Bullen, P A and Davis, P R (2003) Explorations in sustainable construction and procurement in western Australia. In: Greenwood, D J (ed.) Proceedings of 19th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2003, Brighton, UK.
Abstract
Integration of sustainability initiatives into construction processes such as project procurement requires substantial and innovative change. To achieve this the construction industry needs to move away from traditionally fragmented processes and adopt more collaborative and holistic approaches. Literature suggests a slowness to innovate and a general misunderstanding of the concept of sustainability, as two of the barriers to the industry achieving the changes required. While carrying out separate PhD research into sustainable construction and procurement a link was identified between these areas. As a result, early in 2003, a focus group of professionals within the Western Australian construction industry was held to investigate sustainable construction and its association with procurement. The group, selected from architects and major contractors, also attempted to identify any gaps in contemporary knowledge concerning the issues surrounding sustainable construction. Conclusions drawn from the focus group confirm there are still high levels of uncertainty concerning the meaning of sustainability and how to implement initiatives that will achieve the triple bottom-line objectives of sustainable construction. The study forms part of a work in progress and similar focus groups are planned with client, manufacturer and community stakeholder groups. The information from all of the groups will provide a model to integrate sustainability initiatives into the construction supply chain process.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction process; focus group; procurement; sustainable construction; western Australia |
| Index terms: | manufacturer, sustainable construction, focus group, meaning, Australia, construction process, integration, exploration, architect, construction supply chain, holistic approach, construction industry, project procurement |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, sociology, building construction, organizational analysis, sustainable construction, Geography, contractual arrangements, environmental resource management, practitioner, construction logistics, business, profession, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Supply Chain Management, Site Management, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Procurement, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here