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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Claudia Calle Müller, Piyush Pradhananga and Mohamed ElZomor

The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, environmental improvement and decarbonization are becoming increasingly critical objectives for the construction industry. Sustainable construction can be achieved through several practices, including: considering life-cycle assessment, circular construction, resource efficiency and waste management and providing eco-efficient materials, reducing energy demands and consumption and incorporating low-carbon technologies and renewable energy sources. To achieve sustainable construction goals, it is critical to educate the future workforce about decarbonization, circular construction and how to overcome the challenges involved in transitioning to sustainable construction. This study aims to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction and the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula.

Design/methodology/approach

This study surveyed 120 undergraduate and graduate students at one of the largest minority-serving institutions in the USA to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction as well as the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula. The authors conducted several statistical measures to assess the consistency, reliability and adequacy of the sample size, including the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy, the normality test to evaluate the appropriateness of using an ordered probit regression analysis and a multicollinearity test to observe the correlation between independent variables. The data was analyzed using ordered probit regression analysis to investigate the need for a curriculum that serves in educating students about decarbonization and circular construction.

Findings

The results of this research highlight the gaps in students’ knowledge pertaining to sustainable practices and the importance of providing future construction workforce with such knowledge to tackle global inevitable challenges.

Originality/value

The findings of this study contribute to sustainable construction bodies of knowledge by advocating for a reformed curriculum to prepare the future workforce and adopt less carbonized, more circular approaches within the engineering and construction industry.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 10 February 2025

Rubaya Rahat, Claudia Calle Müller and Mohamed ElZomor

While the efforts at the curriculum level to promote sustainability and resilience have been increasing, it is critical to determine effective approaches to advance the awareness…

3

Abstract

Purpose

While the efforts at the curriculum level to promote sustainability and resilience have been increasing, it is critical to determine effective approaches to advance the awareness of social equity of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) students in such a context. This study aims to explore AEC students’ awareness and perception of societal inequalities within resilient infrastructure systems and investigate the efficacy of a training approach to cultivate concepts related to sustainable, equitable and resilient infrastructure (SERI).

Design/methodology/approach

The study surveyed AEC students and gathered data about students’ awareness of equity in resilient infrastructure systems, their desire to promote systemic change and relevant demographics. Furthermore, the study implemented training within a sustainability course and conducted a post-training survey.

Findings

The results revealed that although the majority of the students demonstrated a promising level of awareness, some students lacked knowledge related to infrastructure inequity issues. In addition, the findings indicated that guided training could improve the students’ understanding as well as boost their confidence to address and mitigate infrastructure inequity issues in resilient infrastructure development.

Originality/value

The findings of the study are valuable for increasing awareness of infrastructure equity and can motivate educators to develop targeted strategies and educational modules, ensuring that AEC students possess the essential knowledge and perspectives to develop equitable, sustainable and resilient infrastructures.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 13 June 2023

Rubaya Rahat, Piyush Pradhananga and Mohamed ElZomor

With the increasing demand for sustainable developments, higher education should focus on teaching both sustainable buildings and infrastructure systems. This study aims to…

182

Abstract

Purpose

With the increasing demand for sustainable developments, higher education should focus on teaching both sustainable buildings and infrastructure systems. This study aims to investigate the existing sustainable infrastructure (SI) teaching efforts in sustainability courses; identify best practices to integrate SI throughout bachelor’s and master’s programs under the construction management (CM) curricula; and propose guidelines for students to obtain Envision sustainability professional (ENV SP) credential during sustainability education.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted keywords search within the sustainability course descriptions under the American Council for Construction Education accredited CM curricula to locate SI topics. Additionally, this research collected inputs from the Envision Academic Committee members to develop a matrix representing the best practices for integrating SI in higher education and provided a guide with a step-by-step procedure to obtain ENV SP credentials.

Findings

This study identified a gap regarding the availability of SI education and offered best practices on how CM curricula might nurture such knowledge. Phase I highlighted that only two CM programs taught infrastructure sustainability, and three programs offered sustainability credentialing processes under a bachelor’s degree. Phase II developed a framework that offered a variety of pedagogical approaches and outlined the process for obtaining the ENV SP certificate for CM students in the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years.

Originality/value

The findings of this study can facilitate CM education to create awareness among the future workforce and encourage them to establish skills pertaining to the economic, social and environmental implications while designing SI.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Rubaya Rahat, Claudia Calle Müller and Mohamed ElZomor

Construction education rarely addressed the importance of disseminating knowledge on infrastructure equity, thus impeding progress toward creating equitable and sustainable…

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Abstract

Purpose

Construction education rarely addressed the importance of disseminating knowledge on infrastructure equity, thus impeding progress toward creating equitable and sustainable developments. This study aims to investigate the existing sustainability courses under the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) accredited construction management (CM) programs to examine the integration of infrastructure equity topics and assess improvement in CM students’ knowledge and awareness to address this issue through an intervention.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve these objectives, this research reviewed the sustainability course descriptions of the ACCE-accredited undergraduate and graduate CM curricula. Furthermore, the study implemented a workshop within a CM sustainability course that taught the students about the key concepts of infrastructure equity as well as how to address this issue by leveraging the Envision infrastructure rating system.

Findings

The course review results showed that most sustainability courses lack topics such as infrastructure equity and social sustainability. Moreover, the analysis of pre- and postworkshop surveys indicated that guided training could improve the students’ understanding as well as boost their confidence to address and mitigate infrastructure inequity issues.

Originality/value

The findings of the study are valuable for increasing awareness of infrastructure equity and facilitating the future construction workforce with the required expertise to develop equitable infrastructure systems.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 25 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 28 October 2022

Rubaya Rahat, Piyush Pradhananga and Mohamed ElZomor

Safe-to-fail (SF) is an emerging resilient design approach that has the potential to minimize the severity of flood damages. The purpose of this study is to explore the SF design…

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Abstract

Purpose

Safe-to-fail (SF) is an emerging resilient design approach that has the potential to minimize the severity of flood damages. The purpose of this study is to explore the SF design strategies to reduce flood disaster damages in US coastal cities. Therefore, this study addresses two research questions: identifying the most suitable SF criteria and flood solution alternatives for coastal cities from industry professionals’ perspective; and investigating the controlling factors that influence the AEC students’ interest to learn about SF concepts through the curricula.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the analytical hierarchy process to evaluate the SF criteria and flood solutions where data were collected through surveying 29 Department of Transportation professionals from different states. In addition, the study adopted a quantitative methodology by surveying 55 versed participants who reside in a coastal area and have coastal flood experiences. The data analysis included ordinal probit regression and descriptive analysis.

Findings

The results suggest that robustness is the highest weighted criterion for implementing SF design in coastal cities. The results demonstrated that ecosystem restoration is the highest-ranked SF flood solution followed by green infrastructure. Moreover, the results highlighted that age, duration spent in the program and prior knowledge of SF are significantly related to AEC students’ interest to learn this concept.

Originality/value

SF design anticipates failures while designing infrastructures thus minimizing failure consequences due to flood disasters. The findings can facilitate the implementation of the SF design concept during the construction of new infrastructures in coastal cities as well as educate the future workforces to contribute to developing resilient built environments.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 4 October 2022

Shumank Deep, Thayaparan Gajendran, Marcus Jefferies, Venkata Suresh Uggina and Sanjay Patil

Research on strategic procurement was mostly focussed on the clients' and main contractors' perspectives, while limited work had been done from a subcontractor's perspective. The…

507

Abstract

Purpose

Research on strategic procurement was mostly focussed on the clients' and main contractors' perspectives, while limited work had been done from a subcontractor's perspective. The paper hypothesises that “strategic capability” influences the latent constructs of power, dependence and collaboration in the main contractor–subcontractor relationship. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of a subcontractor's strategic capabilities on power, dependence and collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed amongst the subcontractors in Australia, and 212 complete responses were received. Then second order confirmatory factor analysis and partial least square structure equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis were performed to test the hypothesised relationships.

Findings

The findings support “strategic capabilities” as a construct expressive of a subcontractor's unique market position and good business reputation. The findings also suggest that strategically capable subcontractors enhance their potential for forming partnerships with main contractors through dependence (StratC. → Dep., β = 0.84; Effect Size (ES) = 0.713; p < 0.01), collaboration (StratC. → Collab., β = 0.84; ES = 0.697; p < 0.01) and bargaining power (StratC. → Pow., β = 0.83; ES = 0.672; p < 0.01).

Originality/value

The study is one of its kind to explore the impact of a subcontractor's strategic capability on their bargaining power, dependability and ability to form collaborations. Furthermore, results indicate that the “strategic capabilities” of subcontractors can strongly influence their ability to create “dependence”, foster “collaboration” and exert “power” over a main contractor. The findings can help improve the strategic procurement decision-making processes of both subcontractors and main contractors to build better business relationships.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 3 November 2021

Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke, Ahmed Farouk Kineber, Ibraheem Albukhari and Adeyemi James Dada

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the barriers militating against the adoption of robotics in the construction industry.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the barriers militating against the adoption of robotics in the construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Robotics implementation barriers were obtained from the previous studies and then through questionnaire survey construction stakeholders in Nigeria evaluate these barriers. Consequently, these barriers were examined via the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) technique. Furthermore, a model of these barriers was implemented by means of a partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The EFA results showed that these barriers could be categorized into two: cost and technology. Results obtained from the proposed model showed that platform tools were crucial tools for implementing cloud computing.

Originality/value

The novelty of this research work will be provided a solid foundation for critically assessing and appreciating the different barriers affecting the adoption of robotics.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 42 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 9 August 2024

Oluwatobi Nurudeen Oyefusi, Victor Adetunji Arowoiya and Melissa Chan

The construction industry in developed countries is witnessing a paradigm shift towards modular construction methods, driven by the need for efficiency, sustainability, and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The construction industry in developed countries is witnessing a paradigm shift towards modular construction methods, driven by the need for efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. However, the realization of these benefits in the context of developing countries is hindered by numerous barriers. Against this backdrop, this study seeks to contribute insights into the barriers hindering the adoption of modular construction in developing countries, specifically Nigeria, and further formulate effective strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

A thorough review of existing literature was conducted to identify the multifaceted barriers hindering the adoption of modular construction and the corresponding strategies. Subsequently, a panel of 13 experts were invited to utilize the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) approach to systematically evaluate these barriers based on their impact. Furthermore, the experts implored the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach to select and prioritize the most suitable strategies to mitigate these barriers.

Findings

The study revealed that the most critical barriers to modular construction are Client resistance to change and innovation, Limited experience in module installation, and Transportation constraints. Additionally, the study prioritizes 13 strategies, with the Development of effective guidelines, standards, and policies ranked highest. The insights from the ranking using the FAHP and TOPSIS approach were adopted to develop a framework for modular implementation in developing countries.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to Nigeria due to its status as the country with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa, and it is considered a suitable representation of the region as most of the countries in Africa are categorized as developing nations.

Practical implications

By highlighting the most critical barriers and prioritizing effective strategies, the study provides actionable insights for overcoming obstacles to modular construction adoption. Decision-makers can use this information to develop targeted policies and training programs to promote the adoption of modular construction in developing countries.

Originality/value

The research provides valuable insights by not only identifying critical barriers but also presenting prioritized strategies, distinguishing itself from previous studies, and establishing itself as a novel resource for developing countries. This adopt a novel hybrid MCDM approach for modular construction in developing countries such as Nigeria which can serve as reference point to other developing countries seeking to adopt modular construction and leverage its numerous benefits.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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