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Topic Review
Fee Variability among Built Environment Professionals in SA
The capacity of professional services in the built environment to produce revenue and employment has contributed to the significant impact of the built environment on socio-economic development. Because of the market’s competitiveness, it is common practice in the South African construction industry for professionals to provide heavily discounted professional fees on building projects.
  • 439
  • 11 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Emotional-Intelligence and Decision-Making Association: Improving Productivity UK Construction-Industry
Sixty-five per cent of construction project failures stem from various challenging factors, often associated with human error factors (HEF) and the escalating complexity and technical demands within the UK construction industry. Successfully navigating these challenges requires not only technical skills but also a robust set of ‘soft skills’. Despite the significance of these findings, there is a considerable gap in the perception, uptake, and application of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the UK construction sector, particularly concerning its impact on the performance of construction professionals and the enhancement of productivity. This research investigated the relationship between EI and the decision-making processes of construction professionals in the industry, aiming to improve productivity. The goal was to uncover the extent of the association between various EI models and decision-making for construction professionals, as well as to understand the perception of EI among construction professionals and its critical role in their decision-making to boost productivity, ensure project success and safeguard project team members.  Data were collected using a mixed-method research design that incorporated both quantitative and qualitative studies. Twenty-two construction professionals participated in semi-structured (open-ended) interviews, while forty completed a survey questionnaire. The analysis utilised the six-phase reflexive thematic analysis method by Braun and Clarke (2022). From the qualitative data, the study revealed a correlation between individuals' perceived EI competence and their decision-making contexts rather than their overall scores. The findings carry practical implications for the construction industry and offer insights for project team members. Overall, the study indicated a stronger link between decision-making and EI than technical skills, particularly in contexts requiring additional competencies. The results suggest that EI is a notable deficiency, and understanding EI in the UK construction industry is a crucial determinant of construction professionals' performance and enhanced productivity. This research is significant for both researchers and industry practitioners as it sheds light on how construction professionals perceive information and make decisions. Additionally, the study contributes to professional practices and the body of knowledge within the construction sector. The aim is to evaluate construction professionals'  perceptions of EI competence concerning decision-making during project execution to boost productivity in mega-projects.
  • 287
  • 29 Sep 2025
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Masonry Arches: Thrust Line and Strength
The concept of ‘thrust line’ has its roots in historical contributions that laid the foundation for the development of modern tools useful for the limit analysis of masonry arches and vaults. This concept can be traced back to two different, but related, notions: ‘line of resistance’ and ‘line of pressure’. In this paper, both historical contributions and recent developments of the thrust line method will be discussed with a focus on those formulations which take into account the material’s properties, in particular compressive strength.
  • 32
  • 10 Mar 2026
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
A SWOT Analysis of Modular Construction
Modular construction is generally defined as a typical offsite construction approach that can improve environmental sustainability throughout the building project lifecycle. Based on this situation, identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) while promoting this sustainable construction method effectively during the urbanisation process is essential. Generally, modular construction is a sustainable building approach that can improve project sustainability, considering the environmental, social, economic, and technological aspects. A comprehensive understanding of the basic situation of prefabricated construction is worthwhile to ensure the widespread adoption of this offsite building method. By employing the SWOT analytical framework, this study adopts a literature review approach to conduct the investigation. In terms of the project results, the core strengths of using modular construction include improving environmental sustainability, enhancing management effectiveness, and improving construction safety and quality. The major weaknesses, on the other hand, are a lack of expertise and research, excessively high initial costs, and difficulties in stakeholder coordination. On the other hand, the major opportunities include promoting the SDGs and other policies, the Industrial Revolution 4.0, and urbanisation and building demands. The main threats, however, include substitute construction technologies, imperfect building codes and standards, and a lack of social and market acceptance. Further research can increase the sample size and collect more accurate firsthand data to validate the results of the current investigation, which can increase the effectiveness of promoting modular construction in the targeted regions.
  • 25
  • 22 Jan 2026
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Intelligent Eyes on Buildings: A Scientometric Mapping and Systematic Review of AI-Based Crack Detection and Predictive Diagnostics of Building Structures
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based crack detection in buildings uses computer vision and deep learning to automatically identify structural cracks from inspection images. In recent years, many studies have explored this topic, but the overall development of the field, its methodological practices, and the remaining challenges are still not fully clear. Unlike most previous reviews that focus mainly on technical methods, this study combines a large-scale scientometric mapping of the research field with a focused technical analysis of recent AI-based crack detection methods specifically applied to building structures. This study therefore provides a dual-layer review covering research published between 2015 and 2025. A total of 146 Scopus-indexed publications were analysed using Visualization of Similarities viewer (VOSviewer) to examine publication growth, thematic evolution, collaboration patterns, and citation structures. In addition, a focused technical review of 36 highly relevant studies was carried out to analyse task formulations, model families, datasets, evaluation protocols, and methodological practices. The results show a rapid increase in research activity after 2020, largely driven by advances in deep-learning and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based inspections. At the same time, collaboration networks remain uneven, and citation influence is concentrated in a limited number of research communities. The technical review further shows that most studies focus on detection-level tasks, particularly You Only Look Once (YOLO)-based models, while predictive diagnostics, automated inspection reporting, and decision-oriented Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) are still rarely addressed. Current datasets and evaluation protocols also remain mostly perception-oriented, which makes it difficult to assess robustness, generalisability and long-term predictive capability.
  • 21
  • 03 Apr 2026
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Real-Time Digitalisation: The Future of Post-Occupancy Evaluation in Buildings
Real-time digitalisation refers to the continuous collection, integration, and analysis of operational building data, enabled by the integration of digital technologies into building management platforms. It is an advanced extension of building post-occupancy evaluation (POE) that transforms it from a static, retrospective evaluation process into a dynamic, data-driven methodology. In this entry, real-time digitalisation is discussed in relation to its role within the POE framework. The discussion includes a review of its evolution from early automation systems to contemporary cyber-physical infrastructures, supported by advanced analytics and machine learning. In addition, its dual benefits are highlighted as both a measurement tool and a decision-support system. Prevalent implementation complexities that limit its practicality in the building industry are also discussed. Real-time digitalisation is unlikely to replace conventional POE; instead, it broadens its capabilities, reconfiguring the process into a continuous, evidence-based building performance management process. The future relevance of real-time digitalisation to POE depends on its ability to become less technology-focused and more human-centric. Its infrastructure needs to align with occupant-subjective metrics, become more affordable, and increase its capacity to translate data into practical building management actions. As buildings become increasingly socio-technical systems, real-time digitalisation is emerging as a core methodological component of mainstream POE, with its importance spanning the entire lifecycle of buildings.
  • 11
  • 07 May 2026
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