Critical success factors for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects: academics and construction practitioners’ perspectives
Abstract
Purpose
The application of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology in construction projects is of increasing interest to researchers and construction practitioners. Although the application of 3D printing technology at various stages of the project lifecycle has been explored, few studies have identified the relative importance of critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. To address this research gap, this study aims to explore the academics (i.e. researchers) and construction practitioners’ perspectives on CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
To do this, a questionnaire was administered to participants (i.e. academics and construction practitioners) with knowledge and expertise in 3D printing technology in construction projects. The collected data were analysed using mean score ranking, normalization and rank agreement analysis to identify CSFs and determine the consistency of the ranking of CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the relationships and underlying constructs of the measured CSFs.
Findings
Through a rank agreement analysis of the collected data, 11 CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology were retrieved (i.e. 17% agreement), indicating a diverse agreement in the ranking of the CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, the results show three key components of CSFs including “production demand enabling CSFs”, “optimize the construction process enabling CSFs” and “optimized design enabling CSFs”.
Originality/value
This study highlights the feasibility of implementing the identified CSFs for 3D printing technology in construction projects, which not only serves as a reference for other researchers but also increases construction practitioners’ awareness of the practical benefits of implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. Specifically, it would optimize the construction lifecycle processes, enhance digital transformation and promote sustainable construction projects.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Department of Civil Engineering, Aston University, Birmingham, UK for supporting this research. They are also grateful to the Editor and Reviewers for their immense comments in improving the quality of this paper. This paper forms part of the first author’s research project where similar research backgrounds, but different scopes and/or analyses may have been published.
Declarations of interest: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Citation
Chang, R. and Antwi-Afari, M.F. (2023), "Critical success factors for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects: academics and construction practitioners’ perspectives", Construction Innovation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-04-2023-0060
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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