Search

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)-based project proposal evaluation is highly data-intensive. The above challenge is elevated when considering the complex nature of construction projects. Emerging concepts, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), provide a data repository that aids TBL-based proposal evaluation. Despite national-level BIM mandates, there is a lack of BIM-based TBL performance evaluation tools. Hence, this study developed a BIM plugin toolkit to automate proposal evaluation of water supply infrastructure projects by considering the TBL performance. This toolkit incorporates a unique TBL-based evaluation methodology that integrates environmental product declarations, social life cycle impact, and life cycle costing. The case study revealed that the selected proposal had superior environmental and social performance while the bid price was slightly higher (6.5%) than the lowest-cost proposal. The proposed method provides a user-friendly tool for TBL-based proposal evaluation and promotes BIM implementation in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procurement is a key process in construction project management. The current construction procurement practices have been widely criticized for disregarding sustainability in the project life cycle. At present, there is a gap of knowledge on status-quo of sustainable procurement in Canada. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review sustainable procurement practices in the Canadian construction industry. A multi method research design was used in this study by combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Three research tools were used in the study; namely questionnaire surveys, review of documents, and semi-structured interviews. Data triangulation was used to combine the results of all three research tools. The study showed that sustainable procurement initiatives have rarely been used in the Canadian construction industry. Limited sustainability initiatives are used in the project procurement, while environmental sustainability criteria are given the prominence. Furthermore a significant deficiency is observed in bid evaluation involving triple bottom line of sustainability. A majority of construction industry respondents agreed that sustainable procurement is a long due necessity and highlighted government regulations as the main driver for sustainable procurement. This study may be the first step to promote the use of sustainable procurement in the Canadian construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disregard of triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability is one of the major drawbacks of current construction procurement practices. Sustainable procurement is an emergent concept that can improve procurement practices and enhance the sustainability performance of the construction industry as a whole. Presently, sustainable procurement is still not fully utilized in the Canadian construction industry. A comprehensive literature review showed that the construction industry is still not fully aware about the benefits of using sustainable procurement or ways of implementing the same. This study evaluates challenges encountered in implementing sustainable procurement in the Canadian construction industry. In addition, this study investigates perceptions of construction professionals on the benefits of using sustainable procurement for construction projects. A country wide questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect required data. A statistical analysis was performed to rank the challenges and benefits of sustainable procurement. Findings from semi-structured interviews were used to validate the results observed in the statistical analysis. This study revealed that lack of funding is the main challenge for implementing sustainable procurement, while reducing harmful emissions and waste generation was identified as the main benefit. It was concluded that the leadership and commitment of the project owners is the key to fully establish sustainable procurement in the Canadian construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]