Communities of practice in UK large contracting firms: contrasting application and non-utilized merits

The idea of a community of practice (CoP) has been offered as the engine to unlock the potential of organizational resources, mainly knowledge and people, to achieve the strategic goal of sustained competitiveness. The relevance and application of CoPs in large UK contracting companies was investigated using two case studies. Contrasting variations in the understanding of the concept between the two contracting companies were observed. While a CoP was applied in one company with strategic intent, the concept was not fully understood in the other. In one company, only a third of CoP members surveyed agreed that CoPs were a vehicle for driving best practice and innovation throughout the business; this compared with more than 60% in agreement in the other contracting firm. The higher agreement and satisfaction of CoP members in the latter case study was the result of the management's understanding and commitment. CoPs require time and organizational support to mature. The strategic inception and management support of CoP application is vital for their maturation and progress. Although the construction industry change discourses portray CoPs as fostering an environment of trust, and hence serving as innovation and competiveness enablers, their potential contribution to contracting firms does not provide a compelling case and hence merits further research studies.

2D hexagonal mesoporous platinum films exhibiting biaxial, in-plane pore alignment

The synthesis of 2D hexagonal mesoporous platinum films with biaxial, in-plane pore alignment is demonstrated by electrodeposition through an aligned lyotropic liquid crystal templating phase. Shear force is used to align a hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystalline templating phase of an inexpensive and a commercially available surfactant, C16EO10, at the surface of an electrode. Electrodeposition and subsequent characterisation of the films produced shows that the orientation and alignment of the phase is transferred to the deposited material. Transmission electron microscopy confirms the expected nanostructure of the films, whilst transmission and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering analysis confirms biaxial, in plane alignment of the pore structure. In addition further electrochemical studies in dilute sulfuric acid and methanol show that the pores are accessible to electrolyte solution as indicated by a large current flow; the modified electrode therefore has a high surface area, that catalyses methanol oxidation, and the pores have a very large aspect ratio (of theoretical maximum 2 × 105). Films with such aligned mesoporosity will advance the field of nanotechnology where the control of pore structure is paramount. The method reported is sufficiently generic to be used to control the structure and order of many materials, thus increasing the potential for the development of a wide range of novel electronic and optical devices.

Discerning policy and drivers for sustainable facilities management practice

Due to the changing nature of the facilities management (FM) profession, facilities managers are increasingly engaged with the evolving sustainability agenda in the UK and the development or uptake of sustainability policies within their organisations. This study investigates how facilities managers are engaging with the sustainability agenda and the drivers, policy issues and information they use to improve their sustainability performance management. A web based self-administered questionnaire survey of facilities managers in the UK was conducted to identify drivers and issues that influence and support good sustainable practices. A total of 268 facilities managers responded. The results indicate that legislation is the most important driver for the implementation of sustainable practices. Corporate image and Organisational ethos are also recognised. However demand for efficient monitoring, management and reporting on environmental impact is not highly rated even though the top three issues of sustainability managed by facilities managers are energy management, waste and recycling management and carbon footprint. In addition, facilities managers are expected to take ownership of activities assigned to the reduction of carbon emission. Government industries and organisation with high turnover are more likely to have a sustainability policy. Financial constraints are the main barriers while legislations are the main driver for implementing sustainability. For non-profit organisations and the charitable sector, financial constraints are no hindrance to implementing a sustainability policy. The conclusion drawn is that sustainability agendas continue to be influenced by regulated environmental issues rather than a balanced approach which takes into consideration the wider social and economic aspects of sustainability. While this scenario is far from ideal, the expectation is that the organisation will trust FM to take a vital role in delivering a comprehensive sustainability policy due to the rising tide of legislation, public scrutiny, as well as the needed business case for genuinely embracing sustainability. However, as the integration of sustainability with core business strategies is continuously evolving the emphasis on different drivers will vary from organisation to organisation as well as the responsibilities of facilities managers.

Influencing energy efficient occupant behavior through improved building and control design

There is growing pressure on the construction industry to deliver energy efficient, sustainable buildings but there is evidence to suggest that, in practice, designs regularly fail to achieve the anticipated levels of in-use energy consumption. One of the key factors behind this discrepancy is the behavior of the building occupants. This paper explores how insights from experimental psychology could potentially be used to reduce the gap between the predicted and actual energy performance of buildings. It demonstrates why traditional methods to engage with the occupants are not always successful and proposes a model for a more holistic approach to this issue. The paper concludes that achieving energy efficiency in buildings is not solely a technological issue and that the construction industry needs to adopt a more user-centred approach.

Passive and active hybrid approach to buildings design in Saudi Arabia

The building sector is one of the highest consumers of energy in the world. This has led to high dependency on using fossil fuel to supply energy without due consideration to its environmental impact. Saudi Arabia has been through rapid development accompanied by population growth, which in turn has increased the demand for construction. However, this fast development has been met without considering sustainable building design. General design practices rely on using international design approaches and features without considering the local climate and aspects of traditional passive design. This is by constructing buildings with a large amount of glass fully exposed to solar radiation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the development of sustainability in passive design and vernacular architecture. Furthermore, it compares them with current building in Saudi Arabia in terms of making the most of the climate. Moreover, it will explore the most sustainable renewable energy that can be used to reduce the environmental impact on modern building in Saudi Arabia. This will be carried out using case studies demonstrating the performance of vernacular design in Saudi Arabia and thus its benefits in terms of environmental, economic and social sustainability. It argues that the adoption of a hybrid approach can improve the energy efficiency as well as reduce the carbon footprint of buildings. This is by combining passive design, learning from the vernacular architecture and implementing innovative sustainable technologies.

Whole life carbon – a building case study

There is potential to reduce both operational and embodied greenhouse gas emission from buildings. To date the focus has been on reducing the operational element, although given the urgency of carbon reductions, it may be more beneficial to consider upfront embodied carbon reductions. This paper describes a case study on the whole life carbon cycle of a warehouse building in Swindon, UK. It examines the relationship between embodied carbon (Ec) and operational carbon (Oc), the proportions of Ec from the structural and non-structural elements, carbon benchmarking of the structure, the value of ‘cradle to site’ or ‘cradle to grave’ assessments and the significance of the timing of emissions during the life of the building. The case study indicates that Ec was dominant for the building and that the structure was responsible for more than half of the Ec. Weighting of future emissions appears to be an important factor to consider. The PAS 2050 reduction factors had only a modest effect but weighting to allow for future decarbonisation of the national grid energy supply had a large effect. This suggests that future operational carbon emissions are being overestimated compared to embodied.

Facilities management carbon footprints: an audit of critical elements of management and reporting

Concern for the environmental impact of organizations’ activities has led to the recognition and demand for organizations to manage and report on their carbon footprint. However, there is no limit as to the areas of carbon footprints required in such annual environmental reports. To deliver improvements in the quality of carbon footprint management and reporting, there is a need to identify the main elements of carbon footprint strategy that can be endorsed, supported and encouraged by facility managers. The study investigates carbon footprint elements managed and reported upon by facility manager in the UK. Drawing on a questionnaire survey of 256 facility managers in the UK, the key elements of carbon footprints identified in carbon footprint reports are examined. The findings indicate that the main elements are building energy consumption, waste disposal and water consumption. Business travel in terms of using public transport, air travel and company cars are also recognized as important targets and objectives for the carbon footprint strategy of several FM (facilities management) organizations.

Demonstrating the importance of criteria and sub-criteria in building assessment methods

Building assessment methods have become a popular research field since the early 1990s. An international tool which allows the assessment of buildings in all regions, taking into account differences in climates, topographies and cultures does not yet exist. This paper aims to demonstrate the importance of criteria and sub-criteria in developing a new potential building assessment method for Saudi Arabia. Recently, the awareness of sustainability has been increasing in developing countries due to high energy consumption, pollution and high carbon foot print. There is no debate that assessment criteria have an important role to identify the tool’s orientation. However, various aspects influence the criteria and sub-criteria of assessment tools such as environment, economic, social and cultural to mention but a few. The author provides an investigation on the most popular and globally used schemes: BREEAM, LEED, Green Star, CASBEE and Estidama in order to identify the effectiveness of the different aspects of the assessment criteria and the impacts of these criteria on the assessment results; that will provide a solid foundation to develop an effective sustainable assessment method for buildings in Saudi Arabia. Initial results of the investigation suggest that each country needs to develop its own assessment method in order to achieve desired results, while focusing upon the indigenous environmental, economic, social and cultural conditions. Keywords: Assessment methods, BREEAM, LEED, Green Star, CASBEE, Estidama, sustainability, sustainable buildings, Environment, Saudi Arabia.

A case study to investigate the life cycle carbon emissions and carbon storage capacity of a cross laminated timber, multi-storey residential building

Forests are a store of carbon and an eco-system that continually removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If they are sustainably managed, the carbon store can be maintained at a constant level, while the trees removed and converted to timber products can form an additional long term carbon store. The total carbon store in the forest and associated ‘wood chain’ therefore increases over time, given appropriate management. This increasing carbon store can be further enhanced with afforestation. The UK’s forest area has increased continually since the early 1900s, although the rate of increase has declined since its peak in the late 1980s, and it is a similar picture in the rest of Europe. The increased sustainable use of timber in construction is a key market incentive for afforestation, which can make a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions. The case study presented in this paper demonstrates the carbon benefits of a Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) solution for a multi-storey residential building in comparison with a more conventional reinforced concrete solution. The embodied carbon of the building up to completion of construction is considered, together with the stored carbon during the life of the building and the impact of different end of life scenarios. The results of the study show that the total stored carbon in the CLT structural frame is 1215tCO2 (30tCO2 per housing unit). The choice of treatment at end of life has a significant effect on the whole life embodied carbon of the CLT frame, which ranges from -1017 tCO2e for re-use to +153tCO2e for incinerate without energy recovery. All end of life scenarios considered result in lower total CO2e emissions for the CLT frame building compared with the reinforced concrete frame solution.

Post-occupancy evaluation studies in recently refurbished office building: energy performance and employees' satisfaction

Existing buildings contribute greatly to global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK, about 18% of carbon emissions are generated by non-domestic buildings; sustainable building refurbishment can play an important role in reducing carbon emissions. This paper looks at the performance of a recently refurbished 5-storey office building in London, in terms of energy consumption as well as occupants’ satisfaction. Pre- and post-occupancy evaluation studies were conducted using online questionnaire surveys and energy consumption evaluation. Results from pre-occupancy and post-occupancy evaluation studies showed that employees, in general, were more satisfied with their work environment at the refurbished building than with that of their previous office. Employees’ self-reported productivity improved after the move to Elms House. These surveys showed a positive relationship between employees’ satisfaction with their work environment and their self-reported productivity, well-being and enjoyment at work. The factor that contributed to increasing employee satisfaction the most was: better use of interior space. Although the refurbishment was a success in terms of reducing energy consumption per m2, the performance gap was almost 3 times greater than that estimated. Unregulated loads, problems with building control, ineffective use of space and occupants’ behaviour are argued to be reasons for this gap.

BIM: innovation in design management, influence and challenges of implementation

The construction industry is widely being criticised as a fragmented industry. There are mounting calls for the industry to change. The espoused change calls for collaboration as well as embracing innovation in the process of design, construction and across the supply chain. Innovation and the application of emerging technologies are seen as enablers for integrating the processes ‘integrating the team’ such as building information modelling (BIM). A questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain change in construction with regard to design management, innovation and the application of BIM as cutting edge pathways for collaboration. The respondents to the survey were from an array of designations across the construction industry such as construction managers, designers, engineers, design coordinators, design managers, architects, architectural technologists and surveyors. There was a general agreement by most respondents that the design team was responsible for design management in their organisation. There is a perception that the design manager and the client are the catalyst for advancing innovation. The current state of industry in terms of incorporating BIM technologies is posing a challenge as well as providing an opportunity for accomplishment. BIM technologies provide a new paradigm shift in the way buildings are designed, constructed and maintained. This paradigm shift calls for rethinking the curriculum for educating building professionals, collectively.

Post-occupancy studies of an office environment: Energy performance and occupants’ satisfaction

It is generally accepted that the physical workplace environment affects employees’ satisfaction and, consequently, their perceived productivity and well-being. This study investigated whether employee “satisfaction” variables can predict perceived productivity, well-being and enjoyment at work, and if so, to what extent. The study also explored whether limiting employees’ control over their environment could save energy without compromising employees’ satisfaction and perceived productivity. Preoccupancy and post-occupancy evaluation studies were conducted, in terms of both energy consumption and employee perceptions, to make comparisons between a company’s old and current headquarters buildings, both located in the same area of London. The results showed that employees were more satisfied with their work environment at their new HQ, in general, than with that of their previous office. Also, employees’ self-reported productivity, well-being and enjoyment at work improved after the move. It was revealed that the combination of employees’ level of satisfaction with “interior use of space” and “physical conditions” was the best predictor of their perceived productivity, while satisfaction with “indoor facilities” was not a good predictor. In terms of energy performance, although the new HQ’s energy consumption per m2 was significantly less than that of the previous building, there was still a gap between the refurbishment design target and the actual performance of the building. The findings suggest that this gap could be due to a number of factors, including an ineffective use of interior space, and occupants’ behaviour.