Construction Engineering and Management Commons^™

Proposed Modifications To The Egyptian Concrete Code Based On A Comprehensive Sustainability Assessment Of Portland Cement Alternatives For Climate Change Mitigation, Yasmin Elhakim

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a major challenge facing planet earth today. This phenomenon is foreseen to continue to represent a major concern for decades to come. The construction industry is one of the most polluting sectors worldwide and is considered one of the top greenhouse gas emitters. Egypt, in particular, is one of the most vulnerable countries to the adverse effects of climate change. The construction sector plays a major role in Egypt’s economy, contributing significantly to the national GDP, yet it also represents one of the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. However, the Egyptian Concrete Code does not enforce the …

The Professional Constructor, Full Issue

The Professional Constructor

Full Issue, Winter 2026

Volume 50, Number 01

Barriers To The Adoption Of Modular Construction Technology In South Africa, Mokete Matoba, Christopher Amoah

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

Construction, mining, and manufacturing are the most significant contributors to South Africa's GDP. While manufacturing and other industries utilise advanced technologies to enhance productivity, he construction industry continues to lag behind in technological adoption. This study examines the barriers that hinder the South African construction industry from leveraging the benefits of modular construction technologies (MCT). The study employed a quantitative research method, using closed-ended questions to collect data. The questionnaires were emailed to South African construction industry professionals selected through a combination of purposive and convenience sampling. A total of 98 questionnaires were distributed, of which 46 were returned. However, …

Risk Allocation Model For Price Escalations In Construction Projects: Integrating Bargaining Game Theory And Probabilistic Bayesian Modeling, Yasser Jezzini, Rayan H. Assaad, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Economic market uncertainties, like those witnessed during pandemics and supply chain-related challenges, introduce complexity in ascertaining precise price estimates for construction materials. Despite some studies on risk allocation in construction projects utilizing quantitative and qualitative approaches, these studies fail to explain the underlying process of risk allocation due to a lack of theoretical support, indicating a need for a more structured and theoretically grounded approach to understanding risk allocation, specifically under volatile market conditions. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study proposes a novel game-theoretical model integrating Bayesian statistics and bargaining game theory dynamics, offering a robust framework for optimal …

Predicting The Indirect Cost Of Construction Projects In Egypt: An Artificial Neural Network Approach, Aya Effat

Theses and Dissertations

Cost estimation is one of the vital processes in construction management that needs to be done early in any project in order to determine the project's budget. The accuracy of the cost estimate is a key factor in the success of construction projects since it enables project managers to successfully control the project’s expenses. Construction costs mainly consist of direct cost and indirect cost. Generally, indirect costs can be categorized into two types: site overheads and general overheads. In a construction project, overheads, particularly site overhead costs, make up a considerable portion of a contractor's budget. Accordingly, accurately estimating the …

Vegetation And Its Effectiveness In Replacing Traditional Cooling Systems, Bryce Isaiah Trump

Construction Management

This project aimed to analyze if vegetation is effective in replacing traditional cooling systems, when utilized as green roofs and walls. It serves to provide information to the construction industry, designers, architects, and homeowners. Information gathered through a field experiment will be used to give quantitative data on if vegetation is effective and practical in replacing traditional cooling systems in buildings and homes. The basis for the idea of this project stems from two main courses in the Construction Management program, those courses being Principles of Environmental Design, and Sustainability and the Built Environment. The stated courses introduce the idea …

Girls Build Summer Academy Leadership Summit, Itzell Ruiz

Construction Management

This paper highlights the activities and presentations that will take place during the women in construction leadership summit prior to the Girls Build Summer Academy for high school girls. The leadership summit is a two-day event that will consist of presentations on important leadership and construction topics. The presentations will cover topics such as confidence, safety, leadership assessment activity, tool shop training, emerging trends, career paths, jobsite visit, and a women’s panel. This leadership summit will be implemented in the summer of 2023 and will take place at Cal Poly’s campus in the Construction Innovations Center. The scope of this …

A Socio-Ecological, Multi-Stakeholder Investigation Of Apprenticeship Training Engagement In The Irish Construction Industry, Eoghan Ó Murchadha

Doctoral

The construction industry in Ireland is crucial to the national economy, not just in terms of economic output, but as a major provider of employment. The construction labour market is a complex concatenation of professions relying upon adequate skills supply. Apprenticeships play a critical role in future skills provision and are thus vital to the successful implementation of strategic government targets such as the National Development Plan 2021-2030. However, the extant employer-led model of skills engagement is prone to labour market failure given the cyclical elasticity of the industry. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research into apprenticeship engagement …

Weather-Related Construction Delays In A Changing Climate: A Systematic State-Of-The-Art Review, Steven J. Schuldt, Matthew R. Nicholson, Yaquarri A. Adams Ii, Justin D. Delorit

Faculty Publications

Adverse weather delays forty-five percent of construction projects worldwide, costing project owners and contractors billions of dollars in additional expenses and lost revenue each year. Additionally, changes in climate are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of weather conditions that cause these construction delays. Researchers have investigated the effect of weather on several aspects of construction. Still, no previous study comprehensively (1) identifies and quantifies the risks weather imposes on construction projects, (2) categorizes modeling and simulation approaches developed, and (3) summarizes mitigation strategies and adaptation techniques to provide best management practices for the construction industry. This paper accomplishes …

Improving Client-Consultant-Contractor Communication In Construction Industry Through Whatsapp Application, Muhammad Hafizul Taib

Student Works (2020-2029)

A Smooth and effective communication is very important in construction industry to prevent iteration and rework which will cause money. Since there are a lot of parties involve in construction,it is important to have a good communication platform. In the current world, people are using the technology advancement to enhance the effectiveness of communication amongst people who work in construction industry. Though there are a lot of mobile application designed for construction purpose, WhatsApp is the most commonly used by all. However, there are no studies done to identify the effectiveness of it. This thesis will gather respond from client, …

The Critical Success Factors Of Cloud Based Application Implementation In Construction Management, Sukiman Mohd Asfahani

Student Works (2020-2029)

Design and construction are information intensive activities, involving a great number of people collaborating to produce complex, one-off developments. Whilst historically, information may have been managed and communicated using paper-based systems and verbal instructions, the integration of the supply chain, the introduction of computer aided design (CAD) and building information modelling (BIM) and the development of cloud computing application means that information communications technology (ICT) is becoming a fundamental part, not just of the design office, but also of the construction site. Cloud computing is a relatively new phenomenon in the construction industry. It allows the delivery over the 'cloud' …

The Study On The Use Of Project Success Framework Among Project Personnel, Suring Joshua

Student Works (2020-2029)

Projects, programs and portfolios are essential for human endeavors since time immemorial. However, project success rates in various sectors are dismal and not up to expectations. This research aims to investigate the use of a multilevel project success framework among project personnel in various sectors to identify essential success levels and criteria and determine any weaknesses and gaps for enhancing the framework. This is a qualitative study during which a conceptual framework was developed and tested with data gathered using a questionnaire survey with open-ended questions which was distributed to project personnel based on snowball sampling. A total of 52 …

Supply Chain Management: Fragmented Adoption In Practice, Tayler J. Yoshimura

Construction Management

Every day the construction industry develops new ideas and theories toward innovation in increased efficiency and quality for its projects. One method is supply chain management, which focuses on the relationships between partnerships along the supply chain. The theory was first developed in the manufacturing industry and this paper will highlight the reasons behind its fragmented adoption in the construction industry. The overall supply chain typically contains short supply chains that are dismissed upon project completion. Some companies have partially adopted the theory into their work practices but has been unable to fully adopt the theory as a whole. There …

Challenges Of International Development Projects In Yemen: Perspective Of Public Work Project, Mohammed Lashuel Hassan Mohammed

Student Works (2020-2029)

International development projects are public projects that are created to support the economy and people’s life needs, mostly these types of projects target developing countries. These types of projects face challenges more than other projects due to many reasons. Accordingly, this research aims to explore the challenges that face international development projects in Yemen and conducted by the Public Work Project and highlight the most significant issues that face ID project as well to overcome these challenges. This research adopted the qualitative method by conducting ten semi-structured interviews with the PWP team and others stakeholders. The interview technique was selected …

Sustainable And Resilient Construction: Current Status And Future Challenges, Niamh Murtagh, Lloyd Scott, Jingli Fan

Articles

The construction industry globally is one of the most environmentally damaging of sectors. Additionally, the resources consumed and the operational energy requirements of buildings are ‘locked-in’, potentially for decades. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recognised construction as a sector in which significant improvements can, and indeed must, be made. But the industry is often argued to be unique, in its multiplicity of stakeholders, transient organisational structures, avoidance of risk and impact on society. The current Virtual Special Issue (VSI) sought to bring together a collection of papers on progress and potential for improvement in the construction sector, in …

What You Don’T See, Brent Sturlaugson

Architecture Faculty Publications

Follow the supply chains of architecture and you’ll find not just product manufacturers but also environmental polluters and elusive networks of financial power and political influence.

Quantity Surveying Professional Apprenticeships: A Paragon For The Supply Of Talent In The Irish Construction Industry, Eoghan Ó Murchadha, Roisin Murphy

Conference papers

The construction industry in Ireland has undergone considerable change in the last decade, the effect of which has resulted in a legacy malfunction in the construction labour market. The recent construction downturn led to high levels of construction unemployment, resulting in the mass emigration of construction professionals. Additionally, perceptions of job uncertainty in construction deterred new entrants into construction-related training and education programmes such as Quantity Surveying. If a skills gap is allowed to prevail, then there is a tangible threat to the industry’s cost competitiveness. As such, value for money becomes merely theoretical, and the cost to the economy …

The Impact Of Project Delivery Methods On Dispute Occurrence In Public Highway Projects, Samaneh Nasrollahi, Ghada M. Gad, Alan Atalah

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

The construction industry is a complex and competitive industry in which different participants with different expertise, talents, and levels of knowledge work together to achieve their objectives and complete a project. Sine different participants with different interest involve in a construction project, therefore, conflicts arise and become inevitable. Conflicts in projects will cause an adversarial environment which result to disputes. Hence, if conflicts are not well managed and resolved in a timely manner, they quickly turn into disputes, which prevent the successful completion of the construction project, in terms of cost and time, and increasing the potential for poor project …

National Culture And Business Resilience: An Exploratory Study Of Two Chinese Construction Firms Operating In Singapore, Low Sui Pheng, Gao Shang, Teo Wee Kiat Ken

Business Review

The study of national culture focuses on differences in values and beliefs among people of different nationalities. With the increasing globalization of economies around the world, the construction industry is inherently exposed to risk at an unprecedented level. This is particularly true for Chinese construction firms, which are aggressively setting up subsidiaries and branches all around the world as they partake in large-scale complex projects overseas. With the liberal foreign trade policies adopted by China after its reforms, domestic construction firms in China also face immense pressure from the international players that are now able to enter the Chinese construction …

A Comparative Study Of Performance, Impediments, Advantages, And Disadvantages Of Construction And Professional Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, Ravi Sharma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Construction and professional disadvantaged, minority, and women business enterprises (DBE/MBE/WBEs) face several impediments that hinder their business growth. A questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the important factors that affect their business performance, impediments faced by these business enterprises, advantages, and disadvantages of being DBE (DBE will be an umbrella designation for DBE, MBE, and WBE). This study compares the difference in responses from these two groups. A total of 333 business enterprises responded to the questionnaire. The survey results showed that construction firms gave significantly higher importance to "financial" issues and "safe work practices" as their most important factors …

Finishing The Job: A Partnership For Diversity In The Construction Workforce, Susan Moir, Liz Skidmore, Janet Jones, Brian Doherty

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues (PGTI) is a regional collaboration of construction industry stakeholders working together since 2008 to tackle the persistent failure of policies enacted to open up good paying jobs in the construction trades to women. Our focus on women explicitly supports efforts to increase all forms of diversity in the construction industry. Following the publication of our 2011 founding document, Unfinished Business: Building Equality for Women in the Construction Trades, PGTI has focused on the development and implementation of best practices for a diverse construction workforce in public and non-profit construction.

Opportunity Lost: Mismanagment Of The Closeout Phase Of Construction Projects, Jared Rogers

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

In nearly every construction project, completing the project on time is one of the most critical things for everyone involved. Late project completion causes a wide variety of complications for the entire project team. This paper seeks to identify some of the causes for delay in the last phase of construction projects: the closeout phase.

Original research was conducted to gather input from construction industry professionals about their experiences with the closeout phase of projects. Factors perceived to cause closeout delay were identified, along with perceptions about the closeout performance of survey participant’s firms. The research validated the study’s premise …

Material And Energy Flow Analysis Of The Irish Construction Sector, Rachel Woodward

Theses

A national flow model for concrete was developed using the framework of material and energy flow analysis. Using this framework, the Irish concrete material and energy cycles for the year 2007 were constructed by firstly analysing the material life cycle of concrete which consists of the three phases of production (including extraction of raw materials and manufacture of cement), usage into stock (ready-mix and other concrete products), and waste management. In this year, approximately 35Mt of raw materials were extracted to produce both 5Mt of cement and 33Mt of concrete, with 4.5Mt of cement going into the production of concrete. …

Critical Factors In Project Success: A Study Of Public Sector Construction Projects In Malaysia., Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah

Student Works (2010-2019)

The importance of the construction industry to nation building necessitates that project implemented achieves project success. However, studies and evidence have shown that there is a low probability in consistently achieving project success. Nevertheless, it seems that the definition of project success and how to achieve project success is quite illusive. For more than a century, researchers have been grappling with its definition but the concept remained ambiguous. From the early identification of time, cost and quality as elements of project success, researchers have added many other outcomes and objectives including stakeholders, project manager, communication, leadership, project management, organization structure, …

Beyond Sustainability: The Contractor’S Role In Regenerative System Design, Rebecca Mirsky, Anthony Songer

Construction Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Current business models employ the concept of the triple bottom line to integrate three aspects of sustainability into the organizational process: economic growth, environmental protection and social equity. This concept is evolving toward a regenerative design approach that promotes a triple "top" line, moving accountability to the beginning of the design process by assigning value to a variety of economic, environmental and social factors. There is an increasingly important need for proactive participation from the construction community in this new generation of sustainability efforts. Otherwise, there will be a widening gap between design and construction, in which the contractor role …

Guidelines For The Application Of Recycled Concrete Aggregate In The Egyptian Construction Industry, Ahmed Moustafa Essam Aly Kamel

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Construction industry is one of the most important fractions of economy worldwide. This industry consumes enormous amounts of raw materials and produces considerable waste. The optimization of construction material usage not only saves costs but also can significantly contribute towards sustainable development. The concept of recycling the construction and demolition rubble is being addressed in this study as a solution. The recycling of concrete, resulting from both the construction activities and the demolition activities, in order to be used as a source of aggregate is being focused upon in this study. Although the idea of using recycled concrete has been …

Detecting Anomalous Inclusions In Soil Profiles: Encouraging The Use Of Geophysics To Solve Engineering Problems, Barbara Luke, Carlos Calderon-Macias

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Geotechnical site investigations often do not take full advantage of geophysical methods. As examples, when delineating cemented strata and when detecting shallow cavities, investigations can be enhanced greatly for low additional cost by incorporating seismic surface-based measurements.