Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.4
3.1
Journals
Buildings
Special Issues
Innovation in Construction and Project Management: Digital Technologies, Intelligent Systems,...
share announcement

Innovation in Construction and Project Management: Digital Technologies, Intelligent Systems, and Sustainable Solutions

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 4687

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Long Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Interests: megaproject innovation and social responsibility; technological innovation; off-site construction; intelligent decision making; digital transformation
Dr. Zhiguo Shao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qiangdao 266520, China
Interests: built environment system resilience; construction waste management; engineering informatics; construction engineering safety management; smart facility management
Dr. Yudan Dou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Infrastructure Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Interests: technological innovation; digital innovation; technology diffusion; sustainable construction; construction management
Dr. Mengqi Yuan

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Institute for Energy Economics and Policy, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: engineering resources and environmental management; technological innovation; energy economics and policy; construction engineering management; sustainable construction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the convergence impact of multi-dimensional emerging technologies, such as digital, energy, and engineering, as well as the increasing complexity of projects, innovation regarding the sustainability of construction projects has become increasingly significant. However, many issues, such as technology adoption and diffusion, AI opportunities and threats, the convergence of emerging technologies, constraints on carbon targets, and social responsibility in innovation, are deeply embedded in construction and project systems, resulting in uncertainty and challenges. This Special Issue of the journal Buildings concerns the multi-disciplinary research of innovation frontiers in construction and project management. Research findings focusing on fundamental and applied research centered around innovation in construction and project management are welcomed in order to advance the knowledge in this area and improve related practices.

Potential topics for papers include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • The adoption and diffusion of emerging technologies;
  • Advanced intelligent construction;
  • Green and low-carbon innovation in construction and project management;
  • Technology convergence in complex projects;
  • Social responsibility in megaproject innovation;
  • Megaproject innovation ecosystem;
  • Project operation innovation.

Dr. Long Li
Dr. Zhiguo Shao
Dr. Yudan Dou
Dr. Mengqi Yuan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • construction engineering
  • project management
  • emerging technology
  • technology diffusion
  • technology convergence
  • green and low-carbon innovation
  • responsible innovation and development
  • operation management innovation
  • smart facility management

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 3084 KiB  
Article
Determining Average Available Workdays for Roadway Construction Projects Using Long-Term Weather Data—A Case Study for Alabama
by Esthefany Marien Mejia Reyes, Xing Fang and Michael A. Perez
Buildings 2025, 15(9), 1489; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15091489 - 28 Apr 2025
Viewed by 115
Abstract
Construction project durations specified on contracts are influenced by adverse weather conditions such as rainfall and low temperatures. This study aimed to develop an efficient method for determining monthly Average Available Workdays (AAWDs) for roadway construction projects using historical long-term (ten years or [...] Read more.
Construction project durations specified on contracts are influenced by adverse weather conditions such as rainfall and low temperatures. This study aimed to develop an efficient method for determining monthly Average Available Workdays (AAWDs) for roadway construction projects using historical long-term (ten years or more) local weather data. A survey was conducted to understand the status of current practices using weather information for contract time determination by transportation agencies. Excel spreadsheet tools with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programs were developed to process the downloaded long-term weather data with two different formats. Instead of manually processing the short-term (e.g., one–three years) weather data, VBA programs efficiently count for weekends, legal holidays, and adverse weather days as non-workdays each month over the years with weather data (>10 years) and then determine the monthly available workdays (AWDs) and AAWDs. This method was verified using daily records from five completed roadway construction projects. Many contractor-claimed non-workdays due to other factors, not weather-related, that contributed to substantially longer project duration affect the comparison of AWDs determined from nearby weather stations using the developed VBA tools. The method and VBA tools developed were applied to 88 weather stations (10–122 years, average 42 years of data) to determine AAWDs in Alabama, USA, as a case study. Monthly AAWDs in Alabama were grouped into three climate zones: North Region, Central Regions, and South Regions with 185, 193, and 200 AAWDs per year, respectively, with more workdays (17–19 days) in warmer months and fewer (9–11 days) in colder months. The determined AAWDs help both DOTs and construction contractors determine/propose reasonable construction project durations and resolve the construction delay issues. The method and VBA tools can be revised/updated by other DOTs and construction companies for different definitions and thresholds on non-workdays and then efficiently determine AWDs and AAWDs using long-term local weather data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation in Construction and Project Management: Digital Technologies, Intelligent Systems, and Sustainable Solutions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 3620 KiB  
Article
Knowledge Integration and Analysis of Technological Innovation in Prefabricated Construction
by Yudan Dou, Xiaoxue Fu and Tianxin Li
Buildings 2025, 15(2), 240; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15020240 - 15 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 867
Abstract
Prefabricated construction (PC) plays a critical role in advancing the sustainable and high-quality transformation of the construction industry. Nevertheless, the fragmented and variable nature of technological innovations in PC complicates their acquisition, comprehension, and practical application, thereby hindering the process of innovation transformation. [...] Read more.
Prefabricated construction (PC) plays a critical role in advancing the sustainable and high-quality transformation of the construction industry. Nevertheless, the fragmented and variable nature of technological innovations in PC complicates their acquisition, comprehension, and practical application, thereby hindering the process of innovation transformation. In response to these challenges, this study applies knowledge graph techniques to aggregate, correlate, and store knowledge pertaining to PC technological innovations. Specifically, using patent data from the past five years, and grounded in knowledge management and complex network theories, this study employs text mining, topic modeling, and association rule algorithms to perform clustering, evolutionary, and association analyses. The extracted entities and relationships obtained from the analyses are then stored in a Neo4j graph database for the construction and interactive visualization of a knowledge graph for PC technological innovation. According to the knowledge graph, a question-and-answer system framework is further proposed, providing practical application guidance. This research provides a comprehensive overview of the technological landscape, key nodes, and development trends in PC. It makes a meaningful contribution to knowledge management theory and complex network theory, advancing innovative applications in PC technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation in Construction and Project Management: Digital Technologies, Intelligent Systems, and Sustainable Solutions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 9516 KiB  
Article
An Ontology Framework for ERBS (Evidence/Risk-Based Safety) Management of Divisional and Subdivisional Works with High Risk
by Jianjun She, Yilun Zhou, Zihao Guo and Song Ye
Buildings 2024, 14(12), 3740; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14123740 - 24 Nov 2024
Viewed by 841
Abstract
As an important data source, the Building Information Model (BIM) plays an important role in modern building safety management. Numerous studies have closely examined automatic compliance inspections for building safety and the safety management of dangerous projects. However, the value of the BIM [...] Read more.
As an important data source, the Building Information Model (BIM) plays an important role in modern building safety management. Numerous studies have closely examined automatic compliance inspections for building safety and the safety management of dangerous projects. However, the value of the BIM has not been fully exploited in evidence-based practices of building safety. To address this limitation, this paper proposes an ontology-based Evidence/Risk-Based Safety (ERBS) management framework for divisional and subdivisional works with high risk, which includes: (1) BIM data extraction based on dynamo; (2) creation of an ontology based on building information and the ERBS management process model; (3) converting BIM data and evidence into ontology individuals; and (4) integrating the ontology through semantic web technology and using the Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) to conduct rule-based reasoning on the ontology. A case study shows that the framework is effective for the ERBS management of divisional and subdivisional works with high risk. The framework proposed in this study provides effective safety management methods for high-risk projects that can be applied in wider engineering practice in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation in Construction and Project Management: Digital Technologies, Intelligent Systems, and Sustainable Solutions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 951 KiB  
Article
Micro-Process of Open Innovation in Megaprojects Under Sense-Making Perspective
by Fei Li, Quanle Liu and Kai Fang
Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3464; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113464 - 30 Oct 2024
Viewed by 698
Abstract
Compared with traditional closed innovation, open innovation brings more new ideas, technologies, and resources to megaprojects, which is becoming increasingly important in the face of growing complexity and sustainability. Drawing on the application of sense-making theory in organizational change, this study conducts an [...] Read more.
Compared with traditional closed innovation, open innovation brings more new ideas, technologies, and resources to megaprojects, which is becoming increasingly important in the face of growing complexity and sustainability. Drawing on the application of sense-making theory in organizational change, this study conducts an empirical case study to explore how open innovation is carried out in megaprojects, as well as how to explain the processes at the micro level. The Changchun Metropolitan Circle Ring Expressway phase II project was selected as the analytical case and grounded coding technology was adopted to analyze the realization process of open innovation. The results revealed that managers as organizers first completed their own sense making and then influenced others’ sense making via sense giving to unify understanding and complete innovation mode transformation. Moreover, managers need to adjust sense making for themselves and sense giving for others according to interactive feedback. This study illustrated that open innovation strategies need to enact some new relevant routines in order for a cognitive reorientation to take place. A multi-level and multi-dimensional micro-mechanism and process was proposed to guide open innovation behavior in megaprojects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation in Construction and Project Management: Digital Technologies, Intelligent Systems, and Sustainable Solutions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 2631 KiB  
Article
Cloud Model-Based Intelligent Construction Management Level Assessment of Prefabricated Building Projects
by Hongda An, Lei Jiang, Xingwen Chen, Yunli Gao and Qingchun Wang
Buildings 2024, 14(10), 3242; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14103242 - 13 Oct 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1601
Abstract
Intelligent construction is vital for achieving new building industrialization by enhancing prefabricated buildings through integrated, digital, and intelligent management across production and construction processes. Despite its significance, detailed research on evaluating the intelligent construction management (ICM) level of prefabricated projects remains limited. This [...] Read more.
Intelligent construction is vital for achieving new building industrialization by enhancing prefabricated buildings through integrated, digital, and intelligent management across production and construction processes. Despite its significance, detailed research on evaluating the intelligent construction management (ICM) level of prefabricated projects remains limited. This study aims to develop a comprehensive, multi-level, multi-dimensional ICM assessment system. By reviewing the literature, engaging in expert discussions, and conducting case studies—specifically using a project in Guangzhou as an example—this study employs the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and entropy weight methods to assign indicator weights. Utilizing cloud model theory, it establishes evaluation standards for intelligent construction management. This model identifies the project’s ICM level, suggests practical improvement methods, and validates its applicability. This work not only advances theoretical understanding but also provides a practical framework for assessing ICM levels in prefabricated projects, thus contributing significantly to the field by offering new research perspectives and empirical evidence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation in Construction and Project Management: Digital Technologies, Intelligent Systems, and Sustainable Solutions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop