Robinson, P and McIlwaine, S (2020) Losing ground: Adapting construction management approaches to permafrost retreat. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 36th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-8 September 2020, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
A significant amount of critical energy and resource infrastructure rests on permafrost. As the global climate changes, more areas of permafrost are becoming affected by seasonal thawing, leading to changing ground conditions which were unforeseen during design and construction. As the untapped energy and resource potential of the northern icefields becomes more accessible, construction in these environments is only set to increase. In response, good practice must be established which pro-actively takes into account the uncertainty of ground conditions, rather than simply responding to the conditions as they change. In this paper, recent literature on design and construction in areas of retreating permafrost is examined, and a mixed-methods approach is described which includes a survey of experienced construction managers, and interviews with industry experts whose primary work is in geo-technical research and development of structures in Arctic regions. It seeks to identify the construction challenges faced by the changing ground conditions, and to establish how existing approaches and practices to construction in permafrost need to be adapted for the future. The study confirms that in general, existing practices work well and the challenges are well defined. But it identifies several interlocked areas which must be further developed and understood for the success of both existing and future projects in permafrost and Arctic regions. These include: expanding survey ranges, improved risk tracking and management, milestone mapping, adaptive design, and intensive logistics management. Each of these areas is interdependent and is based on the premise of good existing practices.The research makes it clear that for a successful project,the ground conditions and their interaction with the project design must be fully understood, and stakeholders must be brought on board with improved approaches and convinced of the criticality of complete understanding before proceeding with the construction operations.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | permafrost; construction methods; ground-conditions; climate change |
| Index terms: | logistics management, construction manager, climate change, global climate change, good practice, research and development, ground condition, interaction, interview, construction operation, project design, survey, design and construction, becoming, mapping, construction method |
| Subjects: | performance measurement, philosophical process, construction operations, profession, contractual arrangements, behavioral psychology, research management, spatial and geospatial analysis, climate science, building construction, geotechnical engineering, data collection methods, supply chain operations |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Procurement, Engineering Principles, Supply Chain Management, Research Practice, Sustainability, Quality Management, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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