Purpose – Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology has been well received by the Malaysian construction industry, yet the adoption rate is extremely slow. Many areas of adoption issues and know how regarding BIM were investigated. However, no prior research has considered the perspective from engineering consulting services (ECS) firms. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the overview and adoption of BIM from the perspective of Malaysian ECS firms, with its objectives first, to determine the perceptions, barriers, governmental support and intentions in adopting BIM, and second, to identify the key drivers for adopting BIM within two years. Design/methodology/approach – The primary data were collected from focus group interview and questionnaire survey to achieve the first objective, and subsequently, the second objective was achieved based on Pearson relationship analysis. Findings – The results show that the firms have a concept of BIM that equates to industry authorities’ norms; yet the lack of well-trained personnel, guidance and governmental supports were identified as the main barriers to adoption. Nevertheless, the firms were prepared to adopt BIM where market demands and competitive advantage were the main drivers to adoption within two years. Originality/value – A different perspective has been highlighted in adoption of BIM. It renders a new insight into the effective adoption and use of BIM from the ECS firms’ perspective.
The construction industry in general has a poor ethical reputation, being widely regarded by the public as a sector with corrupt practices, health and safety failures, and causing damage to the environment. A modern 21st century industry needs to consider how it orientates itself to the dilemma of conflicting stakeholder and ethical demands. The implications for stakeholders of the all pervasive drive for globalization in the construction industry is reviewed, leading to a consideration of the ethical relationship interfaces that construction organizations have with their stakeholders from the viewpoint of ethics, social contracts and corporate responsibility. Building upon earlier work a prototype stakeholder ethical responsibility matrix (SERM) is proposed as a management tool. Stakeholder management using an ethical perspective can meet the needs of both agency and stakeholder requirements. The increasingly complex global construction industry presents many challenges as key business decisions in construction are in reality moral decisions also. A completed version of the SERM offers a way forward for managing the ethical dimension of construction industry decision making.Stakeholders, ethics, social contracts, responsibility matrix,
COVID-19 is the most critical health and safety risk facing the global construction sector. The COVID-19 crisis leads to reduction in site productivity, has increased compliance costs, delayed projects and increases construction workers' exposure to risk and infections. However, as countries begin to ease lockdowns and restrictions, there is a need to examine the measures that the construction companies can take to ensure workers are “Covid-safe”. This research developed a questionnaire instrument that included 24 Covid-preventive measures on construction sites. Isolating sick workers, conducting daily checks for COVID-19 symptoms, preventing hugging/handshaking at the site, displaying health advisory posters and info-graphics, and providing face masks to workers are seen to be the main measures towards keeping sites “Covid-safe”. The Principal Component Analysis structured the 24 measures into 4 components. The 4 components explained about 73% of the model, namely hygiene and control, equipment and monitoring, awareness, and incentives. The results found that compliance costs of health and safety regulations to prevent COVID-19 will increase by more than 20%, site productivity will be reduced by up to 50%, and the pandemic will have caused a 40% increase in skills shortage. Cluster analysis was performed to cluster the sites in terms of their exposure to COVID-19 risk. In order to examine the practicability of the findings, the model was validated with 4 case studies. It is asserted that the research findings’ have potential to keep sites “Covid-safe” which help construction companies increase productivity, reduce project costs, reduce claims and deliver projects on schedule. This research is the first to examine measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on construction sites and the findings hold critical theoretical and practical implications for future research on health and safety management.
In the past two decades, the growth of the global sustainability agenda has led to the conception of a new business market, most commonly referred to as 'sustainability services for the built environment'. For developing countries, the emergence of this market represents an opportunity to meet sustainability goals by improving access to skills necessary for improved performance in the design, construction and operation of buildings. Set against global trends in policy and market growth, this paper examines the rise of sustainability services in Malaysia -a developing country with a relatively young, undeveloped market with potential to benefit from market growth. Drawing on first hand experiences of consultants offering sustainability services in Malaysia, the current status of the market and the key barriers are discussed. The paper explores the business opportunities this emerging market has to offer to the Malaysian built environment sector and concludes with the potential it presents to contribute to the country's aspirations for sustainable development.
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