Wandahl, S; Pérez, C T; Salling, S; Neve, H H; Lerche, J and Petersen, S (2021) The impact of construction labour productivity on the renovation wave. Construction Economics and Building, 21(3), pp. 11-32. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
The European Green Deal's Renovation Wave aims to renovate 35 million energy-inefficient buildings to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Historically, efforts to reduce CO2 emissions focused on Operational Energy (OE) of the finished buildings. However, in recent years the Embodied Energy (EE) of the building’s construction process has gained attention because of its essential role in construction renovations projects. In this context, construction efficiency, and more precisely, workers' efficiency, is a vital catalyst to achieve the European Union (EU) targets. To identify the impact of Construction Labour Productivity (CLP) on the renovation wave an exploratory case study was adopted as a research strategy. Data from four domestic housing renovation projects were gathered. Three specific research goals are outlined. The first is to demonstrate the effect of the adoption of Lean tools and methods to increase CLP. The second is to quantify the correlation between improved productivity and the EE emissions saved during the construction phase. The third goal is to estimate the effect the higher productivity has on OE emissions. The results show that the adoption of several Lean tools and methods has a potential to improve CLP to 45%. This rate of improvement for the 35 million housing units to be renovated could save 6.9 million tonnes CO2e from EE and 386 million tonnes CO2e from OE. This novelty link between process improvements and reduced energy consumption and emissions can support politicians and infrastructural developers in decision-making for a more sustainable construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | carbon dioxide; construction labour productivity; embodied energy; lean construction; renovation wave |
| Index terms: | productivity, European Union, renovation, carbon dioxide, embodied energy, green deal, sustainable construction, housing, construction phase, energy consumption, estimate, efficiency, CO2 emissions, construction process, decision-making, case study, process improvement, strategy, construction labour, lean construction |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, sustainability assessment, construction type, building construction, sustainable construction, decision analysis, financial and cost management, energy systems, air quality, physical geography and landforms, renovation and retrofit, project delivery, management, performance management, climate science |
| Topics: | Cost Management, Geographical Context, Quality Management, Site Management, Business Strategy, Construction Technology, Project Management, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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