WIREDSCORE WITHIN THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: AWARENESS, BARRIERS AND INTEGRATED MECHANISMS

WiredScore certification is becoming popular in many developing countries as a system to improved digital connectivity, futureproofing of technological infrastructure, and increased value and marketability of the building. However, its uptake is low in Australia, and studies are limited in this area. Therefore, this study fills that knowledge-gap, and assesses the awareness levels, barriers, and integrated mechanisms of the certification systems among Australian construction organisations. A mixed-method approach, comprising a scoping review, survey and semi-structured interviews with practitioners was adopted. Ten barriers, and 4 mechanisms were used, with ranking and thematic analysis employed. Relative to the awareness, the majority understood the certification system. The significant barriers were ‘cost and financing’, ‘lack of incentives’, and ‘lack of client demands’. The least were ‘inadequate human resource and training’ and ‘increase in project timeline’. Mechanisms of ‘proof of benefits by implementing WiredScore’ and ‘cooperation and commitment of professional bodies to implementing the certification system’ had the most and least effect respectively. The implications are that increased awareness and education to contractors, clients, and end-users, could enhance the levels of technological certification systems adoption.