Digital Commons Network^™

Improving User Experience Through Bedroom Lighting Services For Older People Living In Personal Houses, Mei-Yung Leung, Yueran Li

CIB Conferences

The global ageing tendency underscores the necessity for indoor building services to accommodate the needs of older adults. Bedroom lighting services encompass both natural and electric lighting as well as supporting facilities such as light control, shading devices, and anti-reflection finishes. It facilitates visual interactions between occupants and their living environment. The user experience of older people reflects the extent to which current bedroom lighting services address their needs, which significantly influences their well-being in later years. Key aspects valued by older users can be divided into the sufficiency of task lighting, evenness during movement, navigation in the room, convenience, …

Mapping Public-Private Partnerships With Smart Retrofitting In Built Infrastructure Facilities: A Bibliometric Analysis And Systematic Review, Nimesha S. Jayasena, Sanduni Peiris, Daniel W. M. Chan, Mohan M. Kumaraswamy, Joseph H. K. Lai

CIB Conferences

Against the backdrop of burgeoning global interest in sustainable development, this study pioneers a bibliometric analysis and systematic review focusing on the intersection of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and smart retrofitting (SR) for built infrastructure facilities, including both buildings and civil engineering infrastructure facilities. As the demand for intelligent and eco-friendly solutions escalates, integrating the particular strengths of PPPs with those of SR, charters a new course that synergises and extends the reach of each approach by itself. Drawing on the relevant research publications from the ‘Scopus’ database, this paper utilizes the ‘VOSviewer’ software to unravel the collaborative landscapes within the …

Genai For Building Energy Efficiency, Linyan Chen, Amos Darko Dr, Albert P.C. Chan, Fan Zhang

CIB Conferences

The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call for action by nearly every industry. The buildings sector has made significant efforts toward the SDGs by enhancing energy efficiency. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies, such as advanced algorithms and models, has brought new possibilities for further enhancing energy efficiency in buildings. However, the potential of GenAI in this domain has not yet been fully explored. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current applications of GenAI in enhancing building energy efficiency. A total of 34 studies were identified from the Scopus and arXiv …

Designing And Prototyping A Smart Upper-Limb Exoskeleton For Enhancing Wellbeing And Productivity In Construction, Alireza Moghayedi, Carlos Cifuentes, Marcela Munera, Mohammadhadi Sarajchi

CIB Conferences

The construction industry is plagued by high rates of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), workplace injuries, and low worker productivity, necessitating innovative solutions to enhance worker safety, health, and efficiency. This study presents the design and prototyping of, a wearable upper-limb exoskeleton (EXOCON) tailored for construction tasks, particularly heavy lifting. The exoskeleton integrates advanced technologies, including ergonomic and biomechanical engineering, multimodal sensory systems, and a hierarchical control architecture, to provide active assistance while minimizing physical strain on workers. Anthropometric and 3D body scanning techniques were employed to customize the design for diverse body sizes and genders, ensuring user inclusivity and comfort. EXOCON’s …

A New Approach To Sustainable Healthcare Facility Management: The Case Of Türkiye, Sinan Terzioglu, Sarel Lavy, Orhan Koç

CIB Conferences

Types of healthcare facilities (HF) range from simple medical clinics to large integrated hospitals. Today, HF are expected to fulfill their service responsibilities in an uninterrupted and continuous manner in an environment of constantly developing medical treatment services, support services, maintenance and repair activities, and changing laws, codes, requirements, and standards related to the health and safety of patients, staff, and visitors. A major change in the provision of healthcare services was initiated in Türkiye in 2003, where healthcare delivery models in other developed countries were taken as examples. As a result of these changes, new integrated HF began to …

Blue-Green Sustainability Framework For Building Assessment Based Multifunctional Analysis Of Regions Through Input-Output (Mario), Pedro Maximiliano Cortez Prof., Anna Vinciguerra Prof., Lorenzo Rinaldi Prof., Matteo Vincenzo Rocco Prof., Benjamin Sanchez Prof

CIB Conferences

The concepts of building and construction are central in the development of national economies all over the world. Along with this growth in national economies, however, there is increasing concern over the high environmental impact caused by the building industry. A growing body of published work provides evidence that buildings globally contribute to 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, 50% of energy and consumption, and 15% of drinking water usage. To date, there is a current lack of studies of evidence-based literature specifically relating to the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) extended Multi Region Input-Output (MRIO) approach for building sustainability …

Modelling And Visualizing Urban Construction Logistics And Environmental Effects With Digital Twins, Ruben Vrijhoef

CIB Conferences

In urban settings, where cities want to pursue ambitions of clean air and zero emission transport, the construction industry with its heavy freight encounters greater difficulties and challenges than other sectors to meet the increasingly stringent emission reductions and building codes. Various construction innovations have been deemed to improve construction logistics. Solutions are offered to increase logistics efficiency, reduce construction transport movements, and related emissions.

Governments are aiming their policy instruments at incentivizing and enforcing these reductions and addressing the mitigation of other urban effects, such as reducing road damage, safety issues, disruptions and congestion. Governments and firms want to …

Developing Amenities To Create More Sustainable And Inclusive Human Settlements, Jeremy Thobo Gibberd Dr

CIB Conferences

Sustainable human settlements are the totality of any organised human community whether a city, town or village. This includes amenities such as parks, sports facilities, libraries, schools and clinics. Rapid urbanisation and a lack of resources in many developing countries, such as South Africa, mean that some human settlements may not have these amenities. A lack of amenities in human settlements affects the quality of life and hampers the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those for health (SDG3), education (SDG4), inequality (SDG10), and sustainable cities (SDG11). In South Africa, a lack of amenities in human settlements also affects …

Addressing Urban Blight For Cities Under Uncertain Conditions, Analysis Within Un Sdg 11, Qadri H. Shaheen, Sameer Abu-Eisheh, Hafez Shaheen, George Berghorn

CIB Conferences

Background: Urban blight, the deterioration of previously developed urban areas, manifests through physical decay and social neglect, posing challenges to sustainability. This study examines urban blight within the framework of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11), which aims to create inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities, with a focus on Nablus, Palestine, under uncertain socio-political conditions.

Objective: We seek to analyze blight’s impact on the built environment and propose solutions aligned with SDG 11, emphasizing resilience and inclusivity in cities facing prolonged uncertainty.

Methodology: Through a case study of Nablus, we analyze blight characteristics using spatial mapping, statistical …

Exploring The Interplay Between Digital Technologies And Circular Procurement In The Construction Industry: Current Trends And Future Research Directions, Benjamin Kwaku Ababio, Weisheng Lu, Prince Antwi-Afari, Frank Ato Ghansah Dr

CIB Conferences

Amidst advancements in the adoption of digital technologies (DT) for the construction industry, the supply and value chain management function has undergone significant transformation in recent times. This transformation has created new possibilities for enhancing sustainability practices in the industry, with circular procurement (CP) as an undoubtedly crucial strategy to achieve circular economy goals on construction projects. However, the links between DT and CP, as well as their implications for construction supply chain processes, have remained unclear with limited research attention. This study addresses the knowledge gap by employing a comprehensive review of extant literature to gather insights into the …

Advancing Sustainability Through Smart Building Concepts In Developing Countries: Insights From Ghana, Frank Ato Ghansah Dr, Amos Darko Dr, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari Dr, Benjamin Kwaku Ababio, Young Bert, Rafiu Seidu, Nazif Amina, De-Graft Owusu-Manu

CIB Conferences

The last decade has seen a paradigm shift in building sector research from sustainable building to smart building, and it is anticipated that these two concepts will merge, meeting the increasing demands of the United Nations sustainable development goals 3, 9, 11, 13, and 17. However, it is discernible from prior studies that developing countries lack the proper means to adopt the smart building concept to achieve sustainability in the building sector, and this has received inadequate attention in existing studies. Thus, this study identifies the critical factors to adopt the smart building concept for sustainability throughout the building lifecycle …

Experimental Study Of Adhesive And Metal-Free Laminated Timber Products Made Of Uruguayan Pine, Gastón Bruzzone, Daniel Godoy, Stephany Arrejuria, Sebastián Quagliotti, Silvia Böthig, Laura Moya

CIB Conferences

This study presents the experimental results of adhesive and metal-free laminated timber products made of Uruguayan pine. Dowel laminated timber (DLT) and wooden nail laminated timber (WNLT) were prepared using C22 pine lamellas and joined by wooden dowels or nails with diameters of 20 mm and 5.3 mm, respectively. For comparison, laminated timber products joined with 3.2 mm steel nails (NLT) were manufactured. Two nailing patterns, straight horizontal and zigzag, and three spacing between fasteners, 300, 250 and 150 mm were analysed. Shear tests on timber connections and four-point bending tests on structural size panels were performed, and the slip …

Facilities Management Integration Into Construction Management Curriculum: Core Competencies, Deniz Besiktepe, Barry Mcauley, Anthony E. Sparkling, James Jenkins, Mark Mulville

CIB Conferences

The construction industry has long been known for issues in stakeholder collaboration due to the fragmentation in its realm. Facilities Management (FM) received increasing attention with the shifted trends of the construction industry from a siloed discipline to a holistic approach where educational efforts need to align with this transformation. FM and building operations related topics need to be infused into the construction management (CM) curriculum to improve the analytical reasoning and critical thinking of the future workforce. With that, this study aims to identify the core competencies in CM and FM areas as a first step to determining the …

Assessment Of Awareness And Integration Of Industry 4.0 Technologies To Enhance Construction H&S Site Operation In South Africa, Iruka C. Anugwo, Utsile Nzungeni

CIB Conferences

The study focused on establishing an alternative to the traditional methods of mitigating construction accidents by exploring the usage of technology to monitor the movement of workers and construction equipment with the hopes of avoiding an accident before it occurs. Construction accidents is a topic that has been thoroughly investigated in the construction industry for several decades as the industry has been plagued with fatalities and injuries throughout its history however, the high number of accidents is persisting. The Eastern Cape region is no exception with high numbers of accidents that have a high cost of accidents. This research was …

Resilient Technology Adoption By Facility Managers For Enhanced Building Resilience In The Usa, Sandeep Langar, Sarel Lavy

CIB Conferences

Climate changes significantly impose stresses on the physical and the built environment. Facility Managers (FMs) within the buildings are vital in maintaining the optimal performance of facilities, particularly in the face of increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters. Therefore, this study presents preliminary findings about the in-house facility managers' adoption and implementation patterns for technologies enhancing the resilience of a facility within the USA. The research also identifies the barriers to adopting resilient technologies, per the facility managers. The research utilized an online survey with the facility managers within the USA as the general population. When the publication was …

The Impact Of Physically Demanding Human-Drone Communication On Worker Mental Stress, Woei-Chyi Chang, Shiva Pooladvand, Sogand Hasanzadeh

CIB Conferences

While drones have exhibited considerable potential to revolutionize the construction industry, previous studies across domains have proposed that human-drone interaction could cause adverse impacts on humans (e.g., collision and discomfort). Given that construction has been recognized as a hazardous and high-stress workplace, it deserves deep exploration regarding how newly introduced drones will influence worker well-being during the interaction. However, there is a paucity of research on worker stress when communicating with drones in construction. Successful human-drone interaction must necessitate seamless and comfortable communication between workers and drones. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of physically demanding response levels on construction …

Analyzing Employment Disparities In Construction Science & Management (Csm) Graduates For Specialty Trade Contractors (Stc), Vivek Sharma, Dhaval R. Gajjar, Stuti Garg, Adam Hoots, Gopika Viswanathan

CIB Conferences

The United States construction industry has grappled with labor shortages for years. Numerous studies have focused on attracting younger generations to the general contracting sector; however, more research needs to be conducted on why young graduates from construction science management (CSM) programs tend to favor general contracting over subcontracting careers. This research aims to bridge this gap by exploring the reasons behind the disinterest in subcontracting careers among recent graduates. The literature review identified several studies that examine the motivational factors and incentives driving individuals to work for Specialty Trade Contractors (STCs) in the construction industry. These studies also discuss …

Life Cycle Assessment And Cost Evaluation Of Sustainable Production Technologies: A Parametric Approach For Complex Geometries In Architectural Design, Valentina Casarini, Simona Bovi, Alberto Speroni, Andrea Giovanni Mainini, Francesco Pittau, Matteo Cavaglia, Juan Diego Blanco Cadena, Tiziana Poli

CIB Conferences

Building design has to deal with complex geometries and surfaces arising from current trends and “New European Bauhaus” initiative that imagines a sustainable and inclusive future that is beautiful for eyes, minds, and souls. This also relates to the rise of new design paradigms, such as 'user-centred design', which includes customized optimization approaches. The increasing adoption of customized components and unique solutions raises valid concerns about the optimal use of energy and resources. The study carried out stems precisely from these needs and focuses on the life cycle assessment of the technologies currently available on the market to realize the …

Integrating User Adaptation And Retrofit Strategies For Overheating Mitigation In Energy-Poor Buildings Under Climate Change Scenarios, Greta Grandi, Andrea Giovanni Mainini

CIB Conferences

This study conducts a comprehensive, long-term analysis of passive strategies aimed at mitigating overheating in residential structures occupied by elderly individuals and children up to fifteen years old. In fact, in the European Union, around 50 million households experience energy poverty, exposing vulnerable groups—such as pregnant women, the infirm, people with disabilities, children, and the elderly—to increased risks from overheating. This study conducts a comprehensive, long-term analysis of passive strategies aimed at mitigating overheating in residential structures occupied by elderly individuals and children up to fifteen years old. Focusing on a typical building constructed in Milan during the 1960s, dynamic …

Conppmf: Construction Datasets For Privacy-Preserving Mental Fatigue, Jianhuan Zeng, Xiao Li, Zenan Zhang

CIB Conferences

Construction workers’ unsafe behavior is the leading cause of on-site accidents, greatly influenced by mental fatigue. Existing available datasets for mental fatigue are scarce in construction. Moreover, collecting and using private data, such as facial images, bio-signals, and speech, raises significant privacy concerns, leading to difficulty in data collection during model implementation. To tackle these challenges, this research aims to introduce a replicable multi-modal dataset named ConPPMF to monitor mental fatigue on construction sites, focusing on worker comfort and privacy. The dataset comprises physiological data from smartwatches and time-synchronized visual data from cameras. Fatigue status is labeled through self-reported assessments …

Revitalisation Of Urban Heritage Sites Through Community-Based Facilities Management: The Case Of Botswana, Petunia G. Gaoalafe, Kathy A. Michell

CIB Conferences

This paper explores the role of community-based facilities management (CbFM) in the revitalisation and utilisation of heritage sites, focusing primarily on government-owned urban heritage sites in Botswana, particularly those that are facing dilapidation and/or obsolescence. In addition, it discusses CbFM through the confluence of its main pillars with that of placemaking. Existing research points to the insufficiency in the literature concerning an in-depth investigation into heritage CbFM that integrates placemaking principles in cities of the global South. The paper argues for and presents a theoretical framework that outlines the confluence of CbFM and placemaking for the holistic management and revitalisation …

Strategies For Mitigating The Challenges Of Post-Disaster Reconstruction Projects: A Systematic Literature Review, Alexander E. Omoraka, Temitope Egbelakin, Sittimont Kanjanabootra

CIB Conferences

The impacts of disasters range from social to physical, which comprise psychological impacts, economic impacts, casualties, damage to buildings and infrastructure, etc. While developing countries like Nigeria and Nepal are prone to suffering more human casualties, the effects of disasters in developed countries like Australia and Japan are felt more in buildings and infrastructure. Disasters leave the affected areas deprived of the capacity to function normally without support. Construction projects constitute the greatest loss component in the event of major disasters and thus render people homeless, insecure, and susceptible to unpleasant conditions. This makes post-disaster reconstruction a must in places …

Sidewalk Pavement Defect Detection With Instance Segmentation: A Step Towards Improving Sidewalk Quality, Abdul-Mugis Yussif, Tarek Zayed, Ridwan Taiwo, Ali Fares

CIB Conferences

Making cities walkable and supportive of non-motorized transportation enhances sustainability and inclusivity. Sidewalks, the primary infrastructure in direct contact with pedestrians to support their daily travel needs, deteriorate and develop faults with time and continuous use. However, manual and commonly available non-destructive inspections often are slow, labor-intensive, and cost-inhibitive. This study proposes a quick and cheap method using instance segmentation techniques to detect sidewalk pavement surface defects automatically. The proposed methods are two instance innovative approaches to train the Mask R-CNN (MRCNN) instance segmentation model to identify and provide the respective boundaries of each defect. The first and most reliable …

Offsite Evolution: Do We Really Understand The Potential Impact Of Technology On Industry 5.0?, Volkan Ezcan, Jack S. Goulding, Jeff H. Rankin, Brandon Searle, Mohammed Arif

CIB Conferences

Offsite Manufacturing (OSM) has repeatedly been extoled as a panacea solution for addressing ‘traditional’ construction challenges – ergo: time, quality and cost. However, it is posited here that there are grounds to challenge this preconception, particularly from a technology perspective, given industry’s need to align to Industry 5.0. Arguably (and somewhat contentiously), the industry is still in the process of trying to understand the concepts underpinning Industry 4.0. Thus, in order to understand this perceived disparity, this research used the antecedents from CIB’s Offsite Production and Manufacturing research roadmap (TG74 – publication 372) produced in 2013 as a starting point …

The Implementation Of Un Sustainable Development Goals Using Facilities Management Standards In South Africa, Steven Molloy, Yewande Adewunmi

CIB Conferences

The suite of ISO 41000 standards for facility management (FM) seeks to address 17 of the 24 UN sustainable development goals (SDG). Implementing these ISO systems will enhance SDG’s management and operations of facilities. In their daily actions, facility managers are in a unique position to guide facility and property owners in implementing sustainability measures without expensive construction changes to the building fabric. A viewpoint paper through the review of the literature and South African laws and regulations was undertaken to determine areas that incorporate SDGs into the management of facilities. South African institutional reports, and local standards were reviewed …

Evaluation Of Solar Adaptability In Transit Station Areas: A Comparative Case Study Of Tokyo And Hong Kong, Yufei Liu, Zhu Yuan

CIB Conferences

Due to climatic differences between cities, there is a complex relationship between urban form and sunlight comfort. In the compactly developed transit station areas, the higher development intensity further limits the space for urban form adjustment, making it difficult to maintain ideal sunlight conditions in all public spaces. This study aims to provide a method for assessing the solar adaptability of public spaces around rail transit stations. By constructing a betweenness-solar performance (B-S) model, the appropriateness of spatial form in station areas is assessed based on the balance between predicted pedestrian flows and sunlight conditions in urban public spaces. The …

Generative Artificial Intelligence And Virtual Reality: Emerging Future Of The Building Component Inspection Training, Mohammad Movahedi, Carlos Bravo, Juyeong Choi

CIB Conferences

The assessment of building components, which is typically performed through visual inspections, is critical to the maintenance planning and other decisions made during the operation and use stage of the building life cycle. This paper introduces a framework leveraging generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and virtual reality (VR) to improve facility inspectors' training, which eventually can help with the informed decisions that stakeholders should make. Buildings are complex facilities that demand precise and unbiased condition evaluations. Traditional training approaches rely heavily on limited texture images and descriptions collected in prior studies, which restrict the range of conditions inspectors can study …

Impact Of Climate Change On Cities: Analyzing Building Energy Use In Future Climate Scenarios Through A Hybrid Computational Approach, Heng Quan, Semiha Ergan

CIB Conferences

Under global warming, cities need accurate predictions of building energy use to ensure energy supply and guide urban planning and policy decisions. Traditional data-driven methods struggle to project future scenarios due to the lack of training data reflecting anticipated climate conditions. This study presents a novel approach by integrating the Degree Day Model (DDM) with a Knowledge-Based Neural Network (KBNN). The DDM quantifies heating and cooling demands based on temperature deviations, providing domain-specific insights that enhance the KBNN's ability to extrapolate. We trained our KBNN using monthly energy consumption data from over a thousand New York City buildings, along with …

Automaticity And Mindfulness In Construction, Oluwaseun Samuel Olabode, Ikechukwu Sylvester Onuchukwu, Sebastien Helie, Behzad Esmaeili

CIB Conferences

Mindfulness is critical in enhancing workers’ safety and productivity by improving attention regulation. Attention is a key factor in task performance, influencing the balance between safety and efficiency in repetitive work environments. One factor that significantly impacts attention is skill automaticity, which is associated with reduced attentional requirements following repetition or practice. Despite the known relationship between mindfulness and attention, the interaction between mindfulness dimensions and automaticity remains unknown. This study addresses this gap by investigating how mindfulness influences attention during the transition from novice to expert in a repetitive construction task, providing insights into the interplay between mindfulness, attention, …

Advancing Ergonomic Solutions: Lessons From Lower-Body Exoskeleton Trials In Construction, Prosper Gbiengu, Muhammad Khan, Cole Woods, Nnaji Chukwuma, Vishesh Vikas

CIB Conferences

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) present significant challenges in the construction industry, where workers are at high risk of lower back and other injuries. Exoskeletons (EXOs) offer a promising ergonomic solution, but their adoption in construction remains underexplored, particularly regarding user perceptions, usability, and real-time feedback. This study evaluated the experiences of 16 construction workers who used a prototype passive lower-body EXO during a three-hour trial on active worksites. Feedback was analyzed thematically, revealing critical factors influencing EXO usability, including comfort, fit, tool compatibility, performance, and durability. Participants reported benefits such as reduced lower-back strain and improved posture, but discomfort from …