Beyond the iron-triangle: Accommodating sustainable construction in the new-normal conditions. In: Sandanayake

Abstract

As one of the economic stabilisers in Sri Lanka, the construction industry is affected severely due to the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Unbalance of the Irontriangle which refers to key Construction Project Goals (CPG) (i.e., time, cost, and quality) is one of the phenomena that can be addressed while Sustainable Development (SD) (i.e., economic, social, and environmental sustainability) has been streamlined to worse condition. Even though, sustainability must be prioritised in developing countries e.g., Sri Lanka, where significant construction works are currently underway, especially during this situation. Further, the appropriate construction and implementation in a construction project can make a dramatic contribution to the mandate of sustainable development. Hence, this research intends to investigate how the Iron triangle would be unbalanced during the new-normal situation where it has a significant impact on SD simultaneously. A qualitative survey strategy was used to achieve the research aim. A semi-structured interview survey was conducted to solicit the perception of experts. Nine experts were selected purposively, who had experience in both Sustainable Construction (SC) and project management, especially proceedings during the new-normal condition. To analyse the empirical data, the manual content analysis method was used. As the decisive outcome, the ‘Iron-star’ model was developed by merging the Sustainable triangle and Iron-triangle which pertained to the interrelation between SD and Construction Project Goals (CPG). Initially, interrelations between SD measures and CPG were cogitated by literature findings. Economic depletion, health-related issues, supply chain disruption, and cash flow issues were identified as interventions to achieve CPG through SD measures. Further, it revealed that the Iron-star can implement as the way forward for the construction industry in the Sri Lankan (SL) context.