Assessment Of Sustainable Construction Research Articles

Safety risk assessment of sustainable construction based on projection pursuit model optimized by multi-intelligent algorithm: a case study of new chemical projects.

With the rapid development of urban and social economies, the safety accidents in the construction process of the new chemical plant have caused huge losses to the city. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risks in the construction process of chemical projects and propose preventive measures. A novel risk assessment model based on multi-intelligence algorithm optimization projection pursuit was developed to assess the construction safety risk and determine the risk level. In this model, the best-worst method and the entropy weight method were used as subjective and objective evaluation methods, respectively. The theory based on the idea of the distance function was applied to the model to calculate the combined weight value. The results showed that the three evaluation objects with the highest risk value were the air compression station plant, regional control room, and hazardous and solid waste temporary repository. The risk values of these three buildings were 2.2557, 2.2160, and 2.1654, respectively, and the corresponding risk level was high. On-site safety managers should take immediate measures in these high-risk buildings to reduce the possibility of accidents. This study is a new attempt to consider the construction safety risk of the new chemical project.

Study on safety performance factors and sustainability in pipeline sleeper construction

Construction industry is an important growth indicator because it generates investment opportunities across multiple related sectors. The construction task or work environment is very risky and hazardous and its susceptibility to accident. The major cause of the accident is the employees' poor safety performance in construction sites. These root causes of accidents and factors influencing them need to be studied in order to improve safety results. In pipeline sleeper construction, safety is a dynamic decision issue close to normal construction cases. The study identifies the critical risk factors affecting the safety performance and ways to achieve sustainability in pipeline sleeper construction to counteract the risk of accident occurrence. Based on the evaluation of the questionnaire survey, the study explains twelve most important factors and sub factors, which were rated to have more than a moderate effect on safety performance. The six keys to sustainable success for integrating worker protection in the assessment of sustainable construction is also discussed.
 Keywords-Hazards, pipeline sleeper, safety performance, risk

The role of pondok pesantren to develop sustainable muslim settlements in Indonesia

In the vernacular design method, almost every general building standard cannot apply because of its unique condition. There was not any consideration about building design standards in Pondok Pesantren. They developed the group of buildings only based on the fund and land availability, and then the neighbor duplicated their method. The purpose of this paper is to assess the chances and challenges of Pondok Pesantrens in Indonesia, to develop sustainable Muslim settlements with Mlangi Muslim Settlement in Yogyakarta as a case study. Sustainable Construction Assessment Tool (SCAT) by the Holcim is used as the assessment tool to calculate sustainability. Three aspects are assessed from the economy, environmental and social to draw the existing conditions. The major findings of this research are stated in the environmental aspect; Pondok Pesantren is in a bad state regarding the terrible condition of water, energy, waste and site by the lack of condition of the settlement layout. Pondok Pesantren has chances to improve their environment using some strategies that would encourage the community to take the same action for its improvement as well. Socio-culture challenges need to be solved; the Pondok Pesantren has vowed to prioritize their significant role to make better quality Muslim settlements in Indonesia.

Estimation of Carbon Footprints of Bituminous Road Construction Process

Carbon footprint is a term used to describe the total amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gas (GHG) emissions for which an individual/process/organization/activity is responsible. The challenge of global climate change has motivated state transportation agencies involved in the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure to investigate strategies that reduce the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the construction and rehabilitation of highway infrastructure. The road sector is coming under pressure to review current practice and the potential to reduce carbon emissions. To reduce GHG emission, different approaches are adopted for road construction and maintenance such as Warm Mix and Cold Mix Technologies. Warm mix asphalt is produced at temperatures 20 to 40oC lower than hot mix asphalt (HMA). Cold Mix Asphalt is produced and paved at ambient temperature using bitumen emulsion. The immediate benefit of producing and placing asphalt mixes at a lower temperature is the reduction in energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, fumes, and odours generated at the plant and the paving site. The life cycle approach has been accepted as a robust method of measuring carbon footprint. Tools and data-sets have been developed to facilitate the measurement. Among them is the Calculator for Harmonised Assessment and Normalisation of Greenhouse-gas Emissions for Roads (CHANGER) developed by International Road Federation (IRF). This paper outlines the common methodology of road carbon foot printing, application of results in sustainable construction assessment schemes and resources available to undertake such analysis. Case studies of using CHANGER are provided in India for different technologies. The CO2 output of these projects is compared.

Portuguese sustainable construction assessment tools benchmarked with BREEAM and LEED: An energy analysis

This paper compares the criteria weighting process of four sustainable construction assessment tools: LiderA, SB ToolPT, Code for Sustainable Homes, and LEED for Homes 2012. The actual weights are first discussed in conceptual and numerical terms by benchmarking those in the four tools that have similar criteria. These four tools are then used to assess the sustainability level of a Portuguese residential project, the Palácio dos Condes de Murça (Counts of Murça Palace), to discuss the real influence of the weighting process on the final classification, in a real situation. Based on these two approaches, the work debates how the weighting process can contribute to the quest for passive net zero-energy buildings (NZEBs). In other words, this paper intends to ascertain whether the energy criteria's weighting is singling out bioclimatic principles as a priority for NZEBs. In conclusion, this work showed that the four different weighting sets are robust and generally similar. In fact, the case study analysis demonstrated that the final class is equivalent in the various tools. However, as far as energy is concerned, it is not clear whether the tools are pointing to passive design as the primary answer to achieve efficient NZEBs.

Measuring the carbon footprint of road construction using CHANGER

The road sector is coming under pressure to review current practice and the potential to reduce carbon emissions. The life cycle approach has been accepted as a robust method of measuring carbon footprint. Tools and data-sets have been developed to facilitate the measurement. Among them is the Calculator for Harmonised Assessment and Normalisation of Greenhouse-gas Emissions for Roads (CHANGER) developed by International Road Federation (IRF) and aimed to measure and benchmark the carbon footprint of road construction worldwide. This paper outlines the common methodology of road carbon footprinting, application of results in sustainable construction assessment schemes and resources available to undertake such analysis. Case studies of using CHANGER are provided for a UK trunk road widening, a public–private partnership highway construction in the United Arab Emirates and strategic highway upgrades in India. The CO2 output of these projects is compared, and an investigation is made to seek the causes of any differences. Finally, advice is provided on carbon measurement of roads and improvements of the IRF's tool.

Integration of Construction Worker Safety and Health in Assessment of Sustainable Construction

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000651IntroductionThere are many definitions that have been used to describesustainability and the green building concept. To understand sus-tainable practices, a working definition is needed. In academic,social, political, and ecological circles, sustainable developmentis often defined by a quote from a UN-sponsored commissionUN-sponsored commission (World Commission on Environmentand Development 1987): “those paths of social economic andpolitical progress that meet the needs of the present without com-promising the ability of future generations to meet their ownneeds.” From a design, planning, and construction perspective,the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive defines greenbuilding as “the practice of 1) increasing the efficiency with whichbuildings and their sites use energy, water, and materials, and2)reducingbuildingimpactsonhumanhealthandtheenvironment,through site selection, design, construction, operation, mainte-nance, and removal–the complete building life cycle.”To construct a building, resources such as energy and raw ma-terials are consumed. However, during their occupancy, buildingsalso generatewaste andpotentiallyharmful atmosphericemissions.Under the banner of sustainability, designers and builders aretasked with the goal of creating facilities that are energy and waterefficient,accessible,secure,healthy,andproductivewhileminimiz-ing any adverse environmental impacts. Buildings that successfullymeet those objectives are often labeled high-performance build-ings. These buildings often go through third party validation ratingsystems to verify that the design and construction meet a certainminimallevelofaccomplishmentsbeyondtraditionaldesign.Theseevaluation measures often consist of requirements or prerequisitesand elective credits or points that may be incorporated into thedesign and construction process to reach certain minimum levelsof approval and higher levels of prestige. This begs the questionof whether a building that meets current standards of sustainability,but at some point during the process of its construction a workeris seriously or fatally injured, should be considered a high perfor-mance building. At a minimum, should the safety policies of theconstruction firms and the amount of safety training that is offeredto the workers over the course of construction be given somemerit in the evaluation process? The purpose of this paper is topronounce that the safety policies of the builder and the actualsafety performance during the construction of a green buildingshould be considered in the same manner as commissioning orinstallation guidelines.Sustainability is essentially a holistic approach that takes intoconsideration the impact of the built environment on the naturalenvironment. This approach calls for balancing the needs of thepresent versus the needs of the future. The overarching concernof sustainable development is the balancing of the resulting impactof current development projects with the protection of environmen-tal and social resources for future generations. The question inthis context is where the individual safety of the worker that buildsa project fits into this equation. Whereas considerations for aspectssuch as living wage and cultural rights have been discussed on aglobal political level, the consideration of worker well-being andlife has been largely excluded from current discourses within thesustainable built environment movement. This is a major short-coming that should be addressed, given that there should be noconflict between the goals of preserving all valued resources.Protecting the environment and human resources should not beviewed as being mutually exclusive objectives. “Workplace safetycannot be separated from the need to protect the environment”(Mogensen 2006). The challenge is how to implement sustainablepolicy and practices in a manner that generates win-win payoffs forco-optimizing growth, energy efficiency, environmental and con-sumer protection, and worker safety.Sustainability can be viewed as being a moral issue or even anethical obligation. The precautionary principle that is advancedfrom the environmental movement clearly obligates producers,such as builders and building material manufacturers, to maintainethicallyresponsiblepracticesbydemonstratingthattheirproducts,and the processes (e.g., the actual design and construction processof a given building) that are utilized to generate their products,do not pose a threat to human health and the environment beforeintroducing them into the workplace and broader community(Mogensen 2006). For example, the American Society of CivilEngineers has adopted in its Fundamental Canons of its code ofethics that “Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, healthand welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the prin-ciples of sustainable development in the performance of their pro-fessional duties” (ASCE 2006). The International Confederation ofFree Trade Unions, which represents 148 million workers throughits 233 affiliated national trade unions in 152 countries, is activelyinvolved in integrating sustainable development concepts withthe protection of workers ’safety and health and workers overallwell-being (Mogensen 2006).Inclusion of Construction Safety and Health inSustainability DefinitionsThe realm of sustainability seems to concentrate on limitingimpacts to the environment, reducing energy, and incorporatingless harmful materials. This general theme is echoed in several

Assessment of sustainable construction in Lebanon

Purpose One of the most critical contemporary issues is achieving and maintaining sustainable development, adapting the use of natural resources to provide for the needs of our rising populations without threatening the survival and quality of life for future generations. Sustainable construction, in particular, is a concept that is gaining importance all over the world and is gradually improving life for populations that recognize its importance. The current environmental degradation in Lebanon due to limited natural resources, population increases, and inefficient urban management, threatens the economic growth and the wellbeing of the people and thus dictates the urgent need for planning and taking action on a comprehensive environmental sustainability strategy. The main purpose of this research is to explore the Lebanese construction industry in order to evaluate sustainability achievements on both design and construction levels. This research also studies sustainability standards and practices implemented in some developed countries and in the surrounding region in order to better assess the current status of sustainability development and corresponding public awareness in the Lebanese construction market with respect to foreign industries. Based on the aforementioned, this research addresses challenges to sustainable construction in Lebanon and provides recommendations to enhance the use of energy-saving materials and the application of environmentally-friendly construction methods. Method This assessment is done through two complementary approaches: (i) a comprehensive literature review of all pertaining governmental regulations, public policy, and guidelines that have been enacted to promote building sustainability in Lebanon, as well as a survey about existing green buildings and ongoing green projects along with the implementation challenges; and (ii) conducting interviews with Lebanese parties that are key players in achieving sustainable development such as local experts, public agencies, municipalities, architectural and contracting firms, private agencies dealing with environment protection, and real-estate companies. Results & Discussion The concept of sustainable production and construction is still very primitive in Lebanon and the role of the government in promoting sustainability is not yet well established. Some public entities including, but not limited to, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Energy and Water, the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) have put some effort through internationally funded projects and campaigns by UNDP and the European Commission aimed at promoting sustainable production and consumption in Lebanon. However, these efforts were not enough to have a significant impact on these industries and resulted merely in voluntary guidelines rather than serious measures to reduce energy usage and pollution. Another finding of this research is that major efforts need to be made towards enhancing public awareness of sustainability issues. Hence, this research analyses the observed deficiencies in the Lebanese construction market and provides some recommendations that, if turned into action plans, constitute a promising transition from a short-sighted construction focusing on short-term goals of profit making and fast growth and lacking concern for the environment to a global long-term sustainable development that ensures the welfare of the current and future generations.

Full paper: Assessment of sustainable construction in Lebanon

Full paper: Assessment of sustainable construction in Lebanon