Purpose – To analyze the role of construction site supervisors, including foremen and general foremen, as front‐line managers. The role is treated as a critical labor function and a source of value‐added for construction management.Design/methodology/approach – An original model based on the labor competency management framework is proposed for training, developing and certifying construction supervisors in Chile and other developing countries. This model was developed from the findings of a case study in which the competency framework was applied to a specific construction company.Findings – This case study has demonstrated the significant potential of the competency framework for the Chilean construction sector, with its underdeveloped human resources management methods. In particular, this framework can be an effective approach to achieving the competencies required by construction site supervisors who must deal with inadequately trained workers, as is the case in many developing countries. The structu...

Knowledge management (KM) is a key element for the development of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry. This is particularly relevant in Chile, where this industry is composed almost entirely of SMEs. Although various KM system proposals can be found in the literature, they are not suitable for SMEs, due to usability problems, budget constraints, and time and connectivity issues. Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) systems offer several advantages to construction SMEs, but they have not yet been exploited to address KM needs. Therefore, this research is aimed at the development of a MCC-based KM platform to manage lessons learned in different construction projects of SMEs, through an iterative and user-centered methodology. Usability and quality evaluations of the proposed platform show that MCC is a feasible and attractive option to address the KM issues in SMEs of the Chilean construction industry, since it is possible to consider both technical and usability requirements.

The effective management of risk is critical for construction projects. However, research findings show that risk management is either not used or done ineffectively in domestic construction projects. One of the primary reasons for this appears to be the lack of risk management (RM) capabilities and knowledge. A study aimed at developing a system for supporting the effective use of RM is presented. The system has been designed so as to provide the required functionality to assist owners and contractors to develop their capabilities to manage risk effectively, including: a) to assess the existing RM organizational maturity and to report on the existing gaps, b) to propose recommendations for improving the organizational RM capabilities in the light of the detected gaps, and c) to help companies with the im­plementation and improvement of RM within the organization. The system prototype has been successfully applied in several companies that served as initial case studies. It is anticipated that the system will assist clients and contractors to advance effective risk management capabilities and to improve their project risk management performance in the me­dium range. The system can also be applied in other countries that face the same RM difficulties.

Construction projects are an important source of organizational knowledge. Though, it is common to find that most lessons learned in construction projects are lost because most companies never take care of collecting them. To change this situation, a mobile lesson-learned system application with interface for smartphones and web in a cloud environment is proposed. This article focuses on the design of a prototype of the system and the main characteristics of its architecture. It is concluded that the application of mobile technology on the field would facilitate the use of the system, been an appropriate tool for knowledge management

Accessibility to housing is crucial for people with disabilities as it provides them with equal opportunities and allows them to live independently. A systematic literature review has been conducted to understand the current research on accessibility in housing for people with disabilities in Latin America. The study analysed 56 papers and used co-word analysis to identify common themes and topics within the documents. The results of the analysis showed that Brazil (61%) is the country with the most research on the subject, physical disability, at 36%, is the impairment most analysed, and interventions or analysis for the older people (45%) in their homes is the most researched type of population. The co-word analysis revealed that topics such as policy, regulations, the use of technologies, ergonomics interventions, and architectural criteria or barriers to the daily life of disabled people were frequently discussed in the papers. Although this work shows a substantial and growing increase in research on housing for people with disabilities in Latin America, it also demonstrates the importance of increasing research on other types of impairment, such as visual and cognitive-intellectual disabilities, and including children, caregivers, or even young adults.