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PurposeConstruction management skills and competencies (CMSC) are of greatest importance for the industry to succeed and thrive. Some factors are critical to CSMC development. Hence, following the restrictions occasioned by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, this study reviewed and examined these factors to understand their level of influence in the remote development of CMSC adopted by the industry within and post the disruptions induced by the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative and descriptive research method. Data were sourced from 155 completed and usable survey questionnaires with registered and licensed engineering and construction professionals practicing in both private and public sectors in Nigeria. Participants were drawn from the membership database of the Nigeria Society of Engineers.FindingsThe identified critical success factors (CSFs) are categorised into organisational factors which include leadership, engineering project networks and eLearning, measurement and review system, strategy and resources, organisational culture, tradition and structure. In addition to individual factors in this order of influence;willingness to learn, promotion and career development, obtaining certified qualification and obtaining respect of peers are CSFs of remote development of CMSC in Nigeria.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to identify and examine the CSFs to remote development of CMSC tailored to developing countries in Africa. It explored the two categories of CSFs in both remote and traditional CMSC developments and established that the organisational factors remain positively dominants in traditional as well as in remote development of CMSC. It further ranked the individual factors in their order of influence in Nigeria, offered insights into motivation of construction management trainees in developing countries and offered areas of improvements such as quality of training and certification.
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Purpose>COVID-19 was officially declared as a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11th March 2020, before the UK was put into lockdown on the 23rd March 2020. Organisations had to reconsider their policies and procedures to allow their businesses to continue. This paper aims to focus on the effects of COVID-19 that the UK construction sector has had to undertake to enable businesses while employees had to adhere to COVID-19 lockdown rules. In addition, how the sector can positively continue once normality has returned within the industry. In doing so, this paper understands the historical issues within the construction sector and has had an effect during COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach>A qualitative research methodology approach was taken to help obtain live information. In total, 19 semi-structured interviews from 15 organisations related to the construction sector were conducted to collect data. This information was evaluated using thematic analysis to arrive at the results, inferences and recommendations to the sector.Findings>This research has revealed that companies have had to adopt a three-stage process to overcome a new dimensional challenge of COVID-19. These include: 1. Making quick decisions during the first stage of the pandemic. 2. Producing new policies and procedures to restart businesses enabling staff to return to the workplace safely. 3. Implementing methods to future-proof organisations against any potential pandemics. To help organisations future-proof their business five C's are recommended.Originality/value>This paper provides a rich insight into the understanding and awareness of the effects of COVID-19 and the changes that the construction sector has had to undertake to adhere to the lockdown rules while remaining productive. This research contributes towards informing policymakers on some of the lessons learned during the management of the COVID-19 pandemic from a construction sector perspective.
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Purpose>The ability to manage the COVID-19 pandemic is contingent upon the ability to effectively manage its heterogeneous knowledge resources. Knowledge mapping represents a great opportunity to create value by bringing stakeholders together, facilitating comprehensive collaboration and facilitating broader in-depth knowledge sharing and transfer. However, identifying and analysing critical knowledge areas is one of the most important steps when creating a knowledge map. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to appraise the critical knowledge areas for managing COVID-19, and thereby enhance decision-making in tackling the consequences of the pandemic.Design/methodology/approach>The methodological approach for this study is a critical literature review, covering publications on knowledge management, knowledge mapping and COVID-19. EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, TRID, Web of Science and Wiley Online Library were searched for full text, peer-reviewed articles written in English that investigated on critical knowledge areas for managing the spread of COVID-19. After full screening, 21 articles met the criteria for inclusion and were analysed and reported.Findings>The study revealed seven critical knowledge areas for managing the COVID-19 pandemic. These are cleaning and disinfection;training, education and communication;reporting guidance and updates;testing;infection control measures, personal protective equipment;and potential COVID-19 transmission in health and other care settings. The study developed a concept knowledge map illustrating areas of critical knowledge which decision-makers need to be aware of.Practical implications>Providing decision-makers with access to key knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be crucial for effective decision-making. This study has provided insights for the professionals and decision-makers identifying the critical knowledge areas for managing the COVID-19 pandemic.Social implications>The study advances the literature on knowledge management and builds a theoretical link with the management of public health emergencies. Additionally, the findings support the theoretical position that knowledge maps facilitate decision-making and help users to identify critical knowledge areas easily and effectively.Originality/value>This study fills gaps in the existing literature by providing an explicit representation of know-how for managing the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper uses an objective and qualitative approach by reviewing related publications, reports and guidelines in the analysis. The concept map illustrates the critical knowledge areas for managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Purpose>The construction industry, being one of the main activities in the ever-demanding need for technology developments, sometimes falls short of other industries in terms of implementation. The adoption of Big Data (BD) in industries such as health and retail has had positive impacts in aspects such as decision-making processes and forecasting trends that allow planning some future business movements. Hence, the question of whether these results can be imitated in the construction industry. Therefore, this paper aims to address the level of awareness identified as a first step towards implementation of the BD concept within the construction industry in the Dominican Republic (DR).Design/methodology/approach>As little to no information exist on the subject;the selected approach to perform this research was qualitative methodology;21 semi-structured interviews were studied using situational awareness. Four levels of awareness were developed based on the Endsley’s Situation Awareness model.Findings>The results showed that nearly 95% of the interviewees had either no knowledge or very basic awareness of the BD requirements or intermediate awareness, but only 5% had applied BD concepts in the construction industry.Originality/value>This study shows the gaps that exist in the understanding and implementation of BD concepts in the DR construction industry. This paper establishes the need to develop continuous professional development programmes for construction professionals and a need to update curriculum in construction-related education.
ABSTRACT
PurposeIn December 2019, news broke out from the World Health Organisation (WHO), with the first outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China. On 11 March 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 to officially be a pandemic. The UK was put under lockdown on the 23 March 2020 by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the lockdown introduced strict measures put into place including the restriction for unnecessary working from offices, and only leaving houses if it is deemed essential. Therefore, this paper focusses on the changes that the infrastructure sector has had to undertake in order to adhere to the COVID-19 lockdown rules while being productive.Design/methodology/approachGiven the new and unexplored nature of the research problem, a qualitative research methodology was adopted. In total, five semi-structured interviews from three infrastructure sector organisations were conducted to collect data, which was then analysed using thematic analysis for inference and conclusion.FindingsThe results indicate that the lockdown is proving to be difficult to manage projects as staff members are working from home. This leads to delays on a project activities as many staff members cannot physically go on site and conduct works. The managers are finding difficult to manage their teams. However, technological tools such as video chat and meetings via online platforms have proven to be most effective in communications with project teams. The Building Information Modelling Design has been useful as the 3D design models helps to visualise the project within team meetings in order to comply with the COVID-19 rules and follow social distancing guidelines while still carrying on works. However, induction to any new starter is proving to be difficult to manage with the pandemic and lockdown as it involves a drugs and alcohol test prior to commencing work of that project.Originality/valueThis paper provides a rich insight into the understanding and awareness of the impact of COVID-19 and the changes that the infrastructure sector has had to undertake in order to adhere to the lockdown rules while being productive. This study contributes towards informing policymakers on some lessons learnt from the management of the COVID-19 from an infrastructure sector perspective. Furthermore, 12 key implications are drawn for decision-makers within the infrastructure sector business to rethink and act to deal with the pandemic crisis.