This CAREER Plan will study the project delivery (procurement, design, and construction) processes of environmentally sustainable or green buildings to develop a high performance delivery process model. Inspired by the automotive industry's success at lean production and the opportunities for process improvement to enhance sustainable building, an empirical study will investigate how value is created and wasted in green building projects. In the automotive industry, lean processes enabled dramatic advances to vehicle performance, and similar progress can be made in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Major technological progress was not the impetus for the improvement in the automotive industry; rather automakers discovered that the best improvement for their products was to stop making production mistakes, and subsequently lower process waste. When production had less waste, efficiency improved, and cars ended up performing better because they were manufactured more reliably. The goal of this project is to achieve similar gains for sustainable buildings in the AEC industry. In conjunction with a hands-on educational program for developing professional skills in sustainable building methods, this project will use case studies, experimentation and focus groups to investigate how increasing value-added activities results in lower process waste and elevated levels of building sustainability. Metrics that evaluate and promote the achievement of value will be tested. Results will be synthesized into a process model to redefine building project delivery for high performance projects. To disseminate the vital results of the process model, a simulator called HPSim will be created to enable users to experimentally manipulate delivery processes in order to streamline their high performance building project. This study will generate crucial "stepping-stones" of knowledge of the important attributes of high performance project processes. This knowledge will provide immediate process improvements, while framing advanced cost-reducing and value-increasing optimization practices.
Through a detailed study, this CAREER Plan will develop a process model for improving the delivery (procurement, design, and construction) of environmentally sustainable buildings. Energy efficiency and environmental sustainability are increasingly driving the decision-making of consumers: From purchasing hybrid cars to increasing use of recycled products. Consumers of the $600 billion architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry are placing greater emphasis on reducing energy and natural resource consumption and demanding healthier facilities. These "green" or "sustainable" buildings are setting the standard for high performance buildings. This is vital for an industry that consumes 30% of the earth's natural resources and accounts for 36% of the total energy use. Despite the importance of high performance buildings, their complexity can lead to increased project costs and lost levels of sustainability, thus impeding the wider adoption of these buildings. In conjunction with a hands-on educational program for developing professional skills in sustainable building methods, this project will use lean methods developed and proven in manufacturing to investigate how process improvements can streamline project delivery and enhance building sustainability. The results will define "lean" (waste-reducing) project delivery processes for high performance buildings. These processes are likely to improve the initial cost competitiveness and, hence, the rate of adoption of high performance buildings. The hands-on learning modules developed through Chief Dull-Knife College and Penn State's VIEW program will show how engineering innovation improves the affordability of sustainable solutions. This will enable this project to impact American Indians and other low-income communities that have been unable to take advantage of the life-cycle efficiencies of sustainable buildings due to the high initial cost. Furthermore, future generations of students - many acutely concerned about the environment - will be attracted to engineering disciplines through this project as they will see how advanced engineering is integral to environmentally-sustainable development.
