Applicability-compatibility analysis of PMBOK seventh edition from the perspective of the construction industry distinctive peculiarities

Project management standards, like PMBOK, have had a considerable role in developing this field of knowledge and promoting it as a professional expertise in project-oriented industries, such as the construction industry. The latest version of PMBOK, seventh edition—2021, has been released with substantial changes, and the conventional process-based system has been converted to a performance-based approach. This study aimed to investigate the recent edition of PMBOK, to explore its application and adaptation regarding the specific characteristics of the construction industry. For this purpose, utilizing a hybrid methodology of text mining and survey method, at first, the content of the text was analyzed by software in combination with experts’ opinions. In a parallel survey, the distinctive attributes of the construction industry were investigated, and in the next step, the way that this sector can benefit from the emerging framework was examined. The results show the construction industry has special peculiarities in the form of four different project types with specific phases in typical lifecycle and reveal the potential applicability of performance domains in the construction projects and the compatibility of project management principles. This study is one of the first attempts to review the novel presented standard of PMBOK seventh edition and contributes to the present knowledge by analyzing the construction industry in relation to this issue

A risk analysis-best worst method based model for selection of the most appropriate contract strategy for onshore drilling projects in the Iranian petroleum industry

The pre-project planning phase has a significant impact on the achievement of project objectives because during this stage, major decisions including involving contract strategies are made with a high degree of uncertainty. Studies show that the contract type can play a unique role in the achievement of project success. On the other hand, drilling projects can be considered as one of the most critical types of projects in the petroleum industry. In this research, a novel risk based best-worst method (risk-BWM) is proposed for solving the issue of selecting the best contract strategy. A three level methodology was designed; firstly, the risk breakdown structure (RBS) of drilling projects was created in four levels including one heading in level 0, eight main areas of risk in level 1, 34 sub-areas of risk in level 2, and finally, 217 risk items in level 3. Secondly and on the basis of BWM, the weights of risk factors were determined as the selection criteria and consequently the best and the worst criteria were specified. Finally, using pair-wise comparisons between six types of drilling prevalent in contracts, the most appropriate contract type was proposed. The contribution of this study is the development of a generic RBS for drilling projects and application of the risk factors for the first time for the selection of contract type using the BWM method, which has the potential of being adapted for other types of underground projects

A meta-synthesis review of occupant comfort assessment in buildings (2002-2022)

Occupant comfort in buildings is one of the most crucial considerations in designing a building. Accordingly, there is a growing interest in this area. Aspects of comfort include thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort, and indoor air quality (IAQ) satisfaction. The objective of this state-of-the-art review was to provide a comprehensive, explicit, and up-to-date literature review on occupant comfort in buildings, since this issue has a great impact on the lifestyle, health, and productivity of occupants. A meta-synthesis method was also used for an analytical-interpretive review of previous studies. In this research, scientific research studies related to the subject of indoor occupant comfort in the period 2002–2022 were reviewed. Previous reviews have often covered the fundamental concepts and principles related to indoor occupant comfort. Although innumerable studies have focused on thermal comfort, other aspects of occupant comfort have not been considered. The review is analyzed and discussed in reference to type of study, case study geographical locations and climate zones, case study building types, decision-making models, assessment criteria, datacollection tools, and data analysis strategies. Finally, future research recommendations are presented. Through the review, we find that the comfort models used in research are mostly based on comfort perception votes collected from experimental studies, which may not reflect the preferences of users well. In addition, only the influence of environmental factors on the models has been investigated, and other personal factors have been ignored. This study presents a useful guide for researchers to determine their outlines for future research in this field

A constructability assessment model based on BIM in urban renewal projects in limited lands

One of the most significant concerns in urban development today is the organization of areas of cities that have become run-down over time. In order to complete previous constructability studies in other fields of construction, the current study evaluates constructability based on BIM, specifically in the context of the Tehran limited land renewal project. The motivation for this study is the current difficulties facing renewal designs for limited lands, and the lack of a quantitative constructability model for urban renewal projects in Iran. This paper aims (1) to discuss the design elements that should be considered in the design phase of urban renewal projects; (2) to identify the factors that may affect constructability; and (3) to propose a framework for assessing urban renewal designs by considering constructability factors using building information modeling (BIM). To meet these needs, this paper investigates constructability factors and their relative importance, considering the design elements that should be acknowledged in limited land renewal, using a multicriteria techniques. Some 28 constructability factors are identified through a literature review, and based on 52 responses received from a questionnaire survey, the factors are ranked using pairwise comparisons of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The final constructability factors that are identified through the technique for order preference using the similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method are standard dimensions, safety, simplification of structure, resource intelligence and alignment, and skilled labor availability. The contribution of this research to the body of knowledge is, firstly, the development of constructability factors for measuring the constructability of urban renewal designs, and secondly, the introduction of BIM as a most beneficial tool for assessing the constructability of the proposed designs. In using the constructability assessment framework and identifying the trade-offs between the constructability of renewal projects in the limited areas of urban spaces, design alternatives become more feasible

Subjective and simulation-based analysis of discomfort glare metrics in office buildings with light shelf systems

Glare is a kind of physiological phenomenon that influences occupants’ visual comfort. Discomfort glare scenes in comparison to other levels of glare have been difficult to estimate and need accurate and reliable metrics. In contemporary architecture, the glass façade is so popular since it can remarkably minimize energy consumption in buildings and maximize daylight utilization as a natural energy. However, it is necessary to consider occupants’ visual discomfort due to the daylighting glare risks during the initial stage of design. Since the measured glare metrics should have an acceptable correlation with the human subject data study, the agreement on the glare indices is complicated. This paper presents a comparison between subjective and simulation-based analysis of discomfort glare metrics in offices with a light shelf system. The discomfort glare metrics considered in this study include Daylight Glare Index (DGI), CIE Glare Index (CGI), Visual Comfort Probability (VCP), Unified Glare Rating (UGR), and Daylight Glare Probability (DGP). The parallel comparison was conducted by using simulation and questionnaire surveys to determine which criteria are more useful under different conditions. According to the findings, DGP yields the most reliable results in different levels of glare based on the subjective analysis and VCP has the lowest accuracy in each stage. UGR also has the highest accuracy rate for evaluating perceptible glare, DGI is applicable for assessing imperceptible glare, and CGI can be an acceptable index for approximating intolerable glare. The study results significantly reduce the complexity of the problem and can provide useful guidance for designers to select the most reliable glare metric based on climatic conditions

A bid/mark-up decision support model in contractor's tender strategy development phase based on project complexity measurement in the downstream sector of petroleum industry

The tender process is an inseparable step of the contract award process in the public sector, and from the other point of view, it is one of the crucial elements of the core business of construction contractors. Reviewing previous research reveals a gap in the application of a project’s detailed features and historical data to support the bid/no-bid decision and to determine the cost and time contract mark-ups. In this study, a prescriptive project complexity-based model is proposed to support the bid decision in the tender strategy development phase of a contractor for the downstream sector of the petroleum industry in Iran. For this purpose, regression analysis of historical data is adopted to configure the model and to infer from previous actual trends by exploring relationships between the contractor’s bid decision and proposed mark-ups with the project’s inherent and surrounding complexity factors. Hence, using experts’ opinions and historical data from 139 previous contracts as training and test data, a model was developed to make a decision on a bid and mark-up problem. The results of the model validation show that the credibility of the model is 74.67% and 75.36% for time and cost, respectively, and the reliability of model outputs is approximately 90% overall in predicting the bid mark-ups in accordance with the project complexity index (PCI). The main contribution of this research to current knowledge has two aspects: utilizing the complexity concept for the tender problem in the form of a project complexity index (PCI) and considering both time and cost mark-ups (TMU–CMU) in the contractor’s bid simultaneously. In addition, the results show that the more complex the project is, the higher the bid rate is

Quality management framework for housing construction in a design-build project delivery system : a BIM-UAV approach

Quality management in project administration can affect the costs and schedule of a project considerably. The immediate notable result of unacceptable quality in a construction project is the “dissatisfied client.” which can be interpreted as “customer loss”. Additionally, defective work is a synonym for problems such as dispute, because items of non-compliance with early agreements can be considered the main factor in triggering claims by the client. The integrated use of two modern technologies, namely Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) is proposed in this study to support project quality management (PQM). This study aims to develop the theoretical underpinnings to provide a quality management framework, formed by BIM-UAV, for housing projects in design-build (D&B) contracts. For this purpose, in the first step the causes of client dissatisfaction rooted in quality concerns were identified in two phases of design and construction. The next step was dedicated to the mapping of BIM-UAV capacities to address the identified causes of dissatisfaction of the client. In the final step, expert opinion was obtained to integrate the BIM-UAV capacities to the quality management framework. The findings and main contribution of this study to the body of knowledge is a guide for design-builders to implement BIM-UAV as an innovative quality management solution to improve their services and to gain the maximum level of client satisfaction, focusing on house building

Forensic analysis of the disputes typology of the NSW construction industry using PLS-SEM and prospective trend analysis

Project claim management is the central pillar of the overlapping areas of contract administration, contract law and building regulations. Delays caused by inefficiency of the procedures designed to avoid disputes emerge at the pre-project phase and continue during construction. The quantum of research addressing this issue is not immediately transferrable between jurisdictions, mainly due to local specificity of construction practices, contract and construction laws, as well as clients’ preferences. The primary aim of this study is to identify the underlying causes of disputes that have arisen in the NSW construction industry in the past two decades and to analyze the inter-relationships between the causes. To achieve this purpose, PLS-SEM quantitative models were utilized to study different factors influencing disputes. Through a detailed quantitative analysis of 230 cases, based on dispute frequencies, causes and effect analysis and the resultant loop cause diagrams, the dispute triggers, types, and root causes have been analyzed as the basis for developing a model to predict the future likelihood of disputes. Finally, 13 causes of disputes have been recognized as the main causal factors in the construction projects in NSW. This study also has shown that payment and reimbursement-related disputes are the most frequent in NSW construction, except for the last two years

Neuro-fuzzy system based model for prediction of project performance in downstream sector of petroleum industry in Iran

Purpose: Planning phase of a project results to series of crucial decisions which determine the path to objectives achievement. At the same time, in this phase, project encounters the highest level of uncertainty in comparison of all phases of project lifecycle. This paper aims to support early decisions of project based on the progress forecasting. Design/methodology/approach: The scope of study is limited to downstream projects of petroleum industry in Iran, and the proposed model is trained and tested based on 75 Iranian completed petroleum projects. First, types of progress curve functions are investigated, and various types are studied and the most appropriate ones are selected through curve fitting. In the next step, using questionnaire, dependent and independent variables are recognized. Finally, using historical data and s-curve generator functions, a fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) based model have been developed to support early phases decision-making processes. Findings: Based on the analysis of received questionnaires, six functional criteria in two groups as dependent variables and 25 independent variables, in two groups and four clusters are determined and categorized. Eventually, performance prediction model of a project has been developed by using Adaptive Nero Fuzzy Inference System. Originality/value: The main contribution of this study to construction management knowledge is categorizing two groups of variables, which first one defines the project dynamic and the other calculates the key effects on previous one. Also, this investigation improves the current knowledge by analyzing the project system from the dynamic behavior perspective and modeling the defined variables using ANFIS tools

An integrated organizational system for project source selection in the major Iranian construction companies

Studies show that procurement management and its processes strongly affect project success in the construction industry, because the project-oriented organizations in the construction industry prefer to buy goods and services from outside the project team and benefit from outsourcing. Hence, these organizations are continually facing different levels of procurement processes, and the establishment of a robust outsourcing system is crucial for success of their projects and development of their businesses. On the other hand, the housing projects are considered a significant sector of the construction industry in terms of the number of projects and the impact on the national economy. Traditionally, the key sources in conventional housing projects are the general contractors, the consultants and the suppliers. In this study, essential elements of an organizational system have been investigated by expert opinions and through the Delphi method, and all effective aspects of the source selection problem have been identified and integrated. Based on the research findings, procurement of housing construction projects should be organized in three organizational levels: development of the long list, preparation of the short list and selection of the most appropriate source by focusing on four main elements of the source identification method, criteria definition, evaluation arrangement and assessment model