Commitment Indicators for Tracking Sustainable Design Decisions in Construction Projects

The construction industry is considered one of the largest contributors to climate change through its consumption of natural resources and generation of greenhouse gases. Much of this can be attributed to inadequate decision making and follow-up within construction companies. To mitigate this problem, considerable research on Sustainable Development (SD) reports on decision support systems have been developed in order to make sound decisions with respect to the environment. Nonetheless, and despite the availability of such tools, these systems fail to track the commitment to SD decisions and goals during the different phases of construction projects in general and the design phase in particular. As such, this study identified three standard SD indicators: waste reduction, energy consumption, and carbon emissions as the main contributors, and developed the framework to track the project stakeholders’ commitment to the relevant SD indicators during the project design phase. The developed framework was validated via an expert panel and used to create a Sustainable Development Commitment Tracking Tool (SDCTT-D). The SDCTT-D tool was also applied in an infrastructure project case study. The results of this study gauged the usability of the developed tool and corroborated the research premise

Commitment Indicators for Tracking Sustainable Design Decisions in Construction Projects

The construction industry is considered one of the largest contributors to climate change through its consumption of natural resources and generation of greenhouse gases. Much of this can be attributed to inadequate decision making and follow-up within construction companies. To mitigate this problem, considerable research on Sustainable Development (SD) reports on decision support systems have been developed in order to make sound decisions with respect to the environment. Nonetheless, and despite the availability of such tools, these systems fail to track the commitment to SD decisions and goals during the different phases of construction projects in general and the design phase in particular. As such, this study identified three standard SD indicators: waste reduction, energy consumption, and carbon emissions as the main contributors, and developed the framework to track the project stakeholders’ commitment to the relevant SD indicators during the project design phase. The developed framework was validated via an expert panel and used to create a Sustainable Development Commitment Tracking Tool (SDCTT-D). The SDCTT-D tool was also applied in an infrastructure project case study. The results of this study gauged the usability of the developed tool and corroborated the research premise

Data mining for sustainability analysis: an education approach

Our planet’s population is increasing at a rapid pace and with it the demand for food and resources. Environmental Sustainability (ES), a part of Sustainable Development (SD) concepts and techniques, is key in mitigating the effects of resource overuse. Several indicators have been identified and used to develop ES measures such as an environmental performance index and an environmental vulnerability index. These indices are used to evaluate countries and provide support for decision-making regarding national mitigation strategies and climate risks. This paper describes an educational approach to raise ES awareness and improve SD analytical skills among doctoral level students in Engineering Systems Management. The data used in this paper is obtained from existing ES indices and available data. The students use data mining and analytics techniques to evaluate the data, find relationships, and draw conclusions. These techniques and conclusions are then shared in class presentations and conference publications. Data mining converts raw data into useful information that can be understood by different audiences. It can be used to persuade policymakers about the importance of sustainable strategies for a country, a society, or certain groups or individuals’ welfare by highlighting meaningful patterns and trends in ES. The paper also aims to investigate possible correlations among environmental indices and their underlying indicators

A Holistic Intersection Rating System (HIRS)—A Novel Methodology to Measure the Holistic Operational Performance of Signalized Urban Intersections

Signalized urban intersections are key components of urban transportation networks. They are traditionally viewed and designed as primarily motorized traffic facilities, and thus their physical and operational designs have traditionally aimed at maximizing traffic throughput subject to constraints dictated by vehicular safety requirements and pedestrian crossing needs. Seen from a holistic viewpoint, urban intersections are hubs or effective centers of community activities of which traffic flow is only one. Those hubs have direct and indirect impacts on the overlapping traffic functionalities, the environment, public health, community wellbeing, and the local economy. This study proposes a new rating system, the Holistic Intersection Rating System (HIRS), aimed at appraising signalized intersections from a more inclusive viewpoint. This appraisal covers traffic functionality, sustainability, and public health and community wellbeing. This rating system can be used as a guide to conceive, plan, or design new intersections or revamp existing ones. HIRS rates signalized urban intersections based on the level of use of relevant enabling technologies, and the physical and operational designs that allow those intersections to operate holistically, thus leading to a more human-centric and sustainable operational performance. HIRS was validated using a panel of experts in construction, transportation, and public health. The Relative Importance Index (RII) method was used to weigh the HIRS features. The rating system was piloted on a sample of 20 intersections in different cities in the UAE. The results revealed glaring gaps in services to or the consideration of pedestrians, cyclists, and nearby households. The sample intersections scored a mean of 32% on the public health and community wellbeing section, 37% on the pedestrian subsection, and 15% on the cyclist subsection. Such relatively low scores serve as indicators of areas for improvements, and if mapped to their specific features and their relative weights, specific physical and operations designs and technology integration can be identified as actionable items for inclusion in plans and/or designs