Evaluating Construction Machinery Management from a Socio-Technical Systems Perspective: Current Practices and Industry Challenges

Construction machinery management involves multiple interconnected lifecycle stages that influence overall project performance; however, research has generally examined machinery acquisition, operation, and maintenance stages as separate managerial activities. This study investigates construction machinery management across three lifecycle stages, namely acquisition, operation, and maintenance, through the lens of socio-technical systems theory to understand how organizational, technical, and human-related factors shape machinery management practices across these three stages. A quantitative survey was administered to professionals working in construction firms, and the data were analyzed using reliability analysis, the Relative Importance Index (RII), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Pearson correlation, Chi-square tests, and independent-samples t-tests. The findings indicate that firms generally implement structured practices in equipment selection, operational monitoring, and maintenance. However, the observed cross-stage relationships highlight the need for stronger organizational coordination and information exchange between acquisition, operation, and maintenance activities. Consequently, the findings demonstrate that effective machinery management depends not only on technical optimization but also on stronger organizational coordination and information-sharing practices that connect acquisition, operation, and maintenance activities. Overall, the findings provide a socio-technical perspective for understanding construction machinery management across acquisition, operation, and maintenance, offering practical guidance for organizations and extending existing construction machinery management literature.