Adoption of Building Information Modelling in the Saudi Construction Industry: An Interpretive Structural Modelling

The Saudi Vision 2030 is a program of change management on a national level driven mostly by the use of digital technology. The implementation of building information modelling (BIM) is part of this change, and there is general agreement that its use improves the productivity and quality of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries. Despite its extensive construction projects, Saudi Arabia has only recently planned for BIM. Several conditions must apply before it is successfully implemented. While the literature has identified the factors critical to its success and the barriers to its adoption, few studies have rated these factors in terms of their importance and their contingent impact. Furthermore, the interactional relationship between the factors has rarely been investigated. As a result, an interpretative structural model (ISM) was conducted to establish a hierarchy of variables, while accounting for the dynamic interaction between each. For factor selection, the matrix-based multiplication applied to a classification (MICMAC) method was utilized. Therefore, awareness of BIM and sustainability benefits are expected to be the most important variables in acceptance. Furthermore, the dynamic method is gradually shifting from bottom-down to a combined effect of top-down and bottom-up leadership

Implementation of Cloud Computing in Saudi Construction: An Exploration of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal Factors Using Fuzzy DEMATEL

The adoption of cloud computing in Saudi Arabia’s construction industry is complex and influenced by various PESTEL (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal) factors. This study bridges a significant research gap by utilizing fuzzy DEMATEL analysis to systematically examine these complexities, identify crucial drivers, and pinpoint barriers to cloud computing adoption. Findings underscored the pivotal role of government policies and economic incentives in promoting digital transformation alongside technological advancements like building information modeling (BIM) and Internet of Things (IoTs) that enhanced operational efficiencies and project management capabilities. Social factors, such as workforce skills and organizational readiness, also emerged as crucial influencers, highlighting the need for strategic workforce development and cultural adaptation. The study emphasized the significance of integrating sustainability practices and ensuring compliance with legal standards to mitigate risks and foster long-term adoption success. This study provides guidance for industry stakeholders in optimizing resource allocation and enhancing operational effectiveness through cloud technologies with theoretical contributions that integrate complex socio-technical dynamics into adoption models. This dual approach paves the way for future research on evolving technologies and their transformative impact on construction practices in Saudi Arabia and beyond

The preventive measures of pandemics on construction projects: Lessons learned from Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia

The COVID-19 pandemic had disastrous effects, particularly on construction projects, which resulted to work stoppage. Though, most construction industries explored preventive measures such as social distancing, working online, wearing personal protective equipment and upholding good hygiene to keep the construction projects back on track. This study thus aimed to examine the relationships between the current state of COVID-19 pandemic on the Saudi Arabia’s ongoing construction projects and preventive measures based on the lessons learned from the pandemic. Accordingly, a purposive sample of 147 construction based professionals involved in selected projects within Saudi Arabia participated in the sirve. The results shows that COVID-19 preventive measures had significant impact on Saudi construction projects. Furthermore, project time was most significantly impacted by COVID-19 pandemic, followed by productivity, material management, human resources management, and project cost. Moreover, Pearson’s correlation exhibits a significant positive correlation (p<0.05) amongst the perceived impact of the COVID-19 preventive measures and construction projects performance. Impact of Government supports and sector differences on COVID-19 preventive measures were also assessed. The t-test results showed that companies which received government supports were perceived to have less impact of COVID-19 measures. While, using ANOVA statistics, companies that provide service for both public and private sector appeared to have most impact of COVID-19 measures. Overall, this upholds the perception that lack of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures could distort the whole construction process. It was thus recommended that construction industries should clinch on innovative and diverse use of technologies in the age of multi-faceted disruption

Rating the significance of the factors influencing shortage of skilled labours for sustainable construction: a perception of Makkah construction practitioner

AbstractThe construction industry is one of the main economic sectors that contribute significantly to social and economic development. However, the lack of skilled labour is one of the factors affecting the success of projects in the construction industry. Skilled labours are the potential for enhancing overall delivery of construction projects to achieve sustainability. Building and construction industry in Makkah has continued to respond to shortages of skilled labours. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the importance of factors influencing the shortage of skilled labours from the perceptions of construction practitioners. In order to achieve the aims and objectives of this study, the quantitative descriptive method was adopted for this research study, and data for this study was collected through a stratified random sample of construction practitioners in Makkah. Data were first analysed by way of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), followed by Relative Importance Index (RII) for ranking comparison among the construction practitioners. The results of RII indicates that the significant factors influencing the shortage of skilled labours in Makkah include delay in salary payment, low wages structure, lack of motivation system, health and safety issues on construction sites, lack of job security, bad relations between skilled labours and management team, poor living conditions, Slow recruitment of skilled labours, restricted government regulations, and exposure of climate conditions. The findings revealed that the factors rated are required for organisational performances which are essential in achieving sustainable building and construction in Makkah.</jats:p

Cyber Technology Implementation Barriers for Sustainable Buildings: A Novel Mathematical Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling

To reap the most advantages while maintaining the functioning of residential building projects, sustainability concepts should be included at all stages of the construction decision-making process. This research identified and investigated the barriers to the employment of cyber technology in residential construction projects in order to ensure their long-term viability. Prior research identified cyber technology barriers, which were then contextually explored using a questionnaire survey in the Nigerian construction business. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed that cyber technology hurdles may be classified into five constructs: knowledge, government, culture, project nature, and regulations. The barriers model was also built using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). According to the findings, project-related constraints were key impediments to the implementation of cyber technology. The findings of this study might serve as a guide for decision-makers in Nigeria’s construction industry looking to decrease costs and boost sustainability via the use of cyber technology

Critical success factor of PPP for affordable housing provision in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

AbstractSaudi Arabia recently established public–private partnerships (PPPs) in order to increase the private sector’s involvement in financing and providing affordable housing. However, the successful implementation of the PPP for affordable housing in Makkah necessitates careful consideration of possible barriers. As a result, the purpose of this study is to assess the critical success factor of the PPP and to introduce a housing affordable model for the low-income community. The survey method was used in the study to determine the critical success factors of PPP for affordable housing provision, with participants from both the private and public sectors. Using a five-point Likert scale, respondents were asked to rate the degree of influence of prospective critical success factors of PPP. The data gathered was analyzed using statistical tools. The study’s findings describe the critical success factors of public–private partnerships for affordable housing and establish the critical success factors of the PPP model for affordable housing in Makkah. As a result, determining the critical success factors and suggesting a way forward for the government to effectively provide affordable housing for low-income groups, as has been successful in other parts of countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and India, among others.</jats:p

Towards a New Paradigm of Project Management: A Bibliometric Review

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has triggered a digital transformation across several industries, including the project management (PM) profession. To achieve competitive advantages, construction industry employers must now utilise technology and data for strategy development, project execution, and delivery. This study reviews the concept of PM through research published on the Elsevier Scopus database from 2010 to date using a sequence of bibliometric analyses. Keywords such as &ldquo;project management&rdquo; AND &ldquo;project management tools&rdquo; AND &ldquo;project management techniques&rdquo; AND &ldquo;construction industry&rdquo; AND &ldquo;built environment&rdquo; were used for article extraction. VOSviewer, a text-mining tool, was used to analyse the bibliometric connection in PM research within the built environment discipline. Through the sequencing of cluster analysis, the findings revealed that research focus is placed on sustainable development (SD), construction safety (CS), engineering education (EE), project management stakeholders (PMS), risk management (RM), and building information modelling (BIM). More so, the current research focus in PM studies is tending towards knowledge management (KM) and construction innovation (CI). Based on a critical review of extant literature, very few studies have bibliometrically analysed and visualised PM studies. This study sets out to fill this gap by examining the key areas of concentration in published works on the PM concept from 2010 to date. Despite the valuable contribution of this study to the PM body of knowledge, generalisations of the results must be made cautiously due to the use of a single database, which in this case is Elsevier Scopus

Factors Influencing Staffs Turnover in Malaysia Construction Companies

Employee turnover has always been the real issue in the fields of organisational behaviour, human resource management and labour economics. The issue of why people leave their workplace is always a key concern for human resource managers in various industries and their organisations because of the costly effect that comes from it. Although the vast study on employee turnover, the information regarding this issue is very scarce in the scope of construction industry in Malaysia. The purpose of this research is therefore to determine the factors influencing employees’ turnover in construction companies and the strategies taken by the companies to retain employees. A total of 45 sets of questionnaires were collected. The questionnaires collected were then analysed by frequency distribution. For the first objective, the findings revealed that the studied factors influenced employee turnover from a neutral to fair extent. For the second objective, all the strategies mentioned could be taken and used as retention strategies by the company from a neutral or fair extent and hence its practicality and effectiveness to retain employees.</jats:p