior by improving internal factors. Among the intervention programs applied, those aimed to improve the subjective norms, safety knowledge and attitudes had the most significant effect sizes.Practical implicationsThe findings of this case study advise project managers to design a specific behavioral intervention that aims at improving construction workers' significant internal factors, including subjective norms, safety attitudes, habits and knowledge together with demographic characteristics to reduce construction workers' unsafe behavior.Originality/valueWhile the declining rate of construction accidents approaches an asymptote which is still high, this study suggests that targeting the individual internal factors through diagnostic interventions is the key to further reduce the rate by improving construction workers' behavior.

Is the construction site a safer place under the USACE or local government guidelines? The case of Afghanistan

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to assess the safety level of construction sites in Afghanistan following the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) safety practices and compare this with other construction sites in Afghanistan that follow local government safety guidelines. The USACE oversees and funds many infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, and these projects are supposed to follow the same standards implemented in the USA, including safety standards. The local government of Afghanistan also funds infrastructure projects in Afghanistan; however, these do not follow USACE best practices. This research explores the question of whether the USACE standards provide a safer construction site. The effect of the USACE standards on safety practices in construction projects is also investigated in the Afghanistan construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA literature review and other safety checklists were used to develop a safety checklist containing 104 items (questions) in 17 categories. Subsequently, the checklist was used to assess the safety performance of 57 construction projects (25 USACE projects, and 32 governmental projects). Utilizing quantitative analysis, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (Rho) and Mann–Whitney tests were carried out for correlation and statistical disparity between USACE and governmental projects.FindingsThe safety performance level of Afghan government projects was found to be poor in relation to other developing countries, while in USACE projects it was excellent. In addition, fire prevention, safety administration, PPE, heavy equipment, and handling and storage of materials for all types of contractors were the most overlooked aspects of Afghan Government projects.Practical implicationsThe findings clearly demonstrate the deficiencies in construction sites observed during this study and also support the adoption of USACE standards in Afghanistan projects.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the safety of construction sites in Afghanistan. The study also demonstrates the benefits of adopting international standards (USACE) to improve the safety of construction sites in a developing country such as Afghanistan. The findings provide evidence of the safety of the Afghanistan construction industry compared to other developing countries. These findings will contribute to the Afghan Government's efforts to track injury statistics.

A cognitive model for understanding fraudulent behavior in construction industry

PurposePrevious fraud studies focused on the influence of external environmental factors rather than the actor's own cognition or psychological factors. This paper aims to explore the influence of cognitive factors on people's intention to commit fraud in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA scenario-based questionnaire survey was conducted with 248 Chinese construction practitioners. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data.FindingsThe findings showed that perceived threat possibility and perceived threat severity positively affected people's attitudes towards fraud. The reward for compliance and response cost had adverse effects on people's attitudes. Attitude towards fraud and response efficacy directly influenced people's intentions to commit fraud.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this study are that only behavioral intention data were collected, and a single scenario was designed. Despite these limitations, this study proposed a cognitive model to understand fraud in the construction industry and provided an empirical analysis using data from Chinese construction practitioners.Originality/valueThis study reveals the impact of cognitive factors on fraud in the construction industry. The results expand the understanding of fraud and propose a cognitive intervention framework to reduce fraud.

Modeling cost overrun in building construction projects using the interpretive structural modeling approach: a developing country perspective

PurposeAlthough several studies have been conducted on the causes of cost overrun, they have mainly assumed that the causes of cost overrun are independent of each other, and few of them scrutinized the complex interrelationships between the causes. To fill the gap, this study aims to investigate the mutual interactions between the causes of cost overrun using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and proposing strategies to tackle the causes considering their interactions.Design/methodology/approachCritical causes of cost overrun were identified through a comprehensive literature review. In total, 22 key causes are then refined based on the opinions of relevant experts involved in the Iranian building and construction sector. Using the nominal group technique, the causes' interactions were examined and represented via the ISM diagram. The causes were also classified using “matrix cross-reference multiplication applied to a classification (MICMAC)” technique.FindingsThe results showed that price fluctuation, claims, execution delay, delay in payment and change order positioned at the highest level of the obtained model can directly result in cost overrun, and corruption and poor contract management located at the base of the model are two major root causes of cost overruns. It was also concluded that more attention should be paid to the precontract phase of the project to address and prevent corruption and managerial issues deeply rooted in this stage.Originality/valueThe findings of this study provide a clear understanding of how different causes of cost overrun are related to each other and can ultimately assist project managers of different parties in choosing strategies to mitigate cost overrun in building construction projects.

Risk assessment and ranking in the developing countries’ construction industry: the case of Jordan

PurposeRisk impedes the success of construction projects in developing countries due to planning in an unpredictable and poorly resourced environment. Hence, the literature suggests that practitioners are not fully aware of how important the risk identification process is. Some of the prior studies identified risks in developing countries without highlighting how they can be beneficial to the practitioners in the industry. Therefore, this study highlights this process and identifies the key risks that affect the Jordanian construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed approach, two rounds of face-to-face interviews that were conducted in Jordan among 12 experts followed by a questionnaire randomly distributed to 122 practitioners. This study utilized the relative importance index, coefficient of variation, and Mann–Whitney (U) to analyze the data. Also, the factor analysis technique was used to identify and regroup the risk factors to further understand the correlation among the risks.FindingsThe result revealed an agreement among contractors’ and consultants’ responses toward allocating risks. Furthermore, several risks can be traced back to the project communication management process, highlighting a deficiency in the process. Also, four-factor groups were established, the first group includes the risk of defective design, late decisions making by other project participants and poor coordination with the subcontractor. The second group has only the risk of corruption, including bribery at sites. The third group includes stakeholders’ financial instability and inadequate distribution of responsibilities and risks. The fourth group includes adverse weather conditions and the use of illegal foreign labor.Originality/valueSome of the prior studies identified risks in developing countries without highlighting how they can be beneficial to the practitioners in the industry.

Impact of emotional intelligence on the stress and safety of construction workers' in Saudi Arabia

PurposeIn a country like Saudi Arabia, where the construction industry is witnessing an impressive growth in the post-oil era, it is important to examine the occupational health and safety behaviors of construction workers (CWs).Design/methodology/approachThe present study aims to investigate the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on workers' stress and safety behaviors. Data were collected from CWs (n = 265) at a major construction site in the city of Jeddah. Two questionnaires comprising 25 and 32 questions were used to measure their EI and stress levels, respectively. Furthermore, structured interviews were conducted with the managers and supervisors to inquire about the safety behavior of their respective workers. Descriptive statistics, simple and companion regression were used for data analysis.FindingsThe findings indicate that EI plays an important role to enhance the safety behaviors of the CWs besides reducing their workplace stresses. Furthermore, workers' stress levels are found to negatively impact their safety behaviors, indicating that any reduction in occupational stress can reciprocally enhance their safety compliance. The findings are further discussed with the concerned stakeholders to recommend a seven-point therapeutic role of EI for the safety of CWs.Originality/valueResults of the study can be used by managers and supervisors of the Saudi construction industry to reduce workplace accidents and improve the productivity of their organizations.

Claim management office maturity model (CMOMM) in project-oriented organizations in the construction industry

PurposeClaim formation is a fact and a regular occurrence in construction industry projects and often leads to a waste of money and time for organizations. Organizations can, however, reduce and control claims by promoting an integrated claim management system and improving productivity in the results of the claims. Establishing a claim management office is one of the ways to help organizations achieve this.Design/methodology/approachBased on library research, expert opinion and analysis of organizations' contracts as case studies and identifying the root causes of the claim, this paper proposes a claim management office maturity model and determines its levels.FindingsThis paper proposes a claim management office maturity model and also determines its levels. The general structure of this model is based on three parameters: “characteristics of each level,” “requirements of each level” and “transition period of each level” in five levels, where the first level is the most basic level and level five is the highest level of the implementation of a claim management office in the organization.Originality/valueIt can be clearly emphasized that this research is one of the first research studies that has dealt with the issue of claim management office in the construction industry and has proposed the model of maturity and development of claim management office in the organization. The use of numerous and experienced experts in achieving the results and case organizations to develop this research has increased the value and credibility of this research. This study also helps to improve the level of claim management in construction industry organizations so that these organizations can implement each level of claim management maturity model in the organization according to their competence and need for claim management. And by implementing it correctly, solve or reduce the problems of claim management in the organization and their projects.

Improvement of random forest by multiple imputation applied to tower crane accident prediction with missing data

PurposeThis research is aimed at predicting tower crane accident phases with incomplete data.Design/methodology/approachThe tower crane accidents are collected for prediction model training. Random forest (RF) is used to conduct prediction. When there are missing values in the new inputs, they should be filled in advance. Nevertheless, it is difficult to collect complete data on construction site. Thus, the authors use multiple imputation (MI) method to improve RF. Finally the prediction model is applied to a case study.FindingsThe results show that multiple imputation RF (MIRF) can effectively predict tower crane accident when the data are incomplete. This research provides the importance rank of tower crane safety factors. The critical factors should be focused on site, because the missing data affect the prediction results seriously. Also the value of critical factors influences the safety of tower crane.Practical implicationThis research promotes the application of machine learning methods for accident prediction in actual projects. According to the onsite data, the authors can predict the accident phase of tower crane. The results can be used for tower crane accident prevention.Originality/valuePrevious studies have seldom predicted tower crane accidents, especially the phase of accident. This research uses tower crane data collected on site to predict the phase of the tower crane accident. The incomplete data collection is considered in this research according to the actual situation.