Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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Author: search.filters.author.Yiu TWStart date: 2020

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Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Investigating the factors that define and influence safety culture: perspectives from expert professionals
    (Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2025-06-01) Ortega N; Paes D; Feng Z; Sutrisna M; Yiu TW
    Reducing the number of harmed workers in the construction sector has proven to be a challenging task. While promoting a Safety Culture (SC) is crucial for achieving that goal, defining it and pinpointing the key factors that influence it is difficult. SC has been defined in many different ways, and there is no consensus on what it exactly entails. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors that define and influence SC in the New Zealand construction sector. This goal was achieved through a modified Delphi study conducted in two rounds to gather experts’ views and reach a consensus. Data collection included in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires. A total of 32 experienced construction safety professionals participated in the first round, and 26 of them continued in the second round. Data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis and Relative Importance Index (RII). The main findings are twofold. First, they indicate the need for a holistic definition of SC incorporating its various defining factors. Second, they indicate that the top-ranked influencing factors are ‘Level of Leadership Commitment,’ followed by ‘Level of Experience and Mindset,’ and ‘Level of Communication.’ Furthermore, the results show the dual nature of these influencing factors, as they can either facilitate or hinder SC depending on whether their level is low or high. The results of this study offer valuable insights that enable practitioners to assess and promote SC in their organizations.
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    A web-based safety management platform to enhance safety for Chinese migrant construction workers
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-10-24) Guan Z; Samarasinghe DAS; Yiu TW; Laird I; Reddy R
    Over the past decade, existing research has investigated various solutions to enhance safety management on construction sites. Among the many solutions, developing a web-based safety platform has increasingly become a key element in safety improvement strategies. International research shows that safety management platforms improve migrant workers’ safety, but evidence for such interventions in New Zealand, especially for Chinese migrant construction workers, remains limited. This study built a web prototype catering to Chinese migrant construction workers in New Zealand. The data collection method was semi-structured interviews, and the effectiveness of the novel web prototype was validated based on respondents’ feedback. Results show that this safety web prototype can effectively improve the safety knowledge and safety awareness of Chinese migrant construction workers by providing local safety policies and conducting multi-frequency long-term safety training tests. The incentive function in this web prototype can motivate Chinese migrant construction workers to use this application and enhance their safety compliance. The limitations of this research include geographical restrictions and a small sample size to evaluate the effectiveness of the prototype. Future research should incorporate a larger, cross-sectional sample to assess the effectiveness of web-based safety awareness solutions, enabling more generalizable conclusions for construction workers of diverse nationalities and regions.
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    Building Information Modelling in quantity surveying practices: current state and future challenges in Hong Kong
    (ITcon, 2022-12) Keung CCW; Yiu TW; Feng Z; Amor R
    The use of building information modelling (BIM) in recent years has accelerated the performance and productivity of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. BIM can promote lean management, with enhanced control over budget and cost. However, the application of BIM for quantity surveying (QS) practices has not been extensively explored. Thus, this study examined the current situation and future challenges of BIM adoption in QS practices in Hong Kong. Questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews were administered to obtain insights from AEC industry practitioners in Hong Kong. Sixty survey respondents and nine interviewees participated in this study. The participants were quantity surveyors from developers, consultancy firms, and contractor companies. Results suggest that quantity surveyors are increasingly adopting BIM in Hong Kong. However, the low quality of BIM models and improper implementation of BIM often limit BIM adoption in QS practices. Another critical challenge is the absence of well-recognised BIM standards. Moreover, the shortage of skilled BIM professionals jeopardises the development and adoption of BIM in QS practices. The findings highlight the current achievements and barriers associated with BIM adoption in QS practices in Hong Kong. Prerequisites for successfully applying BIM in QS practices are suggested herein.
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    Virtual reality for safety training: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis
    (Elsevier B.V., 2023-11-18) Scorgie D; Feng Z; Paes D; Parisi F; Yiu TW; Lovreglio R
    Unsafe behaviour in the workplace and disaster events can lead to serious harm and damage. Safety training has been a widely studied topic over the past two decades. Its primary aim is to save lives and minimise damage but requires regular refreshers. New digital technologies are helping in the process of enhancing safety training for better knowledge acquisition and retention. Among them, Virtual Reality (VR) can provide an engaging and exciting training experience, and there is a need to evaluate its application and effectiveness in safety training. This study aims to investigate VR safety training solutions applied to various industries (excluding medical and military applications), such as construction, fire, aviation, and mining. This was achieved by systematically reviewing 52 articles published between 2013 and 2021 to answer nine research questions. Fourteen domains were examined, with construction and fire safety training being the most prevalent since 2018. Findings reveal that only a small percentage (9.6 %) of the studies explicitly adopted theories while developing and testing VR applications. Additionally, this review highlights a critical need for long-term retention measurements, as only 36 % of studies provided such data. Finally, the two meta-analyses proposed in this work demonstrate that VR safety training outperforms traditional training in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention.
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    Unintended Consequences of Productivity Improvement Strategies on Safety Behaviour of Construction Labourers; A Step toward the Integration of Safety and Productivity
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-03-01) Ghodrati N; Yiu TW; Wilkinson S; Poshdar M; Talebi S; Elghaish F; Sepasgozar SME
    Abstract The construction industry is facing constant pressure to improve its poor safety record and low productivity rate. A significant amount of research has been undertaken to identify the best practices to enhance productivity and safety. Nevertheless, the mainstream research in the field of construction focuses on one of these issues rather than implementing a holistic approach to resolve them. Consequently, the interactions between productivity and safety cannot be fully understood. Recent studies have demonstrated that management strategies and practices for improving labour productivity can trigger a series of unintended consequences that affect safety performance in construction projects. However, the behavioural aspects of these unintended consequences have yet to be investigated. This research addresses the gap by measuring the impacts of seven management strategies for improving labour productivity on the safety behaviour of construction labourers. A total of 191 construction labourers participated in a survey designed based on the Management Strategy Assessment Index (MSAI). The results show that the implemented management strategies for improving labour productivity have a greater impact on shaping safety compliance (SC) behaviours than safety participation (SP) behaviours of labourers. This study took a further step by breaking down the management strategies to their constitutive practices and measuring their impacts on SC and SP, and labour productivity. This paper provides further insight into the complex relationship between the productivity and safety behaviour of construction labourers. The findings can help project managers to improve labour productivity without harming their safety unintentionally.
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    Catastrophic transitions of construction contracting behavior
    (24/11/2008) Cheung SO; Yiu TW; Leung AYT; Chiu OK
    The ways to manage a construction project very much depend on the attitude of the people involved. Collectively this is identified as construction contracting behavior (CCB). The CCB of the construction industry is adversarial as pinpointed in many industry-wide reviews. A more cooperative project delivery approach has therefore been advocated. In fact, drive for efficiency provides the incentive for cooperation. Nevertheless, members of a project team, in representing their respective organizations, are often in conflict. The dichotomous pair of cooperation and aggression forces therefore coexist. It is not uncommon to note that CCB turns aggressive as the construction activities of a project intensify. This change is often sudden and thus matches well with the phenomenon of hysteresis described by the catastrophe theory (CT). It is hypothesized that the dynamics of CCB can be modeled by CT. The three-variable CT models include CCB (as dependent variable), cooperation forces (as normal factor) and aggression forces (as splitting factor). With data collected from a survey fitted by the Cuspfit program, it was found that trust intensity is an effective normal factor. Contract incompleteness and competitive inertia are splitting factors that trigger aggression. © 2008 ASCE.
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    Building Information Modeling Education for Quantity Surveyors in Hong Kong: Current States, Education Gaps, and Challenges
    (1/01/2023) Keung CCW; Yiu TW; Feng Z
    Rapid developments in building information modeling (BIM) are escalating the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry toward digital transformation. However, the lack of skilled BIM professionals is a critical issue slowing this transformation. Currently, few educational institutions include BIM topics in their curricula, especially those developed for quantity surveying (QS) programs. Moreover, the learning outcomes of BIM curricula may not meet the current industrial requirements. Thus, this study investigated the current states, gaps, and challenges of BIM education for QS practices in Hong Kong. This study conducted surveys to determine industrial requirements and a case study to examine the BIM curricula currently offered at Hong Kong educational institutions. The results suggest that the current BIM education for QS practices is in line with the pace of BIM development in the AEC industry. However, some advanced topics are not covered in BIM education. Additionally, the non-standardized BIM competencies to be attained by students lead to uncertainty and challenges in BIM education for quantity surveyors.
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    Blockchain-aided information exchange records for design liability control and improved security
    (1/06/2021) Erri Pradeep AS; Yiu TW; Zou Y; Amor R
    With the recent advances in Information and Communication Technologies in the construction industry, information is exchanged digitally with little regard to the contracts that govern them. Although parties collaborating in project design are contracted to the client, they transact with each other when using BIM and other collaborative practices without any direct contractual relationship among themselves. This results in a lack of design liability control and an increase in claims and disputes. Further, the use of multiple software packages results in the exposure of data to third parties, data corruption and compromise in data privacy (using data for unintended purposes), data integrity (unauthorised access to sensitive data), and data longevity (loss of data post-handover). This study investigates blockchain technology (BCT) to address these issues using a design science research method. The current information exchange processes were mapped to identify the critical transactions that may benefit from record-keeping on the blockchain. Next, a prototype was designed to demonstrate and evaluate the proposed BCT integrated process models. Three key project processes, design review, design coordination and request for information; and two potential conflict scenarios during and post-construction were simulated as part of the evaluation. The prototype's implementation exhibits BCT's ability to record snapshots of individual design inputs to the overall project design and to enable a clear and long-term record of key exchange transactions. This improves the design liability control for contributing stakeholders and the auditability of the exchange records. Further, the proofs derived from such a system are independent of any third-party storage or subscription. Given the nature of records stored in a blockchain, the existence, integrity, and authenticity of information along with its associated metadata can be verified in the long-term as well. Therefore, BCT could be a supplementary technology that supports the existing information exchange systems.
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    Barriers and strategies for building information modelling implementation: a comparative study between New Zealand and China
    (1/01/2023) Ma L; Lovreglio R; Yi W; Yiu TW; Shan M
    Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a sharing platform that can present a parametric 3 D model with various project information in the form of a digital display. In recent years, BIM adoption has become increasing globally as the Architectural, Engineering, Construction (AEC) industry has recognised its benefits. Meanwhile, many challenges of BIM adoption in different countries have been well documented. To address the gap in literature, this study examines the differences and similarities of BIM adoption between New Zealand and China. A questionnaire was conducted across the two countries to investigate the barriers and strategies for the implementation of BIM. Data from 146 respondents was collected in New Zealand and China. The result shows that there is a difference in the perception of Knowledge Barrier, Technology Barrier, Internal Strategy and External Strategy (Legal/Technology viewpoint) between New Zealand professionals and Chinese professionals. The differences identified offer important implications for government agencies to promote BIM implementation and for BIM service providers to better target the end-users.