Weerasuriya, G T; Perera, S and Calheiros, R N (2025) Technological imperatives for issues in the certification of quality, progress, and payments in construction projects: A systematic review. Construction Economics and Building, 25(1), pp. 25-48. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
Construction projects require certification of quality, progress of work, and related payments to ensure successful completion. However, several issues related to quality, progress, and payment certifications exist in the construction industry. Therefore, a two-stage systematic review of the literature was conducted with the objective of understanding issues and appropriate solutions related to quality, progress, and payment certifications in construction projects. The literature review, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, retrieved journal articles in Scopus and Web of Science published between 2008 and 2023. In stage 1, 1,450 records were retrieved through search queries on prevalent issues, and 50 articles were selected after applying inclusion criteria and screening. Stage 2 of the review sought technological imperatives that mapped to the pinpointed issues. A total of 1,262 search results were screened using the same criteria as the first stage, producing 45 articles. The studies related to quality and progress certification highlighted issues such as defects, failures and rework; delayed project completion; and inaccurate documentation and reporting. Payment certification-related articles discussed issues like payment delays, non-payments, payment disputes, and insolvency. Building information modelling, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology and smart contracts were highlighted as the major technological imperatives for solving these issues. These technologies support rigorous inspections, ensure compliance of building materials and products, enable contract fulfilment, and guarantee payments, thereby effectively addressing the issues. The study strongly advocates for blockchain and smart contracts as a comprehensive technological solution to overcome certification-related challenges in construction projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | blockchain; construction; payments; quality; systematic review |
| Index terms: | screening, rework, building material, construction project, guarantee, literature review, documentation, building information modelling, blockchain, journal, smart contract, systematic literature review, compliance, construction industry, dispute, inspection, insolvency, artificial intelligence, meta-analysis, certification, science |
| Subjects: | administrative processes, professional development, specialized education, quality assurance, data analysis and analytics, liability law, building materials, dispute resolution, digital technology, management, artificial intelligence, contract structure, information systems, health safety and environment, operations management, computing systems, production management, research dissemination and communication, research evaluation and metrics, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Procurement, Legal Issues, Health and Safety, Project Management, Research Practice, Education, Information Management, Design Practice, Contract Administration, Quality Management, Human Resources, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here