PurposeThis study presents a fuzzy synthetic evaluation of the challenges of smart city realisation in developing countries, using Nigeria as a case study. By defining and delineating the problems faced by the country, more viable directions to attaining smart city development can be achieved.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a post-positivist philosophical stance with a deductive approach. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from built environment professionals involved in the delivery of Nigerian public infrastructures. Six dimensions of the challenges of smart cities were identified from literature and explored. They are governance, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal issues. Data gathered were analysed using Cronbach alpha test for reliability, Shapiro-Wilks test for normality, Kruskal-Wallis H-test for consistency and fuzzy synthetic evaluation test for the synthetic evaluation of the challenges of smart city attainment.FindingsThe findings revealed that all six assessed dimensions have a significant impact on the attainment of smart cities in Nigeria. More specifically, issues relating to environmental, technological, social and legal challenges are more prominent.Originality/valueThe fuzzy synthetic approach adopted provides a clear, practical insight on the issues that need to be addressed before the smart city development can be attained within developing countries.

Housing is a major challenge for most African countries including South Africa which is characterized by numerous backlog of housing provision. This study seeks the adoption of construction 4.0 principles for reducing the housing backlog experienced within the country. Therefore, the study examines the impact of applying construction 4.0 for delivering sustainable and quality accommodation and evaluates the hindrance in its adoption. Construction 4.0 involves the application of industry 4.0 concepts a synonym for the 4 th industrial revolution that originated from the German manufacturing sector to the South Africa housing industry with the intention of creating a digital industry using a sophisticated gadget like drones, RFID, laser scanning, 3D printing and many others. Convenience sampling method was used in obtaining data from practicing construction professional in Johannesburg Gauteng province South African. A total of 184 questionnaires were obtained from the construction professionals out of 220 that was distributed. The data were analyzed with SPSS V 24, using, mean score, regression and factor analysis. The study discovered that there is a positive impact on the use of construction 4.0 principle for housing delivery as it reduced cost and time overrun thereby ensuring the prompt delivery of affordable and quality houses. The foremost hindrance to the adoption of construction 4.0 principle is the cost of investing in modern technology by small construction firms. The study contributes to the innovative ideas for housing delivery in South African it recommends that strategies and infrastructures should be put in place towards enabling the digitization of the construction industry and increase the awareness of construction 4.0 among construction professionals.

Purpose The importance of robotics and automation (R&A) in delivering a safe built environment cannot be overemphasised. This is because R&A systems can execute a hazardous job function that the construction workforce may not execute. Based on this knowledge, this study aims to present the result of an assessment of the impediments to the deployment of R&A for a safe and healthy construction environment. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a post-positivist philosophical stance, using a quantitative research approach and a questionnaire administered to construction professionals in South Africa. The data gathered were analysed using frequency, percentage, mean item score, Kruskal–Wallis H-test, exploratory factor analysis and partial least square structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings This study revealed that the impediments to the deployment of R&A could be grouped into: industry, technology, human and cost-related factors. However, SEM assessment showed that only the industry, human and cost-related factors would significantly impact attaining specific health and safety-related outcomes. Practical implications The findings offer valuable benefits to construction organisations as the careful understanding of the identified impeding factors can help lead to better deployment of R&A and the attainment of its inherent safety benefits. Originality/value This study attempts to fill the gap in the shortage of literature exploring the deployment of R&A for a safe construction environment, particularly in developing countries like South Africa, where such studies are non-existent. This paper, therefore, offers a theoretical backdrop for future works on R&A deployment, particularly in developing countries where such a study has not been explored.

The construction industry is responsible for the infrastructural and physical development of nations and plays a pivotal role in determining economic equilibrium of nations of the world; hence, there is a need for constant evolving of advanced ways of carrying out construction operations. The concept has led to the evolution of Construction 4.0, which entails harmonizing disruption in technological applications to enhance construction productivity. The study, therefore, provides an attempt at evolving an enhanced approach to improve construction processes and resource management through application of lean construction and Industry 4.0. The purposive sampling method was used in this study to collect data. The data collection instrument consists of a structured questionnaire designed in a Likert scale of 1 to 5 distributed to 100 construction professionals through an online method that is actively involved in construction operations. The following parameters were censored and profiled, while the results are in tables and charts. The parameters include areas of lean thinking that could enhance Construction 4.0, areas of disruption in Industry 4.0 that influence Construction 4.0 advancement and parameters for practical integrating of lean thinking approach and Industry 4.0. Additionally, the influence of Industry 4.0 in technological development for the construction industry, disruptive innovation of Industry 4.0 and gains towards Construction 4.0. Furthermore, the relevance of Construction 4.0 in construction productivity, the importance of Construction 4.0, industrial application drivers in achieving Construction 4.0, future of Construction 4.0, achieving automation goal in construction and performance expectation of lean thinking and Industry 4.0 in the construction industry are found necessary. Simple percentage, Spearman rankings, Chi-square test, Student-T test, Mann–Whitney-U test and Relative Agreement and Importance index are the tools used to process the data. The study discovered, among others, the veracity of contingency approach in harnessing attributes of the lean thinking concept and disruptive applications in achieving Construction 4.0. The study recommends the application of the hybrid model suggested in the study as a guide to deployment of an application that could help in industrial productivity.

This study presents the result of an assessment of digitalisation within the South African construction industry from the construction professionals' perspective. The study adopted a quantitative approach through a questionnaire survey carried out among construction professionals in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Appropriate descriptive statistical tools were used in analysing the data gathered. The study revealed that the major stages of construction where digitalisation is evident are the design phase, and the feasibility phase. The major construction processes where it is mostly visible are, construction cost control, cost planning, preliminary cost estimate and building system analysis. In addition, the most significant benefits to be derived from digitalisation in the industry includes time-saving in construction projects delivery, increase productivity, increase speed of work, increase document quality, speeding up of response time, and simpler working methods. This study contributes to the body of knowledge as it reveals the happenings surrounding digitalisation within the South African construction industry; an aspect that seems to be lacking research attention.