Dima Jawad

Critical transportation networks in developing countries often lack structural robustness and functional redundancy due to insufficient planning and preparedness. These deficiencies increase vulnerability to disruptions and impede effective post-disaster response and recovery. Understanding how such networks perform under stress is essential to improving resilience in hazard-prone urban environments. This paper presents an integrated predictive methodology for assessing the operational resilience of urban transportation networks under extreme events, specifically tailored to data-scarce and high-risk contexts. By combining Geographic Information Systems (GISs) with complex network theory, the framework captures both spatial and topological dependencies. The methodology is applied to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, a densely populated and disaster-prone Mediterranean city, through scenario-based simulations that account for interdependent stressors such as traffic dynamics, structural fragility, and geophysical hazards. Results reveal that the network exhibits low redundancy and high sensitivity to even minor disruptions, leading to rapid performance degradation. These findings indicate that the network should be classified as highly vulnerable. The study offers a robust framework for assessing infrastructure resilience and supporting evidence-based decision-making in critical urban network management.

The risk–benefit analysis of ERP implementation is worth investigating to optimize the efficiency of ERP deployment in the construction sector. This study investigates the factors affecting the dissipation of ERP through diffusion models in developing countries. Moreover, it suggests a strategy to adopt ERP modules that optimize process integration and project efficiency through the priority factors method. According to the study, the internal model best describes the studied modules, and it suggests that imitative behavior and word of mouth significantly influence ERP adoption in the Africa and Middle East regions. This research concludes with an optimized order for deploying ERP modules based on the importance, urgency, and ease of implementation of each module. It is as follows: work progress (500), budgeting (405), procurement (343), site operations (280), planning and scheduling (270), accounting (252), inventory management (126), document control (90), and tendering (6). Therefore, it can be concluded that this study fills the research gap of ERP module adoption using diffusion models and priority factors within the construction industry, specifically in the specified regions. However, considering dynamic influence factors might provide more precise predictions, while involving a greater number of companies’ owners might highlight a greater importance of external factors.

Construction Enterprise Resource Planning (CERP) systems started to infiltrate the construction world after ERPs became crucial in modern enterprises. In simple terms, CERP integrate and keep track of the various processes within construction companies. As a minimum, these possess include management of general contractors, subcontractors, financial work, accounting, payroll, logistics, workflow processes ... data related to different processes are stored within one unique database. Despite this intuitive objective, developing and standardizing CERP systems to fit the needs of all construction companies is not a straightforward course. This research focuses on the development of a framework that integrates the minimum required modules to be included within a CERP, specifically for road and infrastructure construction companies. This objective is achieved based on literature review on CERP despite its shortage, in-depth interviews with construction professionals requiring CERP, and the results of a structured questionnaire filled by CERP users and developers. The developed framework identifies the procurement module linked to the on-site deliveries as the first stone that should be developed and implemented. Then, budgeting and work progress modules must be added. After that, timesheet and equipment follow-up modules need to be implemented. Limitations encountered highlighted the main considerations to be considered in future work such as the cost, the company's size, development and implementation period, and type of work.

With about $10 trillion spent on construction-related goods and services every year worldwide, advancing the construction industry, one of the largest sectors in the world economy, becomes crucial. Diffusing building information modeling (BIM), one noticeable advancement in construction process modeling, has been the objective of many academic studies as well as state-of-the-review literature. Deviating from approaches of other studies, this research paper presents a novel conceptual analysis and a critical review of the barriers to BIM adoption in the construction industry. This study looks first at the mechanisms of BIM diffusion by performing comparative analyzes between various construction innovative solutions (lean construction, Six Sigma, and IPD) to identify the similarities and the differences in their adoption approaches. Then, BIM barriers are analyzed based on the sociotechnical theory which categorizes the influencing factors along four dimensions: people, tasks, structures, and organization. The results highlight substantial resemblance among the adoption approaches of various innovative concepts mainly in two aspects, people and tasks, pointing out that spreading the knowledge of a new methodology, examining the participants’ attitude and mindset towards it, and deciding on the adoption process based on the financial recourses and the human skills necessary for the adoption of any concept. Additionally, the study shows that BIM barriers are established mainly by the social behavior of practitioners and the social measures of the construction sector, indicating that social variables (people and structure) are responsible for the largest portion of implementation failures due to the cruciality of human decisions. Moreover, the study clearly demonstrates that the impact dimension of a limitation is not identical to its root cause dimension.

In the field of infrastructure planning and management, utilizing life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is considered a mandatory requisite for achieving the sustainability of our infrastructure facilities. Even though LCCA model is readily available in textbooks, yet applying LCCA is never a simple routine. Reviewing academic literature and industry guidelines yields wide ranging models of LCCA. One of the main reasons for this disparity is that advancement in analyzing the performance and the impacts of different types of infrastructure facilities has progressed at different levels. This paper presents a general framework and guidelines for conducting LCCA for infrastructure facilities. The main aim of this framework is to guide practitioners in infrastructure management in applying this technique; but in due course, the comparative analysis between different types of infrastructure facilities presented will underline deficiencies and snags in applying LCCA and further drive besought research and advancement.

Among various methods used to quantify the impacts of the construction industry, this study considers cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) of Portland cement concrete (PCC); in specific, the application of a LCA to concrete production in developing nations, focusing on the country of Lebanon. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to quantify the emissions of PCC industry in Lebanon, requiring extensive data collection. This work complies to the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards and covers the life cycle starting with raw material extraction and ending with the demolition of a concrete structure. Emissions during the life span of the concrete structure are excluded. Four impact categories were addressed: global warming potential (GWP), photochemical oxidant creation potential (POCP), eutrophication potential (EP), and acidification potential (AP), in addition to energy demand. Local data was collected, via direct contact with: mixing plant operators, cement factory administrators, and fuel importing companies. The results of LCA indicated that 1 m³ of concrete contributed to 348 kg CO₂-eq in GWP, 87 g Ethylene-eq in POCP, 61 g PO4-eq in EP, and 1.63 kg SO2-eq in AP. Conforming to research in other regions, it was found that cement production phase in the PCC life cycle is responsible for the majority of emissions, contributing to 307 kg CO₂-eq in GWP, 59 g Ethylene-eq in POCP, 32 g PO4-eq in EP, and 1.25 kg SO2-eq in AP, always per m³ of concrete.

After the recent deepwater gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean countries that share the same geological offshore basin with Lebanon, Lebanon’s government estimates that there are potential natural gas reserves of around 25 trillion cubic feet, located in its offshore territory. This potential has risen hope for a future with greater energy independence and lesser urban pollution within the two main sectors power generation and transportation. In this realm, this paper presents an ex-ante evaluation of shifting transit vehicles fleet from the current practice of gasoline fuel into natural gas fuel. The evaluation is done through probabilistic cost benefit analysis (CBA). The various options and scenarios for this shift is established taking into consideration the type of natural gas fuel, type of deployment, and stages of deployment. Costs associated with each scenario are estimated and include costs of required infrastructure and refueling stations, capital cost for vehicles, NG converters, fuel costs, life cycle vehicle operating costs and emissions. Expected benefits include direct user savings, emissions reductions, and health benefits. Scenarios of the effects of fuel price fluctuations will be addressed within the CBA analysis using the probabilistic approach. A Monte Carlo simulation will be applied to capture the variability and sensitivity of each of the input parameters, in specific the economic parameters, the interest rate and inflation rate. Results of comparing the costs, outcomes/benefits, strengths and weaknesses of the considered options are provided for the short and long terms.

The transparent practice of involving stakeholders in the decision making process can largely aid in eliminating opposition against sensitive and highly-debated transportation projects. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), in particular, is able to consider opposing points of view of multiple stakeholders. This paper presents the research done in the realm of MCDA with the objective of identifying the appropriate technique within MCDA process that can best aid in building consensus among stakeholders. The work is done by examining a number of widespread techniques used at each MCDA step through its application to real-case study. Assessing stakeholders' perceptions of each of these techniques is conducted throughout the analysis process. After presenting the case study decision context and the application of the MCDA techniques results in detail, the paper concludes with matrix recommendations for building consensus via MCDA. The research finds weight elicitation via pairwise comparison, scaling via modeling and utility function, and amalgamation via the probabilistic impact index method perform best with regards to providing confidence and building consensus among stakeholders.