TY - GEN
T1 - Prefabrication as a sustainable model in rail construction
T2 - 8th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference: Implementing Innovative Ideas in Structural Engineering and Project Management, ISEC 2015
AU - Ahmadi, Arash
AU - Georgy, Maged
AU - Khalfan, Malik
AU - Maqsood, Tayyab
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2015 ISEC Press.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - In many construction projects, prefabrication has proven to benefit sustainability. This innovative construction practice can virtually extend the life of assets while minimizing costs and time and enhancing quality and safety. In rail construction, prefabrication has long been utilized for certain elements of the rail assets but not all. The paper reports on the initiation of a research to investigate the contribution and potential of prefabrication to increasing sustainability and the whole lifecycle benefits in the rail construction industry in Australia. Paper embraces a broad definition of the term "sustainability" which includes energy and water efficiency, health and safety, durability and quality, pollution and waste reduction, overall cost and time efficiency, and sustainable society/community. The research adopts a qualitative case study approach that employs Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) for examining the research enquiry. A variety of stakeholders will be interviewed in each project case besides reviewing the archived content. Stakeholders including construction contractors, rail operators and maintainers, end-users, government bodies, and those involved with the project's supply chain will benefit from having a more transparent and clear understanding of the effect of prefabrication on the sustainability of rail assets.
AB - In many construction projects, prefabrication has proven to benefit sustainability. This innovative construction practice can virtually extend the life of assets while minimizing costs and time and enhancing quality and safety. In rail construction, prefabrication has long been utilized for certain elements of the rail assets but not all. The paper reports on the initiation of a research to investigate the contribution and potential of prefabrication to increasing sustainability and the whole lifecycle benefits in the rail construction industry in Australia. Paper embraces a broad definition of the term "sustainability" which includes energy and water efficiency, health and safety, durability and quality, pollution and waste reduction, overall cost and time efficiency, and sustainable society/community. The research adopts a qualitative case study approach that employs Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) for examining the research enquiry. A variety of stakeholders will be interviewed in each project case besides reviewing the archived content. Stakeholders including construction contractors, rail operators and maintainers, end-users, government bodies, and those involved with the project's supply chain will benefit from having a more transparent and clear understanding of the effect of prefabrication on the sustainability of rail assets.
KW - Industrialization
KW - Off-site production
KW - Prefabrication
KW - Rail construction projects
KW - Soft system methodology (SSM)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960949142&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.14455/isec.res.2015.210
DO - 10.14455/isec.res.2015.210
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84960949142
T3 - ISEC 2015 - 8th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference: Implementing Innovative Ideas in Structural Engineering and Project Management
SP - 1147
EP - 1152
BT - ISEC 2015 - 8th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference
A2 - Saha, Swapan
A2 - Zhang, Yixia X.
A2 - Yazdani, S.
A2 - Singh, Amarjit
Y2 - 23 November 2015 through 28 November 2015
ER -
