Numerous studies have been conducted by researchers on the delay analysis topic, which is one of the primary areas of scientific study due to the effects of delays on time and cost in construction projects. Following fruitful contributions made by the researchers, it is believed to be extremely important to summarize the existing studies in terms of being a road map for future studies and practitioners. In this context, not only does this study aim to detect the most significant authors, sources, organizations and countries contributing to the improvement of delay domain in the construction industry concerning delay analyses worldwide but also to provide the researchers with extensive insights concerning the prominent research themes, trends and gaps in the literature. Hence, 168 documents related to delay analyses from 1982 to 11 February 2021 were detected through the Scopus Database and the Web of Science Database, and scientometric analyses were conducted via VOSviewer software. By evaluating the related research, two main research areas were detected in this field, namely; improving the delay analysis methods and resolving the disputes before they occur. This study is believed to make theoretical and practical contributions in that it examines the delay analysis topic in all aspects such as prominent institutions, countries, authors and sources, synthesizes the data and highlights possible research domains, gaps and trends concerning the delay analysis topic in construction industry.

Contracting parties generally tend to resolve their disputes through the litigation process. The lengthy litigation process reduces the belief among the parties that the disputes are resolved peacefully, and this destabilizes the sustainable structure of the construction industry where disputes are very common. Determining the most common sources of disputes in construction lawsuits is very important in terms of taking necessary precautions beforehand. Additionally, increasing the competency levels of construction and judicial actors regarding construction processes is extremely important in terms of making the judicial process more efficient and faster. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the most frequent dispute sources in the construction industry, the competency levels of judicial actors including expert witnesses and the average duration of the construction-related litigation process for the superior courts. Hence, 346 construction-related lawsuits conducted between 2018 and 2021 were examined via content analysis to classify the common themes. Lawsuits were investigated via the official websites of Courts of Cassation and National Judicial Network Information System (UYAP). Next, the frequency analysis was conducted to detect the significance of each theme via SPSS software. It is highly believed that this study will enable the decision-makers to take necessary precautions before the dispute occurs as well as improve the dispute resolution process in the construction industry. Projects related to superstructure works constituted the majority of the disputes ending up with the judicial process. Additionally, the majority of the disputes detected from lawsuits resulted from “Debit and Credit” related issues. Moreover, the litigation process was also detected as a very lengthy process. Furthermore, it is detected that majority of the lawsuits were rejected by the Courts of Cassation due to inadequacies of the competency levels of the judicial actors.

Delays and disruptions (D&D) are considered chronic peculiarities of the construction phase of the built environment, especially in megaprojects. Systematic monitoring of claimable D&D causes becomes crucial for the contractors to compensate for their losses caused by delays and disruptions, enabling sustainable use of resources. Thus, this study proposed a delay and disruption (D&D) cause monitoring framework that enables contractors to timely and accurately detect claimable delays and disruption causes/events in megaprojects. At the outset, a systematic literature review was conducted to design an initial version of the framework and extract claimable D&D. Then, focus group discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted to revise and refine the initial version of the framework and a list of claimable D&D causes. Next, a fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis was conducted to determine the relative importance of each claimable D&D cause in terms of its impact on the megaprojects. Finally, a consistency analysis was conducted to demonstrate the reliability of the dataset. Findings revealed that claimable D&D causes are indispensable parts of the claim management process. In this manner, the proposed framework recommends monitoring the claimable D&D causes regularly during the whole construction phase of the megaprojects. The fuzzy AHP analysis also revealed that causes such as “Suspension of project activities by the owner”, “Errors and clashes in the design”, “Shortage of construction materials in the market”, “Discovery of fossils and historical artifacts”, “Unavailability of the commissioning team on the due date”, and “Late delivery of testing materials and utilities by the owner” were particularly rated as highly critical causes, needing urgent and sophisticated monitoring plan for timely detection and data collection. By introducing a proactive approach to avoid lengthy and costly dispute resolution processes, this study enables decision-makers to enhance sustainability in the built environment.

The litigation process is notorious for being long, costly and deteriorating business relations although the majority of construction contracts resort to litigation in case of any dispute. For this reason, it is very important to settle disputes in construction projects before applying for the litigation process to preserve the sustainable structure of the construction industry. Identification of precautions to reduce the number of disputes leading to litigation is crucial as it can help prevent project failures, minimize legal costs, and improve overall stakeholder satisfaction in the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to identify solutions to diminish the disputes resulting in the litigation process in the Turkish construction industry. To achieve this goal, semi-structured interviews with 50 lawyers experienced in construction-related cases in Turkey were conducted. The data obtained from the interviewees were analyzed via content analysis to identify the common themes. Later, detected common themes were categorized in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) by 15 experts selected in accordance with the purpose sampling method. Afterwards, Fuzzy AHP method was conducted with the data gathered from the 15 experts to determine the significance of each theme. This study revealed numerous crucial solutions to diminish the disputes resulting in lawsuits in the Turkish construction industry. Firstly, to prevent disputes and defective products, it is essential to increase the effectiveness of the auditing system and disseminate and legalize alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods as well as oblige the construction firms to have certification. Additionally, careful examination of citizens’ petitions and timely and impartial approach by officials to citizens’ problems can prevent conflicts from escalating. Furthermore, to improve the qualifications of officers, public personnel exams in accordance with the concerning expertise area are to be conducted.

Being prone to dispute, airport projects involve diverse stakeholders including also national and international aviation authorities, and this complicates the dispute resolution process in these projects. Hence, decision-makers should not entirely rely on standard forms of contracts to settle disputes in airport projects. Instead, these projects necessitate a specific dispute resolution framework that meets their needs. Even though some effort has already been devoted to developing a framework for ADR selection, most of these studies neglect airport projects. Furthermore, existing studies fell short of adopting more advanced techniques such as fuzzy set logic and Fuzzy VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija | Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR), posing a variety of drawbacks. Thus, this study aims to guide decision-makers by developing a selection framework of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods to resolve disputes in airport projects. Firstly, the literature was reviewed comprehensively to reveal the criteria affecting the selection of ADR methods. Next, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) session was conducted with the participation of 17 experts who have diverse experiences in the dispute resolution process in airport projects to omit or validate the detected criteria obtained from the literature review. This was then followed by the Fuzzy VIKOR method to evaluate the importance of each ADR method. In the final step, sensitivity analysis was performed to confirm the reliability of the results. The results confirmed that a plethora of factors governs the ADR selection process, pinpointing the need for a systematic and holistic framework. Secondly, the “Expert Determination” was determined to be the most convenient ADR method for airport projects. The “Expert Determination” was followed by the “Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB)” and “Arbitration”, respectively. Revealing the very first holistic framework concerning ADR selection for airport projects, this study significantly contributes to the dispute resolution domain. Furthermore, this proposed framework is believed to have promising benefits for the decision-makers while drafting the contract clauses in terms of ADR methods in airport projects.

Betondan kaynaklı sabit yükleri azaltmak için en etkili yöntem hafif agrega kullanmaktır. Bu çalışmada; şap betonu üretiminde CEN standart kumu yerine %0, %5, %10, %15, %20, %25 ve %30 oranlarında genleştirilmiş cam agregası (0.25mm - 0.50 mm) ve genleştirilmiş perlit agregası (0.25mm - 0.50 mm) ikame edilerek ve CEM I 42.5 R, CEM I 52.5 N, CEM II 42.5 R ve CEM IV 32.5 N tipi çimentolar kullanarak şap betonları üretilmiştir. Üretilen şap betonlarının bazı fiziksel özelliklerini belirlemek için; sertleşmiş yoğunluk, ağırlıkça su emme ve kılcal su emme deneyleri yapılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonucunda, hafifliğin ön planda olduğu durumlarda genleştirilmiş perlit agregası ikameli CEM IV 32.5 N tipi çimento ile üretilen şap betonlarının, su emme özelliği açısından CEM I 52.5 N tipi çimento ile üretilen şap betonlarının ve kılcal su emme özelliği açısından ise %30 genleştirilmiş perlit agregası ikameli CEM IV 32.5 N tipi çimento ile üretilen şap betonlarıının tercih edilmesinin uygun olacağı sonucuna varılmıştır.