Process Indicators to Track Effectiveness of High-Performance Green Building Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 139, Issue 12
Abstract
High-performance green buildings, which maximize energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality, require increased collaboration among interdisciplinary professionals during project delivery. Recent theoretical and applied research illuminates the critical role of delivery attributes in performance outcomes. Despite such evidence, rigorous research is still needed to establish links between delivery attributes and performance outcomes in sustainable projects to further motivate owners and project teams to adopt and successfully implement sustainable practices and eventually improve actual energy performance and indoor environmental quality of buildings. This paper used quantitative methods to identify statistically correlated in-process indicators with project performance outcomes such as green level, cost, and schedule in sustainable building project delivery. The sample set used data from two previous studies totaling 51 green-certified building projects. Results yield statistically significant corresponding weightings for 7 to 15 in-process indicators for sustainable building project delivery including setting owner-initiated sustainable goals, having all major project parties attending design charrettes, running energy and lighting simulations no later than the schematics-design phase, adequacy in owner capabilities for scope definition and decision making, selecting contractors from a restrained pool, and enabling contractor involvement in the delivery process no later than the design-development phase. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by offering statistical evidence underlining the importance of in-process indicators for sustainable building project performance outcomes and proving insights to elevate team integration through the delivery process.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
Without the contributions of the Charles Pankow Foundation, the Design-Build Institute of America, and industry professionals who volunteered their time and provided data, this research would not have been possible. We’d like to thank Penn State and Michigan State construction management programs for their generous support in providing us the data for this paper; and acknowledge Dr. Michael Horman (1971–2009), who was an integral part of both studies and a scholar in paving the way for successful delivery of green building projects.
References
7 Group, and Reed, B. (2009). The integrative design guide to green building: Redefining the practice of sustainability, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.
GreenSource Magazine. (2007). “Integrated design process standard approved.” 〈http://greensource.construction.com/news/071003WSIP.asp〉 (May 1, 2011).
Beheiry, S. M. A., Chong, W. K., and Haas, C. T. (2006). “Examining the business impact of owner commitment to sustainability.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 132(4), 384–392.
Business Roundtable. (1982). “Integrating construction resources and technology into engineering.”, New York.
Carlin, B. P., and Louis, T. A. (1996). Bayes and empirical Bayes methods for data analysis, Chapman & Hall, London.
Chinowsky, P., Molenaar, K., and Bastias, A. (2007). “Measuring achievement of learning organizations in construction.” Eng. Construct. Architect. Manage., 14(3), 215–227.
El Wardani, M. A., Messner, J. I., and Horman, M. J. (2006). “Comparing procurement methods for design-build projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 132(3), 230–238.
Enache-Pommer, E., and Horman, M. (2008). “Greening of healthcare facilities: Case studies of children’s hospitals.” Proc., AEI 2008 Conf.—AEI 2008: Building Integration Solutions, Vol. 328, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Fergusson, K. J., and Teicholz, P. M. (1996). “Achieving industrial facility quality: Integration is key.” J. Manage. Eng., 12(1), 49–56.
Green Globes System. (2004). “Green Globes: Building environmental assesment.” 〈http://www.greenglobes.com/〉 (Jan. 15, 2010).
Gultekin, P. (2011). “In-process indicators for tracking green building project outcomes.” M.S. thesis, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA.
Heerwagen, J. (2000). “Do green buildings enhance the well being of workers?” Environmental Design and Construction Magazine, BNP Media, Troy, MI. 〈http://www.edcmag.com/articles/do-green-buildings-enhance-the-well-being-of-workers〉 (May 1, 2011).
Heschong Mahone Group (HMG). (1999). “Daylighting in schools: An investigation into the relationship between daylighting and human performance.” Rep. for Pacific Gas and Electric, Gold River, CA.
Horman, M. J., et al. (2006). “Delivering green buildings: Process improvements for sustainable construction.” J. Green Build., 1(1), 123–140.
Konchar, M., and Sanvido, V. (1998). “Comparison of U.S. project delivery systems.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 124(6), 435–444.
Korkmaz, S. (2007). “Piloting evaluation metrics for high performance green building project delivery.” Ph.D. thesis, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA.
Korkmaz, S., Riley, D., and Horman, M. (2010). “Piloting evaluation metrics for sustainable, high performance building project delivery.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 136(8), 877–885.
Lapinski, A. R., Horman, M. J., and Riley, D. R. (2005). “Delivering sustainability: Lean principles for green projects.” Proc. ASCE Construction Research Congress, ASCE, Reston, VA, 27–31.
Lapinski, A. R., Horman, M. J., and Riley, D. R. (2006). “Lean processes for sustainable project delivery.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 132(10), 1083–1091.
Lim, C. S., and Mohamed, M. Z. (1999). “Criteria of project success: An exploratory re-examination.” Int. J. Project Manage., 17(4), 243–248.
Loftness, V., et al. (2002). “Building investment decision support (BIDS).” ABSIC Research 2001-2002 Year End Rep, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh, PA.
Lovins, A. (1992). “Energy-efficient buildings: Institutional barriers and opportunities.” 〈http://www.rmi.org/Knowledge-Center/Library/1992-02_EnergyEfficientBuildingsBarriersOpportunities〉 (Jun. 12, 2013).
Magent, C. (2005). “A process and competency-based approach to high performance building design.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Architectural Engineering, Penn State Univ., University Park, PA.
Minitab 16 [Computer software]. Minitab, Inc., State College, PA.
Molenaar, K., Sobin, N., and Antillón, E. (2010). “A synthesis of best-value procurement practices for sustainable design-build projects in the public sector.” J. Green Build., 5(4), 148–157.
Molenaar, K. R., Songer, A. D., and Barash, M. (1999). “Public sectordesign-build evolution and performance.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 15(2), 54–62.
Ott, R. L., and Longnecker, M. T. (2010). An introduction to statistical methods and data analysis, Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA.
Pocock, J. B. (1996). “The relationship between alternative project approaches, integration, and performance.” 〈http://hdl.handle.net/2142/20663〉 (May 10, 2009).
Riley, D. R., Varadan, P., James, J. S., and Thomas, H. R. (2005). “Benefit-cost metrics for design coordination of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in multistory buildings.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 131(8), 877–889.
Songer, A. D., and Molenaar, K. R. (1997). “Appropriate project characteristics for public sector design-build projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 123(1), 34–40.
Swarup, L., Korkmaz, S., Gultekin, P., and Horman, M. (2010). “Exploring the validity of qualitative methods to analyze project delivery of sustainable, high performance buildings.” Construction Research Congress 2010: Innovation for Reshaping Construction Practice, ASCE, Reston, VA, 1427–1436.
Swarup, L., Korkmaz, S., and Riley, D. (2011). “Project delivery metrics for sustainable, high performance buildings.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 137(12), 1043–1051.
Tatum, C. B. (1989). “Managing for increased design and construction innovation.” J. Manage. Eng., 5(4), 385–399.
Taylor, J., and Levitt, R. (2007). “Innovation alignment and project network dynamics: An integrative model for change.” Project Manage. J., 38(3), 22–35.
Turner, C., and Frankel, M. (2008). “Energy performance of LEED for new construction buildings.”, New Building Institute, Vancouver, WA.
U.S. Dept. of Energy (U.S. DOE). (2003). “Federal energy management program: Business case for sustainable design in federal facilities.” 〈http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/program/sustainable_businesscase.html〉 (May 15, 2013).
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). (2009). “USGBC: USGBC research program.” 〈http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1718〉 (Oct. 15, 2010).
Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG). (1997). “Whole building design guide: A program of the National Institite of Building Sciences.” 〈http://www.wbdg.org/design/engage_process.php〉 (Feb. 15, 2011).
Wolf, C., and Harmon, P. (2011). “Overview of the lean Six Sigma market.” Business Process Trends, 〈http://www.bptrends.com/publicationfiles/09-05%20TB%20Six%20Sigma%20Market%20Overview%20-%20Wolf%20Harmon2.pdf〉 (Jun. 5, 2013).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 139 • Issue 12 • December 2013
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 17, 2012
Accepted: Jun 26, 2013
Published online: Aug 6, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
Discussion open until: Jan 6, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.