Ali AlashwalWestern Sydney University · School of Engineering Design and Built Environment
Ali Alashwal
PhD
Construction Project Management
About
69
Publications
79,125
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
969
Citations
Introduction
Dr. Alashwal is an academic and researcher in the area of construction and project management. He is a certified project management professional (PMP) and Certified Practising Project Practitioner (CPPP). He contributed to over 10 research projects in different areas of construction and project management. He has supervised and co-supervised numerous students including PhD candidates. His research interests include international construction, project performance, and sustainable construction.
Additional affiliations
May 2013 - June 2018
July 2018 - present
Publications
Publications (69)
Construction Project Schedules are the most significant leverage point for improving social and economic outcomes for the industry. This paper aims to explore the effects of increasing and decreasing timespans. A pressing issue is a lack of a method and mathematical equation for owners to determine a socially and economically sensitive construction...
Blockchain is becoming a game-changer for many sectors, noted for its tamper-proof nature that boosts data structures' integrity, auditability, and transparency. It provides the pragmatics within which data exchange between construction supply chain (CSC) stakeholders notably addresses its fragmented character. However, the construction industry is...
Waste mitigation is recognised as the most effective strategy for
managing construction and demolition waste. Designing out Waste (DoW) is an approach aimed at reducing waste during construction and demolition by improving project planning and design. Despite its recognition, limited research has been conducted on the factors influencing the implem...
Site workers comprise approximately 80% of construction employment. These personnel deliver outputs that exceed or fall short of the contractor's estimate, such as safety, quality, cost and schedule. However, construction organisations have disparate working conditions and career paths between their site and office staff. Other factors, such as job...
Blockchain technology has been proposed as a potential solution for coordinating information and trust to aid the development of a single source of the truth data model, going beyond peer-to-peer cash transactions. It is, therefore, argued that the construction supply chain (CSC) will resolve issues related to the lack of reliable platforms for con...
The rapid growth of population and associated urbanization and economic development calls for increased demand for infrastructure development to meet ongoing and future demands. A better understanding of the waste management (WM) processes would help to manage large volumes of waste effectively at construction sites, maximise the value of resources...
The suicide rate among construction workers is high in Australia and other developed countries. Suicide has many negative consequences on the families of the deceased, the construction sector, and the economy. This literature review paper discusses several factors underlying the suicide of construction workers, including relationship problems, untr...
Saving energy and cutting costs without compromising indoor comfort conditions are challenging, especially in hot and humid regions such as Malaysia. This study explores a new approach to reducing energy consumption without compromising staff comfort in office buildings. This study aims to develop a method for lowering Building Energy Index (BEI) a...
The dynamic nature of tropical skies presents challenges for the built environment due to the momentous fluctuations and instability in solar irradiance and illuminance levels that cause limitations in responding to the needs of the indoor environment. The study aims to investigate the performance of daylighting strategies using liquid glass coatin...
Purpose
Weather is one of the main factors affecting labour productivity. Existing weather-productivity models focussed on hot and cold climates paying less attention to the tropics. Many tropical countries are expected to be the most areas affected by accelerated climate change and global warming, which may have a severe impact on labour health an...
Purpose – Despite a large amount of BIM data at the handover stage, it is still difficult to identify andeffectively isolate valuable construction supply chain (CSC) data that need to be reliably handed over foroperation. Moreover, the role of reconciling disparate data is usually played by one party. The integration ofblockchain and BIM is a plaus...
Selecting the most appropriate construction industry consultant (CIC) is a crucial process if projects are going to be successful. However, poor performance of CICs and failure to meet a client's needs are common, and the CIC selection process has not been adequately analysed in previous research. A systematic literature review of the CIC selection...
Purpose
Road projects are essential for poverty reduction and the socio-economic development of Yemeni people living in rural areas. Rural access programs, which are mainly sponsored by foreign countries and international organisations, are often delayed. The purpose of this paper is to identify the delay factors of rural road projects with a focus...
For many years, the issue of environmental influence on labour productivity has received considerable attention. One of the most significant contemporary discussions in economics and construction management disciplines is about determining how weather factors influence labour productivity. While extant literature is replete with formulas and models...
Conserving natural resources and reducing the pressure on the environment has become high in the agenda of sustainability. Though construction and demolition (C&D) waste have a high potential to yield a substantial amount of valuable resources into the economy, resource recovery from the C&D sector has not reached its maximum level yet. Waste tradi...
Building information modeling (BIM) plays a critical role in the integration of different parties by acting as a centralized database defining their responsibilities and contractual obligations. However, resolution of conflicts among stakeholders remains a shortcoming of BIM. Blockchain is on a path to disrupt many aspects of businesses that deal w...
Purpose
The construction industry is a major generator of waste, which has a high potential to yield a substantial amount of waste into the economy as a valuable resource. Waste trading (WT) is a sustainable strategy for improving resource utilisation and transitioning the construction industry towards the circular economy. However, resource recove...
![Fig.1 Different Technical Level Infrastructure Sharing Models [11]](profile/Abdu-Saif/publication/353500942/figure/fig1/AS:1051639544832000@1627741814487/Different-Technical-Level-Infrastructure-Sharing-Models-11_Q320.jpg)
![Fig. 2 CAPEX Cost-Saving [21]](profile/Abdu-Saif/publication/353500942/figure/fig2/AS:1051639544815616@1627741814520/CAPEX-Cost-Saving-21_Q320.jpg)
Climate change has become one of the challenges for development. The building sector represents the largest resource of greenhouse gas production. Iraq depends on fossil fuels in producing energy, electricity with a lack of energy standards. This has made Iraq one of the utmost carbon-intense economic in the world. There is a lack of studies about...
Construction projects consume a considerable amount of resources and funding. Cost control is an essential process to attain project success and enhance its value. Many studies have been dedicated to studying how value engineering (VE) can be used to control construction costs. However, limited studies can be found on the integration of building in...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting increased attention day-by-day owing to its ability to provide more accurate results in uncertain and complex environments. As such, many countries have already applied AI for risk analysis in construction projects. However, it is still relatively new and unknown for some and a lack of knowledge on the availa...
Purpose
Waste diversion rate (WDR) is a key indicator of effective waste management and circular economy. However, it has not yet been widely used in the construction and demolition waste (C&DW) sector. This study aims to promote the application of WDR as an effective measure for waste management through the investigation of the current status of C...
Purpose
Climate change and global warming have increased concerns over the influence of weather on workers' health and productivity in construction projects. A significant number of studies can be found in the weather and productivity interplay area. The purpose of this paper is to review the recently published papers in this area to explore the tr...
Compared with the on-site construction, prefabricated buildings provide benefits such as reducing construction time, increasing resource efficiency, minimizing construction waste, and enhancing safety. The main impediments of implementing prefabricated buildings are initial cost and value justification of the whole project. Using evolutionary game...
In the construction industry, where there is a complex structure and fragmented supply chain, Building Information Modelling (BIM) has played a key role in enabling integrated practice as a vital collaborative information model. However, construction supply chain (CSC) data are mostly stored in a BIM model by one actor and that could lead to disput...
Concrete is one of the most used construction materials; however, it contributes to about 7% of all carbon emissions. Various supplementary cementitious materials such as flyash have been considered to enhance concrete performance. There is a limitation of studies that address the influence of fly-ash on carbon reduction in different grades of conc...
The construction industry is well recognised for the generation of a significant amount of waste which in turn has led the management of waste data as an important task of waste management. Waste data is essential not only for promoting effective waste management practices but also for the development and implementation of effective waste policies,...
Construction waste prediction and quantification contribute to effective waste management. Waste prediction enables information and data utilization at the early stage of the project to minimise waste during subsequent stages. However, waste prediction and estimation have gained less attention among researchers. The purpose of this paper is to revi...
Construction Supply Chain (CSC) stakeholders typically come together temporarily to deliver one-off projects. The nature of construction projects contributes to limited transparency across the CSC. It is assumed that blockchain could address this issue by creating a trustable data that can be transferred between different entities and across projec...
Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste has received major attention due to its adverse impact on the environment and this has led to the development of waste management as an essential function of construction project management. Zero waste strategy targets to achieve 100% waste diversion rate from landfill and optimize resource recovery from wast...
Home-country joint venture (HJV) is one of the strategies contractors can use to venture into the international construction market. In this method, contractors from the same country join to undertake a project in a host country. However, this method is not common among contractors compared with other methods. For instance, among many overseas cons...
Construction small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face different challenges pertaining to their competitiveness and capabilities. Inter-organizational learning (IOL) is a key activity that contributes to organizational development and long-term survival. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether IOL has an influence on SMEs performan...
Due to regulatory reforms, corporate governance has evolved with Enterprise Risk Management become prominence since the 1990s. In Malaysia, Statement of Risk Management and Internal Control with Malaysian Corporate Code of Governance are regulatory compliance on risk management for the Public Listed Companies. Companies are required to make risk di...
An industry workshop was organised by the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) on 16, November 2018 at Parramatta City Campus, Western Sydney University. The workshop titled “Use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects” was organised as part of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)...
Sustainable construction has been identified as the game changer for the construction industry. Despite various incentives been introduced by the government, the move towards sustainable construction is still at its initial stage in Malaysia. In practice, many struggling to embrace sustainable ideas and one of the reasons is the lack of underpinnin...
Risk analysis is an important process of risk management. However, the application of current tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and fuzzy methods have not studied extensively in the literature. This paper aims to review AI and fuzzy methods for risk analysis in different industries around the world and their potential application in the Ma...
Many studies have affirmed a negative influence of fragmentation on learning and knowledge sharing in construction projects. However, the literature overlooked enablers of learning within this context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that facilitate project learning and ways to negate any unbecoming effects of fragmentation. Qua...
The purpose of this study is to evaluate University of Malaya (UM) Chancellery building in terms of energy usage and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). A triangulation research method was used to achieve this objective. The data was collected using physical measurements of thermal comfort and electricity consumption in the building. In addition, a...
The performance of Malaysian international contractors has been deteriorated due to different factors including fluctuations of the global economy. Previous studies highlighted strategies for international contractors to sustain business such as diversification of product and region, localization, joint ventures and entry time. However, the influen...
Construction projects are inherently exposed to various risk and uncertainties. Numerous studies have identified risk factors in construction projects in developed and developing countries. Yemen has witnessed revolutions and wars during the past six years, which affected the construction sector among other sectors. The purpose of this paper is to...
This paper describes the influence of organizational learning on risk management maturity (RMM) considering firm size as a moderating variable. Information acquisition, knowledge dissemination, shared interpretation, and organizational memory were used to measure the influence of organizational learning on RMM in 132 small and large construction fi...
Purpose
Simulation techniques for cost management are useful for modeling uncertainties, making decisions, and improving the accuracy of cost estimation. Despite their usefulness, the application of these techniques in construction projects seems to be uncommon in the construction sector in Malaysia. The purpose of this paper is to determine the a...
Infrastructure sharing in telecommunication companies (ISTC) is a helpful means for providing and delivering a high-level quality of service (QOS) to customers. This research focuses on mobile network infrastructure sharing and management among telecommunication companies in Yemen. Telecommunication companies spend large amounts of money to improve...
The paper concentrates on International Development (ID) projects implemented in the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Some of the critical issues reported on these projects include failure of contractors and consultants to deliver goods and services, non-compliance issues on financial management / reporting practices, and project del...
The success of international construction projects is fraught with various challenges such as competitiveness, lack of resources, versatile global economy, and specific conditions in the host country. Malaysian contractors have been venturing into global construction market since early 1980s. However, their venturing was not successful all the time...
Rehabilitation is a key-initiative undertaken to overcome a prevailing problem in Malaysia that is the abandonment of housing projects during construction. However, rehabilitation is a complex process and involves various parties. The purpose of this paper is to identify critical risks during the rehabilitation process and to evaluate capabilities...
Rehabilitation is a key-initiative undertaken to overcome a prevailing problem in Malaysia
that is the abandonment of housing projects during construction. However, rehabilitation is a
complex process and involves various parties. The purpose of this paper is to identify critical
risks during the rehabilitation process and to evaluate capabilities...
The purpose of this paper is to determine knowledge utilization process and its influence on the performance of construction projects. Two cases of highway projects in Malaysia were used to develop a knowledge utilization model for managing time-related issues (i.e., factors causing project delay). The selected projects were similar in terms of siz...
Fragmentation is a well-known problem in the construction field; however, the literature shows a lack of a precise definition and appropriate measurement of this notion. The purpose of this paper is to determine indicators of fragmentation in construction projects using a second-order formative measurement model. The data were collected using a que...
The growing need for construction of all types coupled with a tight monetary supply has provided the construction industry with a big challenge to cut cost. According to Mendelson and Greenfield (1996) the remaining part of the twentieth century would involve corporations, institutions and government in a race to survive. A tremendous demand of dev...
The growing need for construction of all types coupled with a tight monetary supply has provided the construction industry with a big challenge to cut cost. According to Mendelson and Greenfield (1996) the remaining part of the twentieth century would involve corporations, institutions and government in a race to survive. A tremendous demand of dev...
Knowledge management processes are important to achieve better performance and development in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of knowledge utilization in enhancing project performance. A conceptual framework of knowledge utilization was developed through the review of relevant literature. The framework regards know...
Learning across projects is a vital part of avoiding the repetition of mistakes. The temporary nature of projects magnifies the need to determine the process of inter-project learning and knowledge transfer. A hierarchical model is proposed comprising four dimensions of inter-project learning and their indicators. Data were collected through a ques...
Purpose
– Conflict was recognized as a major cause of inefficiency and limited performance of construction projects. Factors pertaining to conflict in construction are vast; however, there have been less recognition of these factors in international construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to provide in-depth understanding of conflict in...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to determine the measurement constructs of learning within construction projects' milieu. The literature indicated some mechanisms of learning in projects under four aspects, namely knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, team action to learn, and learning support. The empirical study attempts to verify whether...
The growing need for construction of all types coupled with a tight monetary supply has provided the construction industry with a big challenge to cut cost. According to Mendelson and Greenfield (1996) the remaining part of the twentieth century would involve corporations, institutions and government in a race to survive. A tremendous demand of dev...
Construction projects in Malaysia involved prevailing risks that impact the performance of project embodies management triangle (i.e. time, cost & quality). A mature risk management approach would be appropriate to overcome these risks. The organizational maturity attempts, in its main goal, to gain higher performance in different project managemen...
Abandoned of housing projects during construction is a prevailing problem that the housing sector in Malaysia has been experiencing since 1980s. This paper aims to highlight the causes and impacts of abandoned housing projects, and various initiatives to rehabilitate these projects. Factors pertaining to projects abandonment can be categorized into...
Passive solar control solutions have been widely used in buildings in tropic countries like Malaysia. It is assumed that these solutions may notably control the heat-gain of buildings. However, there is a lack of empirical studies that assess the extent of green-glazed techniques to sufficiently control solar heat-gain. The current study uses a cas...
The low income group (LIG) housing is one challenge that haunts most developing countries. This paper explores the Malaysian housing policies and its meticulous implementation and how the sustainability aspect of such policies improves significantly the housing affordability and accessibility to the majority of the LIG in the country. The study bui...
The main motivation behind this study is to ascertain the factors that inhibit and facilitate knowledge sharing among fragmented firms in a construction industry context. By and large, the augmentation of small and medium enterprises (SME) vis-à-vis to the tapering of the large ones causes fragmentation of construction industry. With the lack of co...
The subject of project success has caught the attention of researchers for the last five decades. The long list of project success factors indicates that there are no common denominators for project success. It also indicates that there was no agreement on the definition of success. The aim of this review paper is to classify relevant literature on...
Even though IBS has the ability to offer intensive production elements, the rapid increasing demands of providing a shelter for every citizen is enforced enhancing the productivity and the delivery time of IBS. That may obtained by improving the production line layout of the manufacture plant, enhancing production time, and resources utilization. R...
Questions
Questions (2)
The data on the suicide rate of construction workers in Australia is available. However, we are seeking to expand this data by including suicide attempts or self-harm. It is estimated that of the 40 cases of suicide in Queensland, there are 100 or more cases of permanent disability as a result of unsuccessful suicide attempts.
Reference:
Venturing of Malaysian contractors into overseas has reduced during the last few years. Based on our findings in unpublished study, Joint Venture (JV) among home-country firms (i.e. Malaysian contractors) is not really strong. There is less than expected collaboration among Malaysian contractors to go together to undertake construction projects. Please provide more information or publications relevant to this issue, if possible.
