Safe and healthy construction: the influence of clients in driving improvement through construction procurement and project management practices. The project will measure the impact that the construction industry's clients can exert over the workplace health and safety (WHS) performance of projects. The project will identify client actions that have a positive impact upon WHS and will help embed WHS management practices in the procurement of major infrastructure construction projects.
Life-cycle cost and emission analyses of green-building implementation. In Australia, the annual average temperature has increased 0.9 degrees Celsius since 1910. Residential and commercial building sectors produce about 23 per cent of the national greenhouse-gas emissions. This project critically evaluates the cost effectiveness and greenhouse-gas emissions of green-building implementation in Australia. This will examine methods to lower cost and greenhouse-gas emissions from green-building imp ....Life-cycle cost and emission analyses of green-building implementation. In Australia, the annual average temperature has increased 0.9 degrees Celsius since 1910. Residential and commercial building sectors produce about 23 per cent of the national greenhouse-gas emissions. This project critically evaluates the cost effectiveness and greenhouse-gas emissions of green-building implementation in Australia. This will examine methods to lower cost and greenhouse-gas emissions from green-building implementation. A new high-tech scoring model is expected to be developed to identify cost-effective and low-greenhouse-gas-emissions methods to achieve specific green-star status for the Australian building and construction industries.Read moreRead less
An experimental evaluation of the usefulness of computer-supported argumentation to improve occupational health and safety in construction design. The research investigates the potential for experts' occupational health and safety (OHS) reasoning to be reproduced in a knowledge-based system and used to: (i) augment the OHS decision-making of construction design professionals; and (ii) develop design OHS capability, especially in novices. The results will support the implementation of OHS policy ....An experimental evaluation of the usefulness of computer-supported argumentation to improve occupational health and safety in construction design. The research investigates the potential for experts' occupational health and safety (OHS) reasoning to be reproduced in a knowledge-based system and used to: (i) augment the OHS decision-making of construction design professionals; and (ii) develop design OHS capability, especially in novices. The results will support the implementation of OHS policy in the construction industry.Read moreRead less
Maximising the value of alliances in delivering infrastructure projects: a mixed methods management study of procurement innovation. Australia’s new infrastructure is currently being delivered inefficiently. The project will take a novel approach to improving efficiency, focusing on cooperation within construction teams. The project will develop new mechanisms to align incentives and capabilities within construction teams.
Greening procurement of infrastructure construction: optimising mass-haul operations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This project will develop and prototype tools to reduce the high environmental impact of mass haul operations in road and rail infrastructure projects. Both contractors and clients need practical methods for calculating, optimising and procuring optimal solutions, because mass haul is one of the few areas where a contractor can reduce carbon dioxide impact.
Improving the Environmental Performance of Australian Construction Projects. This project aims to investigate the environmental impacts of construction in Australia through the development of a sophisticated hybrid environmental assessment model. The project aims to assist in identifying the most significant environmental impacts, critical areas for mitigation efforts and informing environmental policy and programs within the Australian construction industry. The development of one of the most s ....Improving the Environmental Performance of Australian Construction Projects. This project aims to investigate the environmental impacts of construction in Australia through the development of a sophisticated hybrid environmental assessment model. The project aims to assist in identifying the most significant environmental impacts, critical areas for mitigation efforts and informing environmental policy and programs within the Australian construction industry. The development of one of the most sophisticated and comprehensive models for assessing environmental impacts ever produced is expected to enable cost- and time-efficient evaluation of multiple environmental impacts at a high level of detail and completeness. This should lead to considerable improvements to the environmental performance of Australian construction projects.Read moreRead less
Re-considering sustainable building and design: a cultural change approach. This project will help reduce the 38 per cent of all Australian waste that is produced by the construction industry by addressing the role of the building procurement team in reducing resource usage and eliminating waste. The outcomes of this research will address National Research Priority 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia.