Industry 4.0 Deployment in the Construction Industry: A Bibliometric Literature Review and UK-based Case Study

Purpose: Industry 4.0 is predicted to be a game-changer, revolutionizing commercial and manufacturing practices through improved knowledge utilization and efficiencies. The barriers however, are significant, and the construction industry remains notoriously slow to take up innovations. This study reviews the research work in Industry 4.0 as it relates to construction, and examines a leading UK-based construction firm to ascertain the prognosis for Industry 4.0 roll-out in terms of the impediments and opportunities. Methodology: A multistage mixed philosophies and methods approach was adopted for this study. First, an interpretivist epistemological lens was used to synthesise extant literature as a means of contextualising the present study. Second, an empirical case study using a post-positivist stance and inductive reasoning was conducted to explore practitioner acceptance of Industry 4.0 in the UK construction context. Findings: Findings from the literature review indicate studies in Industry 4.0 to be a relatively new phenomenon, with developed countries and Germany in particular leading in the field. The range of opportunities are many, but so too are the barriers to enablement. Findings from the case study provide real-world corroboration of the review; practitioners are sanguine about Industry 4.0’s potential to reinvigorate the construction industry, but also note that implementation remains curtailed by residual managerial practices dependent on ‘human interaction.’ At present, much of the focus of industry practitioners is on the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM), often at the expense of other more advanced technologies within Industry 4.0. Originality: Research in Industry 4.0 is limited, with the emphasis being on technology application. This paper, by contrast, maps the totality of work carried out so far and presents an assessment of Industry 4.0’s progression, potential and degree of uptake within the UK construction industry

A field survey of Hand-Arm Vibration Exposure in the UK utilities sector

Purpose: Excessive exposure to HAV can lead to hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) which is a major health and well-being issue that can irreparably damage to the neurological, vascular and muscular skeletal system. This paper reports upon field research analysis of the hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure levels of utility workers in the UK construction sector when operating hand held vibrating power tools. Methodology: An empirical epistemological lens was adopted to analyse primary quantitative data on the management of hand held tool trigger times (seconds) collected from field studies. To augment the analysis further, an interpretivist perspective was undertaken to qualitatively analyse interviews held with the participating company’s senior management team post field study results. This approach sought to provide further depth and perspective on the emergent numerical findings. Findings: The findings reveal that none of the operatives were exposed above the exposure limit value (ELV) and that 91.07% resided under the exposure action value (EAV). However the Burr four parameter model probability model (which satisfied the Anderson-Darling, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Chi-squared goodness of fit tests a

Converting commercial and industrial property into rented residential accommodation : development of a decision support tool

202212 bcchNot applicableOthersNational HighwaysEarly releaseUpon official publicatio