Minimizing the social impact of construction work on mobility: a decision-making method

Minimising the impacts of construction work on mobility, especially in urban areas, is a major issue for local authorities and construction planners that has not been sufficiently studied. This paper proposes a deterministic decision-making method for quantifying the impacts of construction work on mobility, including emergency vehicles, mass transit, individual transport, bicycles, and pedestrians. The method is based on multi-attribute utility theory, interviews with experts representing various stakeholders in construction, and a review of the literature and legislation. The practical use is illustrated with a real case study in which two shaft-construction processes (diaphragm wall excavated using a hydromill and vertical shaft sinking machine) are compared and ranked. The sensitivity analysis shows the robustness of the results. The resulting Mobility Impact Index can easily be integrated with other social, economic, and environmental criteria, thereby enabling the evaluation of alternatives from a multi-criteria perspective, e.g., in tender processes. The method could be useful to public authorities and design and construction companies and is being piloted in construction projects of the city of Barcelona. It has implications for corporate social responsibility, social/sustainable procurement, and social/sustainable impact assessment in construction

Sustainability-driven decision-making model: case study of fiber-reinforced concrete foundation piles

Currently, foundation piles for inhabited areas are often constructed using a continuous flight auger, which is a cost- and time-efficient technology that does not require stabilization of the borehole wall; the steel bar reinforcement is embedded after the concrete has been poured. However, this reinforcement operation can lead to severe construction and structural issues. Thus, several improvements to this technology have been proposed since its first application in the 20th century, such as the use of more fluid concretes. Nevertheless, steel and polymers are emerging as a potential replacement for steel bars in concrete reinforcement for several types of structures and building components, with identified and quantified benefits from a sustainability perspective. Accordingly, this paper proposes and validates a multicriteria decision-making approach designed with multidisciplinary experts within the construction field to assess the sustainability index of concrete pile foundations. The results of a case study enable us to conclude that polymeric fiber-reinforced concrete piles are the most sustainable due to their cost–structural efficiency ratio, high durability, and minimal risks during construction. Steel fiber-reinforced concrete alternatives were also found to be more sustainable than traditional reinforced concrete. Nonetheless, these results are unrepresentative of the current practice as direct costs were found to be the main driver in the decision-making processes, while other costs and both environmental and social indicators are disregarded. This justifies the urgency to provide sustainability-driven decision-making approaches capable of objectively quantifying the satisfaction degree of economic, environmental, and social indicators involved in the analysis

Decision-making tool for enhancing the sustainable management of cultural institutions: season content programming at Palau de la música catalana

There has been an increasing relevance of the cultural sector in the economic and social development of different countries. However, this sector continues without much input from multi-criteria decision-making (MDCM) techniques and sustainability analysis, which are widely used in other sectors. This paper proposes an MCDM model to assess the sustainability of a musical institution’s program. To define the parameters of the proposed model, qualitative interviews with relevant representatives of Catalan cultural institutions and highly recognized professionals in the sector were performed. The content of the 2015–2016 season of the ‘Palau de la Música Catalana’, a relevant Catalan musical institution located in Barcelona, was used as a case study to empirically test the method. The method allows the calculation of a season value index (SVI), which serves to make more sustainable decisions on musical season programs according to the established criteria. The sensitivity analysis carried out for different scenarios shows the robustness of the method. The research suggests that more complex decision settings, such as MCDM methods that are widely used in other sectors, can be easily applied to the sustainable management of any type of cultural institution. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this method was never applied to a cultural institution and with real data

Towards Transparent Decision-Making Processes Within Museums: Case Study of Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)

Understanding that good decision-making is paramount for the success of an organization and recognizing that strategic decision-making inside museums is a topic that has been over-passed by researchers, this paper intends to contribute to the relevance of the subject through the implementation of an innovative tool. Decision-making in museums is normally focused on the intuition, subjectivity, and experience of the curator, who brings all his knowledge to the exhibition programming. However, museums’ management and environment are constantly changing, thus the application of this tool would aim to make decisions in a more democratic, transparent, inclusive, and accurate manner. Besides, it will be easier to understand how distinct subjects can work together, demonstrating successful results to improve the decision-making process when programming and measuring temporary exhibition seasons in museums. This paper describes the design and implementation of the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) for the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC). It also analyzes and evaluates the decision-making process when scheduling exhibitions for a season

A decision-making method for planning exhibitions in arts organizations: A case study of CaixaForum Barcelona

Museum directors play a fundamental role in the management of arts institutions, and they need to constantly adapt to the changes and requirements of the society. Questions have been raised about how decisions are made in museums, and if any specific method exists to analyze and select exhibitions for a complete annual program. Interviews conducted with several directors and experts have confirmed that, in general, the decision-making process within cultural institutions is intuitive and based on the experience and subjectivity of the director, who has an artistic background but sometimes lacks experience in arts management. In order to address this subject, this study applied the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) to CaixaForum Barcelona, an important cultural institution in Spain, and analyzed the decision-making process followed while selecting artists and topics for a temporary exhibition. This research contributes to a new decision-making method and the improvement of exhibition scheduling in arts organizations

Integración arquitectónica de colectores solares térmicos cerámicos para clima mediterráneo

El trabajo aquí presentado se orienta a demostrar la viabilidad técnica, arquitectónica y energética de colectores solares térmicos realizados con materiales cerámicos y adecuados al clima mediterráneo para la producción de agua caliente sani-taria (ACS) y de calefacción en edificios. Se propone el diseño de una envolvente cerámica formada por paneles captadores y paneles no captadores, que forman parte de un mismo sistema constructivo que es capaz de dar respuesta a los requeri-mientos básicos de un cerramiento exterior y de captar la energía solar. La cerámica consigue reducir considerablemente el coste final del sistema captador y ofrece al nuevo sistema una gran variedad de juego compositivo y cromático dado que, con un menor rendimiento frente al de un colector convencional metálico, puede ocupar toda la superficie de fachada y obtener un elevado grado de integración arquitectónica. También se ha definido una herramienta que permite evaluar el sistema de captación solar térmica cerámico desde un punto de vista multicriterio, económico, ambiental y social, para compararlo con los sistemas de captación solar térmica comerciales bajo distintas condiciones climáticas y de demanda

A decision-making method for planning exhibitions in arts organizations: A case study of CaixaForum Barcelona

Museum directors play a fundamental role in the management of arts institutions, and they need to constantly adapt to the changes and requirements of the society. Questions have been raised about how decisions are made in museums, and if any specific method exists to analyze and select exhibitions for a complete annual program. Interviews conducted with several directors and experts have confirmed that, in general, the decision-making process within cultural institutions is intuitive and based on the experience and subjectivity of the director, who has an artistic background but sometimes lacks experience in arts management. In order to address this subject, this study applied the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) to CaixaForum Barcelona, an important cultural institution in Spain, and analyzed the decision-making process followed while selecting artists and topics for a temporary exhibition. This research contributes to a new decision-making method and the improvement of exhibition scheduling in arts organizations

Sustainability-oriented model to decide on concrete pipeline reinforcement

The design of sustainable sewerage infrastructure is fundamental for achieving long-term sustainability goals. Piping systems are essential components in the water supply chain and in waste disposal systems worldwide. Among possible designs for concrete pipes, steel cages consisting of curved rebars have been predominantly used as reinforcement. However, structural fibres have emerged as an attractive technical and economical alternative for substituting steel cages. Due to increasing urbanisation, thousands of kilometres of pipes will be constructed in the near future. At present, decisions regarding reinforcement of concrete pipes are primarily cost-driven. To consider other aspects, it is fundamental to identify and quantify potential sustainability issues properly. Hence, this paper focuses on the sustainability analysis of reinforced concrete pipes using a multicriteria decision-making method. A model based on criteria, indicators, weights and value functions is developed and calibrated by assessing various concrete reinforcement strategies (steel bars or steel/synthetic fibres). The main contributions of the article are the proposal and application of a model for the case of concrete pipes which can be adapted for other case studies; determining how different typologies of pipes contribute to the overall sustainability of infrastructure systems; and the use and application of a robust and interesting multi-criteria decision-making methodology. The results show that fibre reinforced concrete pipes are promising alternatives in social, economic and environmental terms. Both the model and results are expected to be useful to stakeholders in decision-making processes

Sustainability-driven decision-making model: case study of fiber-reinforced concrete foundation piles

Currently, foundation piles for inhabited areas are often constructed using a continuous flight auger, which is a cost- and time-efficient technology that does not require stabilization of the borehole wall; the steel bar reinforcement is embedded after the concrete has been poured. However, this reinforcement operation can lead to severe construction and structural issues. Thus, several improvements to this technology have been proposed since its first application in the 20th century, such as the use of more fluid concretes. Nevertheless, steel and polymers are emerging as a potential replacement for steel bars in concrete reinforcement for several types of structures and building components, with identified and quantified benefits from a sustainability perspective. Accordingly, this paper proposes and validates a multicriteria decision-making approach designed with multidisciplinary experts within the construction field to assess the sustainability index of concrete pile foundations. The results of a case study enable us to conclude that polymeric fiber-reinforced concrete piles are the most sustainable due to their cost–structural efficiency ratio, high durability, and minimal risks during construction. Steel fiber-reinforced concrete alternatives were also found to be more sustainable than traditional reinforced concrete. Nonetheless, these results are unrepresentative of the current practice as direct costs were found to be the main driver in the decision-making processes, while other costs and both environmental and social indicators are disregarded. This justifies the urgency to provide sustainability-driven decision-making approaches capable of objectively quantifying the satisfaction degree of economic, environmental, and social indicators involved in the analysis

Approach for sustainability assessment for footbridge construction technologies: Application to the first world D-shape 3D-Printed fiber-reinforced mortar footbridge in Madrid.

As a means to improve sustainability in the construction sector, the 3D-printed concrete technologies (3DPCTs) are emerging as potential alternatives to traditional construction for reinforced concrete structural components. Traditional technologies are still used in most architecture and civil engineering applications, although D-shape technology for 3DPCTs (DS-3DPCT) has proven technically feasible for producing pilot structural elements such as footbridges. These pilots have been contextualized within research and industrial frameworks, in which relevant technical information is confidential and cost and environmental performance related conclusions are still to be validated and reported. Moreover, scarce research has been conducted on sustainability performance by DS-3DPCT, and that carried out is primarily incipient and focused on identifying governing indicators and some specific non-generalizable quantifications. Former studies ack dealing with sustainability by DS-3DPCT from a holistic and integrated perspective, which requires quantifying and coupling the three main economic, environmental and social pillars. This research project comprehensively develops a sustainability-oriented decision-making approach for assessing construction technologies for footbridges based on MIVES and Delphi method. The Castilla-La Mancha park DS-3DPCT footbridge constructed by ACCIONA S.A. in 2016 in Madrid was the representative case study to validate this approach applicability. The results quantify the case study as sustainable, with excellent values for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, generation of qualified jobs, benefits to brand, occupational risk prevention, and design flexibility. However, this DS-3DPCT requires more maturity in the technology to improve its economic values. This approach range of application might be extended to other structural typologies by introducing -when necessary-other relevant indicators and weights’ distributions