Marcela Spisakova

Lean Production as an Innovative Approach to Construction

Abstract Lean production presents a new approach to the construction management which has enabled enterprises to attain very high levels of efficiency, competitiveness and flexibility in production systems. Nowadays, a number of industrial processes are managed in accordance with these advanced management principles [1]. The principles of lean production are applied within the integrated design and delivery solutions (IDDS) and prefabricated construction. IDDS uses collaborative work processes and enhanced skills, with integrated data, information, and knowledge management to minimize structural and process inefficiencies and to enhance the value delivered during design, build, and operation, and across projects. Prefabrication presents a one of opportunities for construction methods, which allows the compliance with principles of sustainable design, provides the potential benefits such as faster construction, fewer housing defects, reduction in energy use and waste and elimination of environmental and safety risks. This paper presents the lean production within the IDDS and its potential in the modern prefabrication. There is created a field providing of benefits of lean production in construction industry.

The Use Potential of Traditional Building Materials for the Realization of Structures by Modern Methods of Construction

Abstract The sustainable building has taken off in recent years with many investors looking for new and different methods of construction. The traditional building materials can be made out of natural materials, while others can help to lower energy costs of the occupant once built. Regardless of what the goal of the investor is, traditional building materials and their use is on the rise. The submitted paper provides an overview of natural building materials and possible modern building systems using these construction materials. Based on the questionnaire survey is defined the use potential of traditional building materials for the realization of the construction by methods of modern constructions and then are determined the drivers and barriers of traditional materials through using modern methods of construction. Considering the analysis of the achieved results, we can identify the gaps in the construction market in Slovakia and also to assess the perception of potential investors in the field of traditional building materials use, which is the purpose of submitted paper.

The benefits of modern method of construction based on wood in the context of sustainability

The construction industry is a major consumer of material and energy resources. Global developments in construction give sustainability a crucial role in overall healthy functioning of society as well as the whole environment. Modern methods of construction represent a response to the sustainability trend, since they bring faster construction and better environmental, energy and economic parameters. The aim of this article is to analyse and evaluate the benefits of modern methods of construction in the form of prefabricated panel wood construction (PWC). With the aid of a case study, certain environmental and economic parameters of PWC on the one hand and traditional masonry construction from ceramic bricks on the other hand will be studied and compared. The environmental evaluation of building material composition was conducted by means of the ‘Cradle to Gate’ model within the LCA method. The parameters in question will be studied in terms of embodied energy, global warming potential and acidification potential. The economic parameters to be analysed include construction time, construction costs and particularly the environmental burden caused by transport of materials to the building site. The submitted experimental study and its results should help break barriers sustained by traditional technologies and point towards healthier and more environmentally friendly alternatives in construction processes.

Potential of Progressive Construction Systems in Slovakia

Construction industry is a sector with rapid development. Progressive technologies of construction and new construction materials also called modern methods of construction (MMC) are developed constantly. MMC represent the adoption of construction industrialisation and the use of prefabrication of components in building construction. One of these modern methods is also system Varianthaus, which is based on, insulated concrete forms principle and provides complete production plant for wall, ceiling and roof elements for a high thermal insulation house construction. Another progressive construction system is EcoB, which represents an insulated precast concrete panel based on combination of two layers, insulation and concrete, produced in a factory as a whole. Both modern methods of construction are not yet known and wide-spread in the Slovak construction market. The aim of this paper is focused on demonstration of MMC using potential in Slovakia. MMC potential is proved based on comparison of the selected parameters of construction process – construction costs and construction time. The subject of this study is family house modelled in three material variants – masonry construction (as a representative of traditional methods of construction), Varianthaus and EcoB (as the representatives of modern methods of construction). The results of this study provide the useful information in decision-making process for potential investors of construction.

M-learning tool for modeling the building site parameters in mixed reality environment

Information-communication technology (ICT) of 21st century has become a very powerful tool in all industrial segments in Slovakia, including construction. The development of ICT creates the potential for the application of more sophisticated systems also in the preparation and realization of construction through the using mixed reality. Mixed reality is the field of computer research dealing with the combination of real world and computer generated data (virtual reality), where are in the real-time computer generated graphics objects implemented into the real environment. The continuous development of ICT should also apparent in education, where the use of mixed reality in the educational process undoubtedly has great potential. The use of ICT also depends on the development of digital competences. The digital competences are currently integral part of the knowledge society and the part of initiatives not only social, economic but also a political dimension. Statement of the European Commission points out that the competitiveness and innovative capacity of European industry, as well as social cohesion is increasingly dependent on the strategic and effective use of new information and communication technologies as well as knowledge, skills, competencies of the European workforce and citizens. The aim of this paper is to describe the creating of the M-learning tool for intelligent modelling of building site parameters in mixed reality environment and its implementation into educational process and construction practice.

The perception of waste management by construction companies

The responsible waste management is an integral part of a sustainable construction process which is based on managing of waste stream on site, waste minimization, waste registry, waste disposal (reusing, recycling, landfilling, ...) on construction site, but also the policies and regulations in this field. Currently, many opportunities have arisen for the beneficial reduction and recovery of construction material that would otherwise be destined for the disposal as construction waste. The scope of use of these opportunities is related to the perception of waste management by construction companies, especially by contractors. The submitted paper presents the importance of on site waste management in terms of construction of buildings. The research was carried out through a questionnaire survey in Slovakia. It was focused on finding construction companies’ approach to the issues of waste management on building sites and problems in the field of construction waste registry. The first part of the paper is focused on attitudes to waste disposal depending on company size (using chi-squared test) and the second part is focused on attitudes to meeting waste legislation.

Environmental Assessment of Buildings Constructed by Modern Methods of Construction

Currently, we are witnessing the significant impact of industrial activity on the environment. A recent study shows that construction is the third largest industry sector in terms of environmental pollution. One option to reduce these negative effects is environmental assessment of buildings, as well as the used building materials. One of the most comprehensive environmental assessment methods is LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), which includes the assessment of impacts within mode ”Cradle-to-gate” which is focused on assessment of a partial product life cycle from resource extraction (cradle) to the factory gate (i.e., before it is transported to the consumer). The aim of this paper is a comparison of the environmental impact of selected material variants applied within modern methods of construction. The comparison will be processed through the results of the case study containing three material variants of family houses construction in term of three selected parameters - embodied energy, global warming potential and acidification potential.

Comparative Analysis of Houses Built from Insulating Concrete Formwork – case Study

Abstract More and more, people are looking to build and live in different ways. They want houses with a high standard of living and reasonable production and maintenance costs. However, they also want to build a way that does not adversely affect their quality of life. Currently, the using of modern methods of construction (MMC) expands consistently year on year. MMC include prefabricated products made in the factory and also new methods of building that are site-based and they are regarded as a means of achieving higher quality, reducing time spent onsite, increasing safety and overcoming skills shortages in the industry. Aim of this paper is to analyze and compare, trough case study, technical, cost and technological parameters of house built by modern method of construction (from insulating concrete formwork) and by traditional method (from brick system). The subject of case study is house modeled in two variants of insulating concrete formwork and a variant bricks and ceiling system. In conclusion, there is selected optimal method and system for house construction through multicriteria optimization.