In today’s business environment, contributions made by the manufacturing sector to the economy and social development is evident. With a focus on long-term development, the manufacturing sector has adopted advanced operating strategies, such as lean manufacturing, industry 4.0, and green practices in an integrated manner. The integrated impact of circular economy, industry 4.0, and lean manufacturing on sustainability performance has not been adequately addressed and investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the integrated impact of circular economy, industry 4.0, and lean manufacturing on the sustainability performance of organizations in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey as a primary data instrument. A total of 486 organizations have responded to the survey within the timeframe. Moreover, the structural equation modeling method is utilized for data analysis through SmartPLS tool for the developed hypotheses of the research. The findings highlight the positive impact of circular economy on the sustainability of the organizations. Furthermore, the results indicate that industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing have positive mediating impacts as enablers for the successful implementation of circular economy toward the sustainable performance of organizations in Saudi Arabia. The study finding confirms that lean manufacturing is a substantial mediating variable that is essential for the successful implementation of industry 4.0 technologies. Moreover, the study indicates the recognition and acknowledgment of companies on circular economy principles, industry 4.0 technologies, and lean manufacturing tools to achieve the desired sustainability.

Plastic electronic waste (E-waste) is constantly growing around the world owing to the rapid increase in industrialization, urbanization, and population. The current annual production rate of E-waste is 3–4% in the world and is expected to increase to 55 million tons per year by 2025. To reduce the detrimental impact on the environment and save natural resources, one of the best solutions is to incorporate waste plastic in the construction industry to produce green concrete. This study examines the use of manufactured plastic coarse aggregate (PCA) obtained from E-waste as a partial replacement of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) in concrete. Six types of concrete mix with 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% substitution of NCA (by volume) with PCA are prepared and tested. This study investigates the effect of manufactured PCA on the fresh and hardened characteristics of concrete. The properties of recycled plastic aggregate concrete (RPAC) studied include workability, fresh density, dry density, compressive strength (CS), splitting tensile strength (STS), flexural strength (FS), sorptivity coefficient, abrasion resistance, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and alternate wetting and drying (W–D). The results indicate that the CS, STS, and FS of RPAC declined in the range of 9.9–52.7%, 7.8–47.5%, and 11–39.4%, respectively, for substitution ratios of 10–50%. However, the results also indicate that the incorporation of PCA (10–50%) improved the workability and durability characteristics of concrete. A significant decrement in the sorptivity coefficient, abrasion loss, and UPV value was observed with an increasing amount of PCA. Furthermore, RPAC containing different percentages of PCA revealed better results against alternate W–D cycles with respect to ordinary concrete.

The inadequate risk management of public–private partnership (PPP) projects is a principal cause of project distress or failure. This research seeks to identify and empirically validate measures of effective risk management (ERM) in the context of PPPs in a developing country, a subject that has received scant attention in the extant literature. The research is based on a comprehensive literature review, expert interviews and a questionnaire survey. Mean score ranking and factor analysis were employed to rank and group the identified measures, respectively. Tests were performed to determine the respondents’ agreement and establish the reliability and validity of the survey instrument. Analysis results indicate that all identified measures are important, are distributed over the entire project’s life cycle and exhibit a multi-organizational focus. The most significant measures focus on PPP-specific artifacts and procurement activities that are vital for ERM. Factor analysis established six critical underlying dimensions for the ERM of PPP projects. The extracted factors generally acknowledge the need for expert public- and private-sector project stakeholders with mature organizational structures, business processes and relevant experience to successfully handle and deliver PPP projects. Furthermore, a comprehensive PPP policy and sound legal and regulatory frameworks are essential for supporting the ERM of PPP projects. The findings will enable a better understanding of factors that influence the quality and outcomes of risk management efforts and promote sustainable infrastructure development via PPPs, where the success of a project strongly relies on positively managing a project’s risks in the economic and the social domains.

With rapid urbanization, the utilization of underground space has become an important part of infrastructure. However, the stability of underground spaces such as large caverns remains a key challenge in civil engineering throughout the lifecycle of a project. Traditional methods of stability assessment rely on static models and periodic monitoring and often fail to capture real-time changes in rock behavior, leading to potential safety risks and, in severe cases, even the collapse of underground infrastructure. To address this challenge, this study introduces a digital twin (DT) framework to improve stability assessments and monitor deformations in underground structures. The framework enables the continuous monitoring and adaptive optimization of rock support systems by combining real-time sensor data with virtual simulations. A five-dimensional DT framework comprises physical objects, virtual objects, service systems, DT data, and their interconnections. It incorporates six key modules, which are structure, geology, material, behavior, performance, and environment, to enhance the understanding of cavern stability. The framework is based on Industry Foundation Classes standards to ensure seamless data exchange, interoperability, and the standardized representation of geotechnical and structural data. A seven-step methodology is developed for this framework, encompassing geological assessment, virtual modeling, Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based design, construction processes, real-time monitoring, and optimization strategies. To evaluate its effectiveness, the framework is applied to a case study, demonstrating improvements in deformation monitoring and rock support efficiency. The findings highlight the potential of integrating DT with BIM to enhance safety, reliability, and long-term stability in underground construction projects.

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) continue to grow globally as a means of procuring essential infrastructure and services to meet the ever-increasing demands of rising population and enhanced service delivery standards. Adequate risk allocation and sharing (RAS) is considered a critical success factor in PPP project delivery, however, it is exceptionally complex to establish and structure, difficult to monitor, and demands effort to properly enforce it in PPP contracts. This study aims to systematically review the existing PPP research in the RAS domain to explore the status quo, trends, and gaps in research. A thorough search and a meticulous shortlisting of academic literature resulted in 80 relevant journal articles published since the start of the 21st century whereafter a systematic content analysis was performed on these articles. Frequency analysis showed that nearly half of the reviewed papers were published by three journals including the journal of construction engineering and management, international journal of project management and construction management and economics journal. Furthermore, China and Australia seem to be the most active contributors accounting for 42 articles. Researchers extensively relied on case studies, literature review and surveys among other research methodologies for RAS research. The review further categorized the articles in five subcategories for in depth analysis. Most of the research reviewed falls in the “risks allocation and sharing preferences, practices, and models” category and accounts for 49% of the journal articles reviewed whereas the second largest category “government support and guarantees” accounts for 29% of the articles reviewed. Several research gaps were identified, and it is hoped that the results will motivate future research and enhance the body of knowledge in the domain of RAS in PPPs.

Prefabricated construction is being pursued globally as a critically important sustainable construction technology. Prefabricated construction technology (PCT) provides opportunities to effectively manage construction waste and offers venues to address the poor productivity and lackluster performance of construction projects, which are often expected to miss their budget and schedule constraints. Despite the significant benefits inherent in the adoption of PCT, research has shown an unimpressive exploitation of this technology in the building sector. A modified version of the popular technology acceptance model (TAM) was used to understand Pakistan’s building construction industry stakeholder’s acceptance of PCT and the factors that influence its usage. Data were collected from 250 building construction experts in the industry to test the hypotheses derived from the proposed model. Data analysis using covariance-based structural equation modeling revealed that construction industry stakeholders’ perceptions of perceived ease-of-use, perceived usefulness, trust, and satisfaction all strongly influenced PCT acceptance behavior. Moreover, results also confirmed the total direct and indirect effects of the perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use of behavioral intention toward using PCT, with trust and user satisfaction as mediators. The results of this research are expected to serve as a guide for the construction industry stakeholders to effectively plan, strategize, encourage, and increase the adoption of PCT to achieve sustainable construction outcomes in the building construction sector.