Impact of 3D Printing on the Overall Project Success of Residential Construction Projects Using Structural Equation Modelling.

After a decade of research and development, 3D printing is now an established technique in the construction sector, complete with its own set of accepted standards. The use of 3D printing in construction might potentially improve the outcome of the project as a whole. However, traditional strategies are often used in the residential construction industry in Malaysia, which causes serious public safety and health issues along with a negative impact on the environment. In the context of project management, overall project success (OPS) has five dimensions, such as cost, time, quality, safety, and environment. Understanding the role of 3D printing in relation to OPS dimensions in Malaysian residential construction projects would allow construction professionals to adopt 3D printing more easily. The aim of the study was to find the impact of 3D construction printing on OPS while considering the implications for all five dimensions. Fifteen professionals were interviewed to first evaluate and summarise the impact factors of 3D printing using the current literature. Then, a pilot survey was conducted, and the results were checked using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The feasibility of 3D printing in the building sector was investigated by surveying industry experts. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to investigate and validate the fundamental structure and linkages between 3D printing and OPS (PLS-SEM). A strong correlation was found between 3D printing in residential projects and OPS. Highly positive implications are indicated by the environmental and safety dimensions of OPS. Malaysian decision-makers may look to the outcomes of introducing 3D printing into the residential construction industry as a modern method for increasing environmental sustainability, public health and safety, reducing cost and time, and increasing the quality of construction work. With this study's findings in hand, construction engineering management in Malaysia's residential building sector might benefit from a deeper understanding of how 3D printing is used for improving environmental compliance, public health and safety, and project scope.

Study on the Global Sustainability of the Korean Construction Industry Based on the GRI Standards.

This study began with the increasing importance of ESG through sustainable management evaluation across all industries, predicting market demand through the ESG management paradigm and financial environment changes in the global industry, and establishing international strategies for the construction industry. Compared to other industries, the construction industry is in the early stages of ESG formation, and it is unclear how to expand its base by establishing evaluation system standards such as innovation of individual services, interaction of social capital, and definition of stakeholders. Currently, some large construction companies in the construction industry are publishing sustainability management reports at the group level, but given the recently strengthened global sustainability of ESG by GRI Standards, efficient analysis of global construction markets and strategic orders are needed. Therefore, this study focuses on assessing the sustainability strategies and directions of the construction industry from an ESG perspective. To this end, sustainability issues and insights, as well as global issues in Korea and the worldwide construction sector, were analyzed. The analysis showed that global construction companies were highly interested in business management approaches, such as safety and health, as critical issues regarding the construction industry's sustainability strategy. In contrast, South Korean construction companies prioritize business values such as value creation, fair trade, and win-win. Both global and South Korean construction companies have been working on greenhouse gas reduction and energy sustainability. Regarding other issues, cultivating construction specialists, enhancing the job training system, and limiting serious accidents and safety mishaps were all significant from a social standpoint among South Korean construction companies. Conversely, global construction companies appeared to focus on issues related to ethical and environmental management from an organizational standpoint.

Improving Safety Performance of Construction Workers through Learning from Incidents.

Learning from incidents (LFI) is a process to seek, analyse, and disseminate the severity and causes of incidents, and take corrective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar events. However, the effects of LFI on the learner's safety performance remain unexplored. This study aimed to identify the effects of the major LFI factors on the safety performance of workers. A questionnaire survey was administered among 210 construction workers in China. A factor analysis was conducted to reveal the underlying LFI factors. A stepwise multiple linear regression was performed to analyse the relationship between the underlying LFI factors and safety performance. A Bayesian Network (BN) was further modelled to identify the probabilistic relational network between the underlying LFI factors and safety performance. The results of BN modelling showed that all the underlying factors were important to improve the safety performance of construction workers. Additionally, sensitivity analysis revealed that the two underlying factors-information sharing and utilization and management commitment-had the largest effects on improving workers' safety performance. The proposed BN also helped find out the most efficient strategy to improve workers' safety performance. This research may serve as a useful guide for better implementation of LFI practices in the construction sector.

Determinants of contractor's construction and demolition waste recycling intention in China: Integrating theory of planned behavior and norm activation model.

The abundant generation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) poses a threat to the sustainable development in China and recycling plays a vital role in complying with circular economy zero-waste goal. In this study, we first investigate the determinants of contractor's intention to recycle CDW by establishing an integrative model of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the norm activation model (NAM) with rational and moral considerations. Based on the questionnaire data of 210 valid responses, structural equation modeling is employed to test the proposed hypotheses and analyze the integrative structural model. The results show that the integrative model with adequate reliability and validity fits the empirical data well and the explanation power is superior to that of initial TPB model and NAM model, demonstrating the appropriateness of merging TPB and NAM in the area of CDW recycling research. Moreover, it is found that personal norms are the most critical determinant enhancing the CDW recycling intention, followed by perceived behavioral control. Although subjective norms fail to directly affect the CDW recycling intention, they can significantly strengthen personal norms and perceived behavioral control. These findings provide useful insights for government to develop effective management strategies to motivate CDW recycling intention of contractors.

Innovative temporary edge protection system in trench works for the construction industry and rescue operations.

This study assessed an innovative temporary edge protection system (TEPS) designed and developed to improve the ergonomics, health and safety at trench works in the construction industry, which ranks as one of the most hazardous worldwide. A wooden prototype of this innovative TEPS was built, and its mechanical resistance was compared to a conventional one. Thereafter, field tests were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of this pioneering TEPS. Both in analytical studies and field tests, the mechanical resistance to static loads of the TEPS complied with EU standards, and outperformed the conventional TEPS. The novel TEPS is effective as fall protection for different trench shoring systems and in buildings without edge protection systems. Moreover, this novel lightweight TEPS is easy to transport, with simple and safe on-site installation.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Symptoms among Construction Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in South China.

Statistics showed that work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are the leading cause of productivity loss in the construction industry. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of WMSDs and associated factors among construction workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 380 construction workers in Guangdong Province, China. A demographic, work-related survey and the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire were used to collect the workers' data. Descriptive statists and logistic regression were used for the data analysis. The results showed that the overall prevalence of WMSDs symptoms among the participants in any body region during the last 12 months was 57.9%. Neck (24.7%), shoulder (22.1%), upper back (13.4%), and lower back (12.6%) showed the highest prevalence of WMSDs. Age, exercise, work experience, work position, and level of fatigue after work were significantly associated with the prevalence of WMSDs symptoms in different body regions. The findings of this study showed that the prevalence of WMSDs symptoms among construction workers in south China is still high and is associated with different body areas compared to previous studies. The prevalence of WMSDs and risk-associated factors vary by country and region. This indicates that further local investigations are needed to propose specific solutions to improve the occupational health of construction workers.

A Design for Safety (DFS) Framework for Automated Inspection Risks in Metro Stations by Integrating a Knowledge Base and Building Information Modeling.

Safety issues have always been of great concern to the metro construction industry. Numerous studies have shown that safety issues are closely related to the design phase. Many safety problems can be solved or improved by developing the design. This study proposes a structured identification method for safety risks based on the metro design specifications, journal literature, and expert experience. A safety knowledge base (KB) for the design was established to realize safety knowledge sharing and reusing. The KB has been developed into Building Information Modeling (BIM) software as an inspection plug-in to achieve automated analysis and retrieval of safety risks. The designers are provided with a visualization of risk components to locate and improve the pre-control measures of the design. Subsequently, the process of design for safety (DFS) database creation was demonstrated with a metro station project, and the feasibility of applying the KB to safety checking in BIM was verified. In response to the inspection results, safety risks in the construction phases can be eliminated or avoided by standardizing and improving the design.

Is Policy the Necessary or Sufficient Driving Force of Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Industry Development? Experience from China.

Policies have long been considered the essential driving force in promoting construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling. However, the policy instruments adopted in different economies have varied greatly, which contributes to the difficulty in quantitative discernment of their effect. This study aims to examine whether the holistic employment of policy measures determines the development of CDW recycling around China. To accurately measure the holistic adoption of CDW policies, this study assessed policy strength via a proposed three-dimensional evaluation model. The spatiotemporal differences in policy strength among the 52 sample cities were further defined using K-means clustering and the Gini coefficient. Next, the driving effect of policy on the initial establishment of CDW recycling industry practices was examined by event history analysis (EHA). Finally, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to analyze the sufficiency and necessity of policy for the initial establishment of CDW recycling practices. The results indicated that the establishment of a first CDW recycling plant is only slightly correlated with policy measures, whereas it is highly correlated with the pilot city and per capita GDP. Furthermore, application of policy is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for the establishment of a CDW recycling industry facility.

Feasibility Analysis of Using Channel State Information (CSI) Acquired from Wi-Fi Routers for Construction Worker Fall Detection.

Accidental falls represent a major cause of fatal injuries for construction workers. Failure to seek medical attention after a fall can significantly increase the risk of death for construction workers. Wearable sensors, computer vision, and manual techniques are common modalities for detecting worker falls in the literature. However, they are severely constrained by issues such as cost, lighting, background, clutter, and privacy. To address the problems associated with the existing proposed methods, a new method has been conceived to identify construction worker falls by analyzing the CSI signals extracted from commercial Wi-Fi routers. In this research context, our study aimed to investigate the potential of using Channel State Information (CSI) to identify falls among construction workers. To achieve the aim of this study, CSI data corresponding to 360 sets of activities were collected from six construction workers on real construction sites. The results indicate that (1) the behavior of construction workers is highly correlated with the magnitude of CSI, even in real construction sites, and (2) the CSI-based method for identifying construction worker falls has an accuracy of 99% and can also accurately distinguish between falls and fall-like actions. The present study makes a significant contribution to the field by demonstrating the feasibility of utilizing low-cost Wi-Fi routers for the continuous monitoring of fall incidents among construction workers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation to address the issue of fall detection using commercial Wi-Fi devices in real-world construction environments. Considering the dynamic nature of construction sites, the new method developed in this study helps to detect falls at construction sites automatically and helps injured construction workers to seek medical attention on time.

Study on Key Drivers and Collaborative Management Strategies for Construction and Demolition Waste Utilization in New Urban District Development: From a Social Network Perspective.

Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) during new district development shows the characteristics of large quantity, concentrated distribution, and long duration on both supply and demand sides. The construction of the new district has objective conditions to promote the scale development of recycling industries and achieve green development through local digestion, so the recycling indicators for the new district proposed by the government are generally higher than those of other regions. However, many new districts have yet to systematically identify key drivers (KDs) of recycling and form win-win governance mechanisms with multiple government and market subjects, resulting in uncontrolled accumulation or high-cost discard of C&DW. This paper identifies 29 recycling drivers and 8 governing subjects through literature research and a field study of five national new districts in China. Then, a 2-mode social network and two 1-mode social networks are constructed to analyze the complex interactions between drivers and governing subjects, taking Nanjing Jiangbei New District as an example. The results of the study show that most of the drivers need at least 2 governance subjects to promote together, which indicates that it is necessary to build a collaborative governance mechanism of multiple subjects. This study provides a structured framework to analyze the drivers of recycling in new district development and the collaborative governance of multiple subjects, which can provide a basis for promoting efficient recycling of new district development.

Developing a Prediction Model of Demolition-Waste Generation-Rate via Principal Component Analysis.

Construction and demolition waste accounts for a sizable proportion of global waste and is harmful to the environment. Its management is therefore a key challenge in the construction industry. Many researchers have utilized waste generation data for waste management, and more accurate and efficient waste management plans have recently been prepared using artificial intelligence models. Here, we developed a hybrid model to forecast the demolition-waste-generation rate in redevelopment areas in South Korea by combining principal component analysis (PCA) with decision tree, k-nearest neighbors, and linear regression algorithms. Without PCA, the decision tree model exhibited the highest predictive performance (R2 = 0.872) and the k-nearest neighbors (Chebyshev distance) model exhibited the lowest (R2 = 0.627). The hybrid PCA-k-nearest neighbors (Euclidean uniform) model exhibited significantly better predictive performance (R2 = 0.897) than the non-hybrid k-nearest neighbors (Euclidean uniform) model (R2 = 0.664) and the decision tree model. The mean of the observed values, k-nearest neighbors (Euclidean uniform) and PCA-k-nearest neighbors (Euclidean uniform) models were 987.06 (kg·m-2), 993.54 (kg·m-2) and 991.80 (kg·m-2), respectively. Based on these findings, we propose the k-nearest neighbors (Euclidean uniform) model using PCA as a machine-learning model for demolition-waste-generation rate predictions.

Framework for Integrating Productive, Contributory, and Noncontributory Work with Safe and Unsafe Acts and Conditions.

It is common for companies that are in the process of implementing the Last Planner System (LPS) journey to attempt an increase in productive work and a reduction in waste, such as contributory and noncontributory work. Even though the LPS has proven to have a synergy with the health and safety requirements, companies with deficient health and safety management systems tend to classify work involving substandard acts or conditions as standard, and then pretend to benchmark against other companies that are indeed performing safe work. The following work introduces a framework to simultaneously register and analyze productive, contributory, and noncontributory work, with the substandard acts and conditions in a construction site, allowing for the measurement of production and health & safety indicators simultaneously. In the absence of technology that automatically captures these indicators, it is proposed that simultaneous measurements be made through direct inspections and photo and video recording by means of a handheld camera. The proposed continuous improvement framework follows the steps indicated below: (1) defining the productive, contributory, and noncontributory work with surveys performed on the most representative stakeholders of the industry; (2) proposing a new classification of production and safety work; (3) assessing the level of application of the LPS in the company; (4) measuring the indicators; (5) improving the use of the LPS and performing new measurements; (6) statistically linking deadly, serious, and minor accidents, standard and substandard acts, standard and substandard conditions, and productive, contributory, and noncontributory work. This framework was applied to a case study of a building project in Lima and the results were improved simultaneous indicators, especially the health and safety indicators. Automated classification of productive and nonproductive work using technology still represents a challenge.

From prospecting to mining: A review of enabling technologies, LCAs, and LCCAs for improved construction and demolition waste management.

Knowledge gained from anthropogenic resource prospecting can shed light on the theoretical potential of secondary resources stored in anthropogenic systems. Among others, secondary resources accumulated in the built environment account for a big fraction of anthropogenic resources, indicating great potential for urban mining. However, realizing these opportunities and developing urban mining strategies will require a comprehensive understanding of the technical viability of urban mining technologies, and how their implementation will affect the technical, economic, and environmental performance of a construction and demolition waste (C&DW) management system. To address these important issues, this review summarizes (1) current and emerging technologies that can enable the transition from anthropogenic resource prospecting to anthropogenic resource mining, (2) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) results to date on various C&DW management systems, (3) key parameters that govern the technical, economic, and environmental performance of a C&DW management system, and (4) opportunities for improving the methodology of LCAs and LCCAs for future C&DW management. We find that enhancing the utility of extant LCAs and LCCAs in guiding technology deployment and policy decisions can be achieved by considering key parameters governing the techno-economic and environmental performance of C&DW management. In addition, it is critical to adopt and upscale emerging technologies to increase the added value of materials or products recovered from C&DW.

How to promote the diffusion of green behavior among contractors? Analysis and simulation using the SIR model.

To promote the green development of the construction industry, improve resource utilization, and mitigate the environmental pollution caused by engineering projects, this study identifies the key paths and influencing factors of behavioral diffusion through the analysis of green behavior diffusion among contractors based on the behavioral decisions of the main participants. The study aims to improve positive influences among contractors with respect to the sustainable development of construction. Using the SIR (susceptible-infected-removed) model, we reconsider contractors of different states; construct state transformation paths for potential adopters, adopters, and abandoners of green behaviors among contractors; and analyze the factors that influence the diffusion of green behaviors among contractors to simulate the effects of different paths of behavior diffusion. The results show that two paths, adoption and recovery rates, have a positive influence on the diffusion of green behavior, while three other paths have a negative influence. The identified factors exhibit two types of influence, promotion and hindrance, involving both intra-firm and government regulations, and are associated with other stakeholders. This study promotes the diffusion of green behavior among contractors, which allows contractors to gain a competitive advantage in advance and has positive implications for the implementation of environmentally friendly concepts in the construction industry.

Does China's Pilot Carbon Market Cause Carbon Leakage? New Evidence from the Chemical, Building Material, and Metal Industries.

The carbon market is an effective market for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; however, the existence of carbon leakage affects the emissions reduction effect of the carbon market. Using the multiregional input-output (MRIO) model and the difference-in-differences (DID) methodology, this study examined whether the chemical, building materials, or metals industries in China's pilot carbon market have caused carbon leakage, the extent of the carbon leakage, and the areas to which the industries with carbon leakage have transferred their carbon emissions. The results showed that the pilot carbon market caused carbon leakage in the chemical, building materials, and metal industries. The building materials industry had the most serious carbon leakage, followed by the chemical industry, and the metal industry was the weakest. In addition, regardless of the industry, most of the areas affected by carbon leakage were concentrated in regions with relatively backward economic development and weak in-place environmental regulations, such as in the central and western regions. Compared with the other pilot areas, Guangdong was the area most likely to be affected by carbon leakage from other pilot areas. This study provides new evidence for the existence of carbon leakage in China's pilot carbon market from an industrial perspective.

Mechanism Models of the Conventional and Advanced Methods of Construction Safety Training. Is the Traditional Method of Safety Training Sufficient?

Cognitive failures at the information acquiring (safety training), comprehension, or application stages led to near-miss or accidents on-site. The previous studies rarely considered the cognitive processes of two different kinds of construction safety training. Cognitive processes are a series of chemical and electrical brain impulses that allow you to perceive your surroundings and acquire knowledge. Additionally, their attention was more inclined toward the worker's behavior during hazard identification on-site while on duty. A study is proposed to fill the knowledge gap by developing the mechanism models of the two safety training approaches. The mechanism models were developed based on cognitive psychology and Bloom's taxonomy and six steps of cognitive learning theory. A worker's safety training is vital in acquiring, storing, retrieving, and utilizing the appropriate information for hazard identification on-site. It is assumed that those trained by advanced techniques may quickly identify and avoid hazards on construction sites because of the fundamental nature of the training, and when they come across threats, they may promptly use their working memory and prevent them, especially for more complex projects. The main benefit of making such a model, from a cognitive point of view, is that it can help us learn more about the mental processes of two different types of construction safety training, and it can also help us come up with specific management suggestions to make up for the approaches' flaws. Future research will concentrate on the organizational aspects and other cognitive failures that could lead to accidents.

Assessing thermo-physical products' efficiency in the building and construction industry: a bibliometric analysis approach.

This study aims to assess the performance of thermophysical materials in the construction and building industry to establish the necessary academic basis for the interpretation of trends, developments, and status in this research field. The Scopus database contains 159 papers on this topic, which were published between 1968 and 2021 and originated in 60 countries. The International Organization for Standardization published significant information on thermal insulating materials, merchandize, elements, and applications. Several forms of insulation currently exist: (i) solid-state foam insulation composed of fibers, grains, and matrix; (ii) liquid-state insulation that encloses humidity within the filling; and (iii) gasifier form, which incorporates air, steam, or alternative gases. To reduce the amount of energy demanded, thermal insulation materials must be extended, current solutions must be modified, and new materials must be developed. Because high-temperature thermal insulation materials have more complex working conditions than alternative materials, their application requires further consideration.

Deciphering the impact of anthropogenic coastal infrastructure on shoreline dynamicity along Gopalpur coast of Odisha (India): An integrated assessment with geospatial and field-based approaches.

Odisha's coastline supports various development activities that are critical to the state and national economy, such as oil and gas, ports and harbors, power plants, fishing, tourism, and mining that continues to not only detriment the coastal ecology but also affect the overall shoreline morphodynamics. The morphological changes are complicated processes involving both natural and human-induced drivers, but it is critical to understand how recent development activities further impact beach morphodynamics and shoreline dynamicity. The study analyzes the overall shoreline morphodynamics in response to the recent development of port and other related infrastructure for annual and decadal scale using two-dimensional (2-D) shoreline changes along with detailed 3-D beach profile volumetric changes for different studied zones along the Gopalpur coast. The results reveal that nearly all studied zones of the Gopalpur shoreline, Zone-4 (EPR = -05.64 m a-1 and LRR = -04.25 m a-1), Zone-3 (EPR = -04.51 m a-1 and LRR = -07.01 m a-1) and Zone-1 (EPR = -2.85 m a-1 and LRR = -01.46 m a-1), experienced erosion between 2010 and 2020 except Zone-2 (EPR = 24.31 m a-1 and LRR = 25.96 m a-1), which showed overall sign of deposition. The interannual shoreline analysis depicted that Zone-1 (tourist beach area) remained almost stable, Zone-2 (south of the breakwater of Gopalpur Port) showed accretion trends, Zone-4 (north side of the port) dominantly showed an erosion pattern, whereas Zone-3 (port area) showed a high level of uncertainty in the context of erosional or deposition trends. Calculated volumetric loss along the surveyed 3-D beach profiles supports these 2-D changes for all the studied zones. The results showed substantial changes in coastal morphodynamics in different studied zones of the Gopalpur region and severe erosion along its northern segment of the constructed coastal infrastructure. These findings can potentially promote effective coastal zone management and prevent further deterioration along the Gopalpur coast in future.

A review on recent eco-friendly strategies to utilize rice straw in construction industry: pathways from bane to boon.

With the growing demand, a large amount of paddy has been harvested by growers leaving behind the stubble (left over rice straw), which is being a big burden on the farmers for its management. For the easy access, the burning of stubble has been opted which in turn results in the deterioration of the environment. To mitigate this problem, rice straw utilization strategies should be opted. Therefore, in this review article, the strategies of utilizing rice straw in fiber or ash form to manufacture construction materials have been summarized. The manuscript also considers the method of productions, variability in raw materials, and various mechanical/physical properties of construction materials targeted. Further, the financial aspects related to utilization of rice straw and rice straw ash are also encoded at last. This review will be helpful to expedite the research in this field and may also be used for startups related to various product development using straw in the local areas, which may depreciate the burning of straw in the field and its environmental effects.

Surgery for subacromial impingement syndrome and occupational biomechanical risk factors in a 16-year prospective study among male construction workers.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the association between occupational biomechanical exposures and the occurrence of surgical treatment for subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS). METHODS: A cohort of 220 295 male constructions workers who participated in a national occupational health surveillance program (1971-1993) were examined prospectively over a 16-year follow-up period (2001-2016) for surgically treated SIS. Worker job title, smoking status, height, weight, and age were registered on health examination. Job titles were mapped to 21 occupational groups based on tasks and training. A job exposure matrix (JEM) was developed with exposure estimates for each occupational group. Surgical cases were determined through linkage with the Swedish national in- and outpatient registers. Poisson regression was used to assess the relative risks (RR) for each biomechanical exposure. RESULTS: The total incidence rate of surgically treated SIS over the 16-year observation period was 201.1 cases per 100 000 person-years. Increased risk was evident for workers exposed to upper-extremity loading (push/pull/lift) (RR 1.45-2.30), high hand grip force (RR 1.47-2.23), using handheld tools (RR 1.52-2.09), frequent work with hands above shoulders (RR 1.62-2.11), static work (RR 1.77-2.26), and hand-arm vibration (RR 1.78-2.13). There was an increased risk for SIS surgery for all occupational groups (construction trades) compared with white-collar workers (RR 1.56-2.61). CONCLUSIONS: Occupational upper-extremity load and posture exposures were associated with increased risk for surgical treatment of SIS, which underlines the need for reducing workplace exposures and early symptom detection in highly exposed occupational groups.