Current construction engineering management suffers numerous challenges in terms of the trust, information sharing, and process automation. Blockchain which is a decentralised transaction and data management technology, has attracted increasing interests from both academic and industrial aspects since 2008. However, most of the existing research and practices are focused on the blockchain itself (i.e. technical challenges and limitations) or its applications in the finance service sector (i.e. Bitcoin). This paper aims to investigate the potential of applying blockchain technology in the construction sector. Three types of blockchain-enabled applications are proposed to improve the current processes of contract management, supply chain management, and equipment leasing, respectively. Challenges of blockchain implementation are also discussed in this paper.
Over the past decade, electric vehicles (EVs) have been considered in a growing number of models and methods for vehicle routing problems (VRPs). This study presents a comprehensive survey of EV routing problems and their many variants. We only consider the problems in which each vehicle may visit multiple vertices and be recharged during the trip. The related literature can be roughly divided into nine classes: Electric traveling salesman problem, green VRP, electric VRP, mixed electric VRP, electric location routing problem, hybrid electric VRP, electric dial-a-ride problem, electric two-echelon VRP, and electric pickup and delivery problem. For each of these nine classes, we focus on reviewing the settings of problem variants and the algorithms used to obtain their solutions.
While in the EU alone 80 million citizens are suffering from excessive environmental noise, the conventional approach, i.e., reduction of ‘sound level’, does not always deliver the required improvements in quality of life. The growing field of ‘soundscape studies’ is addressing this gap by considering the sound environment as perceived, in context, with an interdisciplinary approach. However, soundscapes are hugely complex, and measuring them as a basis for environmental design requires a step change to the discipline. This paper explores the need for developing ‘soundscape indices’, in the movement from noise control to soundscape creation, adequately reflecting levels of human comfort, the impact of which will be reminiscent of that of the Decibel scale created by Bell Systems a century ago. By analysing the soundscape design of urban open public spaces, the coherent steps for achieving this are also discussed, including characterising soundscapes by capturing soundscapes and establishing a comprehensive database; determining key factors and their influence on soundscape quality based on the database; developing, testing and validating soundscape indices; and demonstrating the applicability of the soundscape indices in the management of our sound environment.
In this paper, we briefly review the development of ranking and selection (R&S) in the past 70 years, especially the theoretical achievements and practical applications in the past 20 years. Different from the frequentist and Bayesian classifications adopted by Kim and Nelson (2006b) and Chick (2006) in their review articles, we categorize existing R&S procedures into fixed-precision and fixed-budget procedures, as in Hunter and Nelson (2017). We show that these two categories of procedures essentially differ in the underlying methodological formulations, i.e., they are built on hypothesis testing and dynamic programming, respectively. In light of this variation, we review in detail some well-known procedures in the literature and show how they fit into these two formulations. In addition, we discuss the use of R&S procedures in solving various practical problems and propose what we think are the important research questions in the field.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly affected the development of enterprises. In the post-pandemic era, blockchain technology has become one of the important technologies to help enterprises quickly gain market competitiveness. The heavy investment required of supply chain stakeholders to employ blockchain technology has hindered its adoption and application. To tackle this issue, this study aims to facilitate the adoption of blockchain technology in a supply chain consisting of a core enterprise and a small/medium-sized enterprise through an effective supply chain contract. We analyze the performance of a cost-sharing (CS) contract and a revenue-sharing (RS) contract and propose a new hybrid CS-RS contract for better performance. We conduct comparative analyses of the three contracts and find that the hybrid CS-RS contract can more effectively incentivize both parties to reach the highest level of blockchain technology adoption and achieve supply chain coordination.
China is now in an era of large-scale metro construction. This paper reviews the nature of Chinese metro engineering with a specific focus on its organization and market mode, cost structure, safety control and schedule management. Then, an examination on recent research in metro engineering of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) is also conducted, which indicates that information and automation based technologies are increasingly used in practice.
Boosting the resilience of power systems is a core requirement of smart grids. In fact, resilience enhancement is crucial to all critical infrastructure systems. In this study, we review the current research on system resilience enhancement within and beyond smart grids. In addition, we elaborate on resilience definition and resilience quantification and discuss several challenges and opportunities for system resilience enhancement. This study aims to deepen our understanding of the concept of resilience and develop a wide perspective on enhancing the system resilience for critical infrastructures.
The high-end equipment intelligent manufacturing (HEIM) industry is of strategic importance to national and economic security. Engineering management (EM) for HEIM is a complex, innovative process that integrates natural science, technology, management science, social science, and the human spirit. New-generation information technology (IT), including the internet, cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence, have made a remarkable influence on HEIM and its engineering management activities, such as product system construction, product life cycle management, manufacturing resources organization, manufacturing model innovation, and reconstruction of the enterprise ecosystem. Engineering management for HEIM is a key topic at the frontier of international academic research. This study systematically reviews the current research on issues pertaining to engineering management for HEIM under the new-generation IT environment. These issues include cross-lifecycle management, network collaboration management, task integration management of innovative development, operation optimization of smart factories, quality and reliability management, information management, and intelligent decision making. The challenges presented by these issues and potential research opportunities are also summarized and discussed.
Intelligent construction technology has been widely used in the field of railway engineering. This work first analyzes the connotation, function, and characteristics of intelligent construction of railway engineering (ICRE) and establishes its system structure from three dimensions, namely, life cycle, layers of management, and intelligent function, to deeply understand the development situation of intelligent railway construction in China. Second, seven key technical support systems of ICRE, which include building information modeling (BIM) standard system for China’s railway sector, technology management platform and life cycle management based on BIM+GIS (geography information system), ubiquitous intelligent perception system, intelligent Internet-of-Things (IoT) commu-nication system based on mobile interconnection, construction management platform based on cloud computing and big data, unmanned operation system based on artificial intelligence, intelligent machinery and robot, and intelligent operation and maintenance system based on BIM and PHM (prediction and health management), are established. Third, ICRE is divided into three development stages: primary (perception), intermediate (substitution), and advanced (intelligence). The evaluation index system of each stage is provided from the aspects of technology and function. Finally, this work summarizes and analyzes the application situation of ICRE in the entire railway sector of China, represented by Beijing–Zhangjiakou and Beijing–Xiong’an high-speed railways. Result shows that the technical support systems of the ICRE have emerged in China and are still in the process of deepening basic technology research and preliminary application. In the future, the ICRE of China’s railway sector will develop toward a higher stage.
E-commerce, new retail, and other changes have highlighted the requirement of high efficiency and accuracy in the logistics service. As an important section in logistics and supply chain management, warehouses need to respond positively to the increasing requirement. The “smart warehouse” system, which is equipped with emerging warehousing technologies, is increasingly attracting the attention of industry and technology giants as an efficient solution for the future of warehouse development. This study provides a holistic view of operations management problems within the context of smart warehouses. We provide a framework to review smart warehouse operations management based on the characteristics of smart warehouses, including the perspectives of information interconnection, equipment automation, process integration, and environmental sustainability. A comprehensive review of relevant literature is then carried out based on the framework with four perspectives. This study could provide future research directions on smart warehouses for academia and industry practitioners.
The global collaboration and integration of online and offline channels have brought new challenges to the logistics industry. Thus, smart logistics has become a promising solution for handling the increasing complexity and volume of logistics operations. Technologies, such as the Internet of Things, information communication technology, and artificial intelligence, enable more efficient functions into logistics operations. However, they also change the narrative of logistics management. Scholars in the areas of engineering, logistics, transportation, and management are attracted by this revolution. Operations management research on smart logistics mainly concerns the application of underlying technologies, business logic, operation framework, related management system, and optimization problems under specific scenarios. To explore these studies, the related literature has been systematically reviewed in this work. On the basis of the research gaps and the needs of industrial practices, future research directions in this field are also proposed.
Through analysis of articles published from 2000 to March 2014 in Automaton in Construction (AUTCON), an international research journal published by Elsevier, this paper summarizes the topics of research and the institutions worldwide where research was conducted in construction safety engineering and management. Seventy-one articles published during this time focused on Information Technology (IT) applications in this field were selected for analysis. The underlying research topics and their related IT implementations are discussed, and research trends in allied specialties are identified.
With the accelerated urbanization in China, passenger demand has dramatically increased in large cities, and traffic congestion has become serious in recent years. Developing public urban rail transit systems is an indispensable approach to overcome these problems. However, the high energy consumption of daily operations is an emerging issue due to increased rail transit networks and passenger demands. Thus, reducing the energy consumption and operational cost by using advanced optimization methodologies is an urgent task for operation managers. This work systematically introduces energy-saving approaches for urban rail transit systems in three aspects, namely, train speed profile optimization, utilization of regenerative energy, and integrated optimization of train timetable and speed profile. Future research directions in this field are also proposed to meet increasing passenger demands and network-based urban rail transit systems.
The low carbon energy transition has attracted worldwide attention to mitigate climate change. Renewable energy (RE) is the key to this transition, with significant developments to date, especially in China. This study systematically reviews the literature on RE development to identify a general context from many studies. The goal is to clarify key questions related to RE development from the current academic community. We first identify the forces driving RE development. Thereafter, we analyze methods for modeling RE developments considering the systematic and multiple complexity characteristics of RE. The study concludes with insights into the target selection and RE development roadmap in China.
Against the background of addressing global climate change and carbon emission reduction, corporate carbon information disclosure (CID) has become an important measure to achieve carbon emission reduction worldwide and a research hotspot closely investigated by the academia. This study provides a systematic overview of literature on CID, including its research trend, theoretical basis, disclosing features, influencing factors, and consequences. Results indicate that, first, CID has been increasing in recent years, but the content and quality of the disclosure still need to be improved. Second, the main influencing factors of CID include company features, corporate governance, environmental performance, institutional characteristics, and stakeholders. Third, the consequences of CID are based mainly on company performance, ecological environment, and investors’ decision-making. Lastly, most studies have confirmed the positive effect of CID on company performance and investors’ decision-making, but the nexus of environmental performance and corporate CID remains to be investigated. Several important future research directions are also proposed based on these results.
Decisions in supply chains are hierarchically organized. Strategic decisions involve the long-term planning of the structure of the supply chain network. Tactical decisions are mid-term plans to allocate the production and distribution of materials, while operational decisions are related to the daily planning of the execution of manufacturing operations. These planning processes are conducted independently with minimal exchange of information between them. Achieving a better coordination between these processes allows companies to capture benefits that are currently out of their reach and improve the communication among their functional areas. We propose a network representation for the multilevel decision structure and analyze the components that are involved in finding integrated solutions that maximize the sum of the benefits of all nodes of the decision network. Although such task is very challenging, significant research progress has been made in each component of this structure. An overview of strategic models, mid-term planning models, and scheduling models is presented to address the solution of each node in the decision network. Coordination mechanisms for converging the integrated solutions are also analyzed, including solving large-scale models, multiobjective optimization, bi-level programming, and decomposition. We conclude by summarizing the challenges that hinder the full integration of multilevel decision making in supply chain management.
Achieving carbon neutrality in China before 2060 requires a radical energy transition. To identify the possible transition pathways of China’s energy system, this study presents a scenario-based assessment using the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) model. China could peak the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions before 2030 with current policies, while carbon neutrality entails a reduction of 7.8 Gt CO2 in emissions in 2060 and requires an energy system overhaul. The assessment of the relationship between the energy transition and energy return on investment (EROI) reveals that energy transition may decrease the EROI, which would trigger increased energy investment, energy demand, and emissions. Uncertainty analysis further shows that the slow renewable energy integration policies and carbon capture and storage (CCS) penetration pace could hinder the emission mitigation, and the possible fossil fuel shortage calls for a much rapid proliferation of wind and solar power. Results suggest a continuation of the current preferential policies for renewables and further research and development on deployment of CCS. The results also indicate the need for backup capacities to enhance the energy security during the transition.
The development of digital transformation in the construction industry has led to the increasing adoption of smart contracts. As programmable applications to automatically write, verify, and enforce transaction conditions, smart contracts can be used in different areas mainly to improve automation level, information security, and built digital environment enhancement. However, the smart contract is commonly mentioned as a blockchain appendage, while its unique connotation and value in the construction industry have not been recognized. Therefore, this study carries out a systematic review based on 81 research articles published from 2014 to 2021 on smart contract applications in construction to explore and highlight their potentials under domain-specific requirements. Results are analyzed according to research type categorization and domain codification. Eight research domains are identified, where the three most highly explored domains are contract and payment, supply chain and logistics, and information management. The integration of smart contracts with other innovative concepts and advanced technologies is analyzed. The applicability, benefits, and challenges of smart contract applications regarding different research domains are discussed.
Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is a modern multivariate analysis technique with a demonstrated ability to estimate theoretically established cause-effect relationship models. This technique has been increasingly adopted in construction management research over the last two decades. Accordingly, a critical review of studies adopting PLS-SEM appears to be a timely and valuable endeavor. This paper offers a critical review of 139 articles that applied PLS-SEM from 2002 to 2019. Results show that the misuse of PLS-SEM can be avoided. Critical issues related to the application of PLS-SEM, research design, model development, and model evaluation are discussed in detail. This paper is the first to highlight the use and misuse of PLS-SEM in the construction management area and provides recommendations to facilitate the future application of PLS-SEM in this field.
Innovation and knowledge diffusion in megaprojects is one of the most complicated issues in project management. Compared with conventional projects, megaprojects typically entail large-scale investments, long construction periods, and conflicting stakeholder interests, which result in a distinctive pattern of innovation diffusion. However, traditional investigation of innovation diffusion relies on subjective feedback from experts and frequently neglects inter-organizational knowledge creation, which frequently emerges in megaprojects. Therefore, this study adopted project network theory and modeled innovation diffusion in megaprojects as intra- and inter-organizational learning processes. In addition, system dynamics and fuzzy systems were combined to interpret experts’ subject options as quantitative coefficients of the project network model. This integrated model will assist in developing an insightful understanding of the mechanisms of innovation diffusion in megaprojects. Three typical network structures, namely, a traditional megaproject procurement organization (TMO), the environ megaproject organization (EMO), and an integrated megaproject organization (IMO), were examined under six management scenarios to verify the proposed analytic paradigm. Assessment of project network productivity suggested that the projectivity of the TMO was insensitive to technical and administrative innovations, the EMO could achieve substantial improvement from technical innovations, and the IMO trended incompatibly with administrative innovations. Thus, industry practitioners and project managers can design and reform agile project coordination by using the proposed quantitative model to encourage innovation adoption and reduce productivity loss at the start of newly established collaborations.
A wide range of industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications have been developed and deployed in recent years. IoT has provided a promising opportunity to build powerful industrial systems and applications by leveraging the growing ubiquity of RFID, wireless, mobile and sensor devices. In an effort to understand the development of IoT in industries, this paper reviews the current research of IoT, key enabling technologies, major IoT applications in industries, and identifies research trends and challenges. As IoT has received support from governments and businesses across the globe, IoT will also greatly impact One Belt One Road (OBOR) in foreseeable future.
Stakeholders remain skeptical in adopting modular integrated construction (MiC) because of the associated risks and uncertainties, although its benefits have been extensively documented. The unique business model of MiC nurtures several risks and uncertainties different from those of the conventional construction approach. Despite the growing attention on MiC with its market expansion, no systematic evaluation is in place to monitor its risks research progress. Accordingly, this research reviewed published literature addressing the risks associated with MiC from 1992 to 2019. Analysis reveals that the research publications on risks of MiC witnessed a steady growth, with considerable progress occurring in the last decade. Result implies that the risk of MiC has gained extra attention in the construction engineering and management domain in recent times. Existing empirical studies have focused heavily on perceived implementation risks, supply chain risks, schedule risks, investment risks, structural risks, ergonomic risks, and MiC risk management strategies, which indicate that MiC is associated with a host of risk events. The research further identified the critical risk events (CREs) in the application of MiC based on frequency of occurrence. The identified CREs contributes to the checklists of risk events in the implementation of offsite construction (OSC). The latter may be useful in risk planning, especially where the MiC is less developed, and fewer or no bespoke risk assessment exists. Research gaps in existing studies are highlighted in this research, and areas for further studies are then proposed. Thus, it makes a useful contribution to the scholarly literature on the risk of OSC and may prove useful to offsite construction researchers, industry practitioners, and project managers.
Maritime shipping is considered the most efficient, low-cost means for transporting large quantities of freight over significant distances. However, this process also causes negative environmental and societal impacts. Therefore, environmental sustainability is a pressing issue for maritime shipping management, given the interest in addressing important issues that affect the safety, security, and air and water quality as part of the efficient movement of freight throughout the coasts and waterways and associated port facilities worldwide. In-depth studies of maritime transportation systems (MTS) can be used to identify key environmental impact indicators within the transportation system. This paper develops a tool for decision making in complex environments; this tool will quantify and rank preferred environmental impact indicators within a MTS. Such a model will help decision-makers to achieve the goals of improved environmental sustainability. The model will also provide environmental policy-makers in the shipping industry with an analytical tool that can evaluate tradeoffs within the system and identify possible alternatives to mitigate detrimental effects on the environment.
Drawing on resource dependence theory, this paper develops and empirically tests a model for understanding how the implementation of building information modeling (BIM) in construction projects impacts the performance of different project participating organizations through improving their interorganizational collaboration capabilities. Based on two sets of survey data collected from designers and general contractors in BIM-based construction projects in China, the results from partial least squares analysis and bootstrapping mediation test provide clear evidence that BIM-enabled capabilities of information sharing and collaborative decision-making as a whole play a significant role in determining BIM-enabled efficiency and effectiveness benefits for both designers and general contractors. The results further reveal that designers and general contractors benefit from project BIM implementation activities significantly non-equivalently, and that this non-equivalence closely relates to the different roles played by designers and general contractors in BIM-enabled interorganizational resource exchange processes. The findings validate the resource dependence theory perspective of BIM as a boundary spanning tool to manage interorganizational resource dependence in construction projects, and contribute to deepened understandings of how and why project participating organizations benefit differently from the implementation of interorganizational information technologies like BIM.
Engineering informatics is an emerging engineering discipline integrating information technology or informatics with a variety of engineering disciplines. It is an interdisciplinary scientific subject focusing on applying advanced information and communications technology (ICT) to a variety of engineering disciplines. Rapid advances in industrial information integration methods have spurred the growth of new techniques that can be used for probing industrial information integration including engineering informatics. These techniques include business process management (BPM), enterprise architecture (EA), enterprise application integration (EAI), service-oriented architecture (SOA), and others. Practical applications may require a combination of these techniques that have originated from different disciplines. These techniques have the potential to contribute to engineering informatics. For integrating complex engineering systems, both formal methods and systems methods are crucial. In this paper, we briefl review the state of the art of engineering informatics as it interfacing with industrial information integration.
Smart cities have rapidly developed in the context of the integration of new digital technologies such as big data, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, blockchains, and virtual reality. These cities have conducted practical innovations and typical cases in many sectors, such as in government, transportation, environmental protection, energy, medical care, and logistics, and have produced many social, economic, and ecological benefits. However, there are still some problems that continue to hinder the construction of smart cities. This paper examines such problems in depth and proposes some relevant countermeasures and suggestions.
The lack of interpretability of the neural network algorithm has become the bottleneck of its wide application. We propose a general mathematical framework, which couples the complex structure of the system with the nonlinear activation function to explore the decoupled dimension reduction method of high-dimensional system and reveal the calculation mechanism of the neural network. We apply our framework to some network models and a real system of the whole neuron map of Caenorhabditis elegans. Result shows that a simple linear mapping relationship exists between network structure and network behavior in the neural network with high-dimensional and nonlinear characteristics. Our simulation and theoretical results fully demonstrate this interesting phenomenon. Our new interpretation mechanism provides not only the potential mathematical calculation principle of neural network but also an effective way to accurately match and predict human brain or animal activities, which can further expand and enrich the interpretable mechanism of artificial neural network in the future.
This study provides a systematic overview of the advent and evolution of reliability systems engineering (RSE) in China, and the latest RSE development, that is, model-based RSE (MBRSE), is emphatically introduced. The establishment of the system architecture and conceptual models of MBRSE is first described. The fundamental theory and methodology of MBRSE are then elaborated, with a V-model as the core of this approach. The development of various MBRSE platforms and the effectiveness of their implementation over the past 30 years are presented. The prospective trends in the development of RSE in China are outlined.
