Thorpe, D (2012) Evaluating factors in sustainable road construction and management: A life cycle approach. In: Smith, S D (ed.) Proceedings of 28th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2012, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
Roads perform an important connecting function for the community. At the same time their design, construction and operation are not always easy from the point of view of sustainability. Achieving sustainability in this process requires the undertaking of initiatives such as sound environmental management, water sensitive urban design, use of advanced and recycled materials, and environmentally responsible project management and construction. The contribution of such factors to a particular road project can be different for alternative options for constructing and managing the road. This can be an issue in comparing these options. A methodology is proposed to address this issue through calculating a weighted score of the sustainability related economic, environmental and social factors for each option, using a life cycle management approach that considers stakeholder requirements. As the variables in this process tend to be measured in a range of units and may be either quantitative or qualitative, each variable in a given road construction option is both given a weight and also assigned a suitable comparative score obtained though calculation for quantitative variables, or using a utility approach for qualitative variables. The calculated total weighted scores for various road construction and management options may then be compared when assessing the most sustainable option. An example calculation that compares the weighted sustainability for two road construction options is provided. The approach described is flexible and may be used in conjunction with other methodologies, and is also capable of being developed into a suitable computer based modelling tool.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sustainability; roads; development; construction; management |
| Index terms: | road construction, methodology, environmental management, road project, project management, option, recycled materials, modelling, water-sensitive urban design, social factor, life cycle management, life cycle |
| Subjects: | value management, analytical methods, sustainability assessment, civil engineering, research methods, health safety and environment, project management theory and practice, infrastructure engineering, sociology, decision analysis, environmental engineering |
| Topics: | Risk Management, Sustainability, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Project Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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