Building Cost Research Articles

A Multi-Criterion Evaluation Process for Determining Cost-Effective Harvesting Systems in Fragmented Boreal Forests

Nordic forests, like those found in Canada, used to consist of large and relatively homogeneous mature stands. Such a spatial pattern allows for harvest operations to be highly concentrated, minimizing procurement costs. However, the growing fragmentation of these forests makes planning difficult and increases the costs of road building and machinery relocation. While operational solutions have been developed in regions with small harvest areas, their transferability to different settings is unknown. Finding the most suitable combination of equipment for a given context is challenging considering the multitude of possibilities. The objective of this study is to identify, from all possible options, a subset of harvest systems expected to perform well in fragmented boreal forests. The results from this research are two-fold. First, a comprehensive review of forest machines and harvest systems is provided. Second, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology is proposed to evaluate the alternatives. In a boreal forest context, the conventional harvester-forwarder system (CTL) was ranked among the best solutions, along with mild adaptations of the usual configurations. Several whole-tree (WT) system configurations were also highly ranked. While the results are specific to the case studied, the review and selection methodology can serve in different operational contexts.

Women's sanitation matters: Unpacking the conundrums associated with open defecation among women in Harper City, Liberia

Ending open defecation (OD) is a major global policy goal—anchored by the Sustainable Development Goal 6. While women are vulnerable to the risks associated with poor sanitation and are disproportionately impacted by OD, little is known in the scientific literature about the intricacies, drivers, implications and the challenges women face in OD practices in low and middle income countries’ cities. Using the FOAM analytical framework and the coastal city of Harper, Liberia, as a case study, the paper aims to unravel the day-to-day hustles and hostilities women face in defecating in the open. Data were sourced through desk review, face-to-face interviews with 30 women, 7 key informants and observation. Our findings demonstrate that the beach serves as the major destination for OD in the city. Institutional failure—a low commitment of the Liberia government towards the construction of public sanitation facilities and socioeconomic factors—a general high incidence of poverty among the populace influence women's OD practices in the city. Women are exposed to insecurity, psychological trauma, loss of privacy and dignity under OD practices. The findings underscore the need for policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize women's sanitation in emerging cities. The paper recommends that the government of Liberia should prioritize providing women access to improved sanitation by scaling up the construction of public sanitation facilities, subsidising the cost of building and sanitary materials, and promoting behavioural change through public health and sanitation education as measures to curtail OD in the country.

Engineering Economy Studies on the Development and Production of Yoghurt using Indigenous Starter Culture

In this paper, the economic viability of the production of yoghurt using indigenous starter culture is determined. Based on an output of 180 x 103 litres/year, the yield of the product, the quantities and costs of raw materials, centrifuge and incubator, were estimated at 100% capacity utilization (CU). The costs of land acquisition and factory building were obtained from contractors. The labour cost was also estimated for 60 staff members. The selling price of ₦120/litre of a similar product was adopted. Annual worth (AW), and present worth (PW) were calculated and used to establish the profitability of the products. The results showed that the proposed plant would produce 180 x 103 thousand litres of the yoghurt at full CU. The PW and AW showed that the product was economically viable with PW and AW greater than zero at 100% CU. At 100%, all the profitability indices for the product were positive. In conclusion, the production of yoghurt using indigenous starter culture is technologically and economically viable.

Multi-disciplinary seismic resilience modeling for developing mitigation policies and recovery planning

The multi-disciplinary data and information available at a community level comprise the foundation of natural hazard resilience modeling. These data enable and inform mitigation and recovery planning decisions prior to and following damaging events such as earthquakes. This paper presents a multi-disciplinary seismic resilience modeling methodology to assess the vulnerability of the built environment and economic systems. This methodology can assist decision-makers with developing effective mitigation policies to improve the seismic resilience of communities. Two complementary modeling strategies are designed to examine the impacts of scenario earthquakes from a combined engineering and economic perspective. The engineering model is developed using a probabilistic fragility-based modeling approach and is analyzed using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations subject to seismic multi-hazard, including simulated ground shaking and resulting liquefaction of the soil, to quantify the physical damage to buildings and electric power substations (EPS). The outcome of the analysis is subsequently used as input to repair and recovery models to quantify repair cost and recovery time metrics for buildings and as input to functionality models to estimate the functionality of individual buildings and substations by accounting for their interdependency. The economic model consists of a spatial computable general equilibrium (SCGE) model that aggregates commercial buildings into sectors for retail, manufacturing, services, etc., and aggregates residential buildings into a wide range of household groups. The SCGE model employs building functionality estimates to quantify the economic losses. The outcomes of this integrated modeling consist of engineering and economic impact metrics, which are used to investigate mitigation actions to help inform a community on approaches to achieve its resilience goals. An illustrative case study of Salt Lake County (SLC), Utah, developed through an extensive collaborative partnership and engagement with SLC officials, is presented. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in quantifying the loss and functional recovery of infrastructure systems, the impacts on capital stock, employment, and household income and the effect of various mitigation strategies in reducing the losses and functional recovery time subject to earthquakes with varying intensities.

ESTIMATION OF GREEN BUILDING OVER CONVENTIONAL BUILDING

This report investigates the comparative costs and benefits of green building versus conventional building practices. By integrating five advanced techniques: Biophilic Design, Passive House Design Strategies, Digital Twin Technology, Net Zero Energy Techniques, and Water Harvesting System into the construction of a conventional building, we transformed it into a green building at an additional cost of approximately ₹6,72,420. The total cost for constructing the green building amounted to ₹24,23,876.78, inclusive of the base cost of a conventional building. The study outlines a comprehensive methodological approach, which includes creating theoretical models, conducting cost analyses using current market rates in India, and evaluating environmental impacts through carbon emissions calculations. The findings reveal that although the initial costs for green buildings are higher, they offer substantial long-term benefits, including reduced operational expenses, improved occupant health, and minimized environmental footprints. Green buildings are designed to maximize resource efficiency, enhance indoor air quality, and utilize renewable energy sources, resulting in significant energy savings and reduced carbon emissions. This investment in sustainable construction practices not only promotes environmental stewardship but also ensures economic viability through long-term savings and improved occupant well-being. The transition to green buildings is a crucial step towards addressing climate change and fostering sustainable development for future generations. This report underscores the importance of adopting green building techniques and demonstrates that the benefits far outweigh the initial financial outlay, making green buildings a worthwhile investment for a sustainable future.

Strategies of Public University Building Maintenance—A Literature Survey

In this article, comprehensive insights into the field of building maintenance, emphasizing the importance of keywords, collaborative efforts among authors, and the evolving research landscape, are provided. The use stage, as the longest phase in a building’s life cycle, involves economic, technical, and social activities. Numerous authors have contributed to the broader topic of building maintenance, covering aspects such as maintenance prioritization, improvement actions, decision-making guidelines, factors affecting success, cost estimation models, and BIM usage in maintenance. The study conducts a thorough literature review using Scopus as a search engine, employing the full-counting method for authorship, and uses VOSviewer 1.6.20 software for bibliometric analysis to identify gaps and outline future research directions. The results reveal distinct data sets focusing on building maintenance from general to specific, with each set reflecting unique aspects and considerations. Bibliometric maps illustrate author collaboration and keyword connections within each set, highlighting evolving research trends and areas of focus. Overall, the analysis highlights the importance of prioritizing maintenance, integrating technology, and fostering collaboration to enhance building maintenance in educational institutions. The study concludes with recommendations for future research, emphasizing the ongoing need for exploration and development in building maintenance, especially on maintenance strategies and Life Cycle Costs of university buildings.

Study of the factors influencing the life cycle cost of green buildings using SEM-SD method

ABSTRACT The recent surge in carbon emissions from the building sector has raised significant environmental concerns. While green building practices have proven effective, their widespread adoption has been hindered by high costs. This study aims to explore the factors impacting the life cycle costs of green buildings, with the aim of achieving “double carbon” reduction. Through an analysis of 42 articles, 24 factors were distilled based on expert opinion. After collecting 322 data through questionnaires, a model of the factors influencing the life cycle cost of green buildings was constructed using structural equation modeling, and a cost simulation study was carried out through the system dynamics method in the practical case to examine how the cost changed. The findings highlight the pivotal role of planning and design, implementation, and operation and maintenance phases. Notably, green building design programs, green construction programs, and the property management level stand out as critical factors emerged as critical factors. These insights can inform strategies to reduce the cost of green buildings, thereby fostering energy conservation and emission reduction in the construction industry.

Feasibility study with EnergyPlus simulation for solar chemical heat pump unit introduced into building as next-generation energy supply system

From the viewpoint of rising energy demand and energy costs in buildings, there is an urgent need to develop next generation building energy supply systems characterized by improved resource efficiency and environmental friendliness. The solar chemical heat pump (SCHP) unit can provide heating and cooling in buildings with high efficiency and sustainability, positioning it as a potential candidate. A feasibility study is conducted to introduce the SCHP units into a building in Chiba, Japan, to evaluate the operating characteristics and energy-saving potentials. The building and its HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system featuring the SCHP unit are introduced into the building energy simulation through EnergyPlus software for the first-step examination. 3E (energy, environment, economy) analysis of the distinctions among conventional, chemical heat pump (CHP), and SCHP systems is conducted to enhance the efficiency of building energy supply systems. Furthermore, the effects of different climate zones and heat and electricity storage equipment on operation characteristics are studied. The study reveals that the SCHP system demonstrates a 75% lower energy consumption, 72% decreased CO2 emissions, and 73% reduced running costs than the conventional system in Chiba City. Moreover, it is shown that integrating the heat storage tank and the electricity storage battery into the SCHP system can reduce reliance on external energy, significantly enhancing the system efficiency.

Risk-based life cycle cost–benefit analysis for progressive collapse design of RC frame structures

Progressive structural collapse is a typical low-probability high-consequence event. Progressive collapse design can effectively improve the robustness of structures against accidental local damage and reduce the probability of collapse. However, progressive collapse design also increases the construction cost of buildings. Hence, it is necessary to conduct cost-benefit analyses for the progressive collapse design of building structures. This study first designs a reinforced concrete (RC) frame based on a progressive collapse design program that simultaneously optimizes material consumption and structural resistance. Then, the structural failure probability is quantified using an alternative path (AP) method-based fragility analysis that considers the structural uncertainties. Based on this, the life cycle costs and benefits of the structure designed with different design load factors are investigated. A four-story RC frame is used as an example. By considering the time value of money and threat probability, the break-even points and optimized design load factors for the progressive collapse design of the RC frame are analyzed. These research outcomes can help promote progressive collapse design in engineering practice and provide references for proposing scientific and reasonable design load factors.

SWOT analysis of green building systems in real estate development

Sustainable and green facts are important for leaving a healthy environment for future generations. These facts are like sustainable development, sustainable city, green building, green economy, and so on. Green building is an innovative solution to sustainable urban planning problems. In this study, green building, sustainability, development processes are examined, and the opportunities and threats of green buildings with their strengths and weaknesses are determined by SWOT analysis. Besides, the construction cost and energy savings of a green building are compared to the traditional building. As a result of SWOT analysis, besides its significant strengths such as sustainability of green buildings, low energy consumption, and independence of energy consumption, high initial investment cost was determined as the most critical weakness. The increase in building values and the emergence of new business ventures are considered opportunities for green buildings, and the perception of green buildings as luxury is considered a threat. Ultimately, this study reveals the critical significance of transitioning towards sustainable construction practices, supported by compelling numerical evidence. Despite the initial higher investment costs, green buildings exhibit substantial long-term benefits, with the construction costs of the LEED gold-certified building calculated at 31,798,854.3 ₺ and the platinum-certified building at 32,390,841.0 ₺ in January 2024. Notably, energy savings of 47.7% and 61.6% were projected for the gold and platinum-certified buildings, respectively.

Energy Conservation in Institutional Buildings: A Case Study in India

Abstract: Energy consumption is an important aspect with respect to operating costs of buildings. Modern buildings are being designed considering their energy performance and carbon footprints. However, there is scope to reduce the energyconsumption and carbon footprints in existing old buildings by suitable retrofitting. A case study is discussed where in the energy audit of an academic institution in northern India revealed several opportunities where energy consumption can be reduced considerably. This paper presents the analysis to achieve about 33% reductions in energy consumption and around 178 tons reduction in carbon footprint in an institutional building, Govt. Girls College Buildings Village Palwal Kurukshetra, India. It recommends measures that can be implemented with moderate investments and payback period. Another important feature is the utilization of roof-tops of institute building to install solar PV power plants apart from retrofitting measures. Presently 7% energy requirement is being met through installed solar PV power plant on the rooftop of institute building. Afterinstalling such power plants at all the roof-tops of building about 25% of energy needs can be met by solar energy source.

Optimal path shape of friction-based Track-Nonlinear Energy Sinks to minimize lifecycle costs of buildings subjected to ground accelerations

Track Nonlinear Energy Sinks (T-NES) are Pendulum Tuned Mass Dampers (PTMDs) whose nonlinear restoring forces are obtained from curved path shapes. They combine the abilities of traditional spring-based NESs with the operational advantages of PTMDs. T-NES can resonate with broad frequency content, becoming effective even under damage to the host structure originating from strong ground motions. In the published literature, the integration of Friction Dampers (FDs) into T-NESs (so-called T-NES Type II) has only been studied on PTMDs with circular tracks, and in deterministic settings. Herein, a novel Reliability-Based Design Optimization (RBDO) procedure is presented to find the optimal track shape of T-NES Type II in buildings subjected to earthquakes. The objective is to minimize expected life-cycle damage costs corresponding to slight damage, moderate damage, and extensive damage limit states. A set of rational functions encompassing a wide range of generic curvatures is constructed to describe the T-NES track shape. The nonlinear description is used for restoring force and also in the dissipative mechanism. The case study is a medium-rise building located in Chile. The results indicate that, for the studied building, the optimal path is multimodal, and quite different track profiles can significantly reduce oscillation of the host structure.

Comparative Analysis of Building Cost Budget Plans Using SNI and BOW Methods

Comparative Analysis of Building Cost Budget Plans Using SNI and BOW Methods

AGENT AND STRUCTURE RELATIONS IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS BASED ON HUMANIST AND RELIGIOUS VALUES AT THE PAMULANG UNIVERSITY IN SOUTH TANGERANG

Pamulang University (Unpam), one of the private universities in the South Tangerang area, is established to meet the needs of the community by providing its own uniqueness and receiving very good interest. The uniqueness meant by that is the history of its founding to provide higher education for all people, especially for those people mentioned, the increase and large quantity of registered students, the availability of classes for students with disabilities, adequate lecture facilities, affordable tuition fees, and no building costs. One of the successes that has been achieved to date is the contribution of lecturers in implementing the tridharma of higher education. This is where the lecturer acts as an agent, actor, or agency, as known in Anthony Giddens' structuration theory. As a form of routine that produces social practice, the lecturer's tridharma must reflect humanist and religious values, including in the communication process within the university. These two values are in accordance with those stated in the university's vision, namely, "To become a university ranked in the top 40 at the national level based on humanist and religious values by 2025." This article analyzes the relationship between agents and structures in the communication process based on humanist and religious values at a private university in South Tangerang. The research used a qualitative method with a critical theory paradigm and an interpretive phenomenological approach. The results show that Unpam is able to manage and strive to pursue its vision through the tridharma of higher education, with the contribution of lecturers who act as agents, actors, and agencies. The routine activities of agents form a duality of structure and are related by mutual influence and reciprocity (interplay) that reflect most of the implementation of both humanist and religious values. Forms of communication that are full of humanist values, such as when lecturers greet each other, provide non-differentiating classroom learning, and interact with students and the community in PkM activities, including coordinating work on research activities, Meanwhile, religiousness can be seen in the form of greeting words and sentences, praying before and after activities, religious attributes worn as characteristics, tolerance during worship, the formation of the Institute for Religious Studies, and also religious studies. On the other hand, the role of agents still needs to be optimized as gatekeepers and/or opinion leaders because, as educators, they provide role models, especially for students (predominantly from the marginalized and lower middle class) and also the general public. Meanwhile, the university needs to have an organizational culture to strengthen motivation for academics, direction, and foundation in behavior and attitudes, which can be taken from humanist and religious values, as well as the motto Sharing for the Country, alongside the implementation of a code of ethics, to help realize its vision in 2025

Effect of Corrosion on Reinforcement in Concrete: A Review Paper

Abstract: Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete structures is a widespread issue that harms the durability and lifespan of infrastructure globally. It's a big challenge that shortens the expected lifespan of reinforced concrete. As the need for infrastructure to last longer, usually between 100 to 120 years, grows, along with the high costs of building and upkeep, fixing concrete structures becomes crucial. The main reason concrete deteriorates is because of carbonation and the corrosion of embedded metals like reinforcing steel. This paper reviews existing literature to understand the effects of corrosion better and presents a summary report to aid in addressing this problem effectively.

«Green» structures in the urbanized environment: studying the impact of «green» roofs on environmental parameters and rainwater quality. Bibliographic review

A quantitative analysis of the most cited articles published in the Scopus scientometric database by 2023 is carried out. It is shown that most of the publications, the object of study of which are "green" structures, focus on the study of "green" roofs. It is shown that since 1981, the number of studies on green roofs has been steadily increasing: approximately 45% of articles focus on the benefits in terms of thermal impact and thermal insulation, 18% on rainwater drainage, 15% on air quality, 5% on the noise-absorbing properties of green roofs, and 17% on the costs of building and operating green roofs, recreational facilities, fire protection, and other related issues. The requirements and commonly used materials for a standard green roof are described, as well as the percentage of scientific publications, depending on the functions and layers of green roof construction involved. An analysis of the most cited scientific studies on the impact of green roof systems on wastewater quality was conducted. It is shown that the results of the studies presented in these publications indicate the need for further study of the impact of a "green" roof on the amount of pollution in the water flowing from its surface. It is emphasized that further research should focus on the structural layers of the roof (thickness and materials used), namely the thickness and types of substrate layers, as well as on the conditions of plant care (e.g., fertilization), especially on intensive green roofs. In addition, it should be studied and analyzed how the retention of rainwater by plants and the soil layer of a green roof affects the relative humidity of the air near the building during periods without rain. The most cited scientific studies on the reduction of air pollutants by means of green roofs are analyzed. It is concluded that future research should focus on the study of plant species that are well adapted to growing on roofs (in temperate climates) and most effectively carry out the process of photosynthesis, absorbing CO2 and releasing O2 into the atmosphere around the building. The article analyzes the most cited scientific publications on the noise-absorbing properties of green roofs. It is substantiated that it is necessary to maximize the percentage of green roofs implementation on all buildings and structures in the city so that green roofs can significantly affect the quality of the environment in urbanized areas.

Two ENR cost indexes react differently to labour conditions

ABSTRACT Building Cost Index (BCI), unlike Construction Cost Index (CCI), had not been thoroughly explored in the existing body of literature. Both BCI and the CCI are two similar time series, with the only difference lying in the labour components used in their calculations. This study utilizes impulse-response functions to observe the different reactions of the BCI and CCI concerning labour conditions. The results indicate that the BCI consistently displays heightened sensitivity to fluctuations in labour supply and unemployment, whereas the CCI remains insensitive to such labour-related fluctuations.

State of the Art Methodologies for the Estimation of Fire Costs in Buildings to Support Cost–Benefit Analysis

State of the Art Methodologies for the Estimation of Fire Costs in Buildings to Support Cost–Benefit Analysis

Dual-frequency phase unwrapping based on deep learning driven by simulation dataset

In fringe projection profilometry (FPP), hierarchical temporal phase unwrapping is used to reliably eliminate phase ambiguity in complex scenarios, in which triple-frequency hierarchical temporal phase unwrapping (THPU) has excellent accuracy but lower measurement speed, while dual-frequency hierarchical temporal phase unwrapping (DHPU) requires only two wrapped phases, but it is fragile to noise contamination. Some researchers have shown that deep learning techniques can be used to overcome this dilemma, but the high dataset building cost makes it difficult to apply them rapidly. In this paper, a novel simulation dataset generation method for FPP is proposed, which requires only a set of pre-collected fringe sequences on the reference plane along with some historical masks to generate a dataset, which is then used to train a neural network. The appropriately trained neural network is able to perform dual-frequency phase unwrapping in actual scenarios based on the principle of regression and segmentation respectively, and both of them show accuracy comparable to THPU, but segmentation is slightly better than regression. We verify its effectiveness through comparative experiments and demonstrate its robustness with different degrees of noise contamination. We believe that this paper can provide potential and beneficial ideas for simulation dataset driven deep learning techniques for optimizing various processes in the field of optical measurements.

Hybrid approach for cost estimation of sustainable building projects using artificial neural networks

Abstract Inaccurate estimation in sustainable construction projects is a significant challenge for appraisers, particularly when data and knowledge about the projects are lacking. As a result, there is a need to use cutting-edge technology to solve the issue of estimation inaccuracy. Iraq’s productivity estimates are now made using outdated, ineffective methodologies and procedures. In addition, it is essential to implement cutting-edge, quick, precise, and adaptable technology for productivity estimation. This study’s major goal is to calculate the overall costs of sustainable buildings using the cutting-edge technique known as artificial neural networks (ANNs). For Iraq’s construction industry to handle projects successfully, ANNs must be used as a new technology, a methodology developed to estimate the overall costs of sustainable construction projects. In this study, the process of cost estimation was modeled using ANNs. Investigations of a number of examples involving the creation of ANNs have also been made, including network design and internal elements and how much they impact the effectiveness of models built using ANNs. Equations were developed to determine structural productivity. These networks were shown to have extremely strong predictive power for both accounting coefficients (R) (93.33%) and the overall costs of sustainable construction projects, with a prediction accuracy of 87.00 and 93.33%, respectively.