# The Role of Blockchain in Improving the Processes and Workflows in Construction Projects
## 4 Results and Discussion
### The Benefits of Blockchain in Improving the Processes and Workflows of Construction Projects  
This section describes how blockchain technologies can help in resolving the top five construction project disputes and delays as shown in Table 5.  
* _Delayed Payments_ The blockchain is a system that functions as a digital ledger for the recording and documenting of transactions. Through the use of blocks, it creates a shared system from which users can view transactions occurring within it, which allows for a faster and easier transfer of assets between two parties without the use of any third-party intermediaries or central authorities. The advantage of this technology over traditional systems is that in addition to speeding up transactions, it also increases security from cybercriminals by making any attempted theft more complicated. The decentralized nature of this technology makes data manipulation more difficult. Another advantage is that recent advancements have reduced the cost of blockchain transactions compared to traditional methods, which may charge fees for each transaction. A company, Skuchain, has offered a new product called Commerce Cloud which ties up the processes of procurement, contracts, and financing arrangements. It also enables direct enterprise control of payments and inventory \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c} \hline \hline
**Cause** & **Frequency** & **Percentage** \\ \hline Delayed payments & 6 & 21\% \\ \hline Unqualified workers & 4 & 14\% \\ \hline Poor communication & 4 & 14\% \\ \hline Rework & 4 & 14\% \\ \hline Delayed permits & 3 & 11\% \\ \hline Documentation errors & 2 & 7\% \\ \hline Late material delivery & 2 & 7\% \\ \hline Contract duration & 1 & 4\% \\ \hline Financial issues & 1 & 4\% \\ \hline Poor site management & 1 & 4\% \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Frequency and percentage of occurrence of each cause. Figure 6: Snakey diagram illustrating the relationship between BCT use cases and major delays and disputes reasons. mentorship. This solution would assist in the creation of an automated process based on smart contract contract contractual agreements that would ensure that once a construction milestone is achieved or material delivery is confirmed, a payment is processed [78]. Another construction-focused startup, Bariq, has developed a product called BriqCash that allows contractors to automate their entire accounts payable (AP) workflow from procurement to payments [19]. * _Rework, Poor Communication, and Documentation errors_  
To mitigate rework issues, Building Information Models (BIMs) have been utilized to assist construction stakeholders to detect conflicts and problems in projects beforehand. Moreover, BIMs avoid having poor quality materials ahead of time. Integrating blockchain into BIM will boost its capabilities in elevating rework issues, as BCT can assist in ensuring that designs are well documented and distributed among all stakeholders and changes are made only after consensus is reached accordingly. Moreover, all change orders can be traced and documented in immutable records [24]. BCT would provide a permanent record of documents with cryptographic validation. Blockchain technology could be useful in positively impacting archives by making them more accessible to those who need them in the future [79]. Brickschain is a company that provides a platform for recording, updating, and publicizing projects in blockchain where building information management systems are integrated into the supply chain and workflows of a building. The system records every step of the process, so there is no confusion about how the construction is progressing. * _Delayed permits_ This issue has been improved in the last few years through the introduction of new platforms. For example, some platforms were developed in cooperation with the various agencies in support of government services.