Construction projects consist of numerous technological operations. The operations can be usually arranged in a considerable number of alternative ways satisfying induced technological order. Applied arrangement of operations defines project structure. A project structure influences results of construction project schedule optimisation. Identification of adequate structure for a construction project is therefore important for obtaining the best possible schedule. Effects of construction project execution depend on influence of surrounding environment. It is therefore necessary to include local conditions in a building site to derive a reliable construction project schedule. A problem of bi-criteria time-cost optimisation of a construction project structure is dealt with in the paper. Presented optimisation approach includes sensitivity of technological operations to adverse local weather conditions. It is capable of estimating robust Pareto-efficient structures and corresponding schedules for a construction project. Appropriate allocation of alternative execution modes to technological operations satisfying limited availability of manpower, building materials and equipment is applied in this regard

Decision making is critical to the success of safety management in construction projects. Due to the simultaneous evaluation of numerous criteria and objectives, multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) is essential for decision problem solving. Several MCDM methods are continuously being developed and are progressively used to solve real-world construction safety challenges. This study aimed to understand the progress of MCDM methods and their application in construction safety. A total of 52 articles were found after conducting a systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses review method. The research trend is then described using bibliometric analysis in terms of the number of publications per year, sources of documents, influential authors and countries, highly cited articles and research areas. The findings indicated that the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and its fuzzy version, FAHP, were applied mainly in construction safety research. The key areas where MCDM methods were focused on were safety risk assessment, safety culture and safety programmes. The study findings are expected to assist construction practitioners by allowing them to use the best and optimal MCDM method for problem solving related to safety.

Agricultural biogas plants are a renewable source of energy and at the same time enable the disposal of biodegradable waste generated in agriculture and the food industry. In Poland, a program aimed at constructing agricultural biogas plants has been in operation since 2010 with the goal of producing 1.7 billion Nm³ of biogas, which has not been achieved. Factors that could influence the development of this energy source were identified based on a register of agricultural biogas producers from the National Agriculture Support Center and data from the Energy Regulatory Office. These factors are technology, substrates, state energy policy, profitability, population density in the commune and the spatial arrangement of the commune resulting from spatial development plans. A pairwise comparison analysis using the DEMATEL method was conducted for these factors. It allowed us to conclude that they are population density and the lack of local spatial development plans in most rural areas. The situation may be improved by the obligation to develop such plans for the entire area of each commune and by locating biogas plants near livestock farms and agri-food processing plants. The selected DEMATEL method is mature and comprehensively verified. It enables research to be carried out in other contexts, taking into account the correlations between factors. It is a universal method, and after collecting expert opinions, research can be expanded. The obtained results of the analysis will allow for further research by collecting the opinions of experts such as biogas plant users, local communities, local government officials and other stakeholders. In addition, further analysis of key factors will be carried out using the DEMATEL method for several scenarios. The PESTEL method will be used to identify key factors.

In the modern world, knowledge is treated as another resource necessary for the development of civilization. An important element is information, thanks to which you can update knowledge and thus create a compendium of knowledge. Knowledge and its organization is particularly useful in construction. The article proposes a knowledge map, which is a record of domain knowledge. The fields were designated there, and the fields were assigned elements of importance in the life cycle of the building.

Laws governing the expropriation of real properties for public and socially useful purposes are in force in most countries. The problem of determining fair compensation for expropriated land is a very current one and has already been the subject of research. However, it deals mainly with the method of determining the value of the property without analyzing the procedure itself, and its weakest points in particular. The research objective is to develop a methodology to identify those factors that impede the entire process the most and should be eliminated in the first place. For this purpose, the authors firstly analyzed the procedure for determining compensation for expropriated real properties in Poland and identified factors that may adversely affect this process. Then, the decision support methods were reviewed. Due to the maturity, flexibility, and comprehensively verified quality, the DEMATEL method was used to achieve the research objective. This method allows for the efficient identification of all cause–effect relationships as well as key factors even in the case of very complex systems. Since the DEMATEL method is based on expert knowledge, the authors prepared a questionnaire and asked 16 experts—representatives of public administration at various levels, judges, and property appraisers—to assess the effect of individual factors on each other on a five-point scale. Finally, they analyzed the nature of the factors disturbing the course of the process of determining compensation for expropriated real properties. Thanks to the original multilevel application of the DEMATEL method, which took into account expert knowledge about the complex relationships between the factors, the authors demonstrated that in Poland the key roles in hindering the compensation determination process play two factors: the undetermined legal status and incomplete identification of real estate constituents. The proposed methodology is a universal one and may also be applied for the assessment of other administrative proceedings as well as various factors that determine them.

Reliable and comprehensive choice of a suitable domestic heat pump for a common dwelling house is discussed in the paper. The application of common and freely available market information about possible heat pump options is considered in this regard. The intangibility, imperfect nature, and overload of available information, as well as a common issue amongst interested homeowners—scarce critical resource availability, e.g., financial means—are also dealt with. A specific, universal multistage decision support procedure is proposed in the paper to help a houseowner to make an informed heat pump choice. At first, a concept of a pairwise comparison and a notion of dominance under imperfect information are utilized to build a kind of option hierarchy. A particular heat pump device is then recommended by means of exploring consecutive option hierarchy levels and an actual houseowner’s critical resource capacity in a non-commensurable manner. It seems that this joint application of common imperfect information about available options and critical resource availability, as well as the ideas of option dominance and non-commensurability, make the approach an interesting way for a casual homeowner to make an informed heat pump device choice. A sample analysis is also applied to show the merits and the usefulness of the approach in the paper.