Jorge A. Vanegas

Defining sustainability for built environment systems: an operational framework

One of the ongoing challenges in the quest to make our built environment more sustainable is defining what sustainability means in terms understandable to and measurable by built environment decision makers. This paper illustrates one approach to developing a comprehensive and exhaustive definition of sustainability for the built environment deriving domain-specific variables from fundamental principles and constraints that govern how earth systems work. The paper uses the concept of systems to define characteristics and critical constraints of both the earth as a whole and built facilities in particular. These constraints provide a basis for identifying conditions which must be met in order for a built facility system to be sustainable. The contribution of the paper is a decision space based on required sustainability conditions that can be used to evaluate facility alternatives in terms of their relative sustainability.

A parametric review of the built environment sustainability literature

The literature on built environment sustainability has grown dramatically in the past 10 years. Despite the proliferation of literature, there is still no consensus on how comprehensively and uniformly to define the concept of sustainability as it pertains to the built environment, nor is there consensus on what aspects of the built environment should be considered in evaluating the sustainability of a built facility. This paper, through an evaluation of selected sources from the sustainability literature, takes a first step in systematically identifying what parameters of both the built environment and the concept of sustainability are emphasised in the existing literature on the topic. The outcome is a set of parameters that can be used in future research to begin uniformly and comprehensively to define sustainability as it applies to built facilities, using techniques such as concept mapping, content analysis, dendograms, and other established research methods.

Drivers for Change: An Organizational Perspective on Sustainable Construction

Sustainability is emerging as a guiding paradigm to create a new kind of built environment: one that meets the needs of humans in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, despite legislative and social pressures to increase the environmental and resource-friendliness of our built environment, many construction organizations continue to operate in a business-as- usual fashion, failing to realize the potential advantages of taking a proactive approach to sustainability. To incorporate sustainability as a guiding principle, the construction industry needs both a convincing reason and a strategy to do so. This paper presents a model for organizationalchange to increase the sustainability of the built environment. The model includes a breakdown of the reasons that propel decision makers to consider sustainability in the context of built facilities, and identifies key strategic entry points for incorporating sustainability as a decision criterion over the whole life cycle of built facilities. In terms of the problem solving process used by built environment stakeholders, the model provides an overview of considerations for sustainability in terms of the life cycle of built facilities. The paper concludes with recommendations for creating execution plans to meet sustainability objectives and goals, and guidelines for surmounting barriers to change in the Architectural/Engineering/Construction (A/E/C) industry.

Appropriate Risk Allocation in Design-Build RFPs

This paper presents a framework for appropriately allocating risk in a Design-Build (D-B) Request for Proposals (RFP). Specifically, this paper discusses risk in D-B delivery, defines critical elements to be included in a D-B RFP, presents a framework for developing a project definition package and concludes with a discussion of how an RFP can be used as a tool for risk allocation. To reduce the likelihood of unforeseen circumstances arising on a construction project, the owner should describe in the greatest detail possible all known or available information related to the design-build project in the RFP. The framework presented in this paper is intended to assist owners and their representatives in drafting RFPs to appropriately allocate D-B delivery risks.

EMERGING METHODS FOR DEFINING AND MANAGING DYNAMIC PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Construction projects involve the integration of many technical sub-systems and components in a context that often involves complex and sensitive economic, social, political, and environmental decisions. This form of organization is typified by a management and decision-making climate in which problems are highly interdependent while the people, methods and organizations involved are extraordinarily independent. Currently, the flow of information from early debates and strategic project definition through design, engineering, procurement, construction, operation and decommissioning is piecemeal. Design programming and the strategic support of decision making through the life of a building project is an important factor for successful project outcomes. The automation of design programs can allow enhanced linking of client/user requirements to design, construction, operation and post-occupancy review. It has the potential for improved collection of requirements, project integration as well as feedback and feedforward for clients and designers. This paper outlines attempts to improve design quality through innovations in programming methodology, presents a model of the programming process, assesses existing software used to manage project requirements, and describes new application software currently under development that empowers businesses to create on-line user needs and analysis statements.

Resource Allocation and Problem Prioritization for Sustainable Facilities and Infrastructure

One of the most pressing problems in realizing sustainable facilities and infrastructure systems is deciding how to allocate economic and other resources to improve sustainability, within the constraints of limited budgets and organizational operating and decision environments. Decision makers responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of facilities are beginning to feel increasing pressure to incorporate principles of sustainability into their decisions and actions regarding these facilities. Given these pressures, decision makers face the challenge of prioritizing already scarce resources to achieve the objective of sustainability in their facilities, while continuing to meet other objectives already in place such as occupant requirements, environmental compliance, and avoidance of risk. This paper presents a hybrid process for prioritizing facility-related problems and allocating resources to solve those problems, based on the objective of increasing facility sustainability while meeting. other goals and constraints faced by facility decision makers. The process is based on a model of built facility sustainability and incorporates aspects of resource allocation procedures used to identify and manage cost drivers for facility design and construction. The paper includes a discussion of how sustainability relates to and incorporates existing facility-related objectives and constraints, and an overview of how the process can be applied to decision making for sustainability in residential facilities. The paper concludes with recommendations for incorporating sustainability as an objective in facility decision making.

What is the Background of Future Construction Leaders in Mexico

This paper reviews the background of the newcomers that we are “formally” educating in construction related programs in Mexico. Most of them come from either Civil Engineering or Architecture, and only a few from Construction Engineering or Building Construction programs. Curriculums at these programs in the past have been too rigid, namely a fixed set of courses for all students without or with just few electives. The most recent trend is to educate generalists, who may specialize later in a particular field of their choice, construction for instance. There is evidence that students enrolled in those programs, on the average, take only a few construction related courses, and only a couple of management related courses, after four or five years of college education. However, many of them will incorporate into the construction industry. This raises the question: Is this the proper approach? It appears that today’s programs are failing to provide proper education to the future construction actors, at least at the undergraduate level. Moreover, they are not being prepared to carry out properly their roles as construction leaders, particularly in the management arena. What is the solution then? How to combine the needs for educating generalists and at the same time prepare them as future (management) leaders for the construction industry? The authors propose in this paper a perspective that may allow a gradual learning process, both theoretical and practical, for those interested in pursuing a career in construction.