Construction In 5d Deconstruction Digitalization Disruption Disaster Development

This book gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in built environment, as presented by international researchers at the 15th Built Environment Conference, held in Durban, South Africa, on September 27-28, 2021, and organized by the Association of Schools of Construction of Southern Africa (ASOCSA). The overarching theme of the conference was “Construction in 5D: Deconstruction, Digitalization, Disruption, Disaster, Development”, with contributions focusing on current trends, innovations, opportunities and challenges, policies and procedures, legislation and regulations, practices and case studies, in both the public and private sectors. The volume will contribute to the existing body of knowledge relative to the science and practice of construction not only in South Africa but wherever the products of construction are produced even in these new challenging times of fear and uncertainty.

This edited book presents a significant and timely contribution to our understanding of a broad range of issues pertaining to COVID-19 and its relationship to occupational safety, health and well-being (OSHW) in the global construction industry. The editors first introduce the industry and its poor OSHW history before highlighting some of the broader impacts of the pandemic on the sector. The book is then divided into two sections. Section One focuses on the management of COVID-19 transmission risk. It captures insights, practices, technologies and lessons learned in relation to what has and is being done to prevent or mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission among the construction workforce. Construction Safety, Health and Well-being in the COVID-19 Era also details case studies, lessons and best practices for managing sites and workforces when infections inevitably do occur. Section Two brings together international chapters discussing the impacts of COVID-19 on the OSHW of the construction workforce both on and off-site, as well as the management of those impacts. Furthermore, this presents implications of the pandemic (at the short-, medium-, and long-term) for other performance measures of construction projects such as cost, schedule, quality and, most importantly, how the pursuit/non-pursuit of such performance measures have impacted/will impact the OSHW of construction workers and professionals in the industry. This book addresses the gap in literature by offering global perspectives on the OSHW impacts and implications of COVID-19 in the construction industry and will help its wide readership (including construction industry organisations, professionals, researchers, government bodies/policy makers and students) to understand a broad suite of issues pertaining to COVID-19 and its relationship to OSHW in construction.

This book gathers papers from the 12th Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Postgraduate Research Conference, which was held at the International Convention Centre, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa, from July 10 to 12, 2022. The conference directly addresses the objectives of SDG9: “Building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation”. Moreover, the conference is designed to promote capacity development and transformation within the built-environment space by providing an all-inclusive platform to established and emerging researchers to discuss the recent advancements needed to move the industry forward.

This open access book offers a comprehensive exploration of the digital innovations that have emerged in recent years for the circular built environment. Each chapter is meticulously crafted to ensure that both academic readers and industry practitioners can grasp the inner workings of each digital technology, understand its relevance to the circular built environment, examine real-life implementations, and appreciate the intriguing business models behind them. Our primary objective is to blend scholarly knowledge with practical inspiration by providing real-life case studies for each innovation. The authors, who possess extensive expertise in their respective fields, have contributed chapters dedicated to digital technologies within their areas of specialization. The book is organized into three distinct parts. The first part focuses on data-driven digital technologies and delves into how their capabilities can facilitate the transition to a circular built environment. Essential aspects such as building information modeling (BIM), digital twins, geographical information systems (GIS), scanning technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), data templates, and material passports are explored as vital tools for data collection, integration, and analysis in the context of circular construction. In the second part, various digital technologies for design and fabrication are introduced. Topics covered include computational design algorithms, additive and subtractive manufacturing, robotic manufacturing, and extended reality. These discussions shed light on how these technologies can be leveraged to enhance design and fabrication processes within the circular built environment. Finally, the last part of the book presents emerging digital concepts related to business and governance. It explores the role of deconstruction and reverse logistics, blockchain technology, digital building logbooks, and innovative business models as enablers of circularity in the built environment. The book concludes with a chapter dedicated to digital transformation and its potential to propel the built environment towards a regenerative future. In addition to the substantive content, the book features forewords and perspectives from esteemed experts, providing valuable economic and creative insights to complement its comprehensive approach.

The drive towards environmentally friendly buildings and infrastructure has led to a growing interest in providing design solutions underpinned by the core principles of sustainability to balance economic, social and environmental factors. Design Economics for the Built Environment: Impact of sustainability on project evaluation presents new directions, reflecting the need to recognise the impact of climate change and the importance of sustainability in project evaluation. The aim is to provide a new approach to understanding design economics in the context of the changing policy environment, legislative and regulatory framework, and increasing economic, environmental and social pressure as result of the sustainability agenda. The book follows a structured approach from theories and principles in the earlier chapters, to the practical applications and emerging techniques focusing on value and social, economic and environmental considerations in making design decisions. It starts with the policy context, building on various theories and principles such as, capital cost, value of design and resource-based theories, the new rules of measurement (NRM) to explore cost planning, the relationship between height and costs, key socio-economic and environmental variables for design appraisal, eco-cost/value ratio (EVR), whole life theory and the treatment of carbon emission as external costs, productivity and efficiency, fiscal drivers and legal framework for carbon reduction, procurement and allocation of risks in contracts. Case studies, practical examples and frameworks throughout reinforce theories and principles and relate them to current practice. The book is essential reading for postgraduate students in architecture, building and quantity surveying and is also a valuable resource for academics, consultants and policy-makers in the built environment.

Today’s businesses are driven by customer ‘pull’ and technological ‘push’. To remain competitive in this dynamic business world, engineering and construction organizations are constantly innovating with new technology tools and techniques to improve process performance in their projects. Their management challenge is to save time, reduce cost and increase quality and operational efficiency. Risk management has recently evolved as an effective method of managing both projects and operations. Risk is inherent in any project, as managers need to plan projects with minimal knowledge and information, but its management helps managers to become proactive rather than reactive. Hence, it not only increases the chance of project achievement, but also helps ensure better performance throughout its operations phase. Various qualitative and quantitative tools are researched extensively by academics and routinely deployed by practitioners for managing risk. These have tremendous potential for wider applications. Yet the current literature on both the theory and practice of risk management is widely scattered. Most of the books emphasize risk management theory but lack practical demonstrations and give little guidance on the application of those theories. This book showcases a number of effective applications of risk management tools and techniques across product and service life in a way useful for practitioners, graduate students and researchers. It also provides an in-depth understanding of the principles of risk management in engineering and construction.

Innovation in construction is essential for growth. The industry strives to remain competitive using a variety of approaches and needs to engage structured initiatives linked to proven innovation concepts, techniques and applications. Even in mature markets like the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector, where business behaviour is generally considered as being risk averse, it is increasingly important to embed innovation into mainstream business practices. In Construction Innovation and Process Improvement a number of wide ranging issues from construction practice in different countries with different contexts are presented to provide a rich collection of literature embracing theory and practice. Chapters are divided into three broad themes of construction innovation relating to: Theory and Practice; Process Drivers; and Future Technologies. Several questions are posed, including for example: What is particularly unique about construction innovation in theory and practice? What are the major drivers of construction innovation? What factors are needed to support and deliver future construction technologies? In attempting to respond to such questions, the book sheds new light on these challenges, and provides readers with a number of ways forward, especially cognisant of the increased role of globalisation, the enhanced impact of knowledge, and importance of innovation. All these can have a significant impact on strategic decision-making, competitive advantage, and sustainable policies and practices. Part One deals with change management, technology, sustainable construction, and supply chain management; Part Two addresses innovation and process improvement drivers, including strategic management, concurrent engineering, risk management, innovative procurement, knowledge management; Part Three explores future technologies in construction – and particularly, how these can be harnessed and leveraged to help procure innovation and process improvement.