Statistics show that novice and experienced construction workers face different risks of construction accidents. However, there is very little work on this topic. This study conducted empirical experiments to quantifying the effectiveness of immersive virtual-reality-based safety training (IVST) across 6 worker specialties in terms of facing 17 hazardous scenarios at real construction sites. An immersive virtual reality–based safety training system (IVSTS) is proposed to measure the effectiveness of IVST programs with regard to six specialties in 2 controlled groups: (1) novice workers (40 college students), and (2) experienced workers (40 randomly selected construction practitioners). The study results indicate that the proposed IVSTS improved the safety performance index of all 80 participants by 14.12% in terms of correct selection of personal protection equipment, and by 28.95% in terms of hazardous scenario identification. The improvement of safety learning performance of the novice workers was better than that of the experienced workers, especially for hazardous scenario identification, with a 15.90% higher improvement index. The improvement suggestions for the existing IVST program were summarized according to the influence of the individual characteristics of the trainees on the learning effect between the novice and the experienced IVST programs.

The facility safety is a highly important issue in educational institutions and public facilities, where the safety and health of the occupants (students, educational and public service staff) is a high-order priority. The research hypothesizes that a synergy exists between the maintenance and safety of public facilities. Analytical–empirical research methods were aimed at the development of an integrated maintenance–safety framework. The framework was validated through inferential statistics and a case study. A correlation (R²) of 0.74 between the level of maintenance and the safety level of 24 educational facilities was found using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The levels of maintenance and of safety observed were marginal. An innovative Integrated Safety–maintenance performance framework was developed for synergetic safety–maintenance monitoring, control and management. The framework proposes a cycle loop of safety–maintenance–performance audits of facilities as a key tool for advanced maintenance and safety management in public facilities. The framework was validated in a case study of public facility. The time history of maintenance performance and safety shows a high level of fitness (R² = 0.8865, p-Value < 0.05). These research findings stress that integrated safety and maintenance should be implemented as a unified procedure to enhance the advanced maintenance performance and safety climate in public facilities management.

Virtual reality (VR) has been widely used in education and training, but few studies have used it in education on construction site planning. Accordingly, this study developed an immersive VR-based education system for construction site planning and evaluated it in classroom-based tests with 114 students. Statistical analyses revealed that the VR system improved students’ learning outcomes compared when conventional paper-based learning. Specifically, students with lower pretest subject knowledge achieved similar scores to top-ranked students after undergoing VR education. Moreover, VR education was more effective for learning concepts than it was for memorization. A single-source teaching approach was also more effective in improving learning outcomes than a multisource approach for VR learning. In summary, this study investigated three previously unexplored areas: targeting the ideal recipients for VR education and training, determining the appropriate problem types for VR education and training, and identifying the effectiveness of VR education and training for construction site planning.

Presold homes refer to houses that are sold before construction has begun or while the construction is still underway. To facilitate the selection and purchase of houses by clients, construction companies usually use sample houses, models, or videos to show the appearance of new houses being constructed. Clients have numerous opportunities to participate in the spatial planning and spatial allocation of the houses because these houses have not yet been constructed, and clients can direct the style and materials used for interior partition walls and furnishings. However, when discussing housing styles with their clients, construction companies often depend on their imagination to create three-dimensional images depicting the interior layout of houses. Construction companies can neither immediately present new styles when clients request changes to partition walls or styles nor estimate the costs of the changes. Consequently, clients cannot immediately decide on such changes, which then leads to poor communication between the two parties. Accordingly, this study designed a system that integrates building information modeling (BIM) and virtual reality (VR). Through this system, clients can change and immediately view house styles in immersive VR and decide on whether the changes meet their demands. Furthermore, the designed system is linked to a unit price database for materials. When clients make alterations in the system, it automatically calculates the costs of the changes and then helps the client determine whether the changes are within their budgets. The results of this study indicate that the designed system can accurately and rapidly achieve cost estimation. Furthermore, the proposed system ensures consistency between BIM and virtual environment information, thereby promoting the application of BIM in the stages of a building life cycle subsequent to building design.

This paper presents a novel approach for measuring the cost requirements and related values for building information modeling (BIM) adoption using the adaptive analytic hierarchy process approach. The proposed approach considers the importance of each BIM use item in relation to its cost, allowing for prioritization of BIM uses based on their relative value while considering prerequisite relationships and budgetary constraints. The effectiveness of the approach was demonstrated through empirical validation involving a survey of 50 construction industry professionals, and two BIM use prioritization methods (project objective- oriented and value- oriented) were recommended for decision-making under budget constraints. The lessons learned from the empirical case study include the importance of Government’s role and the industrial standards in evaluating cost-benefit and promoting for BIM adoption, the different contributions of BIM uses across project phases, and the diverse perceptions of BIM cost requirements among different participants. These lessons are invaluable for countries planning BIM implementation. This paper also demonstrates the development and empirical validation of a novel approach for BIM use adoption under limited budgets, which can assist decision-makers in selecting appropriate BIM use items and estimating their associated costs.

This study presents an innovative approach to seamlessly integrate Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to facilitate layout changes and accurate cost estimation in construction and architectural projects. By leveraging the synergy between these two powerful tools, our system streamlines the design process, enhances visualization, and provides real-time cost projections, ultimately improving project efficiency and decision-making. An immersive cost estimation system is developed in this study to realize the previously mentioned concept. By implementing the system to the real case, it is observed that it indeed assists clients in making decisions regarding whether to proceed with design changes. Through practical implementation in real-world scenarios, our system has demonstrated its effectiveness in aiding clients in making informed decisions regarding the adoption of design changes.