Usman Aminu Umar

Challenges for Implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Malaysian Construction Industry

The construction industry of Malaysia is very dynamic in nature and the adoption of new technological advancements and construction methods has been a prime concerns for its key players and stakeholders. However, the adoption of BIM in such a dynamic industry is observed to be limited and its implementation has not been as successful as it should have been. The study focuses on the identification and prioritization the factors challenging the implementation of BIM in Malaysian construction industry. The data has been administrated through designed questionnaire by identifying the factors / barriers, by literature review, for implementation of BIM in construction industry. The prioritization of such factors is expected to help the major stake holders to address the issues according to their priority which will save lot of previous time and financial with smooth implementation of BIM in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry in future project.

Towards Building Energy Efficiency for Developing Countries

Buildings account for 42 percent of world energy consumption, therefore the rising trend of making buildings more energy efficient is smart business with assists to make local market jobs and added benefits to the environment, even though the main inspiration for energy efficiency initiatives always been energy cost savings, government incentives and improved public image were important. Increasing energy efficiency through measures such as building efficiency has the possibilities to gradual the development of energy demand in developing nations around the world by more than fifty percent by 2020. Building efficiency codes and standards are regulatory instruments that need a minimum amount of energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, equipment or lighting when they are properly designed, they might cost-effectively lower energy costs over each and every items lifetime. Energy efficiency improvement targets are aims which can be established for a country or town. Setting a targeted for the whole geography can stimulate greater measures particularly if there is an organization accountable for achieving that target. Furthermore, governments can set efficiency enhancement goals for publicly owned properties to develop capacity and promote the building efficiency industry. This study reveals an overview of the development and present scenario of BEE summarizes its key issues, and proposed measures of improvement and options to enhance the building energy efficiencies systems for sustainable natural environment.

Impact of Environmental Assessment of Green Building Materials on Sustainable Rating System

As education and concern pertaining to environmental and sustainability issues like implications of resources destruction, decrease in bio-diversity as well as climate change multiply, so has the need for housing developments that lead to less damaging effects on the environment, whilst enabling living standard to be sustained. Builders, developers and material providers have addressed this demand by creating approaches and technologies that minimize energy, water and main material consumption, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and sustain or enhance surrounding ecological systems and services. Several administration and non-governmental institutions in addition have aimed to change the sustainability of the building industry by developing green rating systems that can be used to evaluate the environmental performance of new and existing building. This paper discusses material resources criteria and the impact as a sustainable rating tool.

Sorption of Copper and Zinc from Aqueous Solutions by Microwave Incinerated Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (MISCBA)

Industrial wastewater containing toxic pollutants such as heavy metals tends to contaminate the environment once it is release without proper treatment. Heavy metals are toxic to both human and other living organisms. It is necessary to treat industrial wastewater polluted with heavy metals prior to its discharge into the receiving environment. In this study, low cost adsorbent was generated from sugarcane bagasse through incineration. The prepared adsorbent “microwave incinerated sugarcane bagasse ash” (MISCBA) was used in removing copper and zinc from aqueous solution. Parameters of importance such as pH, contact time and adsorbent dosages are studied to investigate their effects on the adsorption of copper and zinc. Maximum adsorption was observed at pH 6.0, contact time of 180 minutes and adsorbent dosage of 10 g/L. Zinc removal follows Langmuir isotherm model with correlation coefficient of 0.9291. Copper adsorption follows both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model with correlation coefficient of 0.9181 and 0.9742, respectively. Removal capacities of 38.4 mg/g and 20.4 mg/g were obtained for copper and zinc, respectively. Application of MISCBA as low - cost adsorbent have shown significant outcome in removal of copper and zinc from aqueous solution.

Embodied Carbon of Buildings: Tools, Methods and Strategies

Embodied carbon can be defined as the “CO2 emissions produced during the extraction of resources, transportation, manufacture, assembly, disassembly and end-of-life disposal of a product”. Calculation of the carbon footprint of buildings is important to promote the construction of low-carbon buildings that release significantly less CO2 compared to conventional buildings. However, researchers and practitioners in this area tend to disregard the embodied carbon and pay more attention to the operational carbon when calculating the carbon footprint of buildings. This paper reviews the current state and trend of research on the embodied carbon of buildings with focus on the tools, methods and strategies employed and makes recommendations for future research direction.

The repercussions linked with a changing macroclimate for green building

There is substantial proof that the world is warming. The International Panel of Climate Change reported that there might be a continuous rise in the ambient temperature throughout the end of the 21st century. With a rising international worry about global warming, the construction sector is confronting the question of how forecasted changes in climate will affect the overall performance of buildings all over the world. This is resulting in a fast-growing field of study that concentrates on the adaptation and strength of buildings to a varying climate. Global warming can tremendously result on the overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of residential buildings. Hence, climate adaptation must be effectively regarded both in design and operation phases to eliminate impact. This paper examines (or reviews) the connection between climate change and buildings and the growing body of knowledge on the issue, and also classifying and reviewing the contributions of other researcher.