The construction industry is traditionally environmentally unfriendly. The environmental impacts of construction waste include soil contamination, water contamination, and deterioration of landscape. Also, construction waste has a negative economic impact by contributing additional cost to construction due to the need to replace wasted materials. However, in order to mitigate waste, construction managers have to explore management options, which include reduction, recycling, and disposal of wastes. Reduction has the highest priority among the waste management options but efficient reduction cannot be achieved without adequate identification of the sources of waste. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present a study that was carried out on the contribution rates of nine identified sources of construction waste. Establishing the contribution rates of different waste sources will enhance knowledge-based decision-making in developing appropriate strategy for mitigating construction waste. Quantitative research method, using survey questionnaire, was adopted in this study to assess the frequency and severity of contribution of the sources of waste. As one of the findings of the study, residual waste such as material off-cuts was identified as the highest contributor to construction waste. This study consequently demonstrated that waste has a significant contribution to the cost of construction.

Realisation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) will provide improvements to people's lives and longevity of the planet. The architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) sectors have a potentially huge role in aiding the delivery of many SDGs; however, there appears to be a lack of research into the engagement within this sector. The leading environmental management system (EMS), ISO 14001, can enable organisations in the AEC sectors to improve their business operations, whilst minimising their impacts on the environment and improving society. Therefore, the study sets out to use institutional theory to determine the usefulness of ISO 14001 as a tool within the AEC sector and to demonstrate how the organisational benefits could facilitate the delivery of the SDGs. A stepwise PRISMA review process facilitated the compiling of academic articles and professional reports (n = 44), which enabled the creation of an inventory of the perceived benefits (n = 85) and the recognised barriers (n = 63) to implementing ISO 14001 across the AEC sectors. These barriers and benefits were confirmed by environmental practitioners as being relevant to the incorporation of an EMS. The most widely reported benefits within the AEC sectors were improving environmental performance and compliance with legislation. Lack of government pressure and lack of expertise were the most widely reported barriers, followed by cost to AEC organisations utilising an EMS. Following on from this inventory of benefits, it was possible to develop of a conceptual roadmap, which illustrates where linkages exist with the SDGs. SDG 4, 8, 12 and 13 are shown as exhibiting the most associations with the benefits. This roadmap was reviewed by AEC sector professionals who confirmed its usefulness. Therefore, it is surmised that the roadmap could aid strategic organisational sustainable planning or for organisations to demonstrate the delivery of their corporate social responsibilities.

Traffic incidents are one of the leading causes of non-recurrent traffic congestions. By detecting these incidents on time, traffic management agencies can activate strategies to ease congestion and travelers can plan their trip by taking into consideration these factors. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Twitter because of the real-time nature of its data. Twitter has been used as a way of predicting revenues, accidents, natural disasters, and traffic. This paper proposes a framework for the real-time detection of traffic events using Twitter data. The methodology consists of a text classification algorithm to identify traffic related tweets. These traffic messages are then geolocated and further classified into positive, negative, or neutral class using sentiment analysis. In addition, stress and relaxation strength detection is performed, with the purpose of further analyzing user emotions within the tweet. Future work will be carried out to implement the proposed framework in the West Midlands area, United Kingdom.

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to discuss an integrated decision analysis framework for the investment justification of implementing alternative information and communication technology (ICT)-based logistics systems in the construction industry so as to enhance the decision-making process in selecting the best alternative. Design/methodology/approach: – An integrated framework is proposed that is composed of a set of interrelated evaluation and analysis techniques that allow the identification and quantification of costs, benefits and risks involved in implementing ICT systems to mitigate problems that hinder the efficient operation of construction logistics. Such techniques include decision trees and multi-attribute decision-making under uncertainty that can be applied to the logistics planning of any new build construction project. Findings: – The probabilities of providing benefits vary among the alternatives, and the probabilities will replace the uncertainties surrounding the impacts of the alternative ICT systems in addressing the identified construction logistics problems with chance events so as to estimate the expected cost of each alternative with respect to each selection attribute. Practical implications: – This paper shows that it is almost certain that the analysed alternative ICT system will provide benefit because its probability of benefit is almost equal to 1. Originality/value: – The framework captures the existing problems of logistics in construction process, potential solution that can address the problems through the implementation of ICT systems and the decision-making process in the selection of appropriate ICT solution. The output of the framework will help to make knowledge-based decision in selecting the best ICT system for addressing construction logistics problems.

Sustainable futures necessitate a concomitant requirement for both sustainable buildings and sustainable behaviours under one roof. The defining principles behind Earthship buildings are to promote the use of local, recycled, waste, natural and renewable materials in their construction, for the adoption of a passive solar design for internal heating/cooling, collection of rainwater as a potable water supply, and encourage the onsite recycling of used water for plants to aid food production. However, despite growth in Earthship buildings constructed across many countries of the world, their appeal has not yet made a noticeable contribution to mainstream housing. Therefore, this study is the first to attempt to explore public perceptions towards the benefits and barriers of Earthship buildings as a means of understanding their demand by potential home builders/owners. Opinions were sought through questionnaire surveys completed by visitors to the Brighton Earthship building. Results reveal that the public believe that the reclamation of rainwater and greywater, renewable energy consumption and use of recycled materials included in the design/build are the major benefits of Earthship buildings, whilst the opportunity for a modern living style in a conservative lifestyle/setting, having a building that is cheaper than an ordinary home and the possibility of living totally off grid are considered the least beneficial reasons for building Earthship homes. Results also reveal that the public believe acquiring necessary permits/permissions to build may be more complicated, securing financial support (mortgage/loan) may be more challenging, and identifying/attaining suitable building plots are major barriers of Earthship buildings, whilst the futuristic/alternative building design, being built from waste materials and being entirely dependent on renewable resources (rainfall/wind/sunshine) are considered the least important barriers to building Earthship homes. Notwithstanding the participants included in this study already having an interest in Earthship buildings/lifestyles, it is concluded that the general public deem the general principles of Earthships as an acceptable choice of building/living but it is the formal means of building or buying an Earthship home that is the greatest hurdle against the uptake of Earthship buildings. Therefore, if sustainable futures are to be realized, it is proposed that a shift away from traditional house building towards Earthship building will require the involvement of all stakeholders immersed in the building process (architects, planners, builders, investors, lawyers) to path an easier journey for Earthship buildings and sustainable living.

Construction planning plays a fundamental role in construction project management that requires teamwork among planners from a diverse range of disciplines and in geographically dispersed working situations. Model-based four-dimensional (4D) computer-aided design (CAD) groupware, though considered a possible approach to supporting collaborative planning, is still short of effective collaborative mechanisms for teamwork because of methodological, technological, and social challenges. Targeting this problem, this paper proposes a model-based groupware solution to enable a group of multidisciplinary planners to perform real-time collaborative 4D planning across the Internet. In light of the interactive definition method, and its computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) design analysis, this paper discusses the realization of interactive collaborative mechanisms from software architecture, application mode, and data exchange protocol. These mechanisms have been integrated into a groupware solution...