The global push for net zero emissions by mid-century is reshaping the competencies required in managing buildings. The built environment is a major front in climate mitigation, accounting for an estimated 38% of energy-related carbon emissions worldwide. This study reviews the tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to future-proof facility management (FM) professionals in alignment with evolving climate legislation, with a focus on the UKâs NetZero 2050 target. Through a critical synthesis of recent academic, industry, and policy literature, five key themes emerge: the rise of carbon literacy and regulatory fluency as core FM competencies, the urgency of digital proficiency, the importance of strategic communication, persistent gaps in training frameworks, and the uneven integration of sustainability tools in practice. Institutional barriers, such as outdated qualifications and limited upskilling opportunities are identified alongside technical challenges. A conceptual framework is proposed to guide FM upskilling, tool integration, and strategic repositioning within organizations. The findings offer actionable insights for industry bodies, training providers, and policymakers to align FM practice with national and global climate goals, highlighting that empowering FM professionals is pivotal to achieving decarbonisation targets.
Academic, practitioner, and policy interest in digital labor platforms (DLPs)âbusinesses that use their digital infrastructure to intermediate transactions between workers and clients who need their servicesâis surging. While these transformational platforms have brought many benefits, there are growing concerns about the harms and entrepreneurial risks they create for workers. As such, there is a growing interest in problematizing the ownership and governance of DLPs. Our paper critically compares three increasingly common archetypesâCorporate DLPs, Cooperative DLPs, and Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) DLPsâto discern their likelihood of addressing or exacerbating platform workersâ exposure to harms and entrepreneurial risks. Our analysis identifies promising new opportunities for those interested in cultivating a digital solidarity economy by highlighting the merits and demerits of different alternatives to Corporate DLPs, as well as promising new hybrids like Cooperative DAO DLPs. Furthermore, it advances our understanding of factors that contribute to DLPsâ being structured in particular ways and how choices about DLPsâ structures, in turn, prompt the evolution of organizational archetypes. ⢠Calls for regulating a plurality of organisational archetypes in the digital economy to mitigate harms and risks to workers. ⢠Evaluates the harms and entrepreneurial risks of workers across 3 archetypes: Corporate DLPs, Cooperative DLPs, and DAO DLPs. ⢠Identifies two variants of DAO DLPs, the Non-Cooperative DAO DLP and the Cooperative DAO DLP. ⢠Furthers our conceptual understanding of the benefits, risks, and harms of the burgeoning digital solidarity economy.
Traditional facility management often relies on centralized decision-making structures that limit stakeholder participation, leading to misalignment with occupant needs and reduced satisfaction. This paper proposes a novel blockchain- and Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)-based framework for community-based facilities management in smart buildings. The framework comprises two key components: a decentralized governance platform that facilitates transparent collective decision-making through blockchain-based voting, and a maintenance management platform with an incentivization mechanism that encourages building occupants to actively contribute to facility upkeep through tokenized rewards. System evaluation includes cost analysis, scalability, data security considerations, usability testing, and semi-structured interviews with facility managers and researchers to assess the platform's usefulness, challenges, and adoption potential. The findings demonstrate the framework's potential as a viable incentivization solution for engaging stakeholders in the collective upkeep and improvement of building infrastructure.
BACKGROUND: Kenyaâs public tertiary healthcare is facing persistent quality of healthcare challenges characterized by acute shortage of healthcare workers, frequent industrial unrest, broken-down healthcare facilities, and erratic supply of essential commodities. To address these systemic challenges the government introduced the asset lease financing (ALF) mechanism aimed at strengthen tertiary hospitals through modern medical equipment and technologies. However, the effect of ALF on quality remains highly debated and controversial. This study examined the effect and constraints of ALF in improving quality of healthcare within Kenyaâs tertiary hospitals. METHODS: A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed with quantitative data collected from 145 hospital managers, staff and patients. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participants characteristics and indicators of study variables. Ordinary least square regression was then used to estimate the effect of ALF on quality of tertiary healthcare, controlling for existing traditional funding. Complementary qualitative insights were gathered from 26 policymakers, hospital managers, and health financing experts through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns in strengths and constraints. Integration of findings happened through triangulation to enhance interpretation and understanding. RESULTS: Analysis showed that asset lease financing had a significant positive effect on quality of tertiary healthcare (β = 0.587, p < 0.01), explaining 26% of the variance. When traditional funding was controlled, ALF remained significant (β = 0.495, p < 0.01), with the model explaining 33% of the variance. Respondents attributed this to improved access to advanced diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, as well as expanded service capacity. However, descriptive summaries and qualitative perspectives revealed several constraints limiting ALF optimal effect in improving tertiary healthcare quality in Kenya. Stakeholders noted high recurrent costs, under-utilized assets, weak contract negotiation, and top-down procurement processes that limited hospital autonomy and contribution. Operational gaps, including inadequate training and delayed maintenance, further constrained ALF effect on quality. CONCLUSIONS: ALF has the potential to enhance quality of healthcare and technological capacity in Kenyaâs tertiary hospitals, but its effects are contingent on robust governance, effective contract design, and alignment with institutional capacity which seem lacking in the Kenyan context. Without these safeguards, current leasing arrangements risk becoming fiscally unsustainable with little quality enhancement. Policymakers should strengthen transparency, decentralize decision-making, and incorporate performance-based provisions into leasing contracts to maximize ALF effect in enhancing quality of care.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current state of research on the integration of blockchain and building information modelling (BIM) in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) industry as a means of identifying gaps between the existing paradigm and practical applications for determining future research directions and improving the industry. The study aims to provide clear guidance on areas that need attention for further research and funding and to draw academic attention to factors beyond the technical dimension. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method systematic review is used, considering multiple literature types and using a sociotechnical perspective-based framework that covers three dimensions (technic, process and context) and three research elements (why, what and how). Data are retrieved and analysed from the Web of Science and Scopus databases for the 2017â2023 period. Findings While blockchain has the potential to address security, traceability and transparency and complement the system by integrating supporting applications, significant gaps still exist between these potentials and widespread industry adoption. Current limitations and further research needs are identified, including designing fully integrated prototypes, empirical research to identify operational processes, testing and analysing operational-level models or applications and developing and applying a technology acceptance model for the integration paradigm. Previous research lacks contextual settings, real-world tests or empirical investigations and is primarily conceptual. Originality/value This paper provides a comprehensive, critical systematic review of the integration of blockchain with BIM in the construction industry, using a sociotechnical perspective-based framework which can be applied in future reviews. The study provides insight into the current state and future opportunities for policymakers and practitioners in the AECO industry to prepare for the transition in this disruptive paradigm. It also provides a phased plan along with a clear direction for the transition to more advanced applications.
With the emergence of Miner Extractable Value (MEV), block construction markets on blockchains have evolved into a competitive arena. Following Ethereum's transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS), the Proposer Builder Separation (PBS) mechanism has emerged as the dominant force in the Ethereum block construction market. This paper presents an in-depth longitudinal study of the Ethereum block construction market, spanning from the introduction of PoS and PBS in September 2022 to May 2023. We analyze the market shares of builders and relays, their temporal changes, and the financial dynamics within the PBS system, including payments among builders and block proposers -- commonly referred to as bribes. We introduce an MEV-time law quantifying the expected MEV revenue wrt. the time elapsed since the last proposed block. We provide empirical evidence that moments of crisis (e.g. the FTX collapse, USDC stablecoin de-peg) coincide with significant spikes in MEV payments compared to the baseline. Despite the intention of the PBS architecture to enhance decentralization by separating actor roles, it remains unclear whether its design is optimal. Implicit trust assumptions and conflicts of interest may benefit particular parties and foster the need for vertical integration. MEV-Boost was explicitly designed to foster decentralization, causing the side effect of enabling risk-free sandwich extraction from unsuspecting users, potentially raising concerns for regulators.
The building sectorâs decarbonization progress made to date has not been enough to achieve the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C1. To avert a catastrophic climate disaster, mobilizing capital at the requisite scale and speed is urgently needed. However, as things stand, the investment in building decarbonization is unlikely to increase radically in the next few years. One of the biggest challenges is the financial barrier of decarbonization's demand and supply side. This barrier will lead to significant investment gaps and a subsequent market failure to deliver the net zero carbon emission target. With the rise of the voluntary carbon market and carbon data disclosure mandates, an emerging cohort of Web3 startups is helping corporations track, tokenize, and transact energy or carbon impact. This phenomenon inspired us to revisit monetizing carbon value in commercial real estate to bridge the decarbonization financing barrier. We identified four challenges to make this idea work: 1) measurement and verification, 2) streamlined automation, 3) stakeholder incentive alignment, and 4) fixing the failing carbon market. We examine if Web3 decarbonization solutions can tackle those four challenges in monetizing building decarbonization. By looking into Web3 applications in decarbonization data management, tokenization, and marketplace, we unpack the unique capabilities and potentials of Web3 solutions and how they are different from the status quo to accelerate decarbonization in commercial real estate. The findings are a mixture of "the emperor's new clothes" and " the next big thing ."Web3 startups are immature â most are at or before proof of concept. Nonetheless, Web3 technologies can play a role in providing improvements to carbon data management, aligning stakeholders' incentives, and increasing efficiency in the energy or carbon markets.
Ehsan Bakhtiarizadeh, Wajiha Shahzad, Mani Poshdar, James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi
Abstract Different industries are modernising their systems and introducing innovations to their management practices. However, the construction industry is recognised for its lack of technological systems on which the success of this sector is deemed to be heavily dependent. Previous studies have focused on enhancing the off-site construction supply chain. However, studies on the importance and utilisation of technology in this sub-sector are scarce, predominantly where the efficiency of off-site supply chain management is stalled as a consequence of the slow implementation of technology. Thus, this article employs an exploratory approach by providing insight into the applicability of blockchain technology in New Zealandâs off-site construction and demonstrates the benefits associated with the adoption of this technology. A literature review was used to identify stakeholdersâ interrelationships in different stages of prefabrication projects. Then, a pilot interview from industry experts followed by a questionnaire survey was used to determine the involvement of stakeholders in different phases and the benefits that blockchain technology can bring to this industry. The results indicate that using blockchain as a secure information management system could improve the integration of prefabrication supply systems by producing a collaborative atmosphere amongst the organisations involved.
Laura CambraâRufino, Andrea Brambilla, JosĂŠ LeĂłn Paniagua CaparrĂłs, Stefano Capolongo
AIM: The research sheds light on the challenges and limitations of Spanish and Italian hospital design by looking at the gaps between education and practice. BACKGROUND: Hospital design plays an important role in providing high-quality and cost-effective facilities for any healthcare system. Spain and Italy face contemporary challenges (i.e., elderly population, staff retention, and obsolete healthcare facilities) and have similar issues of life expectancy, health expenditure, hospital beds provision, and decentralized tax-financed healthcare systems. METHOD: A cross-sectional, mixed-method study was used. This involved two different data collection strategies and analysis for each area of investigation: (i) education and (ii) practice. For the former, educational programs were reviewed via a web search; for the latter, an online survey of 53 architectural/engineering offices involved in hospital design was conducted. RESULTS: Hospital design education is limited to 0/58 in Spanish and 2/60 courses in Italian universities, although each country offers three postgraduate courses. The practitioners' survey shows that even though their offices have a long history of healthcare design, only 48% in Spain and 60% in Italy have received specific university training. Office staff lack employees with medical backgrounds, which hinders any partnership between health and design fields either for design practice or the education fields. Laws, national regulations, technical guidelines, and previous experience are the most useful information sources, while international scientific publications appear underused by practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: Italian and Spanish healthcare architecture could be improved by promoting multidisciplinary teams (in practice and education) and improving the education offer by tailoring it to national needs.
Nikolai Siniak, Tom Kauko, Sergey Shavrov, Ninoslav Marina
Abstract The real estate industry is currently undergoing a digital transformation that not only changes its nature in terms of the markets and work environments, but is also influencing its growth. What are the main trends and concerns related to this transformation? To what extent is the real estate industry already prepared for this? This paper reviews the situation in terms of the emergence of a phenomenon known as PropTech. PropTech is characterized by the massive implementation of emerging technology such as home matching tools, drones, virtual reality, building information modelling (BIM), data analytics tools, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain, smart contracts, crowdfunding in the real estate sector, fintechs related to real estate, smart cities, regions, smart homes and shared economy. This survey of changes in the real estate industry due to PropTech covers four areas: (1) PropTech applications in the real estate industry; (2) implications of PropTech for real estate market transparency; (3) how PropTech could give a region or a company a competitive advantage; and (4) concerns on the wider implications of these changes on a labour market and education. In a plausible scenario, changing the real estate technologies could change system dynamics and improve real estate market transparency. Moreover, it can be asserted that, in a broader sense, PropTech is beneficial for territorial competition and territorial growth strategies. And lastly, under different institutional arrangements, PropTech can affect the changing structure of the real estate market, the demand for hi-tech, new skills as well as emerging policy challenges for the real estate industry.