Table 1. Challenges for the I4.0-tech... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1.

Challenges for the I4.0-tech adoption in the CI

Challenge	Description
Resistance to adopt	Being a conservative industry, embracing change is recognised as a challenge (Demirkesen and Tezel, 2021). The shift from current practices to more automated and integrated practices has instilled fear in people of being unemployed or having to reposition their skills elsewhere (Allen, 2017; Schwab, 2017)
High implementation costs	Most CI companies are SMEs, restricting their ability to make significant investments (Alaloul et al., 2021). Since I4.0 requires high investments in technical equipment, training and support, maintenance and external consultancy, it is challenging for the companies (Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020; Nnaji and Karakhan, 2020; Arabshahi et al., 2021). Issues such as the inability to predict cost savings and the lack of benchmarks to evaluate business improvements make adoption more questionable (Arayici and Coates, 2012)
Unclear benefits and gains	For the CI to invest in technology and innovation, it needs a clear understanding of the value generated (Arabshahi et al., 2021). Currently, the benefits of I4.0 are not well-defined, investing a significant challenge (Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016; Demirkesen and Tezel, 2021)
Lack of skilled workforce	I4.0 requires specific advanced knowledge and competencies, increasing the need for training and development (Delgado et al., 2019; Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020; Arabshahi et al., 2021). Therefore, construction firms are challenged to attract employees with new talents, strong leadership and competencies, who can continue learning, adapt and be challenged while creating opportunities for innovation (Schwab, 2017; Fonseca, 2018)
Organisational change requirement	I4.0 requires re-evaluation and re-design of current business models to successfully adapt and enhance growth (Arayici and Coates, 2012; Smith, 2014a). This is because, as the construction process involves multiple parties, the entire process would be affected (Alaloul et al., 2021)
Lack of collaboration	The fragmented nature of professional practice in the built environment is a critical challenge for the I4.0 transformation since it requires parties to collaborate (Musa et al., 2016; Delgado et al., 2019; Sawhney et al., 2020). Lack of collaboration could thus result in issues related to the availability of accurate data and responsibilities (Criminale and Langar, 2017; Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020)
Lack of standards and reference architecture	Being a platform that facilitates interoperability throughout the process, I4.0 requires global standards and data-sharing protocols (Luthra and Mangla, 2018). Thus, a single set of common standards and reference architecture is needed for the network to work smoothly and consistently among stakeholders who adopt different technologies, methods and processes (Ma et al., 2017)
Data security and data protection	Security has significant implications for integrating physical and virtual space (Moeuf et al., 2018). I4.0 demands high-security levels, as exposure results in the system becoming vulnerable through its embedded devices due to its deployment, mobility and complexity (Pereira et al., 2017; Xu et al., 2018). Growing data volumes and sharing information through online platforms have thus resulted in concerns around user identity, access management, data management and data protection
Lack of regulatory compliance	I4.0 raises uncertainties in applying the current laws to future digitised environments. This is mainly because of the generation of data that may raise ethical and legal concerns. Hence, privacy and data protection restrictions have to be checked with the help of legal experts from the outset of the construction process (Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016)
Contractual uncertainty	The lack of a pre-determined contractual basis for construction projects is another obstacle to adopting I4.0 (Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020; Arabshahi et al., 2021). Because various machines, facilities and humans are interconnected within a cyber-physical network, data privacy and security issues must be considered when developing legal frameworks (Luthra and Mangla, 2018)

Challenge	Description
Resistance to adopt	Being a conservative industry, embracing change is recognised as a challenge (Demirkesen and Tezel, 2021). The shift from current practices to more automated and integrated practices has instilled fear in people of being unemployed or having to reposition their skills elsewhere (Allen, 2017; Schwab, 2017)
High implementation costs	Most CI companies are SMEs, restricting their ability to make significant investments (Alaloul et al., 2021). Since I4.0 requires high investments in technical equipment, training and support, maintenance and external consultancy, it is challenging for the companies (Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020; Nnaji and Karakhan, 2020; Arabshahi et al., 2021). Issues such as the inability to predict cost savings and the lack of benchmarks to evaluate business improvements make adoption more questionable (Arayici and Coates, 2012)
Unclear benefits and gains	For the CI to invest in technology and innovation, it needs a clear understanding of the value generated (Arabshahi et al., 2021). Currently, the benefits of I4.0 are not well-defined, investing a significant challenge (Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016; Demirkesen and Tezel, 2021)
Lack of skilled workforce	I4.0 requires specific advanced knowledge and competencies, increasing the need for training and development (Delgado et al., 2019; Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020; Arabshahi et al., 2021). Therefore, construction firms are challenged to attract employees with new talents, strong leadership and competencies, who can continue learning, adapt and be challenged while creating opportunities for innovation (Schwab, 2017; Fonseca, 2018)
Organisational change requirement	I4.0 requires re-evaluation and re-design of current business models to successfully adapt and enhance growth (Arayici and Coates, 2012; Smith, 2014a). This is because, as the construction process involves multiple parties, the entire process would be affected (Alaloul et al., 2021)
Lack of collaboration	The fragmented nature of professional practice in the built environment is a critical challenge for the I4.0 transformation since it requires parties to collaborate (Musa et al., 2016; Delgado et al., 2019; Sawhney et al., 2020). Lack of collaboration could thus result in issues related to the availability of accurate data and responsibilities (Criminale and Langar, 2017; Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020)
Lack of standards and reference architecture	Being a platform that facilitates interoperability throughout the process, I4.0 requires global standards and data-sharing protocols (Luthra and Mangla, 2018). Thus, a single set of common standards and reference architecture is needed for the network to work smoothly and consistently among stakeholders who adopt different technologies, methods and processes (Ma et al., 2017)
Data security and data protection	Security has significant implications for integrating physical and virtual space (Moeuf et al., 2018). I4.0 demands high-security levels, as exposure results in the system becoming vulnerable through its embedded devices due to its deployment, mobility and complexity (Pereira et al., 2017; Xu et al., 2018). Growing data volumes and sharing information through online platforms have thus resulted in concerns around user identity, access management, data management and data protection
Lack of regulatory compliance	I4.0 raises uncertainties in applying the current laws to future digitised environments. This is mainly because of the generation of data that may raise ethical and legal concerns. Hence, privacy and data protection restrictions have to be checked with the help of legal experts from the outset of the construction process (Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016)
Contractual uncertainty	The lack of a pre-determined contractual basis for construction projects is another obstacle to adopting I4.0 (Al-Hammadi and Tian, 2020; Arabshahi et al., 2021). Because various machines, facilities and humans are interconnected within a cyber-physical network, data privacy and security issues must be considered when developing legal frameworks (Luthra and Mangla, 2018)

Source(s): Authors’ own work