The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on the 11th of March 2020, but the world is still reeling from its aftermath. Originating from China, cases quickly spread across the globe, prompting the implementation of stringent measures by world governments in efforts to isolate cases and limit the transmission rate of the virus. These measures have however shattered the core sustaining pillars of the modern world economies as global trade and cooperation succumbed to nationalist focus and competition for scarce supplies. Against this backdrop, this paper presents a critical review of the catalogue of negative and positive impacts of the pandemic and proffers perspectives on how it can be leveraged to steer towards a better, more resilient low-carbon economy. The paper diagnosed the danger of relying on pandemic-driven benefits to achieving sustainable development goals and emphasizes a need for a decisive, fundamental structural change to the dynamics of how we live. It argues for a rethink of the present global economic growth model, shaped by a linear economy system and sustained by profiteering and energy-gulping manufacturing processes, in favour of a more sustainable model recalibrated on circular economy (CE) framework. Building on evidence in support of CE as a vehicle for balancing the complex equation of accomplishing profit with minimal environmental harms, the paper outlines concrete sector-specific recommendations on CE-related solutions as a catalyst for the global economic growth and development in a resilient post-COVID-19 world.

A critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and ecosystems and opportunities for circular economy strategies

https://pure.hw.ac.uk/ws/files/6700255/Tracking_MEP_Works_v2.pdf

The value of integrating Scan-to-BIM and Scan-vs-BIM techniques for construction monitoring using laser scanning and BIM: The case of cylindrical MEP components

Exploring environmental and economic costs and benefits of a circular economy approach to the construction and demolition sector. A literature review

Performance evaluation of ultra wideband technology for construction resource location tracking in harsh environments

Vision-based action recognition of earthmoving equipment using spatio-temporal features and support vector machine classifiers

This study investigated the influence of a construction management educational intervention on the expertise and work practice of nonconstruction engineers affiliated with a premiere U.S. engineering procurement and contractor (EPC) firm. In this experimental study, nonconstruction engineers with a supervisory role in the delivery of capital projects were instructed in three fundamental construction management subjects, i.e. front-end planning, contracts and project execution, and project completion and team dynamics. These subjects were independently instructed in a traditional classroom-style setting. To capture the sustained impact of the educational intervention, a self-assessment survey tool was designed and distributed to the instructed engineers 4 months after the intervention. The educational intervention resulted in a significant gain in construction expertise among the engineers. The intervention also induced positive changes in the work practice of the instructed engineers and of their organiza...

Impact of a Construction Management Educational Intervention on the Expertise and Work Practice of Nonconstruction Engineers

This study investigates a novel approach both to precisely plan for project execution and to monitor execution status in near real-time. In this approach, two lean construction techniques -such as pull planning and integrated project delivery- are combined with the fine-grained planning and near real-time monitoring of the executed work. In order to plan for and monitor the flow of work, work packages are defined at the smallest discernible amount of work, the task. Work packages are divided by unique location sectors, and hence further discretized. Deviations based on predictions of completed work are proactively reported and assessed in near realtime. In addition, productivity ratios for completed projects are utilized to pre-qualify contractors for future project endeavors and to generate accurate bidding information. Thus, an emphasis to stabilize workflow is at the core of the proposed fine-grained production planning and near real-time monitoring approach. Through an intervention test in a facility project, a comparison of relevant metrics is used to quantify and validate the impact of the novel approach.

David Grau

Papers

Impact of a Construction Management Educational Intervention on the Expertise and Work Practice of Nonconstruction Engineers

A Combined Planning and Controls Approach to Accurately Estimate, Monitor, and Stabilize Work Flow

Design for Disassembly: An Analysis of the Practice (or Lack Thereof) in the United States

Towards a Sustainable and Healthy Work Environment –Lessons Learned from the Unprevented Exposure of Miners to Coal Dust☆

Women and Accidents: The Need to Separate Gender Database