Sustainable building processes' challenges and strategies : the relative important index approach

Sustainability has been increasingly advocated by the global construction industry due to the need to minimise the industry's adverse impacts. An important area when focusing on sustainability is the issue of project management teams since they are involved from the project's inception to its completion. Many studies have investigated and advocated a wide range of sustainability practices within the construction industry. However, little attention has been geared towards construction project management teams when addressing the issues of sustainability. This study aims to provide an empirical analysis of the challenges and mitigating strategies for enhancing project management teams’ readiness in the adoption of sustainable building processes. It does so by undertaking an extensive critical review of literature resulting in the identification of sixteen challenges and sixteen mitigation strategies and conducted a cross-sectional survey among 200 Ghanaian construction industry professionals. Data obtained from the survey was analysed using descriptive statistics and relative importance index rankings. The study revealed that inadequate training and education, unfamiliarity with green technologies, and higher initial costs of green construction practices and materials are the key challenges that hinder project management teams’ implementation of sustainable building processes. The study further revealed the significant mitigation strategies such as educating stakeholders on the future benefits of green buildings, engaging personnel with green building background, and setting sustainable priorities and goals early in the feasibility study. The value of this paper is to help project management teams to understand these challenges and strategize to turn them into opportunities for the construction industry

Factors affecting reputational damage to organisations due to cyberattacks

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive online activities and increased cybersecurity incidents and cybercrime. As a result of this, the cyber reputation of organisations has also received increased scrutiny and global attention. Due to increased cybercrime, reputation displaying a more important role within risk management frameworks both within public and private institutions is vital. This study identifies key factors in determining reputational damage to public and private sector institutions through cyberattacks. Researchers conducted an extensive review of the literature, which addresses factors relating to risk management of reputation post-cyber breach. The study identified 42 potential factors, which were then classified using the STAR model. This model is an organisational design framework and was suitable due to its alignment with organisations. A qualitative study using semi-structured and structured questions was conducted with purposively selected cybersecurity experts in both public and private sector institutions. Data obtained from the expert forum were analysed using thematic analysis, which revealed that a commonly accepted definition for cyber reputation was lacking despite the growing use of the term "online reputation". In addition, the structured questions data were analysed using relative importance index rankings. The analysis results revealed significant factors in determining reputational damage due to cyberattacks, as well as highlighting reputation factor discrepancies between private and public institutions. Theoretically, this study contributes to the body of knowledge relating to cybersecurity of organisations. Practically, this research is expected to aid organisations to properly position themselves to meet cyber incidents and become more competitive in the post-COVID-19 era

Drivers for digital twin adoption in the construction industry : a systematic literature review

Digital twin (DT) is gaining increasing attention due to its ability to present digital replicas of existing assets, processes and systems. DT can integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to create real-time simulation models. These models learn and update from multiple data sources to predict their physical counterparts’ current and future conditions. This has promoted its relevance in various industries, including the construction industry (CI). However, recognising the existence of a distinct set of factors driving its adoption has not been established. Therefore, this study aims to identify the drivers and integrate them into a classification framework to enhance its understanding. Utilising popular databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, a systematic literature review of 58 relevant DT adoptions in the CI research was conducted. From the review, the drivers for DT adoption in the CI were identified and classified. The results show that developed countries such as the UK, US, Australia, and Italy have been the top countries in advancing DT adoption in the CI, while developing countries have made commendable contributions. A conceptual framework has been developed to enhance the successful adoption of DT in the CI based on 50 identified drivers. The major categories of the framework include concept-oriented drivers, production-driven drivers, operational success drivers, and preservation-driven drivers. The developed framework serves as a guide to propel DT adoption in the CI. Furthermore, this study contributes to the body of knowledge about DT adoption drivers, which is essential for DT promotion in the CI

[In Press] Obstacles to green building project financing : an empirical study in Ghana

This study examines the perception of professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry regarding the obstacles to green building project financing. Following an extensive critical comparative review of literature resulting in the identification of ten potential obstacles, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 520 construction industry professionals. Data obtained from the survey were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the study revealed that split incentives, risk related barriers, capital expenditure, lack of incentives, and initial capital cost are the key obstacles that hinder green building project financing. The findings further revealed significant differences in the views of the professionals regarding four obstacles to green building project financing. From the discussion, it was realized that for some of the identified obstacles, the differences resulted from the fact that the different professionals have different interests in green building projects, and those interests depict the kind of risks they are exposed to. The value of this paper is to help built environment professionals to understand these obstacles and find a better way of turning these challenges into opportunities for the construction industry

Obstacles to the implementation of digital twins : a review in the construction of industry

The advent of industry 4.0 gave rise to an array of digital technologies, including digital twins (DTs). DTs present the opportunity to develop digital models, which can be continually updated using several data sources to predict physical assets’ current and future conditions. These models can be simulated for real-time predictions, optimisation, monitoring, controlling and enhanced decision making regarding the status of a physical asset. In addition, DTs utilise other technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data analytics. Due to the prowess of DTs, the construction industry, with its numerous challenges, have started DTs applications. Technologies such as building information modelling (BIM), Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), data analytics, and machine learning are currently supporting the adoption of DTs in the construction industry. Several studies (Boje et al. 2020; Opoku, DGJ et al. 2021; Sacks et al. 2020) have studied DTs in the construction industry and established their relevance. For instance, Opoku, DGJ et al. (2021) indicated that DTs are necessary for facility management since they can be employed in ‘What-if’ analysis in decision making regarding the operation and maintenance of the building. Researchers and practitioners are currently discovering the numerous potentials of DTs in the construction industry. There is, however, a misconception in the construction industry where DTs are likened to BIM due to their similarities (Khajavi et al. 2019). Opoku, D-GJ et al. (2022) and Khajavi et al. (2019) reported their differences based on their purposes, technologies, and end-users. Notwithstanding the advancement of DTs in the construction industry, it is essential to answer the question, “What barriers impede the prompt adoption of DTs in the construction industry?”. Unfortunately, little attention has been geared toward the barriers hindering DTs adoption in the construction industry. Though there have been several reviews (Alshammari et al. 2021; Deng et al. 2021; Opoku, D-GJ et al. 2022; Opoku, DGJ et al. 2021) on DTs in the construction industry, they did not pay enough attention to the barriers to DTs adoption. Thus, there is yet to be a study that comprehensively reviews the literature on the barriers to adopting DTs in the construction industry. This hinders the preparedness to fully embrace DTs in the construction industry. Therefore, this research aims to identify and rank the barriers to adopting DTs in the construction industry to support a roadmap for its adoption in the construction industry

Buildings' indoor environmental conditions : a thematic analysis of verbatim comments from university library stakeholders

Building users’ comfort and satisfaction are significant factors in ensuring the overall productivity levels of its users. In recent times, considerable attention has been geared towards managing building occupants’ comfort, energy use and improving the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of buildings. However, little attention has been focused on the occupants themselves. The lack of attention to building users, their perceptions and opinions hinder the ability to fully address the users’ comfort to improve their productivity within these buildings. Therefore, this paper examines the building’s indoor environmental conditions from the users’ perspective to improve their comfort, satisfaction and productivity. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with users of a university library building in Australia who were purposively selected. This library building is used as a case study for this research. The results from a thematic template analysis revealed energy consumption patterns and disturbing indoor environmental conditions experienced in buildings. Further, the results disclosed significant strategic measures to improve building users’ comfort and productivity. These measures include shifting energy costs from weekends to weekdays, introducing daylight harvesting systems, ensuring greater external shading, introducing adequate blinds and shutters, and avoiding extensively large openings in buildings. The study outcomes present significant strategies for building managers in improving facility management. In addition, the findings can aid in enhancing building users’ comfort, satisfaction and productivity. Finally, the findings contribute to knowledge on improving the IEQ of buildings