Cultivating Sustainable Infrastructure Project Delivery through Integrated Design and Envision-Rating System within Construction Education

Rubaya Rahat; Mohamed Elzomor,

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Construction Engineering Division (CONST) Technical Session 4
Tagged Division: Construction Engineering Division (CONST)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 17
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42844
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42844
Download Count: 167

Paper Authors

biography

Rubaya Rahat Florida International University orcid.org/0000-0002-0524-5619

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Rubaya Rahat grew up in Bangladesh, where she pursued her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After graduating she worked for two years in a construction management company in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was involved in various residential and infrastructure projects. At present, Rubaya is a Ph.D. candidate at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Teaching/Research Assistant at Moss School of Construction, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Florida International University. Her research interest includes Sustainable and resilient infrastructure, Engineering Education, and Sustainable transportation system.

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biography

Mohamed Elzomor, P.E. Florida International University orcid.org/0000-0002-7734-9601

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Dr. Mohamed ElZomor is an Assistant Professor at Florida International University (FIU), College of Engineering and Computing and teaches at the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. Dr. ElZomor completed his doctorate at Arizona

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Abstract

Infrastructure projects are characterized by distinct challenges such as funding sources, conflicting stakeholder interests as well as various social, economic, and environmental implications. Embracing sustainable infrastructure (SI) and utilizing effective project delivery methods (PDM) to deliver such complex projects can potentially facilitate addressing these issues while improving sustainability performance. That said, it is evident that to deliver SI projects, stakeholders should have sufficient knowledge of how the infrastructure sustainability rating system, i.e., Envision rating system can facilitate in implementation of alternative PDMs. Although higher education can potentially support future engineering professionals by nurturing critical sustainability requirements along with efficient delivery methods of SI projects, unfortunately, sustainability courses within higher education rarely focus on such correlations. Therefore, this research highlights the importance of educating architecture/ engineering/ construction (AEC) students on how the Envision rating system can aid in executing alternative PDMs for SI through leveraging integrated design. Therefore, this study piloted training in a sustainable construction class to introduce the students to key concepts of SI and PDMs for construction projects. To this end, the study conducted a pre-survey before the workshop to capture the existing knowledge of the participants about these concepts. During the workshop, the participants were introduced to various topics including traditional and alternative PDMs, integrated design, Envision Rating system and its credits, so that the students can draw connections and realize the interrelationships between SI and delivery methods. A post-survey was conducted after the training. The findings indicated that before the training, all the AEC students were not familiar with SI and their correlations with PDMs while deciding on a delivery method for such projects. Moreover, the results highlighted that the workshop improved the students’ knowledge and skills in integrated design and boosted their confidence in participating in and delivering high-performance sustainable infrastructure projects. Finally, this study would be valuable for implementing SI and enhancing the project management skills of the future AEC workforce.

Citation
Format

Rahat, R., & Elzomor,, M. (2023, June), Cultivating Sustainable Infrastructure Project Delivery through Integrated Design and Envision-Rating System within Construction Education Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42844

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Infrastructure projects are characterized by distinct challenges such as funding sources, conflicting stakeholder interests as well as various social, economic, and environmental implications. Embracing sustainable infrastructure (SI) and utilizing effective project delivery methods (PDM) to deliver such complex projects can potentially facilitate addressing these issues while improving sustainability performance. That said, it is evident that to deliver SI projects, stakeholders should have sufficient knowledge of how the infrastructure sustainability rating system, i.e., Envision rating system can facilitate in implementation of alternative PDMs. Although higher education can potentially support future engineering professionals by nurturing critical sustainability requirements along with efficient delivery methods of SI projects, unfortunately, sustainability courses within higher education rarely focus on such correlations. Therefore, this research highlights the importance of educating architecture/ engineering/ construction (AEC) students on how the Envision rating system can aid in executing alternative PDMs for SI through leveraging integrated design. Therefore, this study piloted training in a sustainable construction class to introduce the students to key concepts of SI and PDMs for construction projects. To this end, the study conducted a pre-survey before the workshop to capture the existing knowledge of the participants about these concepts. During the workshop, the participants were introduced to various topics including traditional and alternative PDMs, integrated design, Envision Rating system and its credits, so that the students can draw connections and realize the interrelationships between SI and delivery methods. A post-survey was conducted after the training. The findings indicated that before the training, all the AEC students were not familiar with SI and their correlations with PDMs while deciding on a delivery method for such projects. Moreover, the results highlighted that the workshop improved the students’ knowledge and skills in integrated design and boosted their confidence in participating in and delivering high-performance sustainable infrastructure projects. Finally, this study would be valuable for implementing SI and enhancing the project management skills of the future AEC workforce.
AU  - Rubaya Rahat
AU  - Mohamed Elzomor, P.E.
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Cultivating Sustainable Infrastructure Project Delivery through Integrated Design and Envision-Rating System within Construction Education
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/42844
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--42844
ER  -