The construction industry faces many challenges, including schedule and cost overruns, productivity constraints, and workforce shortages. Compared to other sectors, it lags in digitalization in every project phase. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have emerged as transformative technologies revolutionizing the construction sector. However, a discernible gap persists in systematically categorizing the applications of these technologies throughout the various phases of the construction project life cycle. In response to this gap, this research aims to present a thorough assessment of the deployment of AI and ML across diverse phases in construction projects, with the ultimate goal of furnishing valuable insights for the effective integration of these intelligent systems within the construction sector. A thorough literature review was performed to identify AI and ML applications in the building sector. After scrutinizing the literature, the applications of AI and ML were presented based on a construction project life cycle. A critical review of existing literature on AI and ML applications in the building industry showed that AI and ML applications are more frequent in the planning and construction stages. Moreover, the opportunities for AI and ML applications in other stages were discussed based on the life cycle categorization and presented in this study. The practical contribution of the study lies in providing valuable insights for the effective integration of intelligent systems within the construction sector. Academically, the research contributes by conducting a thorough literature review, categorizing AI and ML applications based on the construction project life cycle, and identifying opportunities for their deployment in different stages.

The incorporation of waste materials generated in many industries has been actively advocated for in the construction industry, since they have the capacity to lessen the pollution on dumpsites, mitigate environmental resource consumption, and establish a sustainable environment. This research has been conducted to determine the influence of different rice husk ash (RHA) concentrations on the fresh and mechanical properties of high-strength concrete. RHA was employed to partially replace the cement at 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight. Fresh properties, such as slump, compacting factor, density, and surface absorption, were determined. In contrast, its mechanical properties, such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength, were assessed after 7, 28, and 60 days. In addition, the microstructural evaluation, initial surface absorption test, = environmental impact, and cost–benefit analysis were evaluated. The results show that the incorporation of RHA reduces the workability of fresh mixes, while enhancing their compressive, splitting, and flexural strength up to 7.16%, 7.03%, and 3.82%, respectively. Moreover, incorporating 10% of RHA provides the highest compressive strength, splitting tensile, and flexural strength, with an improved initial surface absorption and microstructural evaluation and greater eco-strength efficiencies. Finally, a relatively lower CO₂-eq (equivalent to kg CO₂) per MPa for RHA concrete indicates the significant positive impact due to the reduced Global Warming Potential (GWP). Thus, the current findings demonstrated that RHA can be used in the concrete industry as a possible revenue source for developing sustainable concretes with high performance.

The benefits and barriers of implementing building information modeling (BIM) and sustainability have all been the subject of numerous studies that have been performed both separately and in pairs. Despite this, there are presently no studies that include both of these ideas. This paper aims to integrate various technologies, methodologies, and concepts to close this gap specific to the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sectors by outlining how concepts could coexist and support one another. To that goal, a thorough literature study was conducted to determine how recently academics had investigated the synergies between these fields. Results point to synergies, mostly the benefits and barriers of BIM in the sustainable construction sector. After the literature review, 46 identified factors associated with benefits and 21 factors associated with barriers were obtained. Among the factors, “Promoting carbon emission reduction” and “Enhancing material wastage reduction” are the top environmental benefits of implementing BIM in sustainable construction projects. The popular economic benefits were “Improving design efficiency”, “Reducing the overall project costs”, and “Promoting productivity” and the most important social benefit was “Enhancing project safety and health performance”. On the other hand, the lack of experts was the major barrier to BIM implementation in sustainable construction projects. Thus, the findings assist the BIM and sustainability integration’s benefits and barriers for a better and sustainable construction industry.

The construction sector in Bangladesh is facing negative impacts on financial and environmental aspects due to excessive waste generation. The construction industry cannot function properly if its resources are being wasted abruptly. Therefore, this study aims to identify the construction waste-generating factors and develop construction waste management strategies for the construction industry of Bangladesh. This research was conducted through an extensive survey which was done by interviewing various construction professionals and reviewing existing literature rigorously. The survey was conducted on the basis of the Likert scale, and the waste-generating factors were prioritized using the Relative Importance Index (R.I.I). The factor identification revealed that ‘deposited material in a public place’ is the most significant waste generating factor on construction sites. In addition, improper material storage, lack of training of workers, solid waste, and the absence of proper guidelines for workers are also identified as the top reasons for construction waste. Furthermore, stakeholders’ opinions on construction waste minimization have revealed a huge opportunity to manage those potential waste generation factors in a project. This investigation would be able to picture out the whole waste generation scenario and suggest important waste management strategies in the context of the Bangladeshi construction sector.