An integrated management system (IMS) approach to sustainable construction development and management

Abstract

Construction is significantly contributing to the severe environmental crisis it is facing. The sector consumes over 3 billion tons of raw materials annually, and its activities account for 40% of global CO₂ emissions. Traditional integrated strategies toward fragmented sustainability cannot offer total optimization. In this respect, the present research presents an integrated management system (IMS) containing a composite of metrics for sustainable construction management (SCM). This research was specifically geared to test the relationship between the elements of IMS and SCM from the perspective of the construction industry. A quantitative survey tested through 119 professionals was used for data collection. It is established through structural equation modeling (SEM) that the internal consistency of Cronbach’s Alpha 0.72–0.95 and construct validity was strong. The Fornell-Larcker criterion was realized to affirm good discriminant validity. Crucial results identified the presence of significant impacts for quality management (QM) (β = 0.643, p < 0.001), risk management (RM) (β = 0.53, p < 0.001), and safety management (SM) (β = 0.439, p < 0.001). Therefore, this study further enhances the scalability of IMS so that it is practically applied to improve project quality and safety, along with risk management. Future research could also focus on studying the context of the integration of IMS with SCM and continue to work using objective performance measures to validate these findings.