A Quantitative Method for Prediction of Environmental Aspects in Construction Sites of Residential Buildings

Abstract

Despite the sectoral initiatives, the construction industry faces difficulties in incorporating effective environmental impact control systems in construction sites. Most of the instruments have been adopting a qualitative approach to environmental issues, with few cases of a quantitative approach. This article introduces a quantitative method for predicting environmental aspects and impacts during the construction of residential buildings, through the integration between environmental indicators and construction cost bases. The methodology was based on the analysis of the relationships among activities, aspects and environmental impacts considered in EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) for the development of the method and its mathematical representation. A case study was carried out to evaluate the method using the bill of quantities (BOQ) from two residential construction sites to measure their environmental aspects. The results suggest the usefulness of the method in the decision-making process on the allocation of control systems and, in some cases, recommending the execution of off-site services to reduce the impacts on the site's neighborhood. Additionally, the method proved to be easy to apply to evaluate construction sites, as well as flexible to incorporate other activities, adapting to the demand of builders and municipalities to reduce the environmental impacts of construction sites.

Getting Environmental Information from Construction Cost Databases: Applications in Brazilian Courses and Environmental Assessment

“…The selection of cost databases combined the results of the review of the state of the art and recognition of the construction sector [36]. The analysis of the literature has resulted in the selection of the international databases.…”

“…The structure and data extracted from the compositions of the cost databases support the description of activities and the quantification of their inputs and outputs in the studies with Material Flow Analysis (MFA) [54] and Material Input per unit of Service (MIPS) [36].…”

Predictive Methodology for the Quantification of Environmental Aspects in Urban Infrastructures

“…However, the difficulties in conciliating the need for economic growth with sustainability are dilemmas faced by developing countries [2]. During urban development processes worldwide, natural resources were widely used [3] due to the growth of cities with an increased demand for housing, buildings, and renovations, causing environmental impacts [4]. However, a series of environmental protection measures (certification systems, assessment methodologies, and environmental management guidelines) were proposed over the years to mitigate the adverse impacts during construction activities [5].…”

“…The processes to objectively identify environmental aspects evolved to prediction models, such as that which assessed the aspects of construction activities using quantitative methods that applied criteria to quantify environmental aspects through the use of a matrix model [4,5,12,13,[15][16][17][18][19]. Predictive methodologies provided strategies to help the construction industry incorporate management practices that control the environmental impacts on building sites [4]. Thus, construction project managers were able to reorganize and revise construction timetables to reduce pollution and disturbance [15].…”

“…In 2016, a novel compound index was applied to assess the sustainability of a building, classifying construction according to its sustainability performance [24]. The quantitative methodologies of environmental aspects proposed to date have used the severity criterion subjectively via the perception of specialists [4].…”