Exploring Applications of Blockchain Technology in the Construction Industry

Shojaei, Alireza

doi:10.14455/isec.res.2019.78

Cited by 51 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Big Data, and Analytics "circular economy" AND ("big data" OR "big data analytics") AND (construction OR building OR "built environment") 9 0 0 Blockchain Technology "circular economy" AND (blockchain OR "block chain") AND (construction OR building OR "built environment") 9 2 [156,197] Building Information Modelling "circular economy" AND (bim OR "building information model*") AND (construction OR building OR "built environment") 45 26 [43,48,49,54,162,166,168,192,194,195,197,205,206] Digital Marketplaces "circular economy" AND (marketplace OR "market place" OR "digital market*") AND (construction OR building OR "built environment") Geographical Information System "circular economy" AND (gis OR "Geograph* information system") AND (construction OR building OR "built environment") 14 5 [104,106,188,190] Material Passports and Databanks "circular economy" AND (passport OR "material passport" OR "resource passport" OR databank OR database) AND (construction OR building OR "built environment") 60 11 [50,96,180,191,194,195,209,210] The Internet of Things "circular economy" AND (iot OR "internet of things" OR "rfid" OR "wireless sensor networks") AND (construction OR building OR "built environment") 25 8 [54,55,197,201,[211][212][213] Total 265 77…”

Section: Mapped Onto the Cdb Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From a CE perspective, BCT is considered to be an enabling technology, particularly for the management of complex information networks in supply chain management [155,156]. In a sector that is characterized by low productivity and a fragmented supply chain [38], BCT might offer opportunities to leverage efficiency and transparency to maintain the value of resources along their lifecycle.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Circular Digital Built Environment: An Emerging Framework

2021

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Digital technologies are considered to be an essential enabler of the circular economy in various industries. However, to date, very few studies have investigated which digital technologies could enable the circular economy in the built environment. This study specifically focuses on the built environment as one of the largest, most energy- and material-intensive industries globally, and investigates the following question: which digital technologies potentially enable a circular economy in the built environment, and in what ways? The research uses an iterative stepwise method: (1) framework development based on regenerating, narrowing, slowing and closing resource loop principles; (2) expert workshops to understand the usage of digital technologies in a circular built environment; (3) a literature and practice review to further populate the emerging framework with relevant digital technologies; and (4) the final mapping of digital technologies onto the framework. This study develops a novel Circular Digital Built Environment framework. It identifies and maps ten enabling digital technologies to facilitate a circular economy in the built environment. These include: (1) additive/robotic manufacturing, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) big data and analytics, (4) blockchain technology, (5) building information modelling, (6) digital platforms/marketplaces, (7) digital twins, (8) the geographical information system, (9) material passports/databanks, and (10) the internet of things. The framework provides a fruitful starting point for the novel research avenue at the intersection of circular economy, digital technology and the built environment, and gives practitioners inspiration for sustainable innovation in the sector.

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Section: Mapped Onto the Cdb Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Circular Digital Built Environment: An Emerging Framework

2021

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“…Shojaei [7] sees construction benefiting from Blockchain in the following applications: (1) smart contracts, (2) supply chain management and circular economy; (3) Building Information Modelling (BIM); (4) Facility Management (FM); (5) sustainability. The term smart contract was first used by Nick Szabo in 1994 when he proposed using digital contracts as a guarantee for automated execution when requirements were met [8].…”

Section: Blockchain and Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FM using Building Maintenance Systems (BMS) plus Blockchain is also expected to help controlling the advanced processes such as maintenance and demolition. The last field discussed by Shojaei [7] was sustainability. Sustainability goals will be easier to achieve if Blockchain was used in the supply chain because of material transparency which will give accurate whole life cycle cost and carbon emission estimates.…”

Section: Blockchain and Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risks and Opportunities for Reforming Construction with Blockchain: Bibliometric Study

Darabseh

Martins

2020

Civ Eng J

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Emerging technologies are always treated with caution, and Blockchain is no exception to this rule. The AECO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations) sector is considered conservative when it comes to technology adoption, which is often positive in an industry that deals with a vital commodity that could harm humans or result in catastrophe. However, excessive caution also stifles innovation, as shown in the industry’s low R&D expenditure when compared to other industrial activities. In recent years, the AECO sector has benefited from the adoption of new information management tools and systems that allow professionals to develop, share and store construction data more effectively. These tools have successfully tackled many of the traditional interoperability issues that have affected the industry, but several challenges remain unsolved. Indeed, effective real-world communication depends, not only on the compatibility between data formats and systems, but also on issues such as privacy, transparency, and trust. Blockchain has been adopted in different activities as a tool to address these issues, but its impact in the construction industry remains scarce. This paper presents a bibliometric study for the available literature on Blockchain implementation in the AECO sector. In addition to the bibliometric review, content analysis for the literature retrieved is presented to provide a clear vision of the current directions regarding Blockchain technology adoption. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the maturity of Blockchain in Construction literature using statistics based on the available bibliometrics in addition to content analysis. The main results show that although the number of articles about the use of Blockchain in Construction has increased, no studies that present ready to use solutions were found. Instead, the covered studies discuss the technical capabilities of the technology and suggest possible fields of implementation, such as smart contracts and automated payments. Study limitations include the limited amount of literature that can be found on major indexing services, which cover a relatively short reference period.

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“…Therefore, the construction industry is struggling to make significant progress toward the broad scope of sustainability given the increasing need for efficient use of resources combined with the high complexity of projects and constant demand for high quality and cost control. One way to solve these issues would be through the implementation of digital and disruptive technologies such as blockchain technology, which has shown to improve the supply chain of other industries (Abeyratne and Monfared, 2016), the overall sustainability (Kouhizadeh and Sarkis, 2018) and has potential for the AEC industry (Shojaei, 2019).…”

Section: State Of the Art Of The Built Asset Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the feasibility of blockchain technology as an infrastructure for improving built asset sustainability

Shojaei

Wang

Fenner

2019

BEPAM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show the feasibility of blockchain technology to perform as an infrastructure for improving built asset sustainability by providing all the necessary information for better decision making at all the stages of its life cycle. Design/methodology/approach Blockchain technology can be used as a tool to build a reliable and secure decentralized information system to capture and disseminate all the data required for different sustainability assessment models. A model is designed and tested through a synthetic scenario to substantiate the research objective with empirical work. Findings It is shown that blockchain can revolutionize the current state of knowledge for long-term sustainability thinking and provide necessary information in different stages of the life cycle of a built asset. With the proposed decentralized, transparent and comprehensive database using blockchain, the life cycle assessment methods can become much more inclusive and reliable. The new holistic analysis of the built asset sustainability enables better decision making in design, build, operation and demolition of each asset. Originality/value This paper proposes and tests a model for using blockchain as an infrastructure to support built asset sustainability. Practitioners from different backgrounds at different stages of a built asset life cycle can use such a network to make better decisions and better assess the sustainability of their built assets.

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Exploring Applications of Blockchain Technology in the Construction Industry

Cited by 51 publications

References 3 publications

Circular Digital Built Environment: An Emerging Framework

Circular Digital Built Environment: An Emerging Framework

Risks and Opportunities for Reforming Construction with Blockchain: Bibliometric Study

Exploring the feasibility of blockchain technology as an infrastructure for improving built asset sustainability

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