It is anticipated that through stakeholder preference mapping, heritage teams can increase the robustness of their strategies by identifying and effectively managing the important concepts; heritage teams can effectively manage the interface between the many (often competing) demands of differing stakeholders. Using Georgetown as a case study, the research team were able to delineate the interaction and interplay between the various stakeholders in the complex decision-making processes for a UNESCO heritage site. Applying the RIBA 2013 Plan of Work as a framework to the heritage management process enables a formalised mapping approach to the process.
The research identified eight virtual VSG (Extremist, Expert, Economic, Social, Governance and Tourists) and their scale of power-interest influence at different stages of the heritage management process. The findings reveal varying levels of engagement from each of the different groups of stakeholders at each work stage – with Stage 5 (Construction) being the least engaged. For the full paper, please visit https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-08-2020-0114
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Absorptive capacity has been acknowledged as a critical component for organisations to sustain, compete and excel in the marketplace. With the current volatile environment, there is increased demand for new knowledge, skills and implementation of new technologies. Every organisation must have the ability to be able to absorb and leverage from new technologies. This research aims to identify the absorptive capacity of Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) construction organisations. The research design adapted was based on qualitative approach. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with SMEs operating in six different states in Malaysia. Data were analysed using NVivo 12 Pro software and thematic approach was used to categorise the data. This research found 29 main indicators of how construction SMEs developed their absorptive capacity and 10 factors influenced their absorptive capacity. Owners and employees with higher education background and with more industry experience tend to be more receptive to absorb new knowledge. In addition, human resource departments and formal office communications were found to have positive impacts on SMEs’ absorptive capacity. Suppliers and manufacturers were also identified as important external factors. This research provides clear indicators of how SME construction organisations can develop their absorptive capacity and further improve their productivity. It also provides indication for Construction Industry Development Board on how they can assist the SME construction organisations to absorb and apply new technology in construction processes.
Follow this link for the complete paper https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2021.1883518 The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID - 19) pandemic has infected over 58 million people and claimed over 1.58 millions deaths globally (as of 11th December 2020) since its first outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Initially, the numbers of infe cted patients and death was largely contained in China with 98% of all confirmed infected cases. However, the increased rate of new infected cases outside of China like United States, Italy, and Spain raises questions on the virus characteristics and its r outes of transmission. Although the main transmission modes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS - CoV - 2) are through direct contact and respiratory droplet/aerosol inhalation, current studies stipulate that SARS - CoV - 2 RNA is found in sew erage, suggesting the potential transmission of SARS - COV - 2 through wastewater systems. This paper seeks to review potential exposure routes of SARS - COV - 2 in urban environments, the survival rate of coronaviruses that pose human health risks, and to provide relevant safety recommendations to reduce the impact of ongoing COVID - 19 pandemic. There is an urgent need for wastewater effluent and water treatment supply epidemiology surveillance, especially in developing countries with subpar wastewater treatment sy stems and infrastructure to reduce human and ecological risks to protect populations from infectious diseases outbreak.
https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/jdbe/article/view/28036 This study proposes a smart sustainable city with blockchain technology framework: guiding city planners and policymakers by deploying blockchain that supports technology within smart sustainable city framework. This facilitates the digital transformation of a city towards smart and sustainable through the use of blockchain. Prior literature lacks concrete and systematic review of the current blockchain application in smart sustainable city that covered to the full extent of various components. Thus, this study explores the integration of blockchain technology in making the city smarter, safer and sustainable. The results showed that smart sustainable city could leverage blockchain technology in several areas such as governance, mobility, asset, utility, healthcare and logistics. Blockchain technology could also aid smart sustainable city in achieving social, environmental and economic sustainability.
Read more here https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-09-2020-0140 An amazing experiece as Conference Co-Chair, International Construction Digitalisation for Sustainable Development: Transformation through Innovation Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. This year, the CDSD2020 concentrates on “Transforming through Innovation”, called Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation practitioners to discuss challenges as well as to provide potential innovative solutions toward the transformation of the construction industry for a future sustainability of buildings and living environments. This conference will also invited policymakers and entrepreneurs in developing digital strategies and promoting cooperation between entrepreneurs and higher education to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
https://cdsd2020.sciencesconf.org/ https://youtu.be/YLn_ok5LpvQ All governments, industry sectors and societies each have a pivotal role to play if we are to mitigate anthro- pogenic climate change. For the construction industry, limiting emissions and addressing issues of sustainability is not just important for reducing the environmental impacts of the sector, but is simply good practice. This research investigates the nexus between the generation and management of waste and greenhouse gas perfor- mance in the refurbishment sector, with specific focus on UK student accommodation projects. Performance data from three case study projects were analysed in order to: evaluate the types and extent of wastes and how they are managed; the greenhouse gas impacts of each project waste management strategy; and an assessment is undertaken to estimate the number of BREEAM waste credits that each project would have achieved. The research concludes that the overall greenhouse gas performance of a project’s waste management strategy is highly dependent on how specific high emission impact factor waste streams are managed, and notably, there is a disconnect between waste targets, legislation and sustainability benchmarking schemes that measure success based on the levels of diverting waste from landfill, and the emission performance of waste management stra- tegies. A key area of risk potentially overlooked relates to the scenarios where proportionally small quantities of high emission wastes (e.g. plastics) were sent to landfill alongside large quantities of low emission wastes (e.g. aggregates, bricks, etc.). To ensure the increased emission performance of the refurbishment sector, greater focus is needed on preventing specific categories of waste from the landfill pathway.
Heritage adaptation beyond the technical: conflicts and compromise between social, environmental and economic sustainability Special Issue in the International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation Heritage buildings are physical artefacts that embody the memory of the past in order to guide and inform future generations. Given the strategic role of heritage buildings in shaping national identities, there has been growing research and practical interest in the adaptation of such buildings, particularly in terms of how the adaptation of heritage buildings can contribute to the sustainability agenda. Indeed, increasing awareness of climate change and the need to renew cities means that the conservation of heritage buildings has to be considered. Yet, unique traditional designs, coupled with the use of localised materials of the past can create challenges for the adaptation of such buildings.
It is worth mentioning that the papers selected for this special issue have tended to focus on residential and cultural heritage buildings. What seems to be missing is analyses of heritage buildings of work and industrial importance. Whitman’s et al. analysis of timber-framed buildings, which highlighted an historical overview of how such architectural style was in part a response against industrialisation, points to the significance of industrial heritage. Elsewhere, Mulholland et al. (2018, 2019) also show how the adaptation of industrial heritage can generate social value and contribute to the sustainable development (or decline) of local communities. There is therefore scope for future research to examine the role adaptation of industrial heritage buildings in defining the ways societies live, work and play. To read the Editorial in full, please visit https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-04-2020-112 BIM, lean principles and sustainability concerns have emerged as trends in the industry, since they aim to improve how buildings are delivered throughout their entire lifecycle. Value aggregation and efficiency in operational and environmental terms are major concerns by stakeholders and wider society. However, majority of studies are focused on these elements in isolation or in pairs and there are no comprehensive frameworks suggesting an integration. Traditionally, performance is viewed as meeting quality, time and cost constraints, also known as the ‘Iron Triangle’. However, these success measures are being criticised as new projects are becoming more complex to manage to be only measured by the traditional three parameters.
The construction industry’s ability to innovate in order to improve its practices has been widely debated. As organisations in other sectors globally are addressing technology challenges, is the UK construction industry e-ready? Of particular concern is the plethora of small and medium enterprises (SME) that constitute over 80% of the UK construction industry. This paper aims to assess the e- readiness levels of UK SME building services provider in order to leverage the advantages of technology opportunities in the future.
The product is the E-Readiness for Construction (ERiC) framework for SME building services pro- viders, which enables construction organisations to quantify and measure organisational e-readiness from an organisation, technical and process perspective. During the research lifespan, it witnessed the construction boom at the start of the research and witnessed the bust of the industry towards the end of the research. This saw the shift in e-readiness thinking from complacent to essential tool needed now; and the shift in e-readiness practice from unnecessary to a significant practice to determine gaps for organisations. Again we ask, ‘Are you e-ready?’ Follow this link to read more: https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2019.1617669 The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the process flow in the usage of laser scanning for existing buildings to support sustainability-led design by a new scan-to-BIM process.
Buildings’ functional and physical characteristics can be digitally represented through Building Information Modelling (BIM) which creates a sharing platform for all stakeholders involved in the project lifecycle. The application of BIM has been studied throughout the years mainly in new buildings with less emphasis in refurbishing existing ones due to the limited availability of accurate data of the original project. However, maintaining and refurbishing existing buildings often contributes to higher risk and cost. In addition, more buildings are required to undertake building assessment schemes such as Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Green Star, Green Mark, and Green Building Index (GBI) – most were not designed to assess existing buildings. In this sense, laser scanning can be used to collect existing parametric building data as point clouds, which can be developed and used for modelling of energy consumption, comfort and costing. This can be then translated back into assessment schemes. To see this paper in full: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YPSMSWHFNDMXMDDKNVWJ/full?target=10.1080/17452007.2019.1674126 |