Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK 2
Logistics plays a vital role in supporting assembly works on a construction site by co-ordinating and
controlling the complex interaction between constantly changing work areas, a large and varied
workforce, a vast number of vehicles, plant and equipment and a huge quantity of diverse materials.
In addition, correctly delivered construction logistics enables a project team to meet its social
obligations external to the site boundary, such as ensuring public safety, maintaining the operation of
local transport systems, meeting the needs of neighbouring businesses and minimising disruption to
local residents. It achieves this by integrating a construction site into its immediate environment in a
manner that is sympathetic to life outside that of the project team.
Furthermore, logistics plays a crucial role in reducing the environmental impact of the construction
project process by helping to minimise non-renewable resource consumption, the generation of
pollutants, carbon dioxide emissions, noise pollution, road congestion, construction waste production
and visual intrusion. It achieves this by helping to ensure that the supply of materials to site is
controlled by actual construction progress, appropriate material handling equipment is employed and
that the transport of materials, plant and equipment is efficient and effective.
Consequently, logistics has evolved from an operational activity into a strategic necessity for
construction project teams.
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Demands being placed on construction project teams
The creation of the built environment presents immense technical, organisational and behavioural
challenges to project teams.
These teams need to safely deliver projects on time and within budget to the required standard, whilst
often maintaining a client’s primary operational function, such as the provision of education,
healthcare or transport, the execution of financial transactions, or the manufacture of goods.
These teams are increasingly required to deliver shorter construction programmes, so that clients can
start using their new or refurbished facilities at the earliest opportunity. These same clients are often
applying economic pressure to their construction teams by demanding cost reductions.
Construction project teams also need to maintain a view that extends beyond the site boundary and
ensure that social and environmental impact demands are met. Thereby ensuring that the creation of
the built environment meets the needs of the present population, without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
A correctly delivered logistics strategy, either in a project-specific context, an estate-wide context or
across multiple projects can help project teams successfully meet these demands.
Shortcomings in how construction project teams execute logistics
Extensive research undertaken by BSRIA has shown that many construction project teams fail to
manage logistics effectively. This creates working environments in which production rates are highly
variable, worker health and safety is compromised, consistent build quality is difficult to maintain and
the generation of material waste is higher than it should be. Typical characteristics found in these
production environments are illustrated below.