Oke, A. E.; Aliu, J. O.; Timothy Jesudaju, O.; Thomas Fagbe, A.; Aghimien, D. and Aigbavboa, C. O. (2025) Building a sustainable future: The role of digitalization in Nigerian heavy engineering projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 33(5), pp. 3957-3974. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose – Digital technologies (DTs) have the potential to revolutionize various aspects of heavy engineering projects by providing innovative solutions to traditional challenges. Therefore, this study explores and identifies critical areas for implementing DTs in heavy engineering projects in Lagos State, Nigeria, to increase productivity, reduce costs and enhance project delivery. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research approach informed the formulation of a structured questionnaire, which was then disseminated to construction professionals. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The relative importance index (RII) was employed to rank the significance of each application area. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) then grouped the various application areas for DTs before fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) was used to evaluate the significance of the identified key categories. Findings – Based on the RII, the top five significant application areas identified were project management, cost estimation and budgeting, quality assurance and control, risk management and mitigation and construction site management. These areas were further grouped into three clusters: pre-construction phase, construction phase and post-construction phase. Originality/value – A majority of existing studies have been focused on regular construction projects, with limited research addressing the unique challenges and opportunities within heavy engineering projects. This study fills this gap by specifically examining the implementation of DTs in heavy engineering projects, offering sector-specific insights that are distinct from those in regular construction.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | benchmarking; competitive edge; data-driven decision-making; digital technologies; heavy construction industry; resource management |
| Index terms: | construction phase, project delivery, digital technology, relative importance index, pre-construction, package, exploratory factor analysis, productivity, methodology, data-driven decision-making, cost estimating, Nigeria, quality assurance, heavy construction, resource management, questionnaire, digitalization, quantitative research, risk management, construction project, fuzzy synthetic evaluation, implementation, budgeting, Lagos State, construction professional, benchmarking, mitigation, construction site, social science, project management |
| Subjects: | performance measurement, financial management, data analysis and analytics, financial and cost management, work location, digital technology, data collection methods, decision analysis, project delivery, research methods, quality assurance, control systems, Geography, contractual arrangements, management, production management, decision-making and optimization, computing systems, financial risk, statistical analysis, theoretical framing, professional development, infrastructure and transport systems, project management theory and practice, risk assessment |
| Topics: | Site Management, Geographical Context, Information Management, Quality Management, Project Management, Research Practice, Digital Applications, Procurement, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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