Investigation of spatial association network features of construction waste in major Chinese urban agglomeration.

The illegal dumping of construction waste (CW) poses an increasingly serious environmental pollution problem with the accelerated rate of urbanization. As CW disposal capacity struggles to match municipal needs, some CW is being diverted to higher resource endowment cities rather than recycled. To address this situation, it is necessary to obtain reliable information on the characteristics and evolution of CW generation networks in China. This study combines a modified gravity model with Social Network Analysis (SNA) to analyze the spatial association networks of CW generation in four Chinese urban agglomerations between 2000 and 2020. Results reveal the evolution characteristics of the CW generation network, including increasing density and correlation and decreasing network efficiency. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Procedure (QAP) indicates that urbanization level and population size are positively correlated with CW generations, whereas distance plays a negative role, but resources are insignificant for network formation. The findings provide insight into current patterns of waste distribution and a theoretical basis for government policy formulation in the future.

Characterization of Group Behavior of Corruption in Construction Projects Based on Contagion Mechanism.

With the rapid development of construction projects, more and more engineering corruption problems have emerged. Therefore, this paper proposes a SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered) based corruption model to better understand the propagation process of corruption cases in construction projects. In this model, the data samples are collected from the 2018 Engineering Corruption Case Judgment Document, the propagation parameters are obtained through actual case analysis with the help of complex networks, the change process and key influencing factors of actual nodes in engineering corruption cases are simulated by Python. The study results indicate that the personnel conforms to the "4-9 transmission law," in which the early stage is a period of high incidence of corruption cases. The network of corruption cases is somewhat vulnerable, and its spread is about minus 8 times the change in crackdown rate and 10 times the change in infection rate. The variation range of the susceptible population S and the removed person R in the propagation simulation curve can predict the relationship between corruption infection rate and crackdown rate, which can provide theoretical guidance for preventing the occurrence of corruption.

Pricing and assembly rate decisions for a prefabricated construction supply chain under subsidy policies.

Prefabricated construction has attracted worldwide concern and promotion due to its environmental friendliness, high quality, and high efficiency. In China, the application of prefabricated construction still lags due to its high cost. To improve prefabricated construction development, the Chinese government and provinces have launched subsidy policies for different objects that offer subsidies to the assembler, the manufacturer, or consumers. Subsidy policies for different subsidy objects have different impacts on the manufacturer wholesale price and assembler retail price and assembly rate and make their decisions more complicated. Therefore, this study uses game theory and builds three models to analyze the effects of government subsidies on manufacturer pricing, assembler pricing, assembly rate decisions, and profit. We find that government subsidy policies can bring more profit to prefabricated construction enterprises, reduce their costs, and benefit the promotion of prefabricated construction. Through comparison and numerical analysis, we also find that when the government subsidizes enterprises more, it is better to subsidize the assembler, because it is good for all three parties. First, consumers can obtain a lower retail price. Second, enterprises can obtain more profits. Finally, for the government, this approach can increase the demand for prefabricated construction and increase the assembly rate, which is conducive to the promotion of prefabricated construction. When the government subsidizes customers more, it is better for the assembler and the manufacturer to subsidize customers, because they can obtain more profits. It is better for the government and customers to subsidize the assembler or the manufacture, because consumers can get the lower retail price. Although the assembly rate and enterprises' profits are not optimal, they have also been improved. In addition, when the government directly subsidizes enterprises, the enterprises will actively cooperate with the subsidy policy and are more willing to adopt prefabricated construction. This approach will benefit the promotion of prefabricated construction.

Factors affecting prefabricated construction promotion in China: A structural equation modeling approach.

Prefabricated construction (PC) has attracted wide spread attention as a model of sustainable development for the construction industry of the future. Although the PC has many advantages, it is still at an initial stage in China. Based on the current conditions in China, this study focuses on the interrelationships of factors affecting PC promotion. Firstly, through a comprehensive review of relevant literatures and expert recommendations, 5 factors were identified: policy factor, technical factor, management factor, market factor and cost factor. Next, the data were collected through a questionnaire survey, and the questionnaire data were processed using SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 22.0. The overall relationships of each factor were quantitatively analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results show that the policy factor plays a dominant role, while the management factor and market factors are also significant. This study also provides decision makers with relevant information about the factors involved, which will be helpful in devising appropriate strategies for the wider adoption of PC.

Spatiotemporal characteristics and driving forces of construction land expansion in Yangtze River economic belt, China.

With rapid economic and population growth, construction land expansion in Yangtze River economic belt in China becomes substantial, carrying significant social and economic implications. This research uses Expansion Speed Index and Expansion Intensity Index to examine spatiotemporal characteristics of construction land expansion in the Yangtze River economic belt from 2000 to 2017. Based on a STIRPAT model, driving forces of construction land expansion are measured by Principal Component Analysis and Ordinary Least Square regression. The results show that: (1) there is a clear expansion pattern regarding the time sequence in provinces/cities of the Yangtze River economic belt, with rapid expansion in the initial stage, moderate expansion in the middle stage and rapid expansion in the later stage. (2) Spatial analysis demonstrates first expansion in the lower reaches in the early stage, rapid expansion of the upper reaches in the middle and later stage, and steady expansion of the middle reaches throughout the research period. (3)There are statistical significant correlations between construction land expansion and GDP, social fixed asset investments, population at the end of the year, population urbanization rate, per capita road area, and number of scientific and technological professionals as well as secondary and tertiary industry values. Of these factors, GDP, social fixed asset investments, population urbanization rate and second industry value are important common driving forces of construction land expansion in this region. The research findings have significant policy implications particularly on coordinated development of urban agglomerations and sustainable industry upgrading when construction land expansion is concerned.

An Empirical Study on Construction Process Corruption Susceptibility: A Vignette of International Expertise.

Construction process stages are argued to be vulnerable to the prevalence of corrupt practices. However, the validity of this argument has not been empirically explored in the extant literature of construction management. Therefore, this study examines the stages of the construction process susceptibility to corruption and its most prominent forms of corrupt activities (within the respective stages). A total of forty-four project-related professionals were involved in an expert survey to assess such susceptibilities and the criticality of the identified corrupt activities at each stage. A comparative study of expert views from developing regions against experts from developed regions is conducted. Expert scoring results revealed that three stages are most susceptible, namely: project execution, pre-qualification and tender stages. Such results were confirmed by application of the Mann-Whitney U test statistics tool, showing wide disparities in seven out of eleven identical stages. This study is intended to incite polemic discussions and greater empirical, evidence-based research from scholars in both developed and developing countries. This study adds to the extant literature corruption-related works on the construction process through deeper understanding of the dynamic nature of corrupt practices involved in the stages of the construction process in developing countries. Practically, it intends to offer a veritable plethora of information on the critical stages of the construction process for industry practitioners, policymakers and anti-corruption bodies to careen their attention towards the fight against corruption.

Exploring barriers and challenges in protecting residential fire-related injuries: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Building fires can be a great threat to the safety of residents, and can lead to economic and social damage. Exploring the views of stakeholders is a great source for understanding the factors that affect fires. The purpose of this study was to explore stakeholders' experiences of unintentional fire-related injuries in residential buildings in Iran. METHODS: This qualitative study was carried out using grounded theory. The study was conducted in Iran, in 2017. The study participants consisted of 25 people including stakeholders who had practical experience/or were knowledgeable in the field of preventing and fighting building fires. Purposeful and theoretical sampling were used for data collection. Data were analyzed based on constant comparative analysis and according to recommendations by Strauss and Corbin. RESULTS: "Lack of a comprehensive approach to prevention of fire-related injury" emerged as a core variable which impacted on residents' safety against fires. The findings were classified into four groups of challenges related to the structure of building, socio-economic challenge, residents of the building and rescue services. CONCLUSIONS: Based on participants` experiences, unintentional fire-related injuries in residential buildings are affected by cultural context and economic, social and geographical factors. Improving the safety against unintentional fire-related injuries in residential buildings requires multidisciplinary operations including both change and improvement of the building construction and change in the beliefs and practices of residents to increase safety against fires.

Demographic Variables of Corruption in the Chinese Construction Industry: Association Rule Analysis of Conviction Records.

Corruption in the construction industry is a serious problem in China. As such, fighting this corruption has become a priority target of the Chinese government, with the main effort being to discover and prosecute its perpetrators. This study profiles the demographic characteristics of major incidences of corruption in construction. It draws on the database of the 83 complete recorded cases of construction related corruption held by the Chinese National Bureau of Corruption Prevention. Categorical variables were drawn from the database, and 'association rule mining analysis' was used to identify associations between variables as a means of profiling perpetrators. Such profiling may be used as predictors of future incidences of corruption, and consequently to inform policy makers in their fight against corruption. The results signal corruption within the Chinese construction industry to be correlated with age, with incidences rising as managers' approach retirement age. Moreover, a majority of perpetrators operate within government agencies, are department deputies in direct contact with projects, and extort the greatest amounts per case from second tier cities. The relatively lengthy average 6.4-year period before cases come to public attention corroborates the view that current efforts at fighting corruption remain inadequate.

Preventive measures for fire-related injuries and their risk factors in residential buildings: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Every year, a large number of people lose their lives or become injured seriously as a result of fires. Fires in buildings pose a great threat to resident safety. The aim of this systematic review is to identify preventive measures for fire-related injuries in residential buildings, taking into account associated risk factors. METHODS: In this study, a systematic review was performed of all studies conducted in the field of residential building fires, influencing factors and available safety procedures. From the earliest record up to 7 July 2017, databases of PubMed, Web of Science/Knowledge, and Scopus were searched and selected articles included in the study. RESULTS: A total of 5,613 published articles were examined, of which 30 were finally found to meet the inclusion criteria. The findings of the study were included in two main groups of preventive measures and risk factors for residential building fires and related injuries. Regarding preventive measures, the factors to reduce the risk of fire-related injuries raised in the studies under review included rule amendments, changes and modification of the environment, behavior change such as emergency evacuation during fire occurrence, improvements to emergency medical services, and awareness-raising. Also, many of the studies showed that areas with a large number of young children, older people, people with physical and mental disabilities, alcohol and drug addicts, smokers, single-family households and low-income families were particularly at risk of fire-related injuries and deaths. CONCLUSIONS: There are features in residential buildings and attributes among residents that can be related to fire hazard and fire-related injuries and deaths. The most important point of this study is to focus on preventive strategies including environmental modification, promotion of safety rules and changes in risk behavior among residents. Policy makers should pay more attention to these important issues in order to promote safety and injury prevention in relation to building fires.

Analysis of the Evolution Game of Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Behavior Based on Prospect Theory under Environmental Regulation.

With the development of the construction industry, increasing concern over construction and demolition waste (CDW) has initiated a wave of environmental regulation by the government in order to reduce the environmental impact and ensure sustainable development. Research on behavioral decision-making can offer a theoretical basis for the government and individuals. This paper aims to study the behavioral decision-making of stakeholders in CDW recycling under environmental regulation. Considering the limited rationality of stakeholders and the difference in reference points, an evolutionary game model including contractors and manufacturers of construction materials is proposed based on the prospect theory of behavioral economics. The results indicate that, only when the perceived benefits of one or both stakeholders for participation under the environmental regulation exceed those for non-participation, can the CDW recycling system eventually evolve to a stable state in which both stakeholders choose to participate. In addition, factors such as the initial strategy, production cost, technology, subsidies, recycling benefits, and the degree of perception of the stakeholders, exert certain influences on the stable state. To attain the required stable state, the government should increase the subsidies for the stakeholders and strengthen the publicity regarding recycling effects to improve the perceived benefits.

Interventions to prevent injuries in construction workers.

BACKGROUND: Construction workers are frequently exposed to various types of injury-inducing hazards. There are a number of injury prevention interventions, yet their effectiveness is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of interventions for preventing injuries in construction workers. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Injuries Group's specialised register, CENTRAL (issue 3), MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO up to April 2017. The searches were not restricted by language or publication status. We also handsearched the reference lists of relevant papers and reviews. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials, controlled before-after (CBA) studies and interrupted time-series (ITS) of all types of interventions for preventing fatal and non-fatal injuries among workers at construction sites. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed their risk of bias. For ITS studies, we re-analysed the studies and used an initial effect, measured as the change in injury rate in the year after the intervention, as well as a sustained effect, measured as the change in time trend before and after the intervention. MAIN RESULTS: Seventeen studies (14 ITS and 3 CBA studies) met the inclusion criteria in this updated version of the review. The ITS studies evaluated the effects of: introducing or changing regulations that laid down safety and health requirements for the construction sites (nine studies), a safety campaign (two studies), a drug-free workplace programme (one study), a training programme (one study), and safety inspections (one study) on fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries. One CBA study evaluated the introduction of occupational health services such as risk assessment and health surveillance, one evaluated a training programme and one evaluated the effect of a subsidy for upgrading to safer scaffoldings. The overall risk of bias of most of the included studies was high, as it was uncertain for the ITS studies whether the intervention was independent from other changes and thus could be regarded as the main reason of change in the outcome. Therefore, we rated the quality of the evidence as very low for all comparisons.Compulsory interventionsRegulatory interventions at national or branch level may or may not have an initial effect (effect size (ES) of -0.33; 95% confidence interval (CI) -2.08 to 1.41) and may or may not have a sustained effect (ES -0.03; 95% CI -0.30 to 0.24) on fatal and non-fatal injuries (9 ITS studies) due to highly inconsistent results (I² = 98%). Inspections may or may not have an effect on non-fatal injuries (ES 0.07; 95% CI -2.83 to 2.97; 1 ITS study).Educational interventionsSafety training interventions may result in no significant reduction of non-fatal injuries (1 ITS study and 1 CBA study).Informational interventionsWe found no studies that had evaluated informational interventions alone such as campaigns for risk communication.Persuasive interventionsWe found no studies that had evaluated persuasive interventions alone such as peer feedback on workplace actions to increase acceptance of safe working methods.Facilitative interventionsMonetary subsidies to companies may lead to a greater decrease in non-fatal injuries from falls to a lower level than no subsidies (risk ratio (RR) at follow-up: 0.93; 95% CI 0.30 to 2.91 from RR 3.89 at baseline; 1 CBA study).Multifaceted interventionsA safety campaign intervention may result in an initial (ES -1.82; 95% CI -2.90 to -0.74) and sustained (ES -1.30; 95% CI -1.79 to -0.81) decrease in injuries at the company level (1 ITS study), but not at the regional level (1 ITS study). A multifaceted drug-free workplace programme at the company level may reduce non-fatal injuries in the year following implementation by -7.6 per 100 person-years (95% CI -11.2 to -4.0) and in the years thereafter by -2.0 per 100 person-years (95% CI -3.5 to -0.5) (1 ITS study). Introducing occupational health services may result in no decrease in fatal or non-fatal injuries (one CBA study). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of interventions to adopt safety measures recommended by standard texts on safety, consultants and safety courses have not been adequately evaluated. There is very low-quality evidence that introducing regulations as such may or may not result in a decrease in fatal and non-fatal injuries. There is also very low-quality evidence that regionally oriented safety campaigns, training, inspections or the introduction of occupational health services may not reduce non-fatal injuries in construction companies. There is very low-quality evidence that company-oriented safety interventions such as a multifaceted safety campaign, a multifaceted drug workplace programme and subsidies for replacement of scaffoldings may reduce non-fatal injuries among construction workers. More studies, preferably cluster-randomised controlled trials, are needed to evaluate different strategies to increase the employers' and workers' adherence to the safety measures prescribed by regulation.

Ensuring the Right to Rest: City Ordinances and Access to Rest Breaks for Workers in the Construction Industry.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of city Rest Break Ordinance (RBO) policies in expanding access to rest at work. METHODS: We use data from surveys of construction workers in Austin and Dallas, Texas, in 2009, 2012, and 2015 (n = 557) to calculate the odds of receiving a rest break in pre- versus post-RBO Austin and in post-RBO Austin versus pre-RBO Dallas, controlling for demographic and employment characteristics. RESULTS: Construction workers were 35% more likely to report receiving a rest break in Austin post-RBO and 16% less likely in Dallas without a RBO as compared to Austin with a RBO. CONCLUSION: The increased likelihood of receiving rest breaks at work in a RBO city suggests that, in the absence of enforceable national standards, city-level RBOs can be an important first step to effective prevention of heat-related illnesses (HRIs) and heat-related fatalities at work.

Environmental and health impact assessment for ports in Thailand.

Port development in Thailand is an essential part of the national maritime interest in connection with ship and shore activities. The growth of maritime industry and transportation has led to the expansion of ports' areas and capacity. Each port type causes different environmental impacts. Therefore, the Port Authority of Thailand has set up guidelines on ports' environmental management. This is divided into 3 major phases; namely, planning, construction and operation commencement periods. The Report of Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EIA, HIA and EHIA) is regarded as the environmental management process in the planning period. It is a key tool to anticipate and prevent any adverse effects that might occur on the environment as well as community health resulting from the project implementation. This measure, in turn, creates advance preparation on both the preventive and problem-solving means before the project gets off the ground. At present, the majority of new projects on port development have still been in the process of information gathering for EHIA submission. Some cannot start to operate due to their EHIA failure. For example, the Tha-sala port which did not pass EHIA, mainly because emphasis had been focused on adhering to legal regulations without taking into consideration the in-depth analysis of data being conducted by community entities in the area. Thus caused the project to be finally abolished. Impact assessment on environment and health should be aimed at detailed understanding of the community in each particular area so that effective data of objective achievement in preventing environmental problems could actually be carried out and welcomed by the concerned society.

An expert system for the quantification of fault rates in construction fall accidents.

INTRODUCTION: Expert witness reports, prepared with the aim of quantifying fault rates among parties, play an important role in a court's final decision. However, conflicting fault rates assigned by different expert witness boards lead to iterative objections raised by the related parties. This unfavorable situation mainly originates due to the subjectivity of expert judgments and unavailability of objective information about the causes of accidents. As a solution to this shortcoming, an expert system based on a rule-based system was developed for the quantification of fault rates in construction fall accidents. The aim of developing DsSafe is decreasing the subjectivity inherent in expert witness reports. METHODOLOGY: Eighty-four inspection reports prepared by the official and authorized inspectors were examined and root causes of construction fall accidents in Turkey were identified. Using this information, an evaluation form was designed and submitted to the experts. Experts were asked to evaluate the importance level of the factors that govern fall accidents and determine the fault rates under different scenarios. Based on expert judgments, a rule-based expert system was developed. The accuracy and reliability of DsSafe were tested with real data as obtained from finalized court cases. RESULT: DsSafe gives satisfactory results.

Residual Confined Space Hazards...An Unintended Booby Trap!

Using elements of the new construction industry regulation for confined spaces in a general industry program will go a long way to save the lives of those who would otherwise fall victim to them.

2015-2016 Construction Safety Highlights.

From OSHA's National Safety Stand-Down to bridge collapse investigations and trenching hazards, the construction industry can learn from mistakes in order to boost its safety performance.

The impact of occupational health and safety regulations on prevention through design in construction projects: Perspectives from Spain and the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Since the mid-1990 s, Prevention through Design (PtD) has become increasingly prevalent in the built environment. The acceptance of PtD has largely been due to the removal or reduction of risks during the execution phase of construction projects. European States have had the added impetus of national legislation. OBJECTIVE: This paper analyzes the influence of European Union Directive 92/57/EEC on occupational safety and health injury prevention in the project design phase. METHODS: Qualitative methods comprised individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a panel of experts. Sixty individuals from construction and related professions (architects, engineers, constructors, developers, and other construction experts) answered 17 key questions to establish national perceptions of the effectiveness of Directive 92/57/EEC in Spain and the United Kingdom (UK). RESULTS: The implementation of PtD in the project design phase in the UK is clearer since the regulations explicitly state the obligations of project designers as well as those of the coordinator. Interviews with Spanish experts show that, in Spain, the prevention culture is less frequently realized. CONCLUSIONS: The most significant differences between the European Directive and national regulations which influence PtD are linked to the Health and Safety Coordinator, and Health and Safety documents.