Developing the Construction Phase of the Integrated Building Lifecycle Process Model for Retrofit Projects
Open Access
- Author:
- Gao, Ruo Yun
- Graduate Program:
- Architectural Engineering
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- July 03, 2014
- Committee Members:
- John Messner, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
- Keywords:
- Construction
Process Model
Integrated - Abstract:
- As a result of increased concern about energy shortage and consumption in the world, it becomes natural to look towards the building industry to seek critical improvements to achieve energy efficiency. Advanced Energy Retrofit (AER) projects can significantly reduce energy consumption in buildings. The construction process can significantly influence the success of AER projects. It is important for a team to have a clearly defined process for delivering the construction, as a part of an integrated process, and understand information flows between the activities within the process. A challenge to the successful implementation of an integrated construction process which involves many disciplines is to deliver a smooth information flow in the process with an emphasis of integrated attributes. To address this problem, this research is focused on the development of a process model for the construction phase of an energy retrofit building project. The process investigates construction activities at a building system level in an integrated fashion for the AER projects, which are beneficial to researchers and practitioners who are interested in studying the integrated construction process. The final process model contains key activities in the retrofit project construction process that can be implemented in the integrated approach. The model was developed and validated through literature analysis, interviews, and focus group discussions. The developed model is one phase of the Integrated Building Lifecycle Process Map (IBLPM), which is focused on the development of the activities that occur throughout the entire lifecycle process for delivering an energy retrofit project. The construction phase of the IBLPM can serve as a reference for project teams to collaboratively identify the key construction activities which are shown in a logical sequence and at a system level. Therefore, it allows people to clearly define the content of the construction process and help project team to make the right decision at the right time. In addition, the process model organizes the activities into an integrated construction framework, which will facilitate the collaboration of the various project participants.