CAREER: Lean and Green - High Performance Processes for High Performance Buildings

本职业规划将研究环境可持续或绿色建筑的项目交付（采购、设计和施工）过程，以开发一个高性能的交付过程模型。受汽车工业在精益生产方面的成功和过程改进以增强可持续建筑的机会的启发，一项实证研究将调查绿色建筑项目中价值是如何创造和浪费的。在汽车工业中，精益流程极大地提高了车辆性能，在建筑、工程和建筑（AEC）行业中也可以取得类似的进展。主要的技术进步并不是汽车工业改善的动力；相反，汽车制造商发现，对其产品的最佳改进是停止制造错误，从而降低工艺浪费。当生产中的浪费减少时，效率就会提高，汽车的性能也会更好，因为它们的制造更可靠。该项目的目标是为AEC行业的可持续建筑实现类似的收益。结合可持续建筑方法专业技能的实践教育计划，该项目将使用案例研究、实验和焦点小组来调查增加增值活动如何降低过程浪费和提高建筑可持续性水平。评估和促进价值实现的度量标准将被测试。结果将被综合到一个过程模型中，以重新定义构建高性能项目的项目交付。为了传播过程模型的重要结果，将创建一个名为HPSim的模拟器，使用户能够实验性地操纵交付过程，以简化他们的高性能建筑项目。这项研究将产生关键的“踏脚石”知识的重要属性的高性能项目过程。这些知识将提供即时的流程改进，同时构建先进的降低成本和增加价值的优化实践。通过详细的研究，本职业规划将开发一个过程模型，以改善环境可持续建筑的交付（采购，设计和施工）。能源效率和环境可持续性正日益推动消费者的决策：从购买混合动力汽车到增加回收产品的使用。价值6000亿美元的建筑、工程和建筑（AEC）行业的消费者越来越重视减少能源和自然资源的消耗，并要求更健康的设施。这些“绿色”或“可持续”建筑为高性能建筑树立了标准。这对于一个消耗30%的地球自然资源和占总能源使用量36%的行业来说至关重要。尽管高性能建筑很重要，但它们的复杂性会导致项目成本的增加和可持续性水平的降低，从而阻碍了这些建筑的广泛采用。结合可持续建筑方法专业技能的实践教育计划，该项目将使用在制造业中开发并经过验证的精益方法来研究过程改进如何简化项目交付并提高建筑的可持续性。结果将定义高性能建筑的“精益”（减少浪费）项目交付过程。这些过程可能会提高最初的成本竞争力，从而提高高性能建筑的采用率。由首席钝刀学院和宾夕法尼亚州立大学VIEW项目开发的实践学习模块将展示工程创新如何提高可持续解决方案的可负担性。这将使该项目能够影响美国印第安人和其他低收入社区，这些社区由于初始成本高而无法利用可持续建筑的生命周期效率。此外，未来的学生-许多非常关心环境-将通过这个项目被吸引到工程学科，因为他们将看到先进的工程如何与环境可持续发展相结合。

PROJECT ABSTRACTThis 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.