Soft Element – Decision Reasoning Framework For Green Development Projects

Soft element (SE) relates to administrative aspects that are responsible for effective project mobilization. Although SEs are comparatively smaller in monetary percentage than hard elements, their role is critical to the management and control of project implementation and ensures the effective delivery of construction on site. As the nature of SE is elusive, relating elements of this nature directly to project decision is difficult. This research aims to develop a framework providing holistic representation of SE and explain how they affect project decisions. In developing this framework, the Resource Mobilization Theory and Rational Choice Theory are used as the underlying theories

Preliminary Study of Changes in Work Practices of Quantity Surveyors in Building Information Modelling (BIM) Projects

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been a game changer for the construction industry in transforming how design and construction is delivered. While its introduction aims to increase efficiency in construction, it is unclear what practical changes are affected in the individual work practices of construction players. Many studies have explored the changes in design related work practices, but limited studies have explored the practical changes for quantity surveying (QS) work practices when working in BIM projects.  This paper aims to examine the changes in QS work practices according to the RIBA plan of work.  The objectives of this paper include i) to identify the positive changes in QS work practices and, ii) to identify the negative changes in QS work practices.  Qualitative data were analyzed from the interviews of five Quantity Surveyors with BIM work experience. The analysis revealed that there are six positive changes and four negative changes in QS work practices when involved in BIM projects. The findings from this research can be used to understand the implications of BIM on QS work practices at a practical level and to elucidate the adjustments needed to cope with BIM-related changes

Identification Of Factors Influencing Costs In Green Projects

Cost has always been the leading concern in green building development. The perception that construction cost for green building is higher than conventional buildings has only made the discussion of green building cost more difficult. Understanding the factors that will influence the cost of greenconstruction is expected to shed light into what makes green construction more or at par with conventional projects, or perhaps, where cost can be optimised. This paper identifies the elements of cost before shifting the attention to the influencing factors. Findings from past studies uncovered various factors related to cost which are grouped into five focal themes i.e. awareness, knowledge, financial, technical, and government support. A conceptual framework is produced in a form of a flower diagram indicating the cost influencing factors of green building development. These factors were found to be both physical and non-physical aspects of a project. The framework provides ground for the next stage of research that is to further explore how these factors influence the project cost and decision making

Making Sense of Energy-Saving Behaviour: A Theoretical Framework on Strategies for Behaviour Change Intervention

The global construction industry is expected to experience an average growth of 3.6% annually in construction outputs throughout 2018 to 2022. The surge of new building developments will create substantial demand for energy and therefore run the risk of higher carbon emissions. With the rising concern over climate change, it is imperative for buildings to have energy-saving strategies in place. Many research has discussed the use of energy efficient technologies as a solution, but overlook the role of energy-saving behaviour during the post-occupancy stage. Occupants’ energy-saving behaviour is important in ensuring the optimisation of building technologies. A large part of human behaviour is characterised by habit, which is learned sequences of an act that have become automatic responses to specific ques and are functional in meeting certain needs. The study aims to establish the link between the behaviour of building occupants and their underlying habits. Adopting the Habit Theory as a premise, the study formulates a framework on strategies for behaviour change interventions that captures the underlying motivations to exhibiting energy-saving behaviour. The Effective Theory-Building design process was applied, which engages an axiomatic system to purposefully generate theory, evaluate its utility, and provide an effective representation of the observed phenomena. The theoretical framework addresses how energy-saving behaviour is cultivated through conditions of habits. This shows that the building occupant’s behaviour is important for enabling energy efficiency and that it can be construed and explained by repetitive habitual actions of energy-saving practices. To have the greatest effect on a building’s energy performance, building managers must examine the nuanced ways that habitual actions may shape the occupants’ energy-saving behaviour and consider intervention strategies for changing habits. The paper provides a deeper understanding of building occupants’ energy-saving behaviour from a sociotechnical perspective and creates a paradigm for future studies of building energy management

Preliminary Study of Changes in Work Practices of Quantity Surveyors in Building Information Modelling (BIM) Projects

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been a game changer for the construction industry in transforming how design and construction is delivered. While its introduction aims to increase efficiency in construction, it is unclear what practical changes are affected in the individual work practices of construction players. Many studies have explored the changes in design related work practices, but limited studies have explored the practical changes for quantity surveying (QS) work practices when working in BIM projects. This paper aims to examine the changes in QS work practices according to the RIBA plan of work. The objectives of this paper include i) to identify the positive changes in QS work practices and, ii) to identify the negative changes in QS work practices. Qualitative data were analyzed from the interviews of five Quantity Surveyors with BIM work experience. The analysis revealed that there are six positive changes and four negative changes in QS work practices when involved in BIM projects. The findings from this research can be used to understand the implications of BIM on QS work practices at a practical level and to elucidate the adjustments needed to cope with BIM-related changes

Identification of Soft Cost Elements in Green Projects: Exploring Experts’ Experience

AbstractThe most commonly cited green building barrier is the high development costs of construction. Many developers share the common perception that green building construction incurs expensive additional costs. A preliminary study was conducted with four industry experts via semi-structured interviews to investigate the soft cost elements (SCEs) in the project. Eighteen SCEs were identified and categorized into three groups namely Professionals, Procedures, and Legal Requirements. Three of the SCEs were found to be unique to green building and contributed a financial concern. The study rendered that these SCEs may influence a developer's decision to invest in green building development

Unlocking Construction Digital Future: assessing the affordance of remote working in construction

The advancement of digital technology within the construction industry has created greater flexibility that goes beyond simply working from home. As remote working becomes increasingly popular, it could potentially unlock the construction’s digital future with new ways of working and operating. However, the sector has been slow to adopt digitisation in its processes, making it difficult to assess whether this affordance may be well received and the current capabilities of digitisation to achieve this practically. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interest in remote working among construction professionals and to examine the factors affecting remote working. Data were collected from 125 construction professionals in a questionnaire survey. The findings show that there is a general appetite for remote working on a flexible basis where a mix of “on-site” and “off-site” arrangement was deemed practical. This could potentially unlock significant time and cost savings as well as productivity gains. The main factors affecting remote working were the availability of interconnected systems allowing efficient communication and digital infrastructure that enable automated processes. The findings may benefit organisations to evaluate the practical needs of ensuring effective remote working in the construction industry and unlocking efficiencies

Remote working in construction: assessing the affordance of digitisation

Purpose As remote working becomes increasingly popular, remote working could unlock new ways of working through digitisation. However, the construction sector has been slow to adopt digitisation in its processes, making digitisation difficult to assess whether this affordance may be well received and the current capabilities of digitisation to achieve this effectively. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interest in remote working amongst construction sector personnel and to examine the factors affecting remote working through digitisation affordances. Design/methodology/approach Based on a case study of one of the largest contractor firms in the United Kingdom, an online questionnaire survey was used to collect responses from 125 construction professionals. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) was used to do basic statistical analysis on the results. Findings The findings show that there is a general appetite for remote working on a flexible basis where a mix of “on-site” and “off-site” arrangement was deemed practical. This could potentially unlock significant time and cost savings as well as productivity gains. The main factors affecting remote working were the availability of interconnected systems allowing efficient communication and digital infrastructure that enable automated processes. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to a large contractor company and may not be appropriate for small and medium-sized companies. The findings may benefit organisations to evaluate the practical needs of ensuring effective remote working in the construction industry and unlocking efficiencies. Originality/value The paper adds value to understanding the affordances and constraints of digitisation for remote working from the perspective of construction professionals

Encouraging energy-saving behaviour in hospital facilities

Hospital buildings are the highest contributors to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions between commercial buildings on account of their constant high demand for energy to support public health services. Existing literature shows that there are limited initiatives to cultivate energy-saving behaviours (ESB) among building occupants of hospitals as the work culture is very different than that of other types of commercial buildings. While change is imperative, scholars acknowledge that it is a challenging task for building managers to engage hospital staff to reduce energy use. Many studies have focused on adaptive building design and technology to reduce energy usage in buildings. Solely relying on technology and building design are insufficient to achieve optimum energy efficiency performance without the engagement of building occupants. A total of eleven strategies for encouraging energy-saving behaviour in hospital buildings were identified from the literature review in which mostly were drawn from international building case studies. The applicability of these strategies is unknown in the Malaysian context due to the different social norm, culture and environment. The purpose of this research is to identify energy-saving behaviour strategies that are applicable in the Malaysian context. The study uses a qualitative research approach of two hospital building case studies in Penang to examine the applicability of strategies for encouraging energy-saving behaviour. Building managers of the case studies were interviewed, and archived documents of the building case studies were analysed. The findings showed that there is limited implementation of the recommended strategies in practice. However, some of these strategies were preferred over others and were being considered for future implementation. The study reveals the preference criteria of building managers in selecting energy-saving behaviour strategies. Further research will test the impact of these preferred strategies on energy performance. Based on this, the study provides a guideline for building managers on strategies that cultivate energy-saving behaviour in Malaysia hospital buildings