A study was conducted to identify the primary sources and types of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, determine current and potential management actions which can be applied to the respective wastes, and assess the potential benefits, barriers, and recommendations towards the implementation of a C&D waste management plan in Trinidad and Tobago—a Caribbean Small Island Developing State (SIDS). This process is lacking locally, and will benefit decision makers and other stakeholders in proper management of C&D waste. Currently, the primary method of waste disposal is landfilling. The structured questionnaire survey method was used to collect the data, and data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA with appropriate post-tests. Results showed that wood, plastic, cardboard, gypsum board, and steel were identified as the most wasted materials on site, with the top sources being attributable to design, operations, and residual causes. It can be inferred that if materials are not being reused, they are being landfilled, as these were the two primary waste treatment methods identified as being used for all materials. If waste management practice gathers enough support from all respective authorities and stakeholders, the general consensus is that all materials listed have recycle/reuse potential in Trinidad and Tobago. The top agreed upon advantages of C&D waste management were all directly related to sustainability, and the barriers to implementation identified were related to general lack of support from respective stakeholders and authorities. From the overall results, it can be concluded that there is not enough evidence to suggest that larger contractors have more positive attitudes and behaviors towards C&D waste management. Although the data are local, the findings from this research can be used as guidelines by the other Caribbean SIDS nations in formulating/comparing their own waste management practices.

This paper investigates the conflicting and contrasting views between two prominent schools of thought (SOT), the conventional project management empirical school and the incoming behavioural and psychological sciences, to explain the cost overrun phenomenon in transportation infrastructure projects. Although theories within these SOTs seem to coexist and are used interchangeably, there exists a widening knowledge gap that leads to conflicting and contrasting ideological views. In this paper, we contend that there is a lack of a cross-fertilisation mechanism to fuse and co-join contemporary theories on cost overruns. This has led to the encapsulation and fragmented adhocracy in theory building. Utilising a critical review approach, this study proposes the concepts of ideological distancing and encapsulation between “empiricism” and “behavioural” SOTs as the focus of analyses for understanding the root causes of cost overruns in project studies. The study showed that the extant debate on cost overruns is limited and divergent, effectively contributing to the problem of continued expansion and non-convergence of theories that maintain parallel identities. This creates a space for inquiry, reflecting, theorising, and debating for the convergence of SOTs on cost overrun research and theories on what can be deemed project knowledge. This paper contributes to extant project studies by identifying the need for convergence and co-joining theories with different epistemes through causal linkages. Consequently, this will improve the public sector’s infrastructure policymaking by exposing the theoretical limitations of the current ad hoc manner and application of project management concepts based on the project professionals’ bounded decision-making rationalities.

A pandemic is a force majeure event, and contracting parties can invoke conditions under force majeure to minimize liability for unforeseen, uncontrollable, and unavoidable circumstances. This study develops a conceptual model to assist in the management of delays and cost overruns due to force majeure events arising from the construction sector in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). A critical case study analysis of past epidemics and pandemics was conducted to develop a survey questionnaire for administration to construction professionals in Trinidad and Tobago. Based on the empirical data of 65 construction professionals, the structural equation model shows that there are strong causal effects from the implications of COVID-19 and force majeure events, which in turn have a dire impact on the construction industry. The leading implication of COVID-19 is the drastic increases in the cost of materials. Also, granting an extension of time to contractors was the main risk variable under the force majeure conditions. From the results, the measurement model verifies that events under force majeure and its perceived implications strongly influence the construction industry, and proposes that force majeure contractual clauses require explicit treatment of the periodic reoccurrence of pandemics to avoid conflicts among contracting parties. This research explores and builds on new avenues from the latest COVID-19 scholarship to better understand existing impacts on the construction industry, and consequently add to the novel body of knowledge on the implications of pandemics on construction contracts. Overall, this research provides a risk-guidance framework for construction professionals and academia to mitigate unforeseen, uncontrollable, and unavoidable risks on construction projects.

In the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), public sector infrastructure projects (PSIPs) fail to both meet targeted performance metrics and deliver on the intended benefits to society. In terms of the cost performance metric, cost overruns (COs) beyond the initial contract value are more of a norm than a unique occurrence. Therefore, to ensure economic sustainability for SIDS, and value for money on PSIPs, there is a need to investigate and evaluate the risk impacts on COs. The purpose of this research was to identify and evaluate the perceived cost overrun risk factors that are within the primary project stakeholders’ sphere of control, and to reduce the ongoing ambiguities that exist in the prioritization of these risks. This was achieved by extracting critical risk factors from selected comparative studies in developing countries to formulate a closed-ended questionnaire to be administered to construction professionals in Trinidad and Tobago. Thereafter, the process of fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) was used to develop a risk model based on three tiers of risks: 11 critical risk factors, 3 critical risk groupings (CRGs) and an overall risk level (ORL). The results showed that the two highest-ranked critical risks were project funding problems and variations by client. The leading critical risk grouping was client-related risk (5.370), followed by professional-related risk (4.815) and physical risk (4.870). The ORL was 5.068. Based on the FSE’s linguistic scaling, the CRGs and the ORL are perceived to be high risks in PSIPs. This research adds to the CO body of knowledge in primarily three ways. Firstly, the study extends the comparative assessment previously undertaken in scholarship into the context of SIDS to build on the generalizability of this context-specific phenomenon. Secondly, the FSE evaluation undertaken provides a practical tool to be promoted for use in SIDS’ construction industry among practitioners to focus and prioritize the critical risks in the planning phases and improve on contemporary risk practices in the execution phases of projects. Finally, this quantitative model approach is recommended to supplement the traditional qualitative risk management practices adopted in SIDS, thus contributing towards the overall improved economic sustainability and viability of PSIPs.

Underestimating costs in major public sector social infrastructure development projects is a highly contested and problematic issue. Several gaps exist in the identification of root causes of cost overruns. Behavioural science academics advocate political and psychological explanations as root causes for cost overruns against technical factors, such as errors and omissions by engineers, practitioners and scientists. Most studies in this field primarily concentrate on developed countries. Although some studies have been undertaken in developing countries, very little attention is given to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This paper presents a case study of public sector social housing construction programmes in a Caribbean SIDS to further understand the root causes of cost overruns. Primary and secondary data spanning across two different political cycles were collected to test the concepts of whether political influences or technical influences are the true root causes of cost overruns. It was found that political explanations based on the psycho-strategic concept are the leading sources of cost risks on the final estimated contract price. This study strengthens the argument and discusses how strategic decisions emanating from the political directorate outweigh and influence informed technical decisions formulated during the planning stages.

International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Technology (IConETech-2020)