BEJ is indexed in MyCite and Scopus. The Built Environment Journal (BEJ) (e-ISSN: 2637-0395) is an open-access international refereed journal. BEJ will be accepting research papers in the areas of built environment. PUBLICATION IS FREE OF CHARGE. BEJ is also indexed in ADL. Also available at Google Scholar. The journal is managed by the Faculty of Built Environment, UiTM, and published by Penerbit UiTM. CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
Spatial Design Considerations for a Sustainable Electric Vehicle Hub in Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian Context
Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure in Malaysia lacks proper spatial planning that ignores the complex multi-scalar relationships that integrate EV elements into the existing urban fabric. The objective of this study is to generate spatial design approaches for EV hubs that are efficient, effective and intra-operable with transport systems within the broader public and private sectors. As EV uptake continues to grow, there is a serious deficit of critical pre-conditions especially with respect to the effective deployment of a range of EV related facilities such as charging stations, battery swapping systems, and maintenance facilities which are critical and central to the achievement of the successful transition to electric mobility. The research establishes the spatial parameters required to enable the establishment of economically and environmentally sustainable EV hubs considering the Return of Investment (ROI), the support of the public sector and the partnership of the private sector. Looking at various components of the EV, the study also suggests how tackling the issues of spatial design can help remove some of the significant barriers to infrastructure and encourage the widespread use of EV technologies. Also, evaluation of spatial designs and integration of the EV system with other systems for the user experience of the EV users and the ICE users is conducted. Finally, this study hopes to lessen the ecological impact of EVs by integrating green building concepts and sustainable energy
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Haziq Yahya , Azri Ibrahim, Muhammad Yasin Ramadhan Zahari, Dzul Fadli Asraf Dzul-Kifli, Abdul Qayyum Zainul https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Challenges in Implementing Urban Green Space: A Review
Urban green spaces refer to established area within urban area, such as parks, garden, and open spaces. These spaces play a crucial role in promoting environmental sustainability, providing opportunities for leisure activities, and enhancing the general well-being of urban residents. The architecture of a “dense city” has disadvantages since it promotes crowded regions, reduces the amount of urban green space, and exacerbates the urban heat island effect. In the post-pandemic era, heightened awareness of health and well-being has reinforced the importance of accessible green space within communities. Therefore, this study systematically analysed existing literature to investigate the obstacles encountered while constructing green spaces within urban environments and the implementation strategies related to urban environments. The challenges are categorised into three (3) primary domains: Social and Health, Environment and Economy. This study provides insights into the difficulties faced by Urban Green Spaces (UGS) and offers suggestions for enhancing the city’s planning and management of green areas.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hafizah Ti Morni, Asmah Alia Mohamad Bohari, Farrah Zuhaira Ismail https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Safety Challenges in Optimising IBS Precast and Lifting Machinery: Insights from Malaysian Construction Stakeholders
This study examines the challenges associated with optimising Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) and lifting Machinery that impact safety within the Malaysian construction Industry. To optimise the IBS precast, a comprehensive strategy is required for both the concrete processing area and the line processing area, such as the Rebar processing area. Developing hypotheses about the impact of optimisation is aided by the ongoing adoption of underlying ideas, such as Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), in the context of safety challenges. The primary objective is to identify any safety concerns with IBS precast goods and the lifting apparatus in the IBS prefabricated processing area. Eight people in Selangor and Johor responded to semi-structured interviews after twelve invitations were sent out for a preliminary survey and collected by using snowball sampling. The results and findings that concentrate on the theme in the safety issues are Material Handling Hazard, Standardisation & Operation Capacity, and Lifting Machinery Safety Gap, which have consequences for worker safety training for the IBS precast products and lifting machinery operations.
Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) Precast
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhamad Yusof Abdullah, Ani Saifuza Abdul Shukor, Rohana Mahbub https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Interior Design Practice: Project Management Competency Framework
Currently, a role for a creative or visually appealing interior designer has also includes project management. One of the project's primary roles is for the interior design manager is to successfully deliver to the client. Additionally, project managers are measured for their capability to deal with day-to-to-day activities as well as projects. This study shares the required competencies project managers and interior designers to qualify as a project manager in the field of design. This paper examines the 27 competencies required of an interior project manager and highlights the value of competence in these three areas: functional, contextual, and behavioral. Competence as a project manager is assessed using questionnaires. The review and data collection of the results later helps support competency skills, which then diminishes the value of competency activities. From the analysis of the results, it follows that the project validity of the manager's knowledge increases project efficiency. Following the findings, new guidelines are implemented to further and more generally define the nature of the research.
Copyright (c) 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Recreational Participation of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Nature recreation is the recreation which require engagement with natural environment and settings. Previous research proven that recreation is important for people including the disabilities, towards achieving the quality of life. However, little is known about the development of recreation for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD. Thus, this research aimed to determine the effectiveness of nature recreation for children with ASD in a family with the objectives were to compare the changes in development of children with ASD in a family before and after participating in the nature recreation, and to identify the most preferable nature recreation activity for children with ASD in a family. A set of questionnaire surveys were distributed to a focus group called ‘Autism Malaysia’. This study showed, nature recreation can benefit children with ASD (aged from 0 to 12 years) and it is important for children development (social, intellectual, emotional and also physical). The children with ASD have positive changes in terms of communication and sociability components. However, for the physical behaviour, it showed the opposite findings; more risk and sign of ASD after participating in nature recreation. The result for each child may vary depending on the factors and nature recreation may not help to cure the ASD children completely. However, this study may help the family and caretaker of the children with ASD to use the nature recreation as the early intervention for their growth development. This research may help the planning development process in line with the Sustainable Development Goal which is social inclusion.
Employability Forecast Among Construction Management from The Employer’s Perspective in Malaysia Construction Industry
The tertiary education institutions in Malaysia are facing increasing demands from employers and stakeholders to ensure the graduates to be equipped with relevant skillset needed to secure a placement in the industry. The question arises, what are the skillsets required by employers contribute to the research gap which led to a comprehensive understanding on the expectation of employers towards the graduate’s employability. This study determined the employers' perspective skills by referring to five (5) field of employment consist of Developer, Contractor, Consultant, Supplier and Entrepreneur which consume of 57 (38%) respondents from 150 questionnaires distributed both on-site and on-line survey using random sampling technique. The content was referred on the program offered by Bachelor of Science in Construction Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using six (6) main categories of courses on hard skill to achieve the objective one and seven (7) soft skills to accomplish objective two. The finding indicates Project Management, Measurement and Estimating and Legal Study knowledge of hard skill critically required, whilst, interpersonal and communication soft skill is crucially needed. Those skills reveal as the fundamental knowledge in handling a construction works. In summary, this study able to facilitate the gap between graduates’ skills and employers’ expectation by providing a sufficient guidance platform referring to the respective field of employment as well as provides a significance implication to the educational institutions to align the program outcome toward the needs of the industry.
Impact of Land Administration on Private Housing Delivery in Lagos, Nigeria
Previous studies on impact of land administration on housing delivery had only examined impact of some of the functions of land administration on housing delivery and not impact of the four functions of land administration on housing delivery. This study filed this gap by examining the impact of the four functions of land administration on private housing delivery in Lagos, Nigeria. The study population is members of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN). The population size is 1400 and systematic random sampling technique was employed to have a sample size of 140. 120 questionnaires were retrieved and reliable for analysis. Data gathered were analyzed through descriptive statistics, tables, mean and multiple regressions. Findings from the study revealed that reduction in quantity produced is the most prominent impact of land tenure, delay in time of housing delivery is the impact of land use and land development and change in location of property is the most prominent impact of land taxation. Also, the most prominent problem of land administration is lack of computerized land administration system. The study established that land administration has significant impact on private housing delivery. It was recommended that bureaucracy that surrounds land administration should be reduced in order to reduce associated time and cost. Also, the land administration system should be computerized for easy land administration services.
Visitors’ Preferences on Seasonal Accommodation for the Rainforest World Music Festival
Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) is an award-winning open-air living museum of Sarawak has been the host to the three days annual Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) since 2005. Every year, thousands of visitor flock to SCV grounds to experience the rich Sarawak culture, live performances and celebrations that it offers. Due to its popularity, each year the number of visitors increases with regulars and newcomers. This has created a spike in accommodation demands for the area of Santubong. Unfortunately, the growth of visitors is not supported by adequate desired accommodations within the area. Thus, the objectives of this paper are to identify an ideal seasonal accommodation type and desired basic facilities required during RWMF. Quantitative analysis is incorporated in this research through collection of data gathered from online survey. Set of questionnaires was distributed to the former visitors seeking their views on the seasonal accommodations and facilities preferred. Based on the results of the data collected, it provided some understanding on the seasonal accommodations and facilities that are suitable for RWMF. This finding consequently could help provide a feasible and practical solution towards the spike demand for accommodation facilities during the RWMF.
Development of Sustainable LSP-Bricks Using Local Industrial Wastes
Uncontrolled infrastructure development may produce excessive carbon emission and scarcity of natural resources. The reuse of waste materials in general promotes material ecology and the cradle-to-cradle concept. The utilisation of industrial waste in the development of advanced materials promoting the extensive research on sustainable building components. The main objective of this research is to investigate the potential of utilising local industrial waste, Solid Waste Fly Ash (SwFA) and Paint Sludge (PS) as target material in replacing laterite soil that is non-renewable natural resources. Standard industrial size bricks were fabricated consist the combination of Laterite Clay, SwFA and PS (LSP) at 50:25:25 ratios. The results for engineering and environmental properties were within the acceptable of engineering standards and performances. This test result suggests potential used of SwFA and Paint Sludge as substitute to clay for unfired brick. This will certainly contribute to the recycling of SwFA and industrial sludge (Paint Sludge and possibly others) and hence to minimise the impact of these by-product to the environment if send to landfill. The manufacture of unfired bricks can exploit locally available waste materials and can be used in certain applications of low load bearing situation. This research also suggests innovation and enhanced waste management and contribution towards the concept of green building components.
Low Altitude Photogrammetry for Urban Road Mapping
To manage road over the country, geometry data of road is needed for decision making and project well management. The primary data is usually contributed by field technical support persons, such as surveyor, engineer, and others for conventional method of survey. For the sake of life safety, a study aims to carry out mapping work with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform and photogrammetry-based method. This study proposed an urban road mapping with optimal flight parameter, sensor parameter and GCP distribution by flying low for detail texture acquisition of road. The primary product of photogrammetry based is accurate digital orthophoto model (DOM) and digital elevation model (DEM). The flight parameters, sensor/image parameter of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including focal length effectiveness (10.26mm and 3.61mm), image end lap percentage (90%, 80%, and 70%), Ground Scale distance (GSD) (3cm, 2cm, and 1cm), and ground control point (GCP) distribution setup (pyramid square-, square-, and linear-based networks) were outlined. In this study it was found that longest focal length 10.26mm is suitable for road mapping. 70% end lap with 1cm GSD or 25m altitude is the best parameter. By increased and well distribute GCP over the project area, accuracy increased by 1% of position. Optimal network of GCP is pyramid based network. Photogrammetry-based mapping was an accurate method for detail road mapping by proposed result above.
Modernization of Traditional Malay House in Heritage Village of Malacca
Traditional Malay house is undergoing a lot of changes and threatened by modernization where its function, form and structure are affected. A lot of traditional Malay houses today are not considered as original vernacular houses where they are transformed and modernized into mixed design types between traditional and recent modern design. This paper aims to clarify modernization and alteration done, and new internal usage of selected four traditional Malay houses in two heritage villages: Kampung Banda Kaba and Kampung Sidang Seman, in Malacca. Interviews and field investigations were carried out at the selected houses that chosen based on the existing of original structure such as rumah ibu, rumah dapur and raised floor. Findings showed that all four traditional Malay houses had created a new usage style where the owners had altered and extend their houses based on their current needs and lifestyles.
Incorporation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions: A Review
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is initiated for the sake of managing construction projects effectively and efficiently. However, the adoption of BIM in Malaysian construction industry is still low because of lack of awareness among professionals and Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) undergraduates. This paper aims to evaluate the current adoption of BIM in syllabus among higher education institutions (HEIs). The methodology of this paper is based on literature review regarding BIM syllabus adopted in HEIs. The findings reveal that BIM in Malaysia is still lagging in practice and literature taught for academic aspects respectively compared to other developed countries such as United Kingdom and Lithuania. From the current adoption of BIM in Malaysian HEIs syllabus, it can be concluded that fully stand-alone BIM module in Malaysian HEIs is crucial which consequently hampering the production of high-quality BIM expertise that master in methodology and 3D modelling skills.
Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC)
The Potential of Carbon Footprint Reduction of a Mid-Rise Residential Building in Sarawak
Carbon emission is released into the atmosphere as the result of various activities due to rapid urbanisation and thus contributed to global warming and climate change. The government has taken various initiatives to reduce the impact, including from the construction industry in order to support the carbon footprint reduction of 40% as pledged by the Prime Minister. Various strategies, such as the Malaysian Carbon Reduction and Environmental Sustainability Tool (MyCREST), have been established to promote green building development in Malaysia. Recent studies suggested that the selection of sustainable materials can reduce the overall carbon emission of a building, but the cost has been identified as the main barriers. This paper aims to analyse the potential of carbon footprint reduction by using sustainable material in mid-rise residential building and subsequently to evaluate the cost implication. The impact of the conventional and the selected sustainable materials was assessed using data from the MyCREST tool while the data for cost analysis were taken from various sources of cost data such as JKR Rates online (RATOL), JKR Sarawak Schedule of Rates (SOR), and previous research. The results show that the sustainable materials such as 30% of Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) concrete mixture, Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (AAC) block, and recycled steel roof truss has the potential to reduce the carbon emission. The findings also show that sustainable materials are slightly cheaper than the conventional materials except for the AAC block and clay roof tiles. Therefore, the potential of carbon emission reduction approach by using MyCREST as a guideline tool can assist in the reduction of the environmental impact of buildings.
Evaluating the Performance of SRTM, NASADEM, and Copernicus DEM: A Case Study of the Perlis State Region
Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are fundamental tools for various applications including flood risk mapping, geoid modelling, and terrain analysis. The increasing availability of global DEMs (GDEMs) such as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), NASADEM, and Copernicus DEM (CopDEM) has enhanced the accessibility of elevation data worldwide. However, their accuracy varies depending on topographic characteristics and data acquisition methods. This study aims to evaluate the performance of SRTM, NASADEM, and CopDEM over the Perlis State region in Malaysia. Ground truth data were obtained from 38 GNSS benchmarks and 1,177 ICESat ATLAS08 altimetry points. Prior to analysis, ellipsoidal heights were converted to orthometric heights using the EGM96 geoid model. DEM elevation values were interpolated at each validation point, and accuracy was assessed using Mean Error (ME), Standard Deviation (STD), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The results reveal that NASADEM exhibits the highest accuracy, with RMSE values of 1.855 m (GNSS) and 5.814 m (ICESat), followed by CopDEM and SRTM DEM. All three GDEMs show strong positive correlations with ground truth data, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.98. These findings indicate that NASADEM provides more reliable elevation data in the Perlis region, especially in relatively flat areas. The study contributes to informed decision-making in selecting appropriate DEMs for environmental and geospatial applications in similar terrains.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hairie Ilkham Sibaruddin, Muhammad Faiz Pa'suya, Noorfatekah Talib, Ami Hassan Md Din, Chien Zheng Yong, Afreena Nisha Mohd Zamri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
External Marketing Relationship Practice of Quantity Surveying Firms in the Selected States in Nigeria
It has been established that marketing is very significant to the success of any organization, especially in a competitive environment. In the Quantity surveying profession, marketing might be more relevant than other professions because it is less known. The significance of marketing and competitive business environment calls for effective marketing practice by Quantity Surveying Firms (QSFs). One of the effective ways is to build a strong external marketing relationship, which exists between a firm and its client. Therefore, this paper investigated the external marketing relationship practice of QSFs with a view to enhancing firms’ productivity and client satisfaction. Forty-six (46) registered QSFs and fifty-nine (59) corporate clients in Lagos, Oyo, and Ondo States were assessed through questionnaire survey. Data were collected on the attributes of parties involved in external marketing. The collected data were analysed using Mean Item Scores (MIS) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results reveal important attributes of clients to include “pay on time (MS=4.59)”, “willingness and readiness to take advice from the firm (MS=4.59)”, and “make expectations known clearly to the firm (MS=4.54)”. From the findings, clients averagely displayed these attributes. The result of ANOVA shows that firms viewed the importance of these clients’ attributes in the same way at p>0.05 except for one of these attributes (making expectations known clearly to the firm), which firms viewed its importance differently at p<0.05. Furthermore, results show the important attributes of firms to include: “ability to give clients value for their money (MS=4.51)”, “knowing clients’ requirements (MS=4.51)”, and “being attentive (MS=4.47)’. Findings show that these attributes were adequately displayed by QSFs. The perceptions of clients on the importance of these firms’ attributes were the same at p>0.05. The study concluded by establishing attributes for strong external marketing relationship to include: “readiness of a client to take advice from the firm”, “ability of a client to pay on time”, “ability of a firm to satisfy the client”, and “knowing the client’s requirements”. The study recommended that QSFs and clients should endeavour to possess and display these attributes for the enhancement of service delivery in terms of firms’ productivity and clients’ satisfaction.
Sustainable Material Awareness, Belief and Readiness in Housing Development
The construction industry is one of the industries accounting for a large proportion of Vietnam's overall GDP. It is also one of the least sustainable industries with extensive use of non-renewable resources. A study on the current situation of occupational awareness of sustainable building materials, identifying factors that prevent the diffusion of sustainable building materials is critical. The present study raised the theoretical basis of using sustainable building materials for the construction industry. Questionnaire data from 130 valid responses were used to carry out statistical analysis and make interpretation of results. The results indicate no significant difference between the two groups of respondents in awareness, belief, and readiness towards sustainable materials. The awareness and readiness levels are higher among construction practitioners who have experience. The present findings might suggest several courses of action to solve the problem of sustainable materials being overlooked. Our research suggests that it is essential for policymakers to encourage stakeholders to consider sustainability more seriously. The research findings have profound managerial implications that experienced practitioners might significantly impact the decision-making process in the realm of sustainable orientation. Future work should concentrate on integrating sustainable building materials into innovative and transformative practices in the construction industry.
Data Collection and Analysis for the Development of Environmental Resilience Index in Selangor
Over the years, population surges resulted in urban sprawl in meeting the needs and demands of the future generation. However, excessive human activities in the environment cause environmental degradation, which affects cities resilience. In addition, the impact of global climate change has significantly affected the local environmental context in many towns. As a result, we experience constant incidences of natural disasters, such as monsoon floods, flash floods and landslides. The absence of a framework to address the resilience level in Selangor may lead to a problematic situation in planning and managing the development concerning the physical contexts, for instance, the location and topographic aspects. Therefore, this paper introduces the research to develop an Environmental Resilience Index (ERI) to measure Malaysia's level of environmental resilience by selecting Selangor as a case study because of the difference in economic activities that could result in different levels of environmental resilience. This paper also explains the general framework and indicator selected for this study by reviewing environmental systems and reviews of past research and established indicators. Though this study uses secondary data as the basis of data collection, data from authorised departments and agencies are gathered to verify the reliability and validity of data essential in the analysis stage. Lastly, this paper elaborates on the methodology of data collection and data analysis with an example by measuring the ERI level for the component of environmental resources for the district of Kuala Selangor. Considering the latest secondary data, the results demonstrate that Selangor has an ERI of moderate level for the component of environmental resources.
Evaluation On Different UAV’s Georeferencing Points to Generate Accurate Orthophoto and Digital Terrain Model
UAV or drone application of autonomy ranging can be divided into several levels, from basic hovering and position over trajectory tracking and waypoint navigation to fully autonomous navigation. This study used the DroneDeploy application for an autonomous flight mission. It is the process of taking photographs from an aircraft or other flying objects with a camera mounted on them to produce a three-dimensional (3D) map from the images captured, including a digital terrain model (DTM) and orthophotos. As for this study, the same output will be generated, but different flight parameter applications were used. Therefore, the study determined the optimum number of ground control points (GCPs) and evaluated the accuracy of the final results for each flight design. Acquired data were processed using the Pix4D modeller software due to the user-friendly factor and faster processing rate offered by the software. The results were analysed, and recommendations were made for future study improvement and to avoid similar problems. This study is useful for the mapping industry to achieve high accuracy results.
Accuracy Assessment of Atlas L-band GNSS Global Correction Service and Autonomous Positioning at Perlis, Malaysia
Differential Global Navigation Satellite System (DGNSS) is the most common positioning method used for navigation in the hydrography field. During the loss of the correction signal, the differential solution becomes an autonomous solution that may affect the accuracy of the position during that time. However, the availability of the Atlas L-band global correction service that adapts the Real-Time Precise Point Positioning (RT-PPP) technique has broadened the choice of solutions that can be used for navigation in the maritime industry and may solve the problem of signal loss. This research compares the positioning between autonomous solution GNSS and Atlas L-band correction solution using the static method to assess the accuracy of positioning between both methods. Data acquisition of the autonomous positioning and Atlas L-band service was conducted by using Hemisphere receiver VS330 and antenna A43. The statistical T-test reveals that the accuracy of analysis Atlas-L band and autonomous solution GNSS using static positioning was significant, as the p < 0.05 with 95% confidence interval. Besides, the result also shows that the position given by the Atlas L-band is more accurate and precise than Autonomous Solution GNSS, with an average position of 0.479 meters and 2.281 meters, respectively. Ultimately, the continuity of positioning data given by the Atlas L-band in the northern part of Malaysia is good, and positioning using Atlas L-band can be classified as Special Order based on the classification table by the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO).
The Perception of Thermal Comfort in Malaysia Public Low-Cost Housing
In Malaysia, the thermal comfort of low-cost high-rise housing has not been widely given a significant emphasis in the qualitative study despite its increasing scale and significance in the urban areas. Occupant’s perception and adaptive behaviour are important to achieve the level of satisfaction in terms of a comfortable living environment. This paper assesses the occupants’ perception and behaviour in a low-cost high-rise housing development that has been argued with various problems which have a considerable impact on lifestyle. Understanding of comfort as social and cultural behaviour, rather than an engineering approach. This research shows the results of a pilot study that utilized a qualitative strategy for analysing thermal comfort, rather than using the standard thermal comfort research methodologies. The building of study, in the category of low-cost high rise residential located at the urban context of Kuala Lumpur housing area, which is mainly natural ventilated with a versatile adaptive possibility available for the occupants. The outcomes signify the adaptive behaviour that enhances or limit the thermal comfort-related varieties. The results from the pilot study direct for more extensive research and comparison with previous qualitative studies.
Application of Remote Sensing in Mangroves at the Surrounding of Sungai Selangor Estuary in Kuala Selangor
The mangrove forest ecosystem protects the land area from the tidal wave hence preventing the coastal areas and properties from severe damage. Mangroves provide valuable ecological services and goods, sediment retention, food sources of some animals, and stabilisation of the coastal areas. Unfortunately, the species have been experiencing an extensive loss in many parts of the world. This paper aims to detect the changes in mangrove forests and possible changes in the Selangor river basin area. The methodology uses remote sensing data via supervised classification on maximum likelihood algorithm to analyse the distribution of mangrove forests at the Selangor River basin for a thirty two-year period, from 1989 to 2021. The findings indicate that the percentage of mangroves in the study area has reduced over the study period. The coverage of mangroves has reduced from 24.29 percent (1989) to 15.57 percent in 2008, and continued to reduce to 13.12 percent in 2021. The research finding indicates a decrease in mangroves due to aquaculture, tourism, agriculture, and other human activities. Such a trend may risk coastal and river erosion, thus necessitating a revision of the management policies for environmental protection.
Integration of Safety Aspects in the Maintenance Work of a Living Wall: An Overview of Practice and Challenges
Building maintenance is crucial to prolong a building's lifespan. Conducting the maintenance work can be dangerous, especially if it involves high-rise areas such as walls and roofs. Most literature discusses safety aspects at the construction site, while the safety aspects of maintenance work, which occur after occupancy, received less attention. This paper discusses the potential of integrating safety aspects into the maintenance work of a living wall. Living wall system (LWS) is one of the green design aspects in which the wall is designed to allow for vegetation growth. Maintenance works of a living wall involve various risks especially working in high or difficult places. This paper reviews the maintenance process and techniques adapted for maintaining the living wall through literature. This paper presents the safety practices that have the potential to reduce the risks of conducting maintenance work on the living wall and its potential challenges. It is hoped that this paper raises further awareness that work safety in construction is not only enclosed within the construction site and its vicinity, but safety should also be considered post-occupation, especially when the design demands specific maintenance requirements such as a living wall.
Assessment on the Circular Economy for Waste Minimization in the Construction Industry
The movement towards sustainability and resiliency has become a central talking point for the Malaysian government. Waste that is immeasurably generated from the construction activities should be appropriately managed to preserve the environment. This study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge about the concept of Circular Economy (CE) as an approach for waste minimization via a survey questionnaire sent to the G7 contractors in the Klang Valley area. The ultimate version of the questionnaire consisted of 38 questions, and it was sent to 360 targeted G7 contractors. 135 questionnaires were returned with a response rate of 37.5%. The results reveal that most of the contractors were knowledgeable about the potential of the CE concept as an approach for waste minimization. Environmental sustainability would be attained when the CE concept is used to minimize the waste generated from the construction activities. The integration of adaptative reused is found to be suitable to enhance the implementation of the CE concept. The results revealed considerable potential for the CE concept to be used as a waste minimization approach in the construction industry. In this sense, the enhancement of the CE concept implementation throughout the construction cycle could set up a direction for future research.
Copyright (c) 2021 Mohd Reza Esa, Wan Azlan Shah Eddie Shah Edward, Anthony Halog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Public Housing Environment and Depression: Case Study Bandar Baru Sentul
Depression is one of the common mental health problems worldwide, and in Malaysia, it is mostly from low-income groups. Due to this factor, most low-income groups in urban areas will reside in public housing due to high living costs. This study aims to understand the public housing environment's effect on mental health. The objectives are to study and analyses states of depression in public housing and its relationship with the surrounding built environment. This study was conducted at the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The questionnaire is an adaptation of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21). The sampling technique using homogenous sampling in the selected case study area. The selected area is based on several characteristics, which are housing typologies, green areas, and density. The collected data were analysed using correlation analysis and compared with the theoretical framework to study the relationship between the surrounding environment and depression. The results have shown that public housing's surrounding built environment is associated with depressive symptoms and mental health wellbeing. The findings also show that the surrounding built environment may contribute to mental health wellbeing and worsen existing sufferers' condition.
Copyright (c) 2021 Nur Masyitah Ghazali, Marlyana Azyyati Marzukhi, Oliver Ling Hoon Leh, Weng Yinxue https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Pioneering Sustainable Hydro-Systems in the Caribbean: Renewable Energy Approaches to Wastewater Reuse and Irrigation in the Caroni River Basin, Trinidad and Tobago
This study employs a mixed-methods research design to investigate effective approaches for quantifying the removal efficiencies of key water quality parameters (e.g., BOD-5, COD, TSS, NH4-N, PO4¯³, E. coli) by varying geotextile membrane types and bio-filter media compositions within experimental rigs. The filter performance of the Biochar, Coated Chitosan on Coconut Shell Activated Carbon (CAC), Gravel and Sharp sand profile will be compared when treating reclaimed water (RW), conventional irrigation water (CW), and secondary effluent (SW) from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), using a Wastewater Reuse Prototype (WWR) to assess improvements in treatment performance, increased water supply, and reduced pollution from three (3) sources. This study will demonstrate how Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands, planted with Phragmite Australis plant species, can be used for the treatment of municipal wastewater. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the system’s efficiency in removing pollutants and facilitating nitrification. The previous research at the Guanapo Landfill Project Site demonstrated that specialised plants can slow down water to allow solids to settle, convert contaminants into less harmful substances and support microorganisms that filter and purify water. The treatment resulted in an environmentally acceptable effluent quality. The study will demonstrate how Solar Powered Automated Drip Irrigation (SPDI) system using a pump and solar panels for drip irrigation of Lettuce and Kale, can be used to quantify the water savings, energy consumption (kWh/day), and crop yield (e.g., biomass, marketable yield, water use efficiency) achieved by efficient irrigation. This research will assess Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices (KAP), and Willingness to Pay (WTP) to inform national standards for wastewater reuse. The study will explore the Water-Energy-Food nexus, focusing on the links between crop production risks, renewable energy, and the reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture. The final assessments will demonstrate that this innovative approach uses suitable technologies for safe water reclamation in agriculture, promoting environmentally safe and sustainable practices in the Caribbean.
Copyright (c) 2026 Michelle Shah, Kiran Tota-Maharaj, Hazi Azamathulla https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Numerical Simulation of Natural Ventilation Effectiveness in Removing Fire Smoke at Multi-Storey Car Park
simulation study using Fire Dynamic Simulation (FDS) has been conducted on a simplified car park model. As this work aims to analyse the effectiveness of natural ventilation in the dissipation of smoke, all models’ dimensions and opening size corresponded to the Uniform Building by Law (UBBL) 1984 requirements, which allowed the models to be without any mechanical ventilation system or alarm. The fire source is produced by a modelled car located at the centre of the building at the rate of 4MW. This is to represent a possible case within a car park area. Focuses were placed on the heat and hazardous gases produced by the car. The result shows that designs with different parameters exhibited different natural ventilation results for temperature and visibility at a preset height of 2.5m. Another critical observation was made on the smoke concentration and temperature outputs, which concentrated on the opening and tight corners. This is due to the inability of the heat flow to be removed from the building via natural ventilation. Therefore, this study reasonably concludes the importance of opening size and fire position with this simulation results and data.
Copyright (c) 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Developing a Resilient Crisis Management Plan (CMP) for the Malaysian Construction Sector
Construction is a diverse and complex sector. It consists of projects with intricate activities and interfaces between stakeholders who undergo a series of development phases using numerous resources, integration of technologies, materials, and approaches. Theoretically, construction projects can be well planned. However, it is being exposed to unanticipated events or crises that could disrupt original plans, affecting organizations’ operation and progress of construction projects. Problems may even have the propensity to destroy the organization significantly. Considering the current paradigm of crisis, the Covid-19 outbreak that emerged in late 2019 has continuously left a lasting impact on the construction industry. As of August 2020, Covid-19 has spread to over 200 countries, and the number has increased beyond 100,000 cases in Malaysia. Regardless of Covid-19 has placed great stress on all aspects worldwide, it led to the closure of most construction businesses, causing contraction towards industry growth to the greatest to extend of -7.9%, the lowest since 1999. In this context, the effort to ensure the preparedness of the construction organizations against crisis has become an issue. Hence, this paper aims to structure a framework that consists of principles and processes which can recover and develop a resilient construction industry. The method used for this study is Systematic Literature Review of related journals gathered through WOS, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, reports, and relevant references from Government Authorised agencies circa 1998 to 2020. 4262 articles were identified, and 111 papers were subsequently selected for further analysis. Based on the findings, there are five major phases of CM, including prepare, prevent, respond, evaluate, and redesign. The proposed CM includes 4 elements and 2 outputs. The preliminary findings form the foundation for an extended investigation to offer a specific crisis management plan to guide the Malaysian construction industry, specifically in Klang Valley, to be resilient during plight.
Pertinent Internal and External Issues in Industrialised Building System (IBS) Construction Business in Malaysia
Industrialised Building System (IBS) construction business has emerged as one of the potential business ventures as the Malaysian construction industry is in a constant need to shift from conventional method of construction to IBS adoption aligning to Construction 4.0 Strategic Plan 2021-2025 and The National Entrepreneurship Policy 2030 (NEP 2030). In line with boosting the IBS implementation, a brief exploratory study has been conducted to validate several IBS construction business issues among IBS contractors in Malaysia, internally and externally. From selected online databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science, 397 articles were extracted from the “Industrialised Building System (IBS) Issues in Malaysia” keywords. A set of semi-structured questionnaires was developed and pre-tested before flowing it to 25 respondents from different backgrounds in construction business related to IBS. Internally, it is discovered that the easy access to cheap labours, substantial start-up capital and ineffective IBS knowledge transfer among construction players are internal challenges that IBS contractors must endure. Concurrently discovered, IBS contractors are externally challenged by heavy Chinese-led and big boys construction project monopoly, government’s weak push for IBS technology, securing smooth payment delivery, and the unstable political climate in the Malaysian political scenarios. This paper aims to validate and outreach the challenges IBS contractors face internally and externally to strategize the business plan systematically.
Improving the Effectiveness of Risk Management Among Sub-Contractors in the Northern State of Malaysia
The risk should be managed crucially by any level of multidiscipline. Construction activities involved hazardous situations and unpredictable incidents during construction. There is a central issue triggered by subcontractors’ tasks, i.e., failure to manage the risk management of main contractors effectively. Many factors contributed to the ineffectiveness of risk management implementation among sub-contractors, including lack of skills and expertise, lack of experience, and communication breakdown with the team. Therefore, this paper significantly provides the results of a survey of sub-contractors involved in the Northern construction projects. The goal of this study concerns the strategies to improve the effectiveness of sub-contractors in managing the risk on site. These are described with the results of the questionnaire survey analysis from 300 respondents. The respondents are from sub-contractors among G1 to G4 in the northern state of East Malaysia. Using the KruskalWallis test, sixteen strategies were identified from the literature have been tested among the sub-contractors. The finding reveals that only ten approaches, i.e., effective site management and supervision, experience contractors, good feasibility studies, project understanding, thoroughly investigate vendor capabilities, frequent progress meetings, systematic coordination between parties, allocation enough resources, the right path, and proper identification of risk does give significant strategies to improve implementation of risk management among sub-contractors in the northern states of Malaysia.
Covid-19: Factors Affecting on Awareness Level of the Force Majeure Clause in the Construction Contract
The spread of the Covid-19 had forced the whole world to enforce the lockdown where all the business sectors and daily activities were on hold and new norms adopted since 2020 until now. The construction industry was one of the sectors severely affected by this outbreak, including Malaysia. Various constructionrelated issues arose, and the construction clause on Force Majeure became the talk of the town. Endless discussions and arguments arose regarding determining the Covid-19 impact to the contracting party who plan to seek relief using this clause. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the current awareness and importance of the Force Majeure clause in the construction contract in the realm of the Covid-19 outbreak. This pandemic was a new phenomenon, and there were limited law references that can be referred to in determining the best way to deal with its contractual effects. This study was carried out using a mixed methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 respondents, mainly the contract administration. Questionnaire surveys were distributed to 47 respondents. Interviewed data were analyzed using Atlas-ti 9 software to produce more scientific and well-grounded results, and descriptive analyses were conducted for the questionnaire survey. Finding from this paper reveals that there was a varying level of awareness of the Force Majeure clause, mainly due to a lack of experience in dealing with Force Majeure. There was a significantly different understanding of the actual Force Majeure definition and how the clause can be evoked. The respondents were also unsure how the clause could provide complete protection to the contracting parties. This study also concluded some recommendations to improve the enforcement of the Force Majeure clause for future declaration.