Toward Life Cycle Sustainability in Infrastructure: The Role of Automation and Robotics in PPP Projects

Abstract

This article identifies how project life cycle characteristics and automation and robotic technologies influence the sustainability of public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. The result of the article is a model of how public and private collaborations can leverage technology and project organization to make infrastructure more sustainable. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the model subdivides sustainability into engineering, project management, environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Engineering sustainability concerns the applicability of technologies to infrastructure PPP sustainability. The project management sustainability is decisive for ultimately creating environmental, social and economic sustainability within and beyond infrastructure PPP projects. The model identifies that the procurement phase is of particular importance for sustainable infrastructure PPPs. Successful sustainable infrastructure procurement likely includes such factors as increased transparency, participation, and stable, capable project alliances with a shared vision and clear goals. The model also identifies that, throughout the whole project life cycle, actions in the form of collaboration, experimentation and platformization promote sustainability. The findings in this article add to the understanding of how transformation toward increased sustainability can be achieved by individual organizations, their network, and ecosystems of public, private and civic actors.

Data-Driven Smart Eco-Cities of the Future: An Empirically Informed Integrated Model for Strategic Sustainable Urban Development

“…Tu put it differently, eco-cities essentially exhibit key differences in how they prioritize and implement their strategies and solutions depending on many intertwined factors, including the kind of challenges they face and their significance. Hoeft et al (2021) show that ecological sustainability remains local in that it is situated in the specific spatial, temporal, and political context of the eco-city projects under development. In other words, eco-city projects are associated with particular places, initiatives, histories, technologies, values, and perspectives.…”

The value for money factors and their interrelationships for smart city public–private partnerships projects

“…As for the diffusion of smart technologies, the application of new technologies by the contractor to reduce cost, improve quality and minimize risk, e.g. using robotics and automation and how they influence the sustainability of the project, will become at the disposal of the public sector to use in the future in their efforts for expanding their smart cities (Hoeft et al, 2021). Technical innovation via the use of cutting-edge concepts and goods is projected to greatly add to the project's long-term viability.…”

“…Further incentives may be awarded for the integration with other projects and services within the government's smart cities initiatives. These steps are expected to maximize the private party's performance, the government's gains and inching closer to a smarter infrastructure (Hoeft et al, 2021;Lam and Yang, 2020). And the other factor for the integration drive variable was long-term knowledge management.…”

“…Additionally, there is growing understanding that smart infrastructure development should prioritize enhancing residents' quality of life by fulfilling local requirements (Huang-Lachmann, 2019). A smart infrastructure is believed to provide novel answers to a variety of social, economic and environmental challenges confronting expanding cities (Yigitcanlar et al , 2018).…”

Towards the attainment of climate-smart PPP infrastructure projects: A critical review and recommendations

“…Moreover, most projects executed within the PPP arrangements do not have a fundamental risk criterion and controls necessary for a PPP project to succeed, especially on climate risk distribution and risk-sharing. Despite the many bene ts of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the creation of constructed infrastructure, signi cant obstacles may arise because of inadequate climate risk management(Hoeft et al 2021). Lifecycle wastes and lapses in embracing circular principlesDolla andLaishram (2018) posited that the growing population in urban cities could not keep up with the sanitation needs of the population, contributing to the climate crisis, and this is making climate change worse quickly.…”