Utilising emerging innovative technologies and systems to improve construction processes in an effort towards digitalisation has been earmarked as critical to delivering resilience and responsive infrastructure. However, successful implementation is hindered by several challenges. Hence, this study evaluates the challenges facing the adoption of unmanned aerial vehicles towards the digitalisation of the built environment. The study adopted a quantitative survey of built environment stakeholders in developed and developing economies. A total of 161 completely filled forms were received after the survey, and the data were analysed using descriptive analysis and inferential statistics. The study’s findings show that there are different barriers experienced between developed and developing countries in the adoption of drones towards digitalising construction processes in the built environment. Moreover, economic/cost-related factors were identified as the most critical barriers to the adoption of drones, followed by technical/regulatory factors and education/organisation-related factors. The findings can assist the built environment in reducing the impact of these barriers and could serve as a policy instrument and helpful guidelines for governmental organisations, stakeholders, and others.

Despite the significant contribution of the construction industry to national and global economies, the risk it poses to the health and safety of its workers is concerning. With substantial improvement in physical health and safety performance, especially in industrialised and developed economies, attention has shifted to the mental health of construction workers. The construction industry has implemented several worker-focused and management-oriented intervention programs, but problems related to poor mental health persist, and the industry ranks high in suicide figures. Entering the Construction 4.0 era, the use of technologies and new construction methods have been touted to have the potential to improve mental wellbeing. Therefore, this research addresses this lingering problem by: (1) identifying and classifying stressors of mental health and (2) assessing the relevance of adopting prefabricated construction to improving mental health. A two-phased PRISMA-guided systematic review was conducted due to the nonavailability of past studies that combine the concepts of prefabrication and mental health. Mental health stressors were grouped into three categories, with industry-related identified as having an influence on management/organisational and personal stressors. Prefabricated construction, on the other hand, by virtue of its benefits over traditional construction, is found to be capable of eliminating, or at least reducing, the impact of industry-related stressors and, by extension, promoting good mental health.

Young construction workers employ different practices to cope with psychosocial risks, most of which prevent them from achieving mental well-being. Managing this problem has been a challenge because research on the topic is fragmented. To contribute to addressing this problem, we systematically reviewed the literature on young construction workers’ coping practices using meta-aggregation guided by the PICo and PRISMA frameworks. We sought to identify young construction workers’ coping mechanisms and the factors that influence their choice of coping practices. A total of 345 studies were retrieved, and 24 studies published between 1993 and 2022 met the inclusion criteria. Using deductive thematic analysis, we identified 28 coping practices and categorized them into eight mechanisms and three domains. Eleven determinants of young construction workers’ coping choices emerged and were classified as personal and environmental factors. This review provides knowledge for building theory on young construction workers’ coping and stresses the need for further studies on the role of influencing factors such as age, individual resilience, coping experience, religion, and spirituality. Findings from this review can serve as an evidence base for researchers, occupational health practitioners, and policy-makers for developing interventions that can promote the uptake of beneficial coping practices by young construction workers.

Construction is widely acknowledged for its socioeconomic contributions, although it is also always considered as a dangerous and incident-prone industry. As a new method of working, prefabrication presents better work environments and other benefits that can potentially improve the safety and mental health of construction workers. This study compares the extent of stressors in traditional and prefabricated construction. Eighty-four construction site and factory-based workers in Australia were surveyed. Prefabricated construction respondents reported less experience of industry-related, management/organisational, and personal stressors. Specifically, the stressors found to be weakened by prefabrication were mental fatigue, work injuries, poor working conditions, unfavourable shift rosters, work overload, and poor work–life balance. Furthermore, the degree of the experience of potential mental health improvement factors such as labour effort efficiency, reduced on-site trade overlap, increased mechanised construction, and less dependence on weather conditions, among others, was significantly higher in prefabrication than in traditional construction. The influence of prefabrication on measures of poor and positive mental health is recommended for further studies, particularly by finding its links with the different groups of construction workers.

Extant literature has confirmed the unavoidability of changes to the design of construction projects. These changes have also been identified as major reasons for project cost, quality, and time failure. Despite BIM’s documented capabilities to enhance project success, its implementation remains unsatisfactory in Nigeria. This paper, therefore, examines the impacts of BIM-based design workflow in consulting business on construction project design performance. Using questionnaire as the research instrument, quantitative survey research was adopted to collect data from consulting organizations. Analysis revealed sequential and concurrent workflows as the most used and preferred, respectively. Design coordination, information, and communication are enhanced with sequential workflow within a firm, while concurrent metrics are enhanced when collaborating with other firms. Both workflows are jointly declared suitable for the timely delivery of designs. The study, therefore, recommended retraining of professionals on sequential and concurrent workflows because of their appropriateness for efficient design within and among firms.

Purpose: Current research on mental health in the construction industry is fragmented, making it difficult to obtain a complete picture of young construction workers’ mental health conditions. This situation adversely affects research progress, mental health-care planning and resource allocation. To address this challenge, the purpose of this paper was to identify the themes of mental health conditions among young construction workers and their prevalence by geographical location. Design/methodology/approach: The scoping review was conducted using meta-aggregation, guided by the CoCoPop (condition [mental health], context [construction industry] and population [construction workers 35 years old and younger]) and PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews) frameworks. Findings: A total of 327 studies were retrieved, and 14 studies published between 1993 and 2022 met the inclusion criteria. The authors identified 13 mental health conditions and categorized them under nine themes. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders and substance-related disorders constituted the most researched themes. Studies predominantly focused on young male workers in the Global North. The prevalence estimates reported in most of the studies were above the respective country’s prevalence. Originality/value: This review extends previous studies by focusing specifically on the themes of mental health conditions and giving attention to young construction workers whose health needs remain a global priority. The study emphasizes the need to give research attention to lesser-studied aspects of mental health, such as positive mental health. The need to focus on female construction workers and on homogenous sub-groups of young workers is also emphasized. The findings can guide future systematic reviews on the identified thematic areas and help to plan the development of interventions.