Developing project evaluation models for smart sustainable practices implementation in construction projects: a comparative study between Nigeria and Hong Kong

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the key facilitating factors for smart sustainable practices (SSP) and develop a project evaluation model (PEM) for SSP implementation in Nigeria and Hong Kong. SSP is coined from the integration of digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) to facilitate sustainability practices.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a quantitative research design approach using empirical questionnaire surveys to solicit the opinions of 69 and 97 construction practitioners in Nigeria and Hong Kong. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to identify the potential survey respondents. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation technique was used to develop the PEMs.FindingsThe findings revealed that adequate technical expertise of the SSP processes is critical in enhancing its implementation in Hong Kong and Nigeria; as well as the provision of training programs for specialists in smart and sustainable initiatives. Meanwhile, the study's findings advocated that for an SSP-enabled construction project, its project performance is mainly influenced by the client's satisfaction level and the early involvement of the project teams.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's results are limited to the Nigeria and Hong Kong construction industries.Practical implicationsConstruction stakeholders such as the clients, developers, contractors can utilize the PEMs to determine and track SSP initiatives implementation in building projects in a reliable and practical way.Originality/valueNo tool has been developed for evaluating SSP initiatives at the project level in the construction industry. Using case studies of Hong Kong and Nigeria, PEM indices were developed to measure and track SSP implementation in construction projects.

Cloud-based sustainability assessment (CSA) system for automating the sustainability decision-making process of built assets

“…thermal comfort analysis, energy performance analysis, waste management, CO2 emission analysis. However, BIM need to be integrated with IoTs to facilitate its use for these building sustainability analyses (Olawumi & Chan, 2021).…”

Implementation of Digital Technologies in Construction Companies: Establishing a Holistic Process which Addresses Current Barriers

“…Another key finding which might lead to the rarity of a generalized implementation process are the variety of country-based studies on digital technologies in the construction industry, e.g., to boost productivity in New Zeeland [42]. It is noticeable that most of the country-specific research from the CLD is from Asia (China [24], Singapore [43,44], India [6,45] and Russia [46,47]) or Africa (Nigeria [19,48] and South Africa [33,49]). While this research provides insights for the researchers and construction industry in the corresponding countries, the viewpoint is limited towards a specific region and individual requirements.…”

“…While this research provides insights for the researchers and construction industry in the corresponding countries, the viewpoint is limited towards a specific region and individual requirements. This becomes especially noticeable when considering, e.g., digital technologies for public procurement in a country [46] or comparing individual digitalization practices in construction projects between two countries [48].…”

Critical success factors for managing construction small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries of Middle East: Evidence from Iranian construction enterprises

“…CFA tests the degree of conformity between the theoretical and experimental structures of research and evaluates the causal relationships between the components and sub-components of research (Klein, 1993). As such, CFA is basically a method of testing a hypothesis and is used when the researcher hypothesises the relationships of indicators with factors and wants to measure the data for a predetermined structure (Olawumi & Chan, 2021;Juhari et al, 2020;Shurrab et al, 2019). Figure 2 shows the factor loadings for all items in the questionnaire survey.…”