Construction workplace trends and work health and safety

Construction workplaces are experiencing rapid changes as a result of digitalization, globalization, industrialization, and sustainability. The workplace changes have a significant impact on the ways that people work, the environments that they work in, and the conditions under which they perform their everyday job activities. This Special Issue was motivated by the need to understand and explore how the trends and changes within construction workplaces, such as technological innovations, sustainability, organizational resilience, offsite construction, cultural and demographic diversity, influence or shape the work health and safety (WHS) management and practices in the construction industry. This Special Issue collected six articles that addressed different aspects of construction workplace trends and evaluated their impacts on WHS practices and performance

Assessing the social interconnection of retirement village : a framework of landscape design

Due to the population ageing across the world, retirement villages have been playing an increasingly important role in providing appropriate housing alternatives for the seniors. It has been argued that social interconnection influences the quality of life of senior residents. However, little landscape literature has been delivered to address the social interconnection of retirement villages. This research aims to propose a framework of landscape design to assess and enhance the social interconnection of retirement villages. A theoretical baseline of the landscape design of the social interconnection in retirement villages is developed, analogue to the previous literature. Subsequently, three retirement villages in Geelong, Australia are assessed and compared against the theoretical baseline. The major social-interconnection features not being addressed by the landscape design are identified, including respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; and communication and information in retirement villages. Meanwhile, few retirement villages have embedded landscape narratives into the landscape design. This research argues that landscape narratives shall create unique meaning in terms of their former life, living environment and experiences and contribute to their elder life in retirement villages. This research presents a novel measure to enhance the social interconnection of the retirement villages within the landscape context

Analysis and visualisation of stakeholder relationship in offsite construction : social network analysis approach

While Off-site construction has emerged recently, its benefits have long been proved worldwide. Many hold that Off-site construction is re-structuring the industry, its supply chain and setting supplementary standards. Although stakeholder theory is prevailing in project management research, there is still a lack of in-depth research upon patterns of interrelationship and communication among Off-site construction stakeholders. Given that in Off-site construction project-based organisations are multi-level structures, stakeholders interact with each other not only within-level but also cross-level. To facilitate the adoption and diffusion of Off-site construction, there is a need to address patterns and find out the optimal mechanism for promoting inter-collaboration. Social Network Analysis is presented as a holistic approach to meet that need in a more quantitative and unambiguous way. Based on a critique of Off-site construction literature and Social Network Analysis theory, a conceptual framework is also proposed for Off-site construction stakeholder research themes and corresponding methodology. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a sound theoretical foundation for the development of a social network model and the understanding of the complex of connection and relationship among Off-site construction stakeholders

Stressors in the multicultural construction working environment

Due to the dynamic and complex nature of the construction industry, construction workers are often exposed to a range of stressors which are causative factors for mental health problems. Simultaneously, intercultural contact between workers in a multicultural working environment may aggravate mental health issues. A better understanding of stressors can contribute to the development of targeted measures for mental health prevention and promotion. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the correlation between stressors and mental health for construction workers in a culturally diverse working environment. Data were collected using questionnaires from 252 construction workers in Australia. The Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyse the collected data. The results revealed the significant correlations between stressors and mental health outcomes and indicated the most significant stressors from work, personal and cultural domains. The findings provide valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers on the development of mental health interventions for construction workforce in a multicultural context. Researchers could also benefit from an in-depth comprehension on the causative factors of psychological issues in the construction industry

Coping strategies for work and cultural stressors in multicultural construction workplaces : a study in Australia

Existing coping theories typically position coping as a reactive approach to managing mental health. Intercultural coping was proposed to positively deal with stressors and alleviate the negative impacts of stressors on mental health outcomes in multicultural workplaces. This study aims to investigate the role of intercultural coping strategies in influencing the relationships between stressors and mental health outcomes in multicultural construction workplaces. Data were collected from 252 construction workers in Australia using online questionnaire survey. Data were analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The results revealed the moderating effect of positive coping strategies on the stressor-psychological outcome relationship. A worker who is open to cultural dissimilarity tends to suffer less the adverse effect of cultural stressors on mental health. A worker with cognitive complexity is less susceptible to the adverse impact of work stressors on mental health. Whereas, a worker who is performance-oriented is more vulnerable to the impact of work stressors on mental health. This study may contribute to the existing body of work by uncovering the moderating role of positive coping strategies and providing targeted and effective coping strategies in multicultural construction workplaces

The relationship between mindfulness and safety performance of building repair and maintenance : an empirical study in Australia

The importance of building repair and maintenance (R&M) has become more significant in recent years as the volume of building stock has expanded globally. With this growth in building stock coupled with R&M complexity unforeseen safety risks has become an increasing problem to solve. In such complex working environment a type of organisation known as high reliability organisation (HRO) is known to operate successfully. The concept of mindfulness from HRO theory has been identified as a key strategy for addressing unforeseen risks derived from the complexity in socio-technical systems. Therefore, this study aims to examine the relationship between mindfulness and safety performance of building R&M companies. Initially, a comprehensive literature review was conducted on HROs and the concept of mindfulness to develop the research hypothesis. A questionnaire survey was utilised to collect the data from Australian building R&M professionals. A Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between mindfulness and safety performance. This study found that mindfulness has a significant impact on accident prevention in building R&M companies through discovering and managing the unexpected events owing to the complexity. The findings have implications for organisations in the way they train and implement professional development programs for their staff

A systematic literature review of research on social procurement in the construction and infrastructure sector : barriers, enablers, and strategies

In Australia, a new feature of public policy is the requirement by governments that large-scale infrastructure projects integrate social procurement practices that alter the traditional focus on balancing price and quality. Social procurement has been gradually developing in practice, but the academic literature has not kept pace. Although past research has identified some of the barriers affecting social procurement implementation in the construction industry, the nature of the barriers impeding its proliferation has not to date been systematically reviewed. This paper undertakes a review of the social procurement literature published from January 2012 to 30 June 2022, with 49 papers chosen under selective criteria. This critical review employs the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) technique to retrieve secondary data on social procurement from available peer-reviewed academic papers through three databases (Scopus, EBSCOhost, Web of Science). The literature analysis focuses on three themes: (1) barriers; (2) enablers; and (3) strategies to overcome the barriers. The paper finds that social procurement as a field of practice is evolving and expanding, but its role in contributing to social value creation remains an under-theorised concept. Recommendations for practice and future research are identified, including the need to measure the real-world impacts of policy

Conceptualising the circular economy potential of construction and demolition waste : an integrative literature review

Traditionally, construction and demolition waste (CDW) materials have been considered to be unwanted, surplus, or wastage materials or materials with zero value. Such a conceptualisation only embraces a negative aspect, which underpins the disposal of reusable and recyclable CDW materials in landfills, thus damaging the circular economy and the environment. The scope of this research was to conceptualise the circular economy potential of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste, which can be used as a resource for advancing the circular economy and sustainability in the built environment. Thus, the abbreviation ‘CEPCDR’ is used for this purpose. The study employs an integrative literature review to understand in depth whether the rationale in the existing CDW definitions advocates for the circular economy. Instead, the literature showed that the current definitions mainly support quantitative, economic, or classification needs, respectively. That is because they lack consideration of the dynamic nature of CDW materials, which embraces the spatial and temporal dimensions. The former involves the geographic context in which the CDW phenomenon eventuates, while the latter concerns the lifecycle of materials. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by conceptualising the CEPCDR using a holistic approach that includes five dimensions: the social, economic, environmental, spatial, and temporal perspectives. Furthermore, the study seeks to drive future research in measuring the CEPCDR

Implementation of team teaching in construction management education

Evidence suggests that team teaching is linked to significant tangible and intangible benefits to students, academic staff, and institutions. Partnering with industry participants is an emerging trend of team teaching in the higher education sector. Partnering with industry participants in curriculum design and unit delivery will ensure that students learn about important industry developments and help students improve their employability. It also will be helpful for academic staff to engage with the industry. Team teaching has been piloted at the School that the Authors are working at and the outcomes were very positive. In 2020, team teaching is required to be implemented in another core unit of Construction Management Undergraduate Program. By addressing the lessons learnt in implementing team teaching in the Authors’ units and being guided by previous research, a plan to implement Team Teaching in this core unit is presented in this paper. This plan will be evaluated and improved after each semester and it will be redeveloped with the industry partner every 3 years

Building Information Modelling for Work Health and Safety Management: 2B: Guide to Completing Project Information Requirement Template

The Guide Note provides information derived from a research study sponsored by SafeWork NSW Centre for Work Health and Safety and completed by Torrens University Australia and Western Sydney University. The Guide supports the NSW implementation of the Infrastructure Data Management Framework and the ISO 19650 series. This guide sits within an overall Decision Guidance Framework as shown in Figure 1. The purpose of this Guide Note is to provide tips and examples on principles and processes on developing information requirements to support BIM for WHS management. The Guide Note was commissioned for the state of New South Wales, Australia, however it is suitable for other states and other countries