Matching Items (16)
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- All Subjects: Sustainability
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- All Subjects: Construction Management at risk
Description
Front End Planning (FEP) is a critical process for uncovering project unknowns, while developing adequate scope definition following a structured approach for the project execution process. FEP for infrastructure projects assists in identifying and mitigating issues such as right-of-way concerns, utility adjustments, environmental hazards, logistic problems, and permitting requirements. This thesis describes a novel and effective risk management tool that has been developed by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) called the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI) for infrastructure projects. Input from industry professionals from over 30 companies was used in the tool development which is specifically focused on FEP. Data from actual projects are given showing the efficacy of the tool. Critical success factors for FEP of infrastructure projects are shared. The research shows that a finite and specific list of issues related to scope definition of infrastructure projects can be developed. The thesis also concludes that the PDRI score indicates the current level of scope definition and corresponds to project performance. Infrastructure projects with low PDRI scores outperform projects with high PDRI scores.
ContributorsBingham, Evan Dale (Author) / Gibson Jr., G. Edward (Thesis advisor) / Badger, William (Committee member) / Ariaratnam, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
The research analyzes the transformation of wasted thermal energy into a usable form through thermogalvanic devices. This technology helps mitigate international growing energy demands. Building energy efficiency is a critical research topic, since the loads account for 40% of all energy demand in developed nations, and 30% in less developed nations. A significant portion of the energy consumed for heating and cooling, where a majority is dissipated to the ambient as waste heat. This research answers how much power output (µW·cm-2) can the thermogalvanic brick experimentally produce from an induced temperature gradient? While there are multiple avenues for the initial and optimized prototype design, one key area of interest relating to thermogalvanic devices is the effective surface area of the electrodes. This report highlights the experimental power output measurements of a Cu/Cu2+ thermogalvanic brick by manipulating the effective surface area of the electrodes. Across three meshes, the maximum power output normalized for temperature was found to be between 2.13-2.87 x 10-3 μWcm-2K-2. The highest normalized power output corresponded to the mesh with the highest effective surface area, which was classified as the fine mesh. This intuitively aligned with the theoretical understanding of surface area and maximum power output, where decreasing the activation resistance also reduces the internal resistance, which increases the theoretical maximum power.
ContributorsKiracofe, Ryan Moore (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis director) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Sustainable Materials Management and Circular Economy are both frameworks for considering the way we interact with the world's resources. Different organizations and institutions across the world have adopted one philosophy or the other. To some, there seems to be little overlap of the two, and to others, they are perceived as being interchangeable. This paper evaluates Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) and Circular Economy (CE) individually and in comparison to see how truly different these frameworks are from one another. This comparison is then extended into a theoretical walk-through of an SMM treatment of concrete pavement in contrast with a CE treatment. With concrete being a ubiquitous in the world's buildings and roads, as well as being a major constituent of Construction & Demolition waste generated, its analysis is applicable to a significant portion of the world's material flow. The ultimate test of differentiation between SMM and CE would ask: 1) If SMM principles guided action, would the outcomes be aligned with or at odds with CE principles? and conversely 2) If CE principles guided action, would the outcomes be aligned with or at odds with SMM principles? Using concrete pavement as an example, this paper seeks to determine whether or not Sustainable Materials Management and Circular Economy are simply different roads leading to the same destination.
ContributorsAbdul-Quadir, Anisa (Author) / Kelman, Candice (Thesis director) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The management of underground utilities is a complex and challenging task due to the uncertainty regarding the location of existing infrastructure. The lack of accurate information often leads to excavation-related damages, which pose a threat to public safety. In recent years, advanced underground utilities management systems have been developed to improve the safety and efficiency of excavation work. This dissertation aims to explore the potential applications of blockchain technology in the management of underground utilities and reduction of excavation-related damage. The literature review provides an overview of the current systems for managing underground infrastructure, including Underground Infrastructure Management (UIM) and 811, and highlights the benefits of advanced underground utilities management systems in enhancing safety and efficiency on construction sites. The review also examines the limitations and challenges of the existing systems and identifies the opportunities for integrating blockchain technology to improve their performance. The proposed application involves the creation of a shared database of information about the location and condition of pipes, cables, and other underground infrastructure, which can be updated in real time by authorized users such as utility companies and government agencies. The use of blockchain technology can provide an additional layer of security and transparency to the system, ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the information. Contractors and excavation companies can access this information before commencing work, reducing the risk of accidental damage to underground utilities.
ContributorsAlnahari, Mohammed S (Author) / Ariaratnam, Samuel T (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Czerniawski, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Innovative project delivery methods and project management systems have advanced the world of construction engineering and management, yet the benefits of their applications remain not wholly accomplished without accompanying them with the suitable methods of implementation. As integrated delivery methods have arisen from the need for faster project delivery with early teams’ involvement, their benefits are not attained unless they are executed by the most qualified contracting firms for the job and administered following collaborative approaches. More holistically, integrated project management systems support meeting project guidelines while enforcing the social role played by individuals and teams in addressing challenges that influence their technical performance. Thus, the author was one of the 41 team members that developed an innovative IPM framework which is the Integrated Project/Program Management Maturity and Environment Total risk Rating known as IP2M METRR that helps them review their project team environment and levels of system maturity. Like the integrated delivery methods, an IPM framework is not expected to solve challenges on its own unless supported with guidance for practitioners to efficiently implement the framework. Thus, in this dissertation the author aims to address the challenges by studying the implementation of innovative methods for integrated delivery and integrated management in large government-owned engineering construction projects. The objective is to guide the implementation of (1) design-build (D-B) and construction manager-general contractor (CM-GC) methods in the contractor procurement phase and post-award contract administration phase; and (2) earned value management system (integrated project management application) through a paradigm shift in its assessment, using the IP2M METRR, and focusing on the novel sociotechnical aspect. The author studied data from 128 government-owned projects with total worth of about $46.7 U.S. billion, 11 experts, and 215 practitioners; and used mixed-methods research and industry engaging research techniques, including remote research charrettes which the author supported its development and testing and reported on in this dissertation.The contributions of this dissertation include: (1) identifying best practices for D-B and CM-GC contractor procurement, (2) developing D-B and CM-GC contract administration tool selection framework, (3) gauging lessons learned on IP2M METRR application, (4) identifying issues and recommendations in IPM application implementation, (5) validating IP2M METRR framework, and (6) developing and testing industry-engaging research approach.
ContributorsSanboskani, Hala (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Grau, David (Thesis advisor) / Gibson, Jr., George E. (Committee member) / Bearup, Wylie (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
The built environment is responsible for a significant portion of global waste generation.
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste requires significant landfill areas and costs
billions of dollars. New business models that reduce this waste may prove to be financially
beneficial and generally more sustainable. One such model is referred to as the “Circular
Economy” (CE), which promotes the efficient use of materials to minimize waste
generation and raw material consumption. CE is achieved by maximizing the life of
materials and components and by reclaiming the typically wasted value at the end of their
life. This thesis identifies the potential opportunities for using CE in the built environment.
It first calculates the magnitude of C&D waste and its main streams, highlights the top
C&D materials based on weight and value using data from various regions, identifies the
top C&D materials’ current recycling and reuse rates, and finally estimates a potential
financial benefit of $3.7 billion from redirecting C&D waste using the CE concept in the
United States.
ContributorsAldaaja, Mohammad (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Despite advancements in construction and construction-related technology, capital project performance deviations, typically overruns, remain endemic within the capital projects industry. Currently, management is generally unaware of the current status of their projects, and thus monitoring and control of projects are not achieved effectively. In an ever-increasing competitive industry landscape, the need to deliver projects within technical, budgetary, and schedule requirements becomes imperative to sustain a healthy return on investment for the project stakeholders. The fact that information lags within the capital projects industry has motivated this research to find practices and solutions that facilitate Instantaneous Project Controls (IPC).
The author hypothesized that there are specific practices that, if properly implemented, can lead to instantaneous controls of capital projects. It is also hypothesized that instantaneous project controls pose benefits to project performance. This research aims to find practices and identify benefits and barriers to achieving a real-time mode of control. To achieve these objectives, several lines of inquiry had to be pursued. A panel of 13 industry professionals and three academics collaborated on this research project. Two surveys were completed to map the current state of project control practices and to identify state-of-the-art or ideal processes. Ten case studies were conducted within and outside of the capital projects industry to identify practices for achieving real-time project controls. Also, statistical analyses were completed on retrospective data for completed capital projects in order to quantify the benefits of IPC. In conclusion, this research presents a framework for implementing IPC across the capital projects industry. The ultimate output from this research is procedures and recommendations that improve project controls processes.
The author hypothesized that there are specific practices that, if properly implemented, can lead to instantaneous controls of capital projects. It is also hypothesized that instantaneous project controls pose benefits to project performance. This research aims to find practices and identify benefits and barriers to achieving a real-time mode of control. To achieve these objectives, several lines of inquiry had to be pursued. A panel of 13 industry professionals and three academics collaborated on this research project. Two surveys were completed to map the current state of project control practices and to identify state-of-the-art or ideal processes. Ten case studies were conducted within and outside of the capital projects industry to identify practices for achieving real-time project controls. Also, statistical analyses were completed on retrospective data for completed capital projects in order to quantify the benefits of IPC. In conclusion, this research presents a framework for implementing IPC across the capital projects industry. The ultimate output from this research is procedures and recommendations that improve project controls processes.
ContributorsAbbaszadegan, Amin (Author) / Grau Torrent, David (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Gibson, Jr., G. Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
In today's era a lot of the construction projects suffer from time delay, cost overrun and quality defect. Incentive provisions are found to be a contracting strategy to address this potential problem. During last decade incentive mechanisms have gained importance, and they are starting to become adopted in the construction projects. Most of the previous research done in this area was purely qualitative, with a few quantitative studies. This study aims to quantify the performance of incentives in construction by collecting the data from more than 30 projects in United States through a questionnaire survey. First, literature review addresses the previous research work related to incentive types, incentives in construction industry, incentives in other industry and benefits of incentives. Second, the collected data is analyzed with statistical methods to test the significance of observed changes between two data sets i.e. incentive projects and non-incentive projects. Finally, the analysis results provide evidence for the significant impact of having incentives; reduced the cost and schedule growth in construction projects in United States.
ContributorsPaladugu, Bala Sai Krishna (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Ernzen, James (Committee member) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Given the importance of buildings as major consumers of resources worldwide, several organizations are working avidly to ensure the negative impacts of buildings are minimized. The U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is one such effort to recognize buildings that are designed to achieve a superior performance in several areas including energy consumption and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The primary objectives of this study are to investigate the performance of LEED certified facilities in terms of energy consumption and occupant satisfaction with IEQ, and introduce a framework to assess the performance of LEED certified buildings.
This thesis attempts to achieve the research objectives by examining the LEED certified buildings on the Arizona State University (ASU) campus in Tempe, AZ, from two complementary perspectives: the Macro-level and the Micro-level. Heating, cooling, and electricity data were collected from the LEED-certified buildings on campus, and their energy use intensity was calculated in order to investigate the buildings' actual energy performance. Additionally, IEQ occupant satisfaction surveys were used to investigate users' satisfaction with the space layout, space furniture, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting level, acoustic quality, water efficiency, cleanliness and maintenance of the facilities they occupy.
From a Macro-level perspective, the results suggest ASU LEED buildings consume less energy than regional counterparts, and exhibit higher occupant satisfaction than national counterparts. The occupant satisfaction results are in line with the literature on LEED buildings, whereas the energy results contribute to the inconclusive body of knowledge on energy performance improvements linked to LEED certification. From a Micro-level perspective, data analysis suggest an inconsistency between the LEED points earned for the Energy & Atmosphere and IEQ categories, on one hand, and the respective levels of energy consumption and occupant satisfaction on the other hand. Accordingly, this study showcases the variation in the performance results when approached from different perspectives. This contribution highlights the need to consider the Macro-level and Micro-level assessments in tandem, and assess LEED building performance from these two distinct but complementary perspectives in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the actual building performance.
This thesis attempts to achieve the research objectives by examining the LEED certified buildings on the Arizona State University (ASU) campus in Tempe, AZ, from two complementary perspectives: the Macro-level and the Micro-level. Heating, cooling, and electricity data were collected from the LEED-certified buildings on campus, and their energy use intensity was calculated in order to investigate the buildings' actual energy performance. Additionally, IEQ occupant satisfaction surveys were used to investigate users' satisfaction with the space layout, space furniture, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting level, acoustic quality, water efficiency, cleanliness and maintenance of the facilities they occupy.
From a Macro-level perspective, the results suggest ASU LEED buildings consume less energy than regional counterparts, and exhibit higher occupant satisfaction than national counterparts. The occupant satisfaction results are in line with the literature on LEED buildings, whereas the energy results contribute to the inconclusive body of knowledge on energy performance improvements linked to LEED certification. From a Micro-level perspective, data analysis suggest an inconsistency between the LEED points earned for the Energy & Atmosphere and IEQ categories, on one hand, and the respective levels of energy consumption and occupant satisfaction on the other hand. Accordingly, this study showcases the variation in the performance results when approached from different perspectives. This contribution highlights the need to consider the Macro-level and Micro-level assessments in tandem, and assess LEED building performance from these two distinct but complementary perspectives in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the actual building performance.
ContributorsChokor, Abbas (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Alternative Project Delivery Methods (APDMs), namely Design Build (DB) and Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR), grew out of the need to find a more efficient project delivery approach than the traditional Design Bid Build (DBB) form of delivery. After decades of extensive APDM use, there have been many studies focused on the use of APDMs and project outcomes. Few of these studies have reached a level of statistical significance to make conclusive observations about APDMs. This research effort completes a comprehensive study for use in the horizontal transportation construction market, providing a better basis for decisions on project delivery method selection, improving understanding of best practices for APDM use, and reporting outcomes from the largest collection of APDM project data to date. The study is the result of an online survey of project owners and design teams from 17 states representing 83 projects nationally. Project data collected represents almost six billion US dollars. The study performs an analysis of the transportation APDM market and answers questions dealing with national APDM usage, motivators for APDM selection, the relation of APDM to pre-construction services, and the use of industry best practices. Top motivators for delivery method selection: the project schedule or the urgency of the project, the ability to predict and control cost, and finding the best method to allocate risk, as well as other factors were identified and analyzed. Analysis of project data was used to compare to commonly held assumptions about the project delivery methods, confirming some assumptions and refuting others. Project data showed that APDM projects had the lowest overall cost growth. DB projects had higher schedule growth. CMAR projects had low design schedule growth but high construction schedule growth. DBB showed very little schedule growth and the highest cost growth of the delivery methods studied. Best practices in project delivery were studied: team alignment, front end planning, and risk assessment were identified as practices most critical to project success. The study contributes and improves on existing research on APDM project selection and outcomes and fills many of the gaps in research identified by previous research efforts and industry leaders.
ContributorsBingham, Evan Dale (Author) / Gibson Jr., G. Edward (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Bearup, Wylie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014