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This research investigates procedures and effective practices on staffing needs and utilization for successful implementation of alternative contracting methods (ACMs) in the United Sates, including design–build (D–B) and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) delivery methods.

The review of published empirical studies, a national survey of transportation agencies and case studies of highway agencies form the basis of the conclusions in this research. In addition to the national survey, with 46 of 50 agencies participating, the research presents case studies from five highway agencies in the United States including the following: California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota and Virginia. These five case studies were selected from agencies that have extensive experience in delivering ACM projects. The case studies involved a thorough procedural review and structured interviews of agency personnel. The agencies then validated the results and conclusions.

The results showed that implementing ACM projects requires different knowledge, skills and management and coordination efforts than traditional design–bid–build (D–B–B) projects. The study found that the key success factors of implementing ACMs are the following: (1) establishment of an ACM champion; (2) active involvement of key staff throughout the ACM project development process; (3) appropriate use of consultants and (4) ACM training and staff development.

The issue on how to attract and retain talented staff and a committed core workforce with appropriate skills and competences for ACM implementation is vital for highway agencies, but it lacks information and guidance. The chief limitation of this research is that the primary data were collected from highway agencies in the United Sates. Any future research should include more data to enhance the validity of this study outside of the public transportation sector.

Developing a sustainable level of core staff plays an important role in implementing an ACM program. The result of this research will help transportation agencies and other public owners to develop effective staffing strategies for successful implementation of ACMs. The findings of this research also address the appropriate use of consultants to supplement core staff with regard to delivery of ACM projects.

This research is the first attempt to examine the staffing needs and utilization for ACM projects.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate procedures and practices to promote transparency in best-value procurement for the design and construction of highway projects with the goal of improving this evolving procurement method.

The review of published empirical studies, a national survey of transportation agencies, and case studies of highway agencies form the basis of the conclusions in this research. In addition to the national survey, with 46 of 52 agencies participating, the research presents case studies from seven highway agencies in the USA including: California, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Utah. These seven case studies were selected from agencies that employ mature best-value procurement methods. The case studies involved a thorough procedural review and structured interviews of agency personnel. The agencies then validated the results and conclusions.

The results showed that evaluation committees should include technical members who do not have a personal interest in the outcome of the selection to maintain transparency in best-value projects. The committees should receive best-value procurement training, which necessitates the development of consistent and transparent best-value selection procedures. Debriefing meetings should be conducted to provide comments about strengths and weaknesses of each proposal to enhance fairness and transparency of the best-value selection process.

Knowledge of the best-value procurement procedure will allow researchers to better understand the impact of procedures and practices on transparency in selecting best-value projects. The chief limitation of this research is that the primary data were collected from highway agencies in the USA. Any future research should include more data to enhance the validity of this study outside of the public transportation sector.

The result of this research will help transportation agencies and other public owners to improve their best-value procurement procedures. The findings of this research also address the construction and consulting industry’s concern about transparency and fairness of a best-value selection process.

This research is the first attempt to examine the impact of the evaluation committee, best-value training, and debriefings on transparency of best-value selection.

Design-Build (D-B) is a project delivery method in which the owner procures both design and construction services in the same contract from a single legal entity. There is limited research on how communication among parties influences the success of D-B projects. The purpose of this paper is to examine D-B communication issues and provides effective practices on communication to improve D-B procurement processes in the USA.

The research methodology for this study includes a comprehensive review of literature, survey questionnaire, and structured interviews. A questionnaire was developed to collect data from professionals with an average of 23 years of experience related to D-B procurement. Eight structured interviews were conducted to verify and validate the survey questionnaire results.

The results showed that the communication issues vary along with each phase of the D-B process. The primary communication practices influencing the success of D-B projects are: establishing clear points of contact; providing clear and understandable information among stakeholders during the D-B process; and the timely sharing of information to all stakeholders.

The chief limitation of this research is that the primary data were mostly opinions from experts although several empirical data were collected for cross-validation. This research did not consider the relationship of relevant contract clauses and communication issues.

The findings from this paper will help professionals better understand the D-B procurement process.

This is one of the first attempts to discuss D-B communication issues in each different phase of a D-B project.

The use of digital inspection or e-inspection of transportation projects has been proven as an efficient method over the last decade. A wide range of studies were dedicated to developing and applying e-inspection techniques and technologies. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive systematic review and content analysis of using e-inspection in highway construction and maintenance projects. The main objectives of this study were to explore the current trend and identify relevant inspection technologies and their applications for highway construction projects.

A systematic review of 172 articles from 16 high-ranked academic journals in construction engineering and management published during 2000–2021 was conducted. This process resulted in 67 relevant articles included in the detailed content analysis. The analysis involved synthesizing six main construction elements and work types, nine typical inspection activities, and 23 technologies.

The result of the analysis showed that among the six construction elements and work types, bridge and hot mix asphalt (HMA) recorded the largest share of e-inspection research. For the nine inspection activities, progress monitoring of construction operations was the highest focused area of e-inspection research. The most common e-inspection technologies are geospatial tools, 3D modeling, and unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). Camera-based inspection has existed for decades, however, has limited research development. The critical success factors in implementing e-inspection in highway projects are sharing data among different technologies, inspector training, and reducing the cost of technology purchase.

This study is one of the first attempts to conduct a content analysis of the e-inspection implementation for highway projects. The findings of this study expose knowledge gaps in contemporary research related to implementation barriers such as cost of purchase and operation of e-inspection technologies and transferring data between technologies.

Managing complex construction projects is a challenging task because it involves multiple factors and decision-making processes. A systematic evaluation of these complex factors is imperative for achieving project success. As most of these factors are qualitative or intangible in nature, decision makers often rely on subjective judgements when comparing and evaluating them. The hybrid techniques that integrate fuzzy set theory and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) are able to deal with such problems. This chapter discusses various hybrid techniques of the fuzzy AHP and presents an application of these techniques to the evaluation of transportation project complexity, which is essential for prioritising resource allocation and assessing project performance. Project complexity can be quantified and visualised effectively with the application of the fuzzy AHP. This chapter enhances the understanding of construction project complexity and fuzzy hybrid computing in construction engineering and management. Future research should address the calibration of fuzzy membership functions in pairwise comparisons for each individual decision maker and develop computational tools for solving optimisation problems in the constrained fuzzy AHP. In the area of construction project complexity, future research should investigate how scarce resources are allocated to better manage complex projects and how appropriate resource allocation improves their performance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of risk on the project delivery selection process of three primary methods in use in the USA, including design-bid-build (DBB); design-build (DB); and construction manager/general contractor (CMGC).

The review of empirical studies, national survey questionnaire, multivariate analysis, and cross-validating discussion are adopted for this research. The risk factors were identified through an exhaustive literature review and empirical studies that included more than $10 billion of transportation projects. Experts with an average of 25 years of professional experience related to risk and project delivery methods in the transportation industry were invited to participate in the survey.

There were six critical risk factors for DBB, seven for DB, and six for CMGC. These critical risk factors are ranked differently from each delivery method. The most critical risk factor for DBB is construction risk, for DB is scope risk, and for CMGC is constructability and documentation risk.

Knowledge of the risk factors will allow researchers to better understand the impact of risk on DBB, DB, and CMGC projects. The chief limitation of this research is that the primary data were mostly opinions from experts although several empirical data were collected for cross-validation. The future research may take into account the role of participant's risk aversion in project delivery decision frameworks.

Transportation agencies and other practitioners can use these risk factors to make more effective and defensible decisions on which delivery method is the most suitable for their projects. The result from this study provides a foundation for decision makers to use a risk-based approach in the project delivery decision.

This research is the first attempt to examine the impact of risk on the project delivery selection process.

This chapter provides information on the development of Vietnamese education under the influence of global forces based on the analysis of relevant education research and policies using Wolhuter’s frameworks. In the process of coming up with ways to develop education in the face of different influences of globalization, besides having reactions with patterns commonly found in countries around the world, Vietnam also has responses that reflect its own political, sociocultural and economic characteristics. The state still plays a controlling role in education at all levels and many culture-related features that have existed throughout the country’s history have hardly changed, namely aspects related to teachers, learners and teaching and learning methods. To sustain its education in the globalized era, Vietnam must make more efforts in various aspects such as the link between education and employment, the logic of education objectives, the feasibility and appropriateness of curricula, quality of education, especially of higher education and equality in education for underprivileged groups.

This study aims to comprehensively assess how digital maturity degree (DMD) impacts sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) performance through the mediating role of SSCM practices in businesses in Vietnam.

The hypotheses were performed using partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with data collected from a survey of over 234 managers having responsibility in the supply chain field in Vietnam. Qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews with 6 experts to deepen understanding of the relationship between DMD and SSCM.

The results show the mix-results in the relationship between SSCM practices and SSCM performance dimensions while DMD strongly impacts SSCM practices. Also, this study finds the mediating role of SSCM practices on the relationship between DMD and SSCM performance.

This is the first study to investigate the role of DMD on SSCM practices and SSCM performance, using empirical evidence. Moreover, the authors integrate both qualitative and quantitative for understanding complex SSCM phenomena. The present study also helps businesses improve their SSCM performance by leveraging SSCM practices and developing their digital technologies in the long-term view.

This study aims to explore the synergistic effect of oxide nanoparticles (ZnO, Fe₂O₃, SiO₂) and cerium nitrate inhibitor on anti-corrosion performance of epoxy coating. First, cerium nitrate inhibitors are absorbed on the surface of various oxide nanoparticles. Thereafter, epoxy nanocomposite coatings have been fabricated on carbon steel substrate using these oxide@Ce nanoparticles as both nano-fillers and nano-inhibitors.

To evaluate the impact of oxides@Ce nanoparticles on mechanical properties of epoxy coating, the abrasion resistance and impact resistance of epoxy coatings have been examined. To study the impact of oxides@Ce nanoparticles on anti-corrosion performance of epoxy coating for steel, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been carried out in 3% NaCl solution.

ZnO@Ce3+ and SiO2@Ce3+ nanoparticles provide more enhancement in the epoxy pore network than modification of the epoxy/steel interface. Whereas, Fe2O3@Ce3+ nanoparticles have more to do with modification of the epoxy/steel interface than to change the epoxy pore network.

Incorporation of both oxide nanoparticles and inorganic inhibitor into the epoxy resin is a promising approach for enhancing the anti-corrosion performance of carbon steel.