Assessment of the Sustainability of a Real Estate Project Using Multi-Criteria Decision Making

Evaluating the resilience of residential buildings during a pandemic with a sustainable construction approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catastrophic event that has affected all aspects of human life worldwide. Due to the high genetic mutations of the virus, there has been a prolonged search for definitive therapeutic discovery, leading to extended periods of home quarantine. As a result, homes have become multipurpose spaces for work, education, sports, and other daily activities. Given the importance of residential buildings as the first line of defense against possible future pandemics, a model has been proposed to assess their readiness to handle pandemics using a sustainable development approach. This study investigates the most crucial criteria for evaluating residential buildings and applies them in a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) process. The final evaluation model is presented using the SWARA and COCOSO methods, along with a set of criteria selected and weighted by experts. The study shows that the criteria related to health and safety are more critical than other sectors. Buildings that meet the standards of this group better are likely to have a higher score.

Threats and Opportunities in Digital Transformation in SMEs from the Perspective of Sustainability: A Case Study in the Czech Republic

Digital technologies represent an important factor in the achievement of the sustainability goals of the European Green Deal. Whether the digitalisation trend will contribute to the sustainable development of societies in the long term depends on how we shape and understand it. The aim of this paper is to create a concept for the management of the threats and opportunities in the digital transformation of SMEs. As part of a broader research project, a complex tool was developed to assess the digital maturity of SMEs, and our paper focuses on one aspect of this tool, which is related to the identification and management of the opportunities and threats that are associated with digital transformation trends. The methodology that was used to develop this paper is based on a pilot survey that involved 154 SMEs in the Czech Republic, 74 of which were used for the follow-up survey on the opportunities and threats. Sixteen key trends were identified, which were then reduced to five latent factors, with their names forming five dimensions. In the cluster analysis, the companies were divided into three clusters, which served as the basis for determining the final cluster centres. The result is a concept for the management of the threats and opportunities in the digital transformation of SMEs. Digital transformation is the broad topic. Therefore, the theoretical overlap of this study can be seen in the narrower focus on the identification and management of the opportunities and threats in digital transformation. In addition, this study focuses on SMEs because there are more than one million small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic, and they create 54% of the innovative solutions. The practical impact of this study can be understood in the fact that the proposed concept may enable SMEs to more easily manage threats and opportunities in their digital transformation.

Sustainability Assessment of Modern High-Rise Timber Buildings

As woodworking and construction technologies improve, the construction of multi-storey timber buildings is gaining popularity worldwide. There is a need to look at the design of existing buildings and assess their sustainability. The aim of the present study is to assess the sustainability of modern high-rise timber buildings using multi-criteria assessment methods. The paper presents a hierarchical system of sustainability indicators and an assessment framework, developed by the authors. Based on this framework, the tallest timber buildings in different countries, i.e., Mjøstårnet in Norway, Brock Commons in Canada, Treet in Norway, Forte in Australia, Strandparken in Sweden and Stadthaus in UK, were compared across the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic/technological, and social). Research has revealed that none of the buildings is leading in all dimensions of sustainability. However, each building is unique and has its own strengths. Overall multi-criteria assessment of the buildings revealed that the Brock Commons building in Canada has received the highest rank in all dimensions of sustainability. The paper contributes to the theory and practice of sustainability assessment and extends the knowledge about high-rise timber buildings. The proposed sustainability assessment framework can be used by both academics and practitioners for assessment of high-rise timber buildings.

Optimized Application of Sustainable Development Strategy in International Engineering Project Management

The aim of this paper is to establish an international framework for sustainable project management in engineering, to make up the lack of research in this field, and to propose a scientific theoretical basis for the establishment of a new project management system. The article adopts literature review, mathematical programming algorithm and case study as the research method. The literature review applied the visual clustering research method and analyzed the results of 21-year research in this field. As a result, the project management system was found to have defects and deficiencies. A mathematical model was established to analyze the composition and elements of the optimized international project management system. The case study research selected large bridges for analysis and verified the superiority and practicability of the theoretical system. Thus, the goal of sustainable development of bridges was achieved. The value of this re-search lies in establishing a comprehensive international project management system model; truly integrating sustainable development with project management; providing new research frames and management models to promote the sustainable development of the construction industry.

Identifying Public Policies to Promote Sustainable Building: A Proposal for Governmental Drivers Based on Stakeholder Perceptions

In recent years, research findings and pronouncements by international organisations have recognised the usefulness and timeliness of advancing public policies to promote sustainable building. However, in many parts of the world, governmental measures have limited their scope mainly to energy efficiency in housing use. In the same vein, some experiences in different countries have revealed the need to study further governmental or stimulation drivers that can boost sustainability in building, renovation, and dwellings. This paper aims to contribute to the design of public policies that promote sustainable building. Our paper seeks to identify specific drivers that can help governments boost sustainability in building, renovation, and dwellings through a multi-stakeholder survey. Our findings show the specific drivers to be of three types: fiscal, financial, and government interventions. It is the respondents’ opinion that public policies can help promote sustainable housing. Financial drivers are the most highly rated, followed by fiscal drivers and then government interventions.

New Approach for Managing Sustainability in Projects

Despite the work done to date, project sustainability management (PSM) is still at an embryonic stage. The existing literature considers sustainability as a transversal aspect to be incorporated into the traditional management functions (scope, time, cost, quality, etc.). This article proposes sustainability as a key aspect of project management, with three essential components: principles, processes and competences. Regarding principles, the principle of sustainable development should be added to those generally suggested. As for processes, seven are proposed for (1) planning sustainability management; (2) establishing a sustainability breakdown structure; (3) defining the sustainability objective; (4) identifying project alternatives to achieve it; (5) planning and (6) implementing the sustainability strategy; and (7) monitoring and control. The main interrelationships between these processes and those of project initiation, planning, implementation, control, and closure are also analysed. In addition, the competences that the project manager should have in this field are identified, as well as the main criteria to take into account in order to adapt PSM processes to the characteristics of the project and the organisation. Finally, the results of a Delphi analysis carried out to validate these proposals are presented.

Symmetric and Asymmetric Data in Solution Models

This Special Issue covers symmetric and asymmetric data that occur in real-life problems. We invited authors to submit their theoretical or experimental research to present engineering and economic problem solution models that deal with symmetry or asymmetry of different data types. The Special Issue gained interest in the research community and received many submissions. After rigorous scientific evaluation by editors and reviewers, seventeen papers were accepted and published. The authors proposed different solution models, mainly covering uncertain data in multi-criteria decision-making problems as complex tools to balance the symmetry between goals, risks, and constraints to cope with the complicated problems in engineering or management. Therefore, we invite researchers interested in the topics to read the papers provided in the Special Issue.