The Coronavirus pandemic has badly affected everyone on the earth. Apart from losing thousands of lives, businesses and individuals are going to be affected by the long-lasting financial effects due to an expected global recession. The impact of the financial crises can, however, be reduced if proper measured are put in place. This article aims to investigate the impact of Coronavirus on the construction industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries and provide recommendations to help the industry to sustain during this period of crisis. A qualitative research method involving face-to-face online interviews held with the construction industry professionals was adopted to achieve the aims and objectives of the research. Four main aspects of the impact on the construction industry are derived from analysis of interviews: 1) delays, 2) workforce management, 3) health and safety, and 4) legal issues. Recommendations are provided so that construction organizations in the GCC region can reduce the impact of Coronavirus on its businesses.
Due to its wider applications and advantages, 3D printing has attracted the attention of a number of industries in the past years. Although the implementation of 3D printing in many industries still has challenges, the progress in the construction industry is particularly slow. This article, therefore, attempts to explore the key factors that highly influence the 3D printing adaptation and implementation in construction. A qualitative research method considering the systematic review was adopted to achieve this aim.Relevant data spanning over a period of 20 years (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019) considering four main databases were collected using specified keywords. A total of 137 articles were downloaded and 43 were finally selected after the screening criteria were imposed. The results from this review enabled to categorize the derived factors broadly into four categories including Technology, Organization, Environment, and Cost. Each of these main factors is constituted by sub-factors. An understanding of these factors would be helpful to develop effective strategies towards the adaptation and implementation of 3D printing in the construction industry. Since construction industry characteristics vary from region to region, the significance of these factors in different regions could be different and thus need to be investigated further.
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) member countries, upon mutual understanding have identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be achieved by 2030. According to several reports, some countries are reflecting good progress but overall, no country is on track towards achieving all the UN SDGs. This article aims to show the progress and commitment of the United Arab Emirates towards UN SDGs. A qualitative research approach using a systematic literature review following PRISMA compliance and a semi-structured interview was adapted to achieve the aim of this research. The results reflect that Emirates has achieved only one goal. Most of the remaining goals are not on track to be achieved by 2030. In fact, some of the goals related to Energy and Climate are getting more riskier. The country under its different initiatives aims to invest a total of US $ 163.35 billion in different projects that target to achieve 50% clean energy by 2050. It is, however, not clear from the government strategy that how these targets will be achieved. Similarly, the government needs to ensure a close relationship between organizations so that the action of one unit doesn't derail the plans of other organizations.
In this article, the ongoing and planned projects for financial year 2015-2016 in different sectors in Oman are presented. While specific focus is on the construction industry, the costs of accidents associated with projects in different sectors are estimated by two criteria, considering the number of workers and projects value. Although the cost of accidents is accumulating to a huge amount, construction organizations and the government can play their role in reducing the number of accidents and thus the total costs of accidents in construction. The financial benefits of preventive cost of the accidents are discussed briefly. A better understanding of the financial benefits of improved safety performance will encourage construction organizations in Oman to enhance their safety performance. The role of a safety and health regulatory organization for conducting inspections and enforcement of safety and health law is significantly important for overall construction safety improvement. Such organization will not only improve the safety and health performance in construction and other sectors, but will also be a source of revenue and a support to the country's economy. For a more reliable and true cost of accidents, further research is recommended considering Oman's construction specific factors to estimate the cost of accidents.
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