Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK 2
Current practice based on a traditional project delivery method is not very well suited to develop
integrated sustainable projects nor to improve the overall performance of the project and the
completed building. The current process is very fragmented and is built upon a culture of adversarial
roles; the different processes are carried out by various stakeholders who are not contractually
responsible to each other and who are often brought into the project after all major decisions have
been made. The information exchange between the different parties is limited; the wording on
contracts promotes little cooperation or innovation and puts pressure on local optimization. Therefore
it is not possible to develop synergies between systems and between project phases.
The practices and relationships between the different stakeholders are mainly determined by the
project delivery system and by the contracting structure selected by the owner. A sustainable project
requires a delivery method that differs from the traditional one and fosters interdisciplinary
collaboration that integrates project participants, business structures, and systems and construction
practices. The AEC+P+F (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, plus Planning, plus Facility
Management) integrated approach to the delivery process requires early involvement of key project
participants, transparency on project relationships, enhanced information exchange, collaborative
decision making, open communication, encouragement of participation and innovation, among others.
Project integration can be a catalyst to achieve building sustainability.
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Objectives
This chapter demonstrates the importance of project delivery system in the sustainability of a project.
It proposes a framework to explain the mutual associations between AEC+P+F integration and
sustainable construction and operation, studying the implications of project delivery methods on
sustainability. Through the use of a matrix that presents the interactions between the different
sustainability objectives and goals, project lifecycle activities in an integrated project, and project
participants who should be involved, it is shown how to achieve an integrated, efficient and effective
sustainable project. The matrix takes into consideration the main project phases of the integrated
project delivery approach and the main project participants. The matrix aligns the project lifecycle
phases on the horizontal array, and sustainability objectives and goals on the vertical array. The
intersection cells are populated with the project participant who is necessary in each phase in order to
maximize a sustainability objective.
Background
The construction industry has traditionally measured the performance of construction projects in
terms of initial costs, productivity, time, safety and quality. However, changes in project challenges
and owner characteristics, such as the awareness of the impact of the project on the environment and
its users, have made the performance and success factors of the project evolve to include not only
traditional performance indicators, but also new indicators such as lifecycle costs of the project,
sustainability, customer satisfaction, elimination of disputes, and long time relationships among the
project team (Tang 2001, Whaley 2009, Rooney 2006, Rahman and Kumaraswami 2004). Therefore,
sustainability as a success factor for a project is becoming an important indicator of its overall
performance. Sustainability as an indicator measures the performance of the project in terms of the
reduction of negative impacts on the environment and the increase in benefits to the final user and the
surrounding community.
Augenbroe and Pearce (1998) have identified several aspects that have to change within the industry,
as a response to sustainability. Some of those aspects encompass the inclusion of energy conservation
measures, solid waste reduction programs, sound use of materials and resources, healthy levels of
indoor environmental quality, water consumption reduction strategies, development and
implementation of strict policy and regulations in terms of land use and urban planning, and
evaluating the feasibility of a project in terms of its lifecycle cost instead of its initial cost. However,
even if some of the strategies mentioned before are carried out, the project would not be truly
sustainable until it is understood as a holistic integrated system (Busby Perkins & Will and Santec
2007) and the project delivery system evolves towards a more integrated one where each project team