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The application of circular economy (CE) has received wide coverage in the built environment, including public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects, in recent times. However, current studies and practical implementation of CE are largely associated with construction demolition, waste and recycling management. Few studies exist on circular models and success factors of public infrastructures developed within the PPP contracts. Thus, the main objective of this article is to identify the models and key success factors associated with CE implementation in PPP infrastructure projects.

A systematic review of the literature was undertaken in this study using forty-two (42) peer-reviewed journal articles from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and PubMed.

The results show that environmental factors, sustainable economic growth, effective stakeholder management, sufficient funding, utilization of low-carbon materials, effective supply chain and procurement strategies facilitate the implementation of CE in PPP infrastructure projects. Key CE business models are centered around the extension of project life cycle value, circular inputs and recycling and reuse of projects.

Although the study presents relevant findings and gaps for further investigations, it has a limited sample size of 42 papers, which is expected to increase as CE gain more prominence in PPP infrastructure management in future.

The findings are relevant for decision-making by PPP practitioners to attain the social, economic and environmental benefits of transitioning to circular infrastructure management.

This study contributes to articulating the key models and measures toward sustainable CE in public infrastructure development.

Exoskeletons have the potential to alleviate musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), increase productivity and ultimately reduce construction project costs, but the concerns about their ethical, social and psychological risks for the construction industry are unknown. This paper investigates these risks and their implications for exoskeleton acceptance.

Participants performed masonry tasks without an exoskeleton and with an active and passive exoskeleton. Using descriptive and inferential statistics, ethical, social and psychological risks associated with exoskeletons, as well as their trust levels, were assessed. Objective data were procured to determine stress and productivity levels with and without these exoskeletons, while subjective data included trust and the ethical and social risks of the exoskeletons.

The findings show that lack of informed consent and procuring sensitive health data is an important ethical consideration when using active and passive exoskeletons. Regarding social risks, unequal access to exoskeletons, exoskeleton sharing and exoskeleton costs as major concerns. Furthermore, the findings revealed statistical differences between active and passive exoskeletons in terms of certain social risks. The findings show that participants believed in passive exoskeletons more than active exoskeletons. The results also revealed a strong positive relationship between ethical and social risks, and trust levels. The results also indicated that both exoskeletons induce relatively moderate stress levels and enhance productivity, compared to the no exoskeleton condition.

This study is one of the few empirical investigations in the construction industry on the ethical and social risks associated with exoskeletons, which can facilitate the adoption of exoskeletons for mitigating MSDs in the construction industry.