2006-07 - Construction Innovation

PROGRAM C: DELIVERY AND MANAGEMENT OF BUILT ASSETS
Delivering a Re-Life Construction Project
Research project 2003-026-C
Sustainable Infrastructure in Aggressive Environments
Research project 2004-018-C
Project duration: 1 August 2004–30 September 2006
Project leader: Jay Yang, QUT
Project members: John Holland Group: Bruce Carlyle
Queensland Department of Public Works: Selwyn Clark,
Stuart Grierson
QUT: Soon Kam Lim
Rider Levett Bucknall: Michael Gilligan, John Oliver
RMIT: Arun Kumar, Tom Molyneaux, Chintha Perera, Sujeeva
Setunge, Srikanth Venkatesan
University of Western Sydney: Mary Hardie, Graham Miller
Thousands of buildings in Australian cities
have reached an age when decisions must
be made about their future. Products of the
1970s building boom, these buildings no
longer meet tenants’ requirements or energy
efficiency standards, and a decision must
be taken to demolish and build new, or “relife”
through refurbishment. To assist in this
process, this re-life project has developed
a set of guidelines to test the commercial,
technical and environmental viability of relifing
projects. With the growing commitment
Jay Yang
to sustainability, improving existing building stock is an attractive
option and it is estimated up to 50 per cent of annual capital budgets
will go to re-lifing by the year 2020. The research team studied the
re-lifing of three 30-to 40-year-old government buildings in Brisbane,
Melbourne and Sydney to investigate the characteristics of re-life
projects including the identification and mitigation of risks, issues of
decanting and existing tenants, identification of existing structure and
services, work scheduling, occupational health and safety issues for
construction personnel and tenants, demolition, waste and recycling,
issues of quality and workmanship, cost planning and cost modelling
methodologies. Outcomes of the research are available to industry
online through the Your Building sustainable commercial buildings
web portal.
Project duration: 1 July 2005–31 December 2006
Project leader: Sujeeva Setunge, RMIT
Project members: Queensland Department of Main Roads:
John Fenwick, Peter Rotolone, Lex Vanderstaay
QUT: Matthew Humphreys
RMIT: Rebecca Gravina, Tom Molyneaux, Srikanth Venkatesan
This project developed a diagnostic tool
that assists in the interpretation of distress
symptoms in bridges exposed to aggressive
environments. Distress mechanisms
pertinent to Queensland bridge stock have
been investigated and the methodology of
diagnosing from visual symptoms has been
developed. Based on further analysis of
about 30 bridges, a database of parameters
and issues to be considered in relating the
symptoms of distress to their mechanisms
Sujeeva Setunge
has been developed using a mind-map
analysis technique. This has led to the systematic documentation
of a rule based matrix that includes three levels of confidence (High,
Medium and Low). Based on this documentation, a software tool
(BridgeDIST) has been developed with a “knowledge base” and an
inference engine. Imprecise information has been evaluated using a
fuzzy-logic approach. The developed software is simple in application
with an open-ended architecture; this helps experts to create their
own new rule-bases, as and when sufficient expertise has now
been gained. Furthermore, the software can potentially be linked to
the bridge management systems and future deterioration of bridge
stock could be predicted. A hardcopy costing module has been
developed to accompany the software tool which evaluates the cost
of repairs for a given scenario. The outcomes of this project will inform
Queensland Department of Main Roads approaches to rehabilitating
concrete structures in marine environments.
Jay Yang. Image © Erika Fish, QUT.
Image © Peter Brandon.
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