Wonil Lee and Giovanni Ciro Migliaccio
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the physiological cost of concrete construction activities.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the physiological cost of concrete construction activities.
Design/methodology/approach
Five concrete construction workers were recruited. The workers’ three-week heart rate (HR) data were collected in summer and autumn. In this paper, several HR indexes were used to investigate the physiological cost of work in concrete construction trades, including average working HR, relative HR and ratio of working HR to resting HR.
Findings
This paper measures how absolute and relative HRs vary throughout a workday and how working HR compares to resting HR for individual workers.
Research limitations/implications
Field observations are usually extremely difficult as researchers need to overcome a number of barriers, including employers’ resistance to perceived additional liabilities, employees’ fear that their level of activity will be reported to managers and many other practical and technical difficulties. As these challenges increase exponentially with the number of employers, subjects and sites, this study was limited to a small number of subjects all working for the same employer on the same jobsite. Still, challenges are often unpredictable and lessons learned from this study are expected to guide both our and other researchers’ continuation of this work.
Originality/value
The time effect on the physiological cost of work has not been considered in previous studies. Thus, this study is noteworthy owing to the depth of the data collected rather than the breadth of the data.
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Himal Suranga Jayasena, Mohan Siriwardane and Giovanni Migliaccio
Maria D'Incognito, Nicola Costantino and Giovanni C. Migliaccio
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the existing barriers to the slow adoption of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) in construction, and the main…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the existing barriers to the slow adoption of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) in construction, and the main responsible actors.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is based on a two-phase approach. First, the existing literature was studied through a multiple-step content analysis (CA) approach, which combined unsupervised concept mapping with computer aided CA. Using a relational CA approach, statistical-based analysis tools were initially used to identify the relationships between actors and barriers. Later, a Delphi study was administered to a panel of experts, to triangulate, validate, and refine the initial results.
Findings
The study revealed that organizational culture is the most relevant barrier, and that clients and professionals are the actors that predominantly influence the adoption of LCC and LCA in projects. Technical and financial barriers, such as the lack and quality of input data and the high costs of implementation are also deemed relevant.
Research limitations/implications
The CA was performed by a single rater on a sample that included 50 papers in English language. Future research may focus on enlarging the sample, extending it to other languages, and linking the source (or the expert) to their professional context to evaluate geographical differences in barriers.
Originality/value
The adopted approach gives new insights on the relationships behind the rejection of LCA and LCC suggesting that solutions at the organizational level may be more effective than technical ones.
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Honglei Liu, Jiule Song and Guangbin Wang
With the increasing attention acquired from researchers and practitioners in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, building information modeling (BIM) has…
Abstract
Purpose
With the increasing attention acquired from researchers and practitioners in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, building information modeling (BIM) has fundamentally changed the approach we design, construct and delivery, as well as operate and maintenance of buildings and civil infrastructures. This study tries to provide an innovative perspective on BIM research. This study aims to analyze the necessity and feasibility of BIM user satisfaction research and define what BIM user satisfaction is, and then to develop a quantitative method for the measurement of BIM user satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
As it is indicated in the content, BIM user satisfaction is measured by the sum of the user's weighted reactions to a set of factors. To be specific, the entropy method was adopted to calculate the “weighting” of the factors, and the triangular fuzzy number (TFN) method was selected to compute the “scoring” of the factors. Through the literature review, methodology and tool development, as well as case study and discussions, this paper was generated sequentially.
Findings
This study found that the proposed tool for the measurement of BIM success is valid and reliable; it formerly translated the conceptual definition of BIM user satisfaction into an accurate measurement instrument. It also indicated that many factors are affecting the BIM users' satisfaction, and each of the factors inherited various importance and score, and the findings are expected to improve the performance and effectiveness of BIM management.
Originality/value
Through the translation of the conceptual BIM user satisfaction into a valid quantitative measurement instrument, this research provides an excellent framework for the management of BIM from the user's perspective, and it could help to stimulate user's acceptance of BIM in the AEC industry in future.
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Junsung Park, Joon Woo Yoo and Heejun Park
The purpose of this paper is to examine the resistance behavior of smart factories in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing upon dual factor perspective, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the resistance behavior of smart factories in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing upon dual factor perspective, this study examines how two types of quality and perceived usefulness impact user resistance as enabling factors and how switching cost, skepticism, habit and inertia contribute to user resistance as inhibiting factors. Additionally, multi-group analysis is employed to compare small and medium enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
Purposive sampling technique was employed to collect 460 Korean SMEs employees, consisting of 235 small enterprises and 225 medium enterprises. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results reveal that all three inhibiting factors, switching cost, skepticism and habit, are key antecedents of inertia. In small enterprises, skepticism has a greater impact on inertia, which in turn strongly affects resistance. Additionally, system quality is more crucial for small enterprises, whereas information quality holds more importance for medium enterprises in mitigating resistance. Moreover, when the implementation level of a smart factory is high, the effect of perceived usefulness on user resistance diminishes.
Originality/value
This study has revealed the importance of considering both enabling and inhibiting factors for the adoption of smart factory systems in the context of SMEs. Additionally, it has provided evidence that as the level of the smart factory system increases, the effect of perceived usefulness on user resistance decreases, thus making the transition to smart factory systems more challenging.
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The study is carried out to analytically reconnoiter geotechnical index properties of subgrade soils as key variables that shape the cost profile of road infrastructure projects…
Abstract
Purpose
The study is carried out to analytically reconnoiter geotechnical index properties of subgrade soils as key variables that shape the cost profile of road infrastructure projects in a tropical geographic setting with starkly heterogenous ground conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Niger Delta region, as a point of reference, data on geotechnical index properties of subgrade soils at spatially dispersed locations for 61 completed highway projects are collated. Exploratory statistical tests were carried out to infer significant associations with final project costs before regression analysis. Regression analysis is principally deployed as an explanatory analytical tool, relevant to quantify the sensitivity of highway project costs to the individual and collective impact of geotechnical variables.
Findings
Several parameters of expansivity and compressibility exhibited significantly strong associations with the final costs recorded on the highway projects. The statistical analysis further established a cause-effect relationship, whereby small changes in the geotechnical properties of sub-grade soils at project locations, would result in disproportionately large changes in the cost of road construction.
Practical implications
The study findings provide insight into the sensitivity of road construction costs to geotechnical variables, which can serve as a useful input in financial risk analysis for development appraisal and the generation of location adjustment factors.
Originality/value
The study statistically demonstrates location-induced construction cost profiles, triggered in response to the spatial geotechnical variability and occurrence of problem subgrade soils in the humid tropics, which may be different from those traditionally established in studies of cold and temperate climate soils.