Professional Building Research Articles

Building Professionalism Through Management Training: New England Public Health Training Center's Low-Cost, High-Impact Model.

Evolving practices, accreditation, and priorities established in Public Health 3.0 are adding to the long-identified need for management training among public health practitioners. The New England Public Health Training Center is addressing this need with a flexible, open-source, 16-topic training program. The program is designed to build competencies for current and future managers, preparing them for their day-to-day tasks and for the kinds of adaptation suggested by Public Health 3.0 advocates. The training program uses live expert instructors for 10 webinars and 2 in-person trainings. Experts have also created the content for multiple self-paced E-Learnings that trainees undertake in addition to the instructor-led sessions. A webinar platform with breakout rooms and an advanced learning management system allows for online discussion and mentor interaction. The course has now been offered, evaluated, and modified 3 times, and the materials are available for noncommercial use by the public health community. Using the Kirkpatrick training evaluation model, the recent cohort was satisfied (87.5%) with the training, reported identifying actions to apply information learned to their work (85.8%), and experienced statistically significant knowledge gains. Earlier trainees reported work-related behavior change. Management training offers the hope of increasing professionalism; creating better, more effective workplaces and programs; and preparing practitioners for an evolving public health landscape. Early results indicate that NEPHTC's program, Managing Effectively in Today's Public Health Environment, is a useful tool in realizing that hope.

Building professionals’ views on energy efficiency compliance requirements

In Sweden, the national building code (BBR) stipulates the specific energy use as an indicator to verify whether a new building is complying with its design-phase energy performance values. However, previous studies have shown that there may be large differences between the calculated specific energy and the actual monitored energy use. The differences are attributed to various reasons including the actual energy behaviour of the occupants as compared to the standard values used in the simulations. This may lead to disputes between the client and the contractor on the responsibility of meeting the energy requirements.In this study an adapted version of Delphi methodology was used to understand the building professionals’ view on various indicators used to verify building energy performance. The study showed that professionals are concerned with the use of specific energy as an indicator in the building procurement process as they do not have control over the occupants’ energy behaviour. Majority of the professionals expressed a large confidence in the average U-value of the building, component U-values and the specific heat loss figure by the Swedish center for zero-energy buildings as indicators of building energy performance.

Institutional, social and individual behavioural effects of energy feedback in public buildings across eleven European cities

Better understanding of the factors influencing how people use energy in public buildings can help deliver more effective CO2 reduction strategies. This paper describes the institutional, social and individual behavioural effects of communication campaigns in over 500 public buildings in 11 European cities. These campaigns involved engaging with staff to reduce energy use through feedback services based on information from sub hourly meter readings.A summative evaluation was conducted to understand impacts of different information provision in these cities. Qualitative data were gathered through a set of interviews with 40 building professionals at the central or building level. These interviews identified differences in how the energy efficiency communication-based campaigns were implemented at each site and elicited factors to explain how users’ perceptions and understanding changed as a result of the interventions. The evaluation framework helped to identify not only improvements in the delivery of communication-based campaigns, but also the communication factors that impacted on individual behaviour change. The research highlighted the influence of institutional and social effects on individual beliefs and norms. To achieve more effective change in attitudes to reduce use, energy feedback needs to be supported with engagement activities, such as energy coaches, campaigns, and interactive online fora.

Experiences of Green Building Professionals With Water-Related Systems

An internet survey sent to green building professionals explored the level of users' satisfaction with several water-saving products and methods.

Quality control of constructions: European trends and developments

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate the quality control systems for constructions in seven countries in Europe with the purpose to trace innovative approaches and best practices that can serve as examples for other countries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a series of research projects carried out over a number of years. The research results were updated in 2016 with a desktop research project in seven European countries. The results from this latest project form the heart of this paper. The information is organised into tables that describe and analyse the main features of the quality control systems of the countries (e.g. scope, focus and main characteristics of the procedures and quality demands on building professionals).FindingsSeveral similar trends can be recognised in the quality control systems of the various European Union (EU) countries. Quality control is getting more and more privatised and the control framework is setting checks and balances throughout the construction process. Other findings are that scope and focus of the statutory control is unbalanced. Within the control processes emphasis is put on the safety aspects of complex constructions. Far fewer demands are made on the quality of the builders. Re-orientation of the building regulatory framework seems to be needed.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper only focusses on European countries where private quality control is established and on selected topics. The findings are based on desktop research and not on the practical experiences of the stakeholders involved in the countries studied.Practical implicationsThe paper draws some important recommendations for policymakers in the building regulatory field. It suggests both an enhancement of the effectiveness of the quality control procedure as well as the commitment of builders to comply with the regulations.Social implicationsThe quality of constructions is essential for the wellbeing and safety of its users, its occupants or its visitors. This applies to the whole range of quality aspects: structural- and fire safety, health, sustainability and usability aspects. The analyses and recommendations of this paper aim to contribute to an improvement of the overall construction quality.Originality/valueThe paper makes an original contribution to the (limited) literature that is available in this field. The results can be used to situate the quality control systems of each member state within the EU, to assess the main trends, and it can be used as a guide to develop strategic choices on possible improvements in each country.

The Role of Post Occupation Evaluation in Achieving High Performance Buildings through Diagnostics

Buildings are major consumers of energy for heating and cooling. The number of buildings is growing rapidly with demand for energy. To reduce consumption, governments worldwide have implemented codes, standards, and building practices. In New South Wales, Australia the planning department introduced a web-based energy-modelling tool intended to increase the thermal performance of the residential building's envelope prior to development applications. The modelling tool, Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) was introduced in 2004. Building codes and standards in them selfs are not perfect instruments but guidelines to achieve building objectives.However, there is evidence in literature stating that buildings are not achieving the predicted results in thermal performance leading to increased energy consumption. This research looks into the predicted modelling aspects to the BASIX program for thermal performance and undertaking a diagnostic study in verifying the building envelope meeting its objectives. This study considered the building envelope the key factor in thermal performance, in which building practices may undermine codes and standards delivering sub-optimal performance. The research justifies the need for diagnostics as a tool to evaluate building practices in reducing the performance gap between the modelled and the delivered results. This would provide building professionals, and government bodies in understanding and addressing the cause of performance gaps between the predicted and actual results for thermal performance in future buildings.

Hospital Building Sustainability: The Experience in using Qualitative Tools and Steps Towards the Life Cycle Approach

With the rising worldwide sustainability trends, the healthcare industry is encouraged for philosophical, societal and economic reasons to implement the “greening movement” in its practice. Consequently, this move has resulted in the development of several sustainability certification tools focusing on healthcare settings. Among the best known ones are BREEAM, LEED and Green Guide for Healthcare. Their ease of use, holistic approach and possibility of implementation from the early-design phase, have made them very attractive among different building practitioners. Yet, their subjectivity in the assessment approach, leaves a doubt whether the use of these schemes leads to truly sustainable buildings. This has led to an increased awareness among building practitioners that the qualitative tools to assess the sustainability of their projects are not sufficient. The same questions on the sustainability of hospitals arose in the Flemish healthcare sector as well. On-going development of the Duurzaamheidsmeter zorg, a qualitative tool adapted for the Flemish context, aims at helping building practitioners in assessing the sustainability of their hospital projects. However, urban planners and architects who had the opportunity of using it, reported some disadvantages and shortcomings. A need is identified to develop a more reliable sustainability assessment method based on a quantitative approach. This paper elaborates the first step in the research, analyzing the building professionals’ experiences in using sustainability assessment tools on hospital facilities in Flanders. Their feedback is translated into a SWOT analysis which identifies the professionals’ expectations of an assessment method. The results are seen as valuable directions to consider when developing an evaluation method from a life cycle thinking perspective.

SOFIAS – Software for life-cycle assessment and environmental rating of buildings

This paper describes the development process of a new software tool, called SOFIAS (Software for a Sustainable Architecture), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes. Following CEN/TC 350 standard on environmental assessment of buildings, the tool aims at assisting building professionals on reducing the life-cycle environmental impact through the design of new buildings and the refurbishment of existing ones. In addition, SOFIAS provides a rating system based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. This paper explains the innovative aspects of this software, the working methodology and the different type of results that can be obtained using SOFIAS.

BPOpt: A framework for BIM-based performance optimization

The increase in global environmental concerns as well as the advancement of computational tools and methods have had significant impacts on the way in which buildings are being designed. Building professionals are increasingly expected to improve energy performance of their design. To achieve a high level of energy performance, multidisciplinary simulation-based optimization can be utilized to help designers in exploring more design alternatives and making informed decisions. Because of the high complexity in setting up a building model for multi-objective design optimization, there is a great demand of utilizing and integrating the advanced modeling and simulation technologies, including BIM, parametric modeling, cloud-based simulation, and optimization algorithms, as well as a new user interface that facilitates the setup of building parameters (decision variables) and performance fitness functions (design objectives) for automatically generating, evaluating, and optimizing multiple design options. This paper presents an integrated framework for building information modeling (BIM)-based performance optimization, BPOpt. This framework enables designers to explore design alternatives using an open-source, visual programming user interface on the top of a widely used BIM platform, to generate models of building design options, assess the environmental performance of the models through cloud-based simulation, and search for the most appropriate design alternatives. This paper details the process of the development of BPOpt and also provides a case study to show its application. The case study demonstrates the use of BPOpt in minimizing the energy consumption while maximizing the appropriate daylighting level for a residential building. Finally, strengths, limitations, current adoption by academia and industry, and future improvements of BPOpt for high-performance building design are discussed.

Converging early contractor involvement (ECI) and lean construction practices for productivity enhancement

Purpose– As with many other procurement management concepts, the early contractor involvement (ECI) strategy provides an opportunity to tap on contractors’ specialist knowledge in the design stage, in order to address and forestall problems before moving onto the construction stage. Such practices have been shown to be quite successful, and are also advocated in the lean construction practice. Following this benefit, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between the operations of ECI and the principles of lean construction for productivity enhancement.Design/methodology/approach– Based on the literature review of 11 principles of lean construction and ECI, various relationships were proposed seeking to integrate the two domains. A questionnaire survey was conducted with different stakeholders in Singapore’s construction industry to measure the strength of the relationships. Interviews were also conducted to gain an understanding of the constraints, reluctance, and possible methods for implementing ECI in Singapore with a convergence with lean construction principles.Findings– The results revealed that, when employing lean construction principles as a yardstick, ECI does contribute to elevating the productivity outcomes of some lean construction principles – in particular, for reducing variability, reducing cycle time, minimizing steps, and increasing output flexibility.Research limitations/implications– It is promising to marry ECI with lean construction, and that the former does appear indeed able to aid in the productivity improvements of a construction project by embracing the latter. However, it requires the building professionals to raise their awareness of both lean and ECI, so that the implementation of ECI can be carried out in a more effective manner.Originality/value– In the context of the Singapore construction industry’s push for improvements in productivity, this study posits that productivity benefits in particular can be realized through establishing the linkage between ECI and lean construction principles. The lessons from this study can likewise be adopted by other countries.

Building professionalism and employability skills: embedding employer engagement within first-year computing modules

This paper outlines a means of improving the employability skills of first-year university students through a closely integrated model of employer engagement within computer science modules. The outlined approach illustrates how employability skills, including communication, teamwork and time management skills, can be contextualised in a manner that directly relates to student learning but can still be linked forward into employment. The paper tests the premise that developing employability skills early within the curriculum will result in improved student engagement and learning within later modules. The paper concludes that embedding employer participation within first-year models can help relate a distant notion of employability into something of more immediate relevance in terms of how students can best approach learning. Further, by enhancing employability skills early within the curriculum, it becomes possible to improve academic attainment within later modules.

한국과 홍콩의 공동주택 친환경 인증제도의 비교분석 연구

In line with the recent public concern on the environmental issues in building industry, there has been a rise in demand for a healthy, sustainable housing environment in South Korea. In order to achieve a healthy environment in residential buildings, considerable efforts have been made in a wide range of sectors. Among others, the development of the certification schemes to promote environment-friendly planning and building construction is remarkable. In urban South Korea, recently built houses tend to be significantly high-rise, high-density buildings. Global warming has brought about drastic climate change and continued to increase the average annual temperature year by year. These changes should be well reflected on the government's implementation of the building environmental assessment system. For guidance, therefore, this study looks to the case of Hong Kong which is well known for high-density housing development and subtropical climate conditions. It compares the features of the green building certification schemes for newly developed multifamily housing in two regions, namely HK-BEAM in Hong Kong and G-SEED in South Korea. Based on the findings, it argues that the G-SEED implementor should have expanded roles in providing training programs and follow-up services in collaboration with the certification authorities. It is also argued that G-SEED professionals should be involved in the early stages of design processes, and training programs and licence systems to produce green building professionals should be developed. Finally, it points out that the assessment indicators should be more detailed and diversified.

Factorial Causative Assesments and Effects of Building Construction Project Delays in Osun State, Nigeria

Delay in building construction project is a universal phenomenon that is not peculiar to Osun alone. In fact, all countries of the world are faced with this global issue. These delays are usually considered as costly to all parties concerned in the projects and very often results in total abandonment thereby slowing down the growth of the construction sector. The purpose of this study was to assess the causative factors of delays and their effects on building construction projects in Osun. A total of forty two (42) project delay attributes and seventeen (17) effect attributes were identified through detailed literature review. Questionnaire survey were conducted across stakeholders that included among others; consultants, contractors and clients cutting across the building professionals namely; Architects, Builders, Quantity Surveyors, Estate Surveyors and Engineers to gather their views on causes of delay in delivery of projects. The research categorized the causes of delay under four main groups of client related, consultant related, contractor related and delay caused by incidental factors and their effects assessed using relative importance index (RII) as a basis for analysis. The RII for all delay factors and group of categories was computed so as to rank the factors. A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed among the respondents from different building construction firm in Osun state. Out of 260 questionnaires distributed, 234 valid questionnaires were retrieved back from the respondents, representing a response rate of (90.0%). The validation of information in this study yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.891. The most significant factors of construction delays were identified as: cash flow problem (delay payment) with (RII=0.89), incomplete drawings (RII=0.84), improper planning and scheduling problem (RII=0.91), financial incapability (RII=0.89) and force majeure (Acts of God) with (RII=0.81). The study revealed that overall, contractor-caused delays ranked highest with (RII=0.91) and was attributed to improper planning and scheduling problem, followed by financial incapability (RII=0.89), while client-caused delay attributed to cash flow problem (delay payment) (RII=0.89) was observed as the second most common cause of delay in building construction project in Osun state. Furthermore, the study revealed increase in final cost of project (RII=0.88) and extension of time on project (RII=0.80), as the top two (2) effects of delays in building construction project in Osun state, while cash flow (RII=0.52) had the least effect. It is therefore believed that identification of the causes of potential delay factors that are likely to affect the timely delivery of projects can help to avoid extra costs through claims and disputes that arise among parties when delays are experienced.

Housing in Port Harcourt, Nigeria: The Modified Building Approval Process

Housing is a process which makes the act of dwelling possible. In effect, the term, housing includes the house itself and the total surrounding environment with its ancillary facilities and services. One of the processes in building a house is the Building Approval phase before a house is started. This particular phase is marked by many challenges in Nigeria and particularly in Port Harcourt in the productivity of housing. The Rivers State Government in 2009 introduced the Rivers State Geographic Information System (RIVGIS) to handle land registration issues. Also in 2012, the “One -Stop -Shop” for building plan approval was introduced. The results have been rewarding; the various processes are more transparent, the period of waiting to get building approval and Certificate of Occupancy(C of O) has been reduced, the number of structures built without permits and collapse of buildings are reduced, the practice of using quacks in the building profession is under check. Generally this has resulted in improved safety of life and property. However, challenges remain that require specific regulations and enforcement of such.

COLLABORATIVE ENGINEERING FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS ASSISTED BY VIRTUAL CONSTRUCTION

The paper outlines a decision-support environment that actively supports collaboration during decision making and problem solving. A complementary partnership was formed between computer agents and human agents; one brought selected intelligence to the solution process from “unlimited” multi-domain knowledge sources, the other brought human cognitive rationality. In particular, the proposed system articulated how domain knowledge and know-how can be shared, thereby creating a truly integrated construction team. The author’s investigation measured the views of practitioners in the main building professions—architecture, engineering and construction management—before proposing the decision support system. The conclusion of the work is a conceptual model: a definition of the contractors’ construction management computer agents, and a specification based on scenarios of how these agents would interact with design agents. The significance of Virtual Design and Integrated Project Delivery are also discussed in the context of improved collaboration on the construction project.

Indoor air quality and the suitability of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems in energy efficient social housing projects: perceptions of UK building professionals

The quality of indoor air in energy efficient buildings is a significantly important yet under-researched area, particularly in a social housing context. This study investigated perceptions of UK building professionals regarding the effect of energy efficient design strategies on indoor air quality. In-depth interviews were conducted with building professionals of four recently completed UK energy efficient social housing projects. The interviews explored perceptions of the importance of indoor air quality consideration during the design process, the impact of energy efficient design strategies on indoor air and the application of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems in a social housing context.The results suggest a significant lack of attention to indoor air quality in energy efficient social housing projects; attributed to a lack of knowledge, perceived costs associated with indoor air quality strategies, focus on energy efficiency goals and a fundamental lack of motivation. Furtherm...

The UK homeowner-retrofitter as an innovator in a socio-technical system

Policy on domestic thermal retrofits is usually designed as a top-down enterprise, setting standards and inducing homeowners to retrofit accordingly. Its underlying assumption is that correct retrofit technology is developed by experts and comes down through supply chains to households, who apply it as designed to their properties. However, this model is challenged by the insight from socio-technical systems studies (STST) that technology and society mutually form and influence each other at every level of society. Using this conceptual framework, this study investigated whether innovations are happening among retrofitting households, and what support these have for diffusion upwards into supply chains and outwards to other households. Qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interviews among homeowner-retrofitters plus building professionals and citizens׳ initiatives which support these, in Cambridge, UK. Local innovation was found in the development of new retrofit technology and novel reconfiguring of existing solutions. Much of this was triggered by clashes between standard retrofit solutions and heritage or aesthetic values, economic necessity, or building professionals׳ lack of knowledge or experience. The findings suggest that instead of treating homeowners as passive recipients, UK thermal retrofit policy should broaden to identify useful innovations developed by homeowners and support them where appropriate.

Barriers to lean implementation in the construction industry in China

Purpose– This study aims to build on previous research into lean practices and the associated barriers reported in various contexts to empirically address the question of what possible barriers exist to hinder the implementation of lean practices in the construction industry in China. Despite the potential that lean practices have to improve quality and productivity while reducing costs, successful stories of lean deployment are not frequently heard of.Design/methodology/approach– A large-scale survey of Chinese building professionals is used to identify these barriers.Findings– The results suggest that the most crucial barriers to implementation of lean practices, as perceived by Chinese building professionals, include “their lack of a long-term philosophy”, “the absence of a lean culture in their organizations”, “the use of multi-layer subcontracting” and others. This study also reports the findings using a factor analysis that shows the six underlying factors hindering the implementation of lean practices in the Chinese construction industry, namely, people and partner issues, managerial and organizational issues, lack of support issues, culture and philosophy issues, government issues and procurement issues.Originality/value– This study offers a thorough overview of the barriers to implementing lean practices in various contexts, with a focus on construction. This study also contributes to the knowledge by recommending the measures that can be taken to appropriately overcome the barriers identified.

Universal Design and disability: an interdisciplinary perspective

Purpose: To discuss Universal Design (UD) as an interdisciplinary topic with relevance for rehabilitation professions and planning and building professions. Significant for this topic is to discuss to what model of disability UD strategies correlates. The paper argues that the UN Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) pre-supposes a relational model of disability. Method: This is a theoretical paper on the understanding of UD and the significance of UD as a subject of interdisciplinary research and teaching. The paper is based on literature and focuses on how to understand UD in interdisciplinary contexts. Both impairment effects and disabling barriers are important for understanding UD. Rehabilitation professions together with user-representatives provide knowledge on impairments as an aspect of human diversity; planning professionals provide knowledge on architecture and spatial planning. As an emerging field of knowledge, UD involves different knowledge; however, these differences may also lead to difficulties in communication. Results: Both theoretically and practically UD must correspond to an understanding of disability as relational, involving person, interaction and barriers. Implementing UD strategies ought to be linked to a concept of person that clearly includes impairments as a dimension of human plurality. Conclusion: In conclusion, the paper suggests that a common knowledge platform can prove productive for interdisciplinary work with UD.Implications for RehabilitationUniversal Design is a strategy to improve equal access for people with disabilities.A concept of the person and of disability is of importance for implementing Universal Design strategies.The interdisciplinary involvement in Universal Design must involve rehabilitation professions to attend to the individual dimension in Universal Design.

녹색건축 전문가 자격제도 개발 연구

In an effort to resolve environmental pollution problems, developed countries enforce green building certification systems. The same is true in Korea. However compared professional accreditation system to certification systems did not systematically in Korea. Therefore, in accordance with development of green building related systems and technology the requirement for foster green building professionals is urgent. Accordingly this study is purposed to analyze and propose that green building professional accreditation system development and operation of the direction. Through data analysis domestic and international green building professional accreditation system for draw a development plan. And then conduct an expert Delphi survey reflected in the survey results to development plan.