Study on Influencing Factors of Construction Management Sustainability

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2024) | Viewed by 19802

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, London E1 7EZ, UK
Interests: construction project management; sustainably built environment; renewable energy projects; sustainable urban development
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Guest Editor
Department of Construction Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100190, China
Interests: sustainable construction management; management in construction; intelligent decision making; occupational health management in construction; construction industry development and policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Construction and Real Estate, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Interests: infrastructure resilience modeling; infrastructure resilience simulation; human-based resilience
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The adverse change in climate and depletion of important natural resources has pushed many businesses to look for sustainable solutions to tackle these global issues. The construction sector is noted to be among the major contributors to the pernicious effect on the environment, given that it is responsible for nearly 40% of utilisation of global energy and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. Apart from the enormous consumption of natural resources, the issue of waste accumulation in landfills has imposed obstructive effects on the ecosystem. Devastating impacts are imminent if the construction industry does not change its traditional practices.

Every development project has an environmental, social, and economic impact, and the construction sector is no exception. On the other hand, sustainable construction projects are designed and constructed to consume less energy and resources than conventional structures and have minimal impact on the environment. Construction management sustainability embraces a multidisciplinary approach that involves the crucial elements of project management, planning and development, and strategic innovations, encompassing technical, economic, social, environmental, and political points of view to lead to overall sustainability at each level of construction while looking at its future impact.

Therefore, this Special Issue sees sustainable construction as the implementation of sustainable dimensions to the complete project lifecycle, not only by reducing the unfavourable effects but also by proposing the intention of restoring the environment, together with the economic and social aspects of sustainability, while clearly establishing the goals of these aspects.

Dr. Rashid Maqbool
Prof. Dr. Xiaodong Li
Prof. Dr. Jingfeng Yuan
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • sustainable construction
  • sustainability
  • green buildings
  • sustainable materials
  • construction
  • sustainable project management
  • environmental impact of construction
  • construction management sustainability
  • life cycle analysis
  • modern methods of construction

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 1468 KiB  
Article
Adoption of Green Mark Criteria toward Construction Management Sustainability
by Hai Chien Pham, Vu Hong Son Pham and Trong Kich Than
Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1242; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051242 - 27 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1137
Abstract
Sustainable construction plays a significant role in developing countries. However, the adoption of sustainable buildings has faced diverse challenges. Therefore, this research investigates the benefits and challenges of adopting the Green Mark in green building projects. After a literature review and a pilot [...] Read more.
Sustainable construction plays a significant role in developing countries. However, the adoption of sustainable buildings has faced diverse challenges. Therefore, this research investigates the benefits and challenges of adopting the Green Mark in green building projects. After a literature review and a pilot study with construction experts, an industry-wide survey was conducted to collect 148 valid responses. The data were analyzed in depth, with 24 barriers and 10 benefits, using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software. After this, the collected data were analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method to prioritize critical factors. The preliminary findings revealed significant practical implications and offered valuable insights to support the adoption of Green Mark criteria for construction management sustainability. Furthermore, practical solutions were proposed to foster the widespread adoption of green buildings toward sustainable construction in the future. Full article
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29 pages, 2083 KiB  
Article
Flawed Institutional Structures: Project Managers Underutilized in Nigeria’s Construction Industry
by Ebuka Valentine Iroha, Tsunemi Watanabe and Tsuchiya Satoshi
Buildings 2024, 14(3), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14030807 - 15 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3240
Abstract
Many studies have been conducted on the poor performance of the construction industry. Nigeria’s construction industry has been linked to project delays and cost overruns, leading to many abandoned construction projects throughout the country. These issues are largely attributed to inadequate project management [...] Read more.
Many studies have been conducted on the poor performance of the construction industry. Nigeria’s construction industry has been linked to project delays and cost overruns, leading to many abandoned construction projects throughout the country. These issues are largely attributed to inadequate project management practices and the underutilization of project managers. To address these challenges, an institutional analysis was conducted to examine the factors, within the institutional framework of the Nigerian construction industry, that hinder the effective utilization of project managers and the implementation of project management practices. Data were collected from the previous literature and were supported by data collected through semi-structured interviews in Nigeria. The collected data were coded into a four-level framework for institutional analysis. This method was employed to analyze the interrelationships between the identified embedded factors, institutional laws and regulations, and construction organizations, and to understand how their influence results in the underutilization of project managers. Deviation analysis was conducted as an additional method to categorize the impacts of the embedded factors at each institutional level and to determine how these impacts contribute to the underutilization of project managers in the Nigerian construction industry (NCI). It was found that the system of the underutilization of project managers consists of two subsystems: underutilization and lowering commitment. For the former subsystem, corruption, political influence, religious and tribal discrimination, and organizational culture were found to adversely influence the institutional structure of the construction industry in Nigeria. These factors weaken the governance mechanisms within the industry, leading project managers to prioritize corrupt practices over project needs. The ineffectiveness of existing laws and regulations exacerbates the situation, supporting unfair working conditions and contributing to the underperformance of project managers. This result leads to development at the top of the latter subsystem, with minimal incentives and limited opportunities for career growth within construction organizations. The findings hold significant potential for addressing systemic issues in the Nigerian construction industry, particularly the underutilization of project managers and organizational support measures to improve project management practices and mitigate the adverse effects of corruption. Full article
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18 pages, 1062 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Socio-Economic Impacts of Rural Infrastructure Projects on Community Development
by Shahid Hussain, Rashid Maqbool, Ammar Hussain and Saleha Ashfaq
Buildings 2022, 12(7), 947; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12070947 - 3 Jul 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 10161
Abstract
Public construction infrastructure projects have been recognized as one of the fundamental tools in enhancing community socio-economic conditions for community development. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impacts of socio-economic factors on community development of rural regions. Through a [...] Read more.
Public construction infrastructure projects have been recognized as one of the fundamental tools in enhancing community socio-economic conditions for community development. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impacts of socio-economic factors on community development of rural regions. Through a questionnaire survey administrated in Pakistan, public construction practitioners’ views were sought and evaluated. Empirical support for the argument originated from the data collected from 213 respondents in Pakistan’s public construction industry. The questionnaire’s data were evaluated employing the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study’s findings showed that economic and social factors influence the community development of rural regions. The result obtained from PLS-SEM proposed a more viable method to realize community development and objectives. The study’s results have offered precious lessons for local authorities, policymakers, and project stakeholders to strengthen the drive for achieving community development goals. Strategies supporting community development in rural regions are indispensable for local community development. This study provides empirical confirmation for the understanding and combining the community development concept; it illuminates absent knowledge about community development, especially in rural regions. This is one of the few studies investigating the influencing dimensions of community development in rural regions. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first research article providing empirical evidence of the influencing dimensions of community development in rural regions in a developing country. Full article
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17 pages, 1771 KiB  
Essay
Calculation of Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions in the Construction Stage of Large Public Buildings and an Analysis of Influencing Factors Based on an Improved STIRPAT Model
by Yingjie Chen, Yunfeng Wu, Ning Chen, Chaofeng Kang, Jiabin Du and Cheng Luo
Buildings 2022, 12(12), 2211; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122211 - 13 Dec 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3775
Abstract
Compared to general public and residential buildings, large public buildings are often difficult to construct and have a long construction period, creating greater construction energy consumption and carbon emissions on the one hand, while generating a large amount and many types of difficult-to-track [...] Read more.
Compared to general public and residential buildings, large public buildings are often difficult to construct and have a long construction period, creating greater construction energy consumption and carbon emissions on the one hand, while generating a large amount and many types of difficult-to-track process data on the other. As such, it is difficult to measure carbon emissions and analyze various influencing factors. By realizing the simple calculation of energy consumption and carbon emissions, as well as discerning the degree of influence of various factors based on the results of influencing factors research, it is of considerable practical significance to propose energy savings and emission reductions in a targeted manner. In view of the above, this work aimed to establish a more practical calculation method to measure energy consumption and carbon emissions in the construction of large public buildings, as well as to identify the multiple influencing factors related to energy consumption and carbon emissions during the construction process. To demonstrate the practicality of our approach, quantitative calculations are carried out for a new terminal building in a certain place and from the perspective of sustainable urban construction; thus, the driving factors of the traditional STIRPAT model are extended to seven. Based on the calculation results, a modified STIRPAT model is used to analyze the comparative study of impact factors, such as population and construction machinery performance, on energy consumption and carbon emission intensity. The results show the following: (1) The energy consumption value per square meter of this terminal building is 3.43 kgce/m2, and the average carbon emission per square meter is about 13.88 kgCO2/m2, which is much larger than the national average of 6.96 kgCO2/m2, and (2) the type of energy used in the construction process has the greatest degree of influence on energy consumption and carbon emission, and the local GDP, population factor, construction machinery performance specifications, and shift usage also show a positive correlation with the growth of total energy consumption and carbon emissions. Moreover, while the government’s continuous investment in energy conservation and environmental protection has reduced the total energy consumption and carbon emissions in construction, there is still considerable room for improvement. Finally, according to the results, we provide theoretical references and constructive suggestions for the low-carbon construction of large public buildings in the construction stage. Thus, the results of our study will allow policy makers to formulate appropriate policies. Full article
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