This book presents the adaptation of lean principles to the precast construction industry to eliminate or minimize construction wastes, by modeling the precast construction process influencing manpower requirements. This is done using the shared mental models theory to understand how the lean principles enable people to work together to complete the tasks and work together effectively as a team throughout the entire precast construction process from the design, production and logistics to installation stages. Besides the theoretical concepts, this proposed book also presents the practical aspects faced by contractors through the conduct of questionnaire surveys to understand how the implementation of lean principles and shared mental models will affect the occurrence of construction wastes and hence the changes in the total man days used during the precast construction process. This book also presents a neural network model for developing leading indicators that classify precast construction projects in accordance with the manpower changes achieved through the construct of lean principles and shared mental models. This is to help the construction industry to predict the risk of low construction productivity and enable effective lean implementation to optimize the manpower effort required.
Building is a system of energy and environment, which needs to accommodate diverse needs and demands at individual and societal levels. Nearly 40% of global energy use derives from construction. In fact, a house consumes a significant amount of energy before and after occupancy, and the associated CO2 emissions are contributing to climate change. Prefabrication is a means to mass-produce buildings or parts and components. Thus, in theory, production costs can be reduced through economies of scale. In the 1920s, the significance of mass-produced houses was widely propagated by Le Corbusier who saw standardization as fundamental to mass production. Nonetheless, today, in response to growing global warming issues and the constant increase in energy prices, the construction industry is becoming more responsive to the delivery of sustainable architecture than ever. Within this context, sustainability may embrace not only building economy but also the adequacy beyond the legitimacy in which the quality barely coincides with individuals’ various dynamic needs, desires, and expectations today. In this respect, mass-produced prefabs alone fail to realize total sustainability. In 1987, a paradoxical concept of mass customization was introduced by Stanley Davis. Nonetheless, the idea applied to housing dates back to the 1950s. The essence of mass customizable architecture was speculated by Walter Gropius, as he emphasized the need for standardizing and mass-producing not only entire buildings but also their components. The combination of standard building components, which can be prefabricated, results in mass producing various types of constructions through economies of scope, where the quality can be defined by user choices of the components given in consideration of economic constraints and needs and demands. This book is an initial attempt to integrate the two notions of sustainability and mass customization by reviewing the potential capacities of prefabricated construction.
This book of CRIOCM 2021 (26th International Conference on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate) presents the latest developments in real estate and construction management around the globe. The conference was organized by the Chinese Research Institute of Construction Management (CRIOCM) working in close collaboration with Tsinghua University. Written by international academics and professionals, the book discusses the latest achievements, research findings and advances in frontier disciplines in the field of construction management and real estate. Covering a wide range of topics, including building information modeling, big data, geographic information systems, housing policies, management of infrastructure projects, intelligent construction and smart city, real estate finance and economics and urban planning and sustainability, the discussions provide valuable insights into the implementation of advanced construction project management and real estate market in China and abroad. The book offers an outstanding resource for academics and professionals.
This book explains how in moving towards Cleaner Production, the Lean Production Philosophy can be applied to reduce carbon emissions in prefabrication - one major source of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions which contribute to global climate change. This book examines theories and principles in the Lean Production Philosophy to develop situation-based carbon reduction strategies for precast concrete manufacturers and contractors in terms of Site layout, Supply Chain, Production, Stocks and Installation Management. It presents the empirical findings of surveys and case studies with managers and professionals working for precasters and contractors in Singapore, findings which provide good practical guidance for precast concrete manufacturers and contractors to achieve low carbon emissions and to perform better in many sustainability-based rating systems, such as the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Scheme.
Sustainability is a crucial concept. Sustainability was first introduced in the fib by creating a Special Activity Group under the convenorship of Prof Sakai. This group encouraged and helped all fib commissions to create their own groups dealing with sustainability. The fib Commission 6 “Prefabrication” took up this challenge and created a Task Group called “Sustainability of Structures with Precast Elements” in 2012. The group was created as a joint group with PCI (Precast Concrete Institute of USA), with the then-active fib Commission 3 “Environmental aspects of design and construction”, and the fib’s SAG8 on Sustainability. Therefore, this Bulletin 88 is a joint publication between PCI and fib. The aim of the work was to gather and study the most recent work that has been developed regarding sustainability – and more particularly Life Cycle Assessment - of structures in which precast elements are used. The final aim of the group would be to provide recommendations for the study and assessment of structures built with precast elements. It will cover all aspects of this kind of structure, from planning, design, execution, use, maintenance and remedial activities to deconstruction, reuse, demolition and recycling. The fib holds sustainability as a high priority, which triggered the creation of a new Commission 7 “Sustainability” during the 2015 fib commissions reorganisation. This commission has been chaired since then by Prof Hájek. Sustainability concepts were already introduced in the Model Code 2010 and are a key part in the elaboration of the Model Code 2020. Experts from many parts of the world contributed to this fib Bulletin 88 which gives the document a broad overview of sustainability sensibilities across different continents. Bulletin 88 starts with a description of the importance of environmental concepts and developments in the world today and the reason why sustainability is a crucial concept that will be even more important in the future. The document then focuses on the different advances of standards and regulations that have been developed or are in the process of being implemented. ISO, European regulations, North American regulations, Brazilian implementation in real precast companies and the developments of the fib Model Codes have been considered in this bulletin. After that, the bulletin examines life cycle aspects of precast structures, taking former fib bulletins as a basis. Then, it moves on to an in-depth study of specific sustainability aspects of precast structures. Then, the bulletin deals with the special methodologies and tools that are available around the world to handle sustainability in general and with precast structures in particular. A selection of tools is described in this chapter. The Task Group also developed proposals about how to deal with the sustainability of precast structures. Some of the proposals are described conceptually in the text. The final chapter compiles several case studies or examples of sustainability applications of precast structures. The examples differ and are grouped by category: buildings, infrastructure and special works.v The task group continues to work on developing other documents that will focus on the detailed practical application of some of the sustainability models described in this document.
This volume presents the proceedings of the International Conference on The Science and Engineering of Recycling for Environmental Protection (WASCON 2000), of which a number of themes have been identified. All are inter-related and inter-dependent in so far as potential users of secondary, recovered or recycled material have to be assured that the material is environmentally safe and stable. It is the environmental challenge that forms a leading theme for the conference, and the themes of quality assurance and quality control support this aspect. In terms of use of 'recovered' materials, science and engineering play important and inter-dependent roles and this is reflected in themes which form the very core of the conference. Of no less importance is control of land contamination and how we propose to model for the long term impact of our aims. However dutiful and competent our ideas and studies, there has to be a measure of control and the role of legislation forms the final theme of WASCON 2000.The breadth of studies being undertaken world-wide and the innovative ideas that are expressed in papers submitted are worthy of this important subject. It is also interesting to note that papers were offered from 30 countries, a sign of the increasing awareness of the need to preserve our natural resources and utilize to the full those with which we are more familiar. This book will contribute to the understanding of and solution of environmental problems concerning the re-use of waste materials in construction.
Compact living is sustainable living. High-density cities can support closer amenities, encourage reduced trip lengths and the use of public transport and therefore reduce transport energy costs and carbon emissions. High-density planning also helps to control the spread of urban suburbs into open lands, improves efficiency in urban infrastructure and services, and results in environmental improvements that support higher quality of life in cities. Encouraging, even requiring, higher density urban development is a major policy and a central principle of growth management programmes used by planners around the world. However, such density creates design challenges and problems. A collection of experts in each of the related architectural and planning areas examines these environmental and social issues, and argues that high-density cities are a sustainable solution. It will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in sustainable urban development.
This book presents select proceedings of the Indian Lean Construction Conference (ILCC 2022) with adoption and implementation cases of lean concepts across Indian construction projects. The topics covered are lean culture and behavior, lean in sustainable and green technologies, lean supply chain management and offsite construction, lean in public sector, lean in modern construction techniques, etc. The book also discusses various properties and performance attributes of lean tools and techniques across various construction practices in infrastructure and real estate projects. The book is a valuable reference for researchers and construction professionals interested in Lean Construction.
This book states that the proceedings gathers selected papers from 2022 5th International Conference on Civil Engineering and Architecture (ICCEA 2022), which was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on December 16-18, 2022. The conference is the premier forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of theoretical, experimental, and practical civil engineering and architecture. And this proceedings from the conference mainly discusses architectural design and project management, environmental protection and spatial planning, design and analysis of building materials, and structural engineering and safety. And these materials can be useful and valuable sources for researchers and professionals working in the field of civil engineering and architecture.
