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The construction industry has been experiencing many occupational accidents as working on construction sites is dangerous. To reduce the likelihood of accidents, construction companies share the latest construction health and safety news and information on social media. While research studies in recent years have explored the perceptions towards these companies' social media pages, there are no big data analytic studies conducted on Instagram about construction health and safety. This study aims to consolidate public perceptions of construction health and safety by analyzing Instagram posts. The study adopted a big data analytics approach involving visual, content, user, and sentiment analyses of Instagram posts (n = 17,835). The study adopted the Latent Dirichlet Allocation, a kind of machine learning approach for generative probabilistic topic extraction, and the five most mentioned topics were: (a) training service, (b) team management, (c) training organization, (d) workers' work and family, and (e) users' action. Besides, the Jaccard coefficient co-occurrence cluster analysis revealed: (a) the most mentioned collocations were ‘construction safety week', ‘safety first', and ‘construction team', (b) the largest clusters were ‘safety training', ‘occupational health and safety administration', and ‘health and safety environment', (c) the most active users were ‘Parallel Consultancy Ltd.', ‘Pike Consulting Group', and ‘Global Training Canada', and (d) positive sentiment accounted for an overwhelming figure of 85%. The findings inform the industry on public perceptions that help create awareness and develop preventative measures for increased health and safety and decreased incidents.
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Since 2019, the year of the COVID-19 outbreak, many businesses have been shut down across different industries and geographical locations, and the construction industry is one of those that has suffered more than any other due to its volatile nature. This study emphasizes the impact of COVID-19 on project management within construction companies and the ways it has affected the completion of projects. The literature review was provided with effective theoretical information regarding the research topic by highlighting key concepts, theories, and models after identifying crucial aspects that resulted in cost and time overruns in the context of UK construction projects. This study has been conducted as a primary qualitative method to gather firsthand data employing interviews with five construction project managers from the UK. The researcher has discussed interpretivism research philosophy, the inductive research approach, and explanatory search design and has conducted purposive sampling. In addition, primary qualitative data collection and thematic data analysis have been discussed in this study. The research has identified 10 types of themes focused on the transcript, which were developed through interviews. Further, a detailed comparative discussion was made on three top themes, which were based on cost overrun, and time extension of construction projects during COVID-19. The interviewees have outlined the significant impact of COVID-19 on supply chain management and the labor force. The multimethod approach helps in understanding the diverse point of view across different countries and geographical regions and finally reaching a conclusion with a comparative approach.
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Identifying factors influencing the viability of medium, small, and micro scale construction firms (MSMSCFs) is a crucial precursor in positioning such firms to aid economic and infrastructural development, especially in developing countries. This article assesses viability factors that are influenced by building information modeling (BIM) in MSMSCFs amidst construction firms' viability factors. Out of a total of 177 workers surveyed from 59 MSMSCFs that were awarded construction project contracts in sampled institutions in Nigeria, 65 staff members from 31 MSMSCFs were accessed. The factors were ranked and reduced to significant ones through principal component analysis. Ten significant factors influence the viability of MSMSCFs and six of them are enhanced by BIM implementations. All eight component factors and 18 of the 27 variables with high factor loadings can be influenced by BIM implementation. BIM can potentially curb corruption in construction projects and enhance MSMSCFs' quality of service, clients' satisfaction, construction management and technology, professional performance, procurement practices, and prompt payment of work certificates. All stakeholders need to pay prompt attention to factors that can be influenced by BIM to improve the viability of MSMSCFs, thereby hastening BIM adoption and utilization, especially in developing countries.
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In the past, there have been several major and minor economic crises in global society. The financial crisis in 2008 was one of the biggest economic crises since the Great Depression in 1928. The crisis was a direct result of the decline in liquidity in global financial markets that arose in the United States as a result of the collapse of the US housing market. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis stunned all aspects of society and saw dramatic effects on society's socio-economic spectrum. The paper analyzes the effects of selected crises on the profitability of sales. The research analyzed data from companies that belong to the TOP 100 construction companies operating in Slovakia and their activities began before 2008. The data used in the survey were obtained from the annual reports of selected companies and publicly available economic portals. The aim of the paper is to compare the profitability of sales and results of selected construction companies in three periods, namely during the financial crisis in 2008, in 2014, which can be specified as a transitional period, or the market stabilized after the financial crisis and the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey will result in conclusions and future recommendations that will help eliminate the adverse effects of future crises on the activities of construction companies. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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During last decade there is a constant increase in number of new properties built in Zagreb. There is a large number of new residences, as well as business buildings constructed, with a direct impact on revenue increase of construction companies working in Zagreb area. Regardless of the fact that number of Zagreb population has not changed significantly in last decade, there is an increase of new buildings followed by significant price increase of real estate, especially during last five years. Lack of commercial, or business buildings in Zagreb, as well as workplace deficit in Slavonia have an impact on demand growth in Zagreb real estate sector. With additional flow of Croatian students to Zagreb, demand for quality accommodation has a direct impact on real estate selling price. Recently there was a significant price increase of material and labor, which had additional impact of real estate price increase. Goal of this paper is to analyze available public data that represents material price change, as well as to analyze financial reports of biggest construction companies from Zagreb area. Analyzed data should display impact of material and labor price increase on real estate price increase, and what could be anticipated in following years.
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Currently it is the third year when the global COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on the lives of individuals, on the activities of economic entities of all sizes and on the economies of countries around the world. Following the partial calming in this area, a crisis linked to the war in Ukraine hit Europe in early 2022. This has a negative impact on economic production and the associated decline in the standard of living. The prices of materials, products and transport are rising, causing a sharp increase in construction prices in the construction sector. Protecting the occupational health of workers and providing a safe environment for their work form an essential part of all construction projects. This article deals with the research into occupational health and safety on construction sites in the Czech Republic. The research described in this article was conducted in several successive steps. In the first step, a research design was drawn up, in the second step data collection was carried out, and in the third step data analysis and compilation of results were carried out. Qualitative approaches to data collection and analysis, namely in-depth interviews and the coding method, were used in the companies under research. Open-ended questions relating to respondents' opinions, experience and overall perceptions of the issues were developed in the preparatory phase of the research. The aim was to obtain credible answers to the questions raised. The research lasted for six months and involved 19 medium and large companies from the Czech Republic. The purpose of the research described in this article was to find out the situation focusing on providing the health and safety of workers during the implementation of construction. The costs of implementing the necessary measures in this field were also investigated.
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The present-day situation is associated with less optimistic economic development. At the turn of 2019/2020, the world was struck by a coronavirus pandemic that affected both the economy of the entire country represented mainly by industries and the social level of the population. More than ever, corporate management adhered to the established business rules which include certain fiscal policy rules. These fiscal rules are theoretically referred to as the Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy [1] [2] [3]. These Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy include 4 rules related to assets, sources of asset coverage, their longevity and the investment growth rate. The Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy apply in general to any business subject. However, this paper focuses solely on the construction industry. The aim of the paper is to find out, on a sample of construction companies operating in the Czech Republic, whether they comply with the Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy within their operation and compare these values to the national average. The sample of construction companies was chosen on the basis of carrying out the same activities, the same size in terms of the number of employees, amount of turnover and amount of assets, and operating in the same region of the Czech Republic. The national average of values under the Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy was determined from the statistical data published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic (MIT) on its website [4]. Methods of both vertical and horizontal analyses, which represent the basic methods of financial analysis, were used to determine the values of individual Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy for construction companies.
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Construction industry is one of the major contributing sectors of the U.S. economy. Due to COVID-19 pandemic construction industry has witnessed halt and cancellation of ongoing and planned projects. As projects got halted and cancelled many construction companies furloughed or terminated employment contracts of their workers. This sudden termination has been reflected in the monthly employment numbers. This paper presents the employment change in three constituting subsectors of construction industry: building, heavy and civil, and specialty trade due to COVID-19 pandemic. The paper has utilized historical data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to forecast the expected employment numbers in absence of the pandemic. It has been found that due to pandemic the construction employment went down by 5.5 million between March 2020 and December 2020. Additionally, it has been found that the variation of the extent of impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of employment on the three subsectors is insignificant. This means that the three subsectors suffered the consequences equally. The outcomes of the paper can be utilized by the policy makers in exploring the broader implications of the construction employment change. It can also be used in subsector specific policy planning purpose. © 2023, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.
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The construction sector in Croatia generates around 5% of Croatian GDP directly, which situates Croatia in the group of European Union (EU) countries with the highest percentages of the sector in the gross domestic product (GDP). The percentage is even higher if it is considered its indirect impact through business activities for which it created the infrastructure. The importance of the sector is also seen through the number of employees in the sector that makes a percentage of 8% in total employment in the country. In the 20 years period the construction sector in Croatia has been through different stages characterized by ups and downs as the reflection of the situation on European and global market, but in the lastfew years before the COVID - 19 pandemics, it has shown signs of recovery after the global crisis. So, the aim of this paper is to compare the business activity differences regarding the number of enterprises in construction sector, the number of their employees and financial performances, in pre COVID - 19 year and during COVID - 19 years. The analysis will be made using the data from Croatian Financial agency (Financijska Institucija - FINA). Furthermore, the article will also analyse the situation in the selected construction firms in Croatia in the mentioned period. The presumption is that the COVID - 19 pandemics did not have a negative impact on the construction sector in the selected period because of its specific characteristics. Taking in consideration the events that occurred in Croatia in the last few years, that were conditioned by human or nature factors which increased demand for construction services, should also confirm the presumption. Recommendations for enterprises and entrepreneurial environment improvement are given according to the results.
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Purpose: Effective maintenance of construction supply chains is paramount to business continuity during the pandemic. Focusing on a large private Australian construction company, this research aims to investigate to what extent the current pandemic has affected the daily operations of this company. This research touches on the broader effect on the industry, while it narrows the focus on how effective construction supply chain management can minimise a pandemic's negative impact on a company. The critical question will be how private contractors that primarily rely on social infrastructure projects can fortify their supply chains and general operations during the global pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed qualitative and quantitative approach is employed in this research. Based on literature review and question design, data is collected through interviews with various stakeholders. Moreover, operation data is also collected from the case company to support the results and findings. Findings: The respondents have generally agreed that the case company has effectively managed its supply chains to this point of the pandemic through the implementation of supply chain monitoring processes and maintaining stable relationships with stakeholders. This is supported by the operation data of the case company. Originality/value: This is timely-conducted research, and it is original research with invaluable operation data. This case study is conducted during a pandemic and provides lessons learned for global supply chain management in the post-pandemic period. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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The global expansion of urbanization is posing associated environmental and socioeconomic challenges. The capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is also facing similar threats. The development of urban green infrastructures (UGIs) are the forefront mechanisms in mitigating these global challenges. Nevertheless, UGIs in Addis Ababa are degrading and inaccessible to the city residents. Hence, a 56 km long Addis River Side Green Development Project is under development with a total investment of USD 1.253 billion funded by Chinese government aid. In phase one of this grand project, Friendship Square Park (FSP), was established in 2019 with a total cost of about USD 50 million. This paper was initiated to describe the establishment process of FSP and assess its social, economic, and environmental contributions to the city. The establishment process was described in close collaboration with the FSP contractor, China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC). The land use changes of FSP’s development were determined by satellite images, while its environmental benefits were assessed through plant selection, planting design, and seedling survival rate. Open and/or close ended questionnaires were designed to assess the socioeconomic values of the park. The green space of the area has highly changed from 2002 (8.6%) to 2019 (56.1%) when the park was completed. More than 74,288 seedlings in 133 species of seedlings were planted in the park. The average survival rate of these seedlings was 93%. On average about 500 people visit the park per day, and 400,000 USD is generated, just from the entrance fee, per annum. Overall, 100% of the visitors were strongly satisfied with the current status of the park and recommended some additional features to be included in it. In general, the park is contributing to the environmental and socioeconomic values of the city residents, and this kind of park should be developed in other sub-cities of the city as well as regional cities of Ethiopia to increase the aesthetic, environmental and socioeconomic values of the country, at large.
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COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the lives of many individuals and has had a severe impact on the global economy. During this crisis, small and medium-scale businesses suffer the most and are the least prepared among all companies as per the previous studies done in other parts of the world. The majority of the small-scale construction firms in Sri Lanka act as subcontractors and generate job opportunities for a considerable number of people and are able to create a multiplier effect on the whole economy. However, it was observed that they are more vulnerable to the adverse impact of the pandemic. Thus, the principal goal of this research is to explore possible survival strategies to overcome critical financial issues of small-scale construction companies during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. A mixed-method approach was adopted to gather the data for the study. A comprehensive literature review was carried out to identify the impact of COVID-19 on both global and local construction industries. The data for this study was gathered using semi-structured interviews and a comprehensive questionnaire survey with small scale construction company owners and construction industry professionals. The findings highlighted the key financial issues faced by the small-scale construction companies due to the pandemic including delays in client payments, supply chain management issues, frequent price escalation of construction materials, and inability to repay loans. The respondents suggested creating partnerships with financially strong companies, reduction of unwanted expenses, modifying supply chain channels and agreements, and ensuring business continuity plans as the strategies to be used to overcome the financial burden that occurred due to the pandemic. © 2022, Ceylon Institute of Builders. All rights reserved.
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The implementation of a common data environment (CDE) in the construction industry appears to be crucial for organizing and managing the flow of important information within construction projects effectively. However, it is observed that the investments and the costs associated with setting up such environments are often dissuasive, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By launching the Plan BIM 2022 in 2017, the French government aimed to combat the emerging digital divide between large and small construction companies. At the heart of this state-funded plan was the development of a CDE-like collaborative platform called KROQI. The work presented in this article proposes a three-level matrix to characterize common data environments based on computer-supported collaboration work theories. The paper demonstrates how KROQI can be characterized as a level-2 CDE solution. Based on a preliminary study, it explores the perception and satisfaction of practitioners with respect to the features proposed by KROQI. The results show that, among the large variety of features proposed, some are hardly ever used. Therefore, while KROQI appears to be an excellent industry-wide solution aimed at federating initiatives towards digital collaboration centered around BIM models, there is definitely room for improvement.
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The construction industry has been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic including significant delays on projects and outbreaks of COVID-19 on site. UK legal cases interpreting contractual rights to COVID-19 remedies are analyzed in this paper. The analysis of UK legal cases regarding potential contractual rights to COVID-19 remedies including change in law, force majeure, and frustration has revealed the barriers to recovery of losses. Instead, construction companies could consider focusing on more commonly used contract provisions, for example, extensions of time and prolongation claims or compensation events. The UK Supreme Court has ruled on the possibility of payment from business interruption insurance. Even the UK government has failed to comply with public procurement law under pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic. The High Court in London has ruled that landlords are entitled to recover rent and service charges owed to them by tenants whose businesses were mandated to close by coronavirus restrictions. © 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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The initial outbreak and ongoing surges of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have required the construction industry to adopt rigorous and innovative safety protocols and adapt to project productivity impacts and potential shutdowns. Initially, many projects were placed on hold, and only essential projects could continue after the institution of proper safety measures and often with a reduced workforce. This paper reviews the safety protocols and practices of construction projects during the early days of the pandemic and discusses the impact on the workforce and productivity. The authors gathered documentation and interviews from construction safety supervisors in the State of Washington. Analyzed data showed some effective safety protocols and creative coping plans for the pandemic. The findings and conclusions set out recommendations for a healthy and efficient work environment for construction projects during a pandemic that could be of interest to government officials and construction managers. © 2023, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.
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Purpose>Over the last couple of decades, many organisations are increasingly adopting virtual team concepts, and construction companies in the Middle East are no exception. Members of a virtual team are geographically scattered and represent a diverse range of cultures. Thus, challenging issues emerge more frequently than in a traditional team. There are challenges associated with space and time as well as high client's demand. Therefore, this study aims to identify and probe the causes of the challenges in virtual project teams in the construction industry of the Middle East.Design/methodology/approach>A list of challenges was derived through a comprehensive review of relevant literature. Questionnaire survey was conducted with professionals who are involved in construction virtual project teams. Further, the factor analysis technique was used to analyse the survey responses.Findings>The results show that the challenges in virtual team arrangement in the Middle East construction industry can be grouped into seven categories, namely, organisational culture, conflict within the team, characteristics of the team members, trust within the team members diversity of the team, communication and training, and cohesion in the team. Understanding of these factors will drive the needed platform to support effective virtual project teams in the Middle East.Originality/value>This study raises the prospect that organisations may establish an environment for team members to achieve higher levels of virtual cooperation by concentrating on these potentially crucial factors. This, in turn, will encourage further innovation and performance within construction organisations.
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This study examined the business resilience practices of engineering construction companies in Thailand as their strategy for survival and pandemic recovery. It also looked into the profile of the key informants and investigated their experiences on their business resilience practices. It also looked into the support strategies of engineering associations in Thailand for their members to enable them to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was conducted in Thailand, and it applied the case study research design. Findings show that some dimensions of business resilience are being practiced by engineering firms. The Thai engineering associations revealed that their members are shifting to digitalization, and they offered them technical webinars. It can be concluded that the selected Thai engineering construction firms practice business resilience. It is recommended that the engineering construction companies in Thailand should adopt the innovative business resilience strategies proposed in this study. © ASCE.
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The companies’ financial distress is a popular issue nowadays due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic recently. The Covid-19 pandemic has been greatly deteriorated and jeopardized the financial health of the companies from all sectors, including the construction sector. The analysis on the financial performance of the companies is a good indicator to determine the financial distress level of the companies. This study aims to measure the financial health of listed construction companies in Malaysia with Altman Z-score model. Altman Z-score model comprises five important and significant financial ratios that are utilized to analyze the financial distress level of the companies. The power of the Z-score model is able to categorize the financial performance of the companies into three zones, namely safe zone, grey zone or distress zone. This study is significant because it helps to identify the financial distress level of the company. Hence, the companies can take remedial actions in order to improve themselves in terms of financial health. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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Purpose>With its impact already felt, the construction industry worldwide is gradually reviving following the lifting up of lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Though some articles have been written regarding its impact on the construction industry in other countries, much is yet to be known concerning the current impact in Ghana. This study aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on Ghana’s construction industry and assess how construction companies are contributing to the fight against COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach>Semi-structured interviews with nine key professionals working with D1K1 firms currently working on projects of almost similar sizes within the confines of a reputable tertiary institution in Ghana were conducted over a span of three weeks. Thematic analysis was conducted with Nvivo 12 Pro Application software.Findings>From the findings, the major impact includes: a decrease in work rate, delays in payments and an increase in the cost of materials arising from border closure. On the measures by construction companies in contributing to the fight against the pandemic, findings indicated: educating the workforce on the virus, the provision of PPEs, regular and effective checks on entry and exit from the site.Practical implications>The study is significant, as knowledge of the impact posed by the pandemic will provide some idea of the measures to put in place to ensure the gradual to full recovery of the industry.Originality/value>The originality of this study lies in the fact that it is a pioneering study on the impact of COVID-19 on the Ghanaian construction industry.
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Purpose>This paper aims to assess COVID-19 (C-19) pandemic influence in the 37 factors identified from extant literature as factors influencing the viability of local construction firms (LCFs).Design/methodology/approach>A sample size of 65 staff of 31 LCFs that were awarded construction projects contracts in institutions in Nigeria was purposefully selected and accessed based on relevant predetermined criteria. Respondents’ views on factors determining the viability of LCFs were obtained. Factors known to be influenced by C-19 are 25 of the 37 factors rated on a five-point Likert scale of importance by the respondents. Mean scores were used to rank the factors and principal component analysis was used to obtain key component factors (CFs) influenced by the C-19 pandemic.Findings>Six of the first ten “extremely important” and “very important” factors are known to be influenced by C-19 pandemic. A total of 8 CFs having 20 variables with factor loadings of more than 0.5 each were known to be influenced by C-19. The C-19 pandemic influenced LCFs’ cash flow and management of construction labour, plant and equipment amidst variables that had above 0.8 factor loading.Research limitations/implications>A limitation of this study is the inability to conduct close contact interview during this period to obtain personal views on the influence of C-19 on LCFs. However, this does not reduce the quality of findings of this study, as there are valid literature basis hinging this study findings.Practical implications>The paper recommends that all stakeholders pay prompt attention to the factors adversely affected by the C-19 pandemic to improve or at the least sustain the viability of LCFs.Originality/value>This paper fulfils a present pertinent need of assessing the influence of the C-19 pandemic on various factors influencing the viability of construction firms.