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1 – 3 of 3Zahirah Mokhtar Azizi, James Cochrane, Niraj Thurairajah and Nurul Sakina Mokhtar Azizi
As remote working becomes increasingly popular, remote working could unlock new ways of working through digitisation. However, the construction sector has been slow to adopt…
Abstract
Purpose
As remote working becomes increasingly popular, remote working could unlock new ways of working through digitisation. However, the construction sector has been slow to adopt digitisation in its processes, making digitisation difficult to assess whether this affordance may be well received and the current capabilities of digitisation to achieve this effectively. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interest in remote working amongst construction sector personnel and to examine the factors affecting remote working through digitisation affordances.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a case study of one of the largest contractor firms in the United Kingdom, an online questionnaire survey was used to collect responses from 125 construction professionals. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) was used to do basic statistical analysis on the results.
Findings
The findings show that there is a general appetite for remote working on a flexible basis where a mix of “on-site” and “off-site” arrangement was deemed practical. This could potentially unlock significant time and cost savings as well as productivity gains. The main factors affecting remote working were the availability of interconnected systems allowing efficient communication and digital infrastructure that enable automated processes.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to a large contractor company and may not be appropriate for small and medium-sized companies. The findings may benefit organisations to evaluate the practical needs of ensuring effective remote working in the construction industry and unlocking efficiencies.
Originality/value
The paper adds value to understanding the affordances and constraints of digitisation for remote working from the perspective of construction professionals.
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Keywords
Nurul Sakina Mokhtar Azizi, Suzanne Wilkinson and Elizabeth Fassman
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of energy saving behaviour between green and conventional office buildings in Malaysia to determine if people in green…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of energy saving behaviour between green and conventional office buildings in Malaysia to determine if people in green buildings perform better energy saving behaviour than people in conventional buildings. The paper specifically focused on use of technology, computer usage and potential energy savings from that use. The paper then examines what strategies are used to encourage energy saving behaviour for building occupants.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were distributed to occupants in the buildings to evaluate the extent of energy saving behaviour practiced, and identify potential strategies to encourage energy saving behaviour.
Findings
The findings show better energy saving behaviour practice in green buildings and the paper show why this is the case. The recommended strategies to encourage energy saving behaviour are discussed, and include means of raising education awareness on energy efficiency among the occupants. This can be done through distribution of guidelines, posters, pamphlets and e-mails. Occupants can also be given live updates on the energy usage of the building. Briefing on the objectives and goals of the organisation’s commitment to energy efficiency can be given to newly employed staff. As seen in this paper, these multiple strategies have shown to be successful in encouraging energy saving behaviours.
Originality/value
To date, energy saving behaviour has been given less focus in improving green building performance. There is limited research that compares energy saving behaviour between green and conventional commercial buildings in Malaysia. The findings provide a better understanding on occupants’ behaviour in energy conservation and suggest strategies for future recommendation.
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Long Li, Zhongfu Li, Xiaodan Li and Guangdong Wu
The purpose of this paper is to provide comprehensive analysis and understanding of lean construction (LC) and to help researchers to find new gaps and research opportunities and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide comprehensive analysis and understanding of lean construction (LC) and to help researchers to find new gaps and research opportunities and develop potential collaboration chances.
Design/methodology/approach
The bibliographic data were obtained in peer-reviewed journals. The science mapping analysis and social network analysis (SNA) were used to conduct the analysis and visualization. Science mapping was performed to identify the research topics, evolution and the relationships between these topics. Also, the most influential LC-related articles in each topic were identified based on the concept of H-classics. SNA was also used to explore the collaboration status of authors and to identify the core authors in the LC field.
Findings
The results showed that topics in the LC field are consistently and continuously changing, which also reveals the fact that the lean concept system has evolved over time to a certain extent. The topics that could form the knowledge base of the LC research field in the future are related to two thematic areas: supply chain management (SCM) and planning and scheduling. SCM focuses on developing a system where supplier and client work together in coordination to deliver materials, works, equipment and labor and other resources. Moreover, prefabrication is a new hot topic, while BIM is a well-developed and isolated topic in the last five years. This result indicates that more studies need to be conducted in the future, to promote the integration of BIM and lean practices in the construction phase, as well as to explore the value of BIM in the reduction or elimination of waste and lean project delivery. As for global collaborations, LC research has been widely pursued throughout the world. The USA and the UK play the most dominant role in the international collaboration network.
Research limitations/implications
Since the analysis of data takes some time, the specific results of this paper are limited to articles published in peer-reviewed journals, which leads to a certain degree of research lag.
Practical implications
This paper provides insights (such as major journals, institutions, key scholars, the evolution of topics, highly indexed articles and the new LC trends in the last five years) for researchers in the LC field.
Originality/value
This paper gives a general review of the above-mentioned literature, including the number of LC-related articles published in each year, as well as the major journals and main contributors to the field of LC.
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