Editorial

This latest issue (Volume 177, Issue 4) of the ICE’s Management, Procurement, and Law is a collection of eight articles and one briefing collectively themed ‘Digital Construction in Focus’. The articles cover digital twin (DT), predictive modelling (PM), virtual reality (VR), and wearable technology (WT) applications in a typical project life cycle with implications for safety, time and productivity outcomes. These articles and the briefing note align with the targets of sustainable development goals: three (good health and wellbeing), nine (industry, innovation and infrastructure) and 11 (sustainable cities and communities).The ‘Digital Construction in Focus’ issue begins with the briefing note by Skilling and Smith (2024), which addresses safety observation reporting (SOR) in the construction industry in the United Kingdom (UK). The premise of the reported SOR study in the briefing note is that its benefits are unclear. If the benefits are unclear to project actors, especially contractors, SOR risks being dumped into the ‘over-regulation of safety bin’ most mentioned in the industry. The briefing guides how information from SOR can proactively contribute to preventative interventions. ‘Learning’ is vital to improvement. This notion is essential to SOR and implied in the next article on digital twins. In their article, Speiser and Teizer (2024) report on the automated creation of personalised construction safety training in digital twins (DT). The article introduces a novel approach on how DT could create a virtual training environment (VTE) for safer construction operations. The fact that emerging virtual training methods still need to mirror reality underscores the importance of helpful knowledge shared in the article. The must-read article demonstrates the ability of a digital twin for construction safety (DTCS) framework to create effective VTEs with meaningful feedback to trainees to minimise hazards. The following article is also data-driven with DT applications to the asset life cycle. Here, Whitmore et al. (2024) reviewed the application of DT in process industries, civil infrastructure, and manufacturing. They observed that the benefit of DT is not consistent with the rhetoric. They noted that people involved in the operations and maintenance of assets perceive that DT is not meeting their expectations. The managerial recommendations from the article is worth exploring further in future research.The third and fourth articles concern predictive modelling, another construction 4.0 digital tool. Demirkesen (2024) attempts to predict the number of insured in construction accidents in Türkiye. The article is about how to forecast workplace accidents better so that general principles of prevention (GPP) will be deployed appropriately. Using a neural network fitted with a novel algorithm, the reported study predicted future accidents in 22 occupational groups in the Turkish construction industry. The contribution of the model is centred on the precision of forecasting across varying job categories. The second article on predictive modelling by Johansen et al. (2024) seeks to lower construction worker’s exposure to falling objects. It is widely known that falling from height is one of the fatal accidents that is dominant in the industry. Across many countries and regions, contractors and agencies have not stopped recording fatalities from ‘fall from height’ yearly. It is, therefore, vital to reduce it using multiple tools. The automated quantification of construction workers’ exposure to falling objects on sites by Johansen et al. (2024) indicates that using building information modelling (BIM), artificial intelligence (AI) and relevant sensors for safety analysis could lead to better hazard identification and removal. The combinatorial analysis is novel and worthy of the attention of practitioners and scholars in construction safety.The fifth and sixth articles concern the application of virtual reality (VR) as a digital tool in construction. In article five of the issue, Swallow and Zulu (2024) provide insights into using VR to enhance collaboration and engagement in construction site safety and logistics planning. The article is particularly relevant to construction managers or site managers involved in site planning and logistics management because it shows that VR positively impacts collaboration and engagement with project actors affiliated with multiple disciplines. Next, Tender et al. (2024) examined how VR is used for occupational safety and health (OSH) in a tunnelling megaproject in the UK. The article is about a case study project where BIM and VR were used for OSH training of the workforce. The authors observe that using these tools led to better safety in design and improved hazard perception.The seventh and eighth articles concern visualisation tools and wearable technologies (WT). Botha et al. (2024) are concerned about pre-construction services (PCS) and the need to correctly time engagements with relevant parties. With New Zealand as a case study, the authors suggest that a visualisation tool may assist in obtaining a better outcome since a relationship exists between PCS timing, project complexity and scale. Both clients and contractors will gain from the knowledge shared in the article. Finally, Sherratt et al. (2024) shared what they know about WT and construction Occupation safety, health and wellbeing (OSHW). The review by Sherratt et al. (2024) cautions the sector riding on the wave of ‘technological optimism’ to deliberate on the notion that a panacea for the OSHW in construction operations is within reach.The articles in Volume 177 Issue 4 of MPL urge the readers to appreciate the digital transformation of the construction industry (Construction 4.0). The research articles in this issue showcase BIM, DT, VR, PM, and WT to foreground that technological forces are driving change in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector through research and practise. These articles are published Ahead of Print on the ICE Virtual Library homepage. As a CIB-partner journal, Ahead of Print MPL articles highlight the latest ideas and best practices for moving the AEC forward. The editorial board of MPL appreciates the journal's continued support.Happy reading!