Value Engineering Role in Construction Sustainability During COVID-19 Pandemic in KSA

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to evaluate COVID-19 pandemic implications on the construction sector in the Eastern region of KSA and identify how Value Engineering strategies mitigate those implications. Methods: A survey questionnaire was distributed among the Eastern region's construction organizations. The samples of the study were selected randomly. The items' consistency and stability in each grouped category of the questionnaire were checked using Cronbach's Alpha value. Statistical analysis was performed using MS Excel, and the Relative Importance Index was calculated to determine the pandemic implication size on the elements of the construction projects. Findings: The survey's integrated results revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected laborer productivity (ranked from the most affected element to the least affected element depending on the element's RII value), project schedule, project budget. The least affected element is the project scope respectively. The pandemic consequences were more harmful to the contractors than to the consultants, primarily due to the different nature of their work. The implications of the civil roaming ban on construction organizations were more extensive than the flight ban. 84% of the participants agreed that Value Engineering has an essential role in the construction sector's sustainability during the pandemic. The study findings agreed with the previous studies done in other countries. Since the study was conducted immediately after the Saudi government imposed civil roaming and the flight ban, its results were distinguished by exclusivity. Novelty: The COVID-19 pandemic implication size on the construction industry in the Eastern region of KSA was utilized in providing a statistical equation based on the induction of the participants' responses.