TRACD - Transforming Rail Construction using Data: Digital frameworks for material efficiency and reducing carbon emissions

全球变暖对人类和地球的福祉构成重大威胁。英国政府制定了到2050年实现净零排放的法律要求，并制定了到2035年减排78%的目标。在全球范围内，建筑业排放了11%的碳，在英国首都，建筑业产生的碳在过去十年中增加了60%。至关重要的是，建筑业必须通过数据驱动的流程优化来减少碳排放。为此，GCRE(全球铁路卓越中心)的目标是通过回收材料和创新结构实现净零运营和减少具体化碳。为了实现这些目标，需要加强对建筑项目中材料使用生命周期的分析。这将允许优化现有材料的使用，并为引入新材料铺平道路。然而，建筑业的一个关键挑战是该过程的碎片化，以及由此带来的共享和整合数据的困难。目前，互不相连的数据库和基于纸张的数据收集系统在整个价值链中准确跟踪水泥和混凝土的使用情况带来了挑战。这项创新旨在创建一个综合数据平台，以捕获和分析整个施工过程生命周期的数据，以提高材料效率和减少碳排放。该项目将专注于混凝土，这是一种碳密集型材料，但在铁路建设中得到了广泛应用。混凝土的低效使用会导致不必要的碳排放，增加成本，并可能导致延误。低效使用的原因包括过度订购、拒收批次、超标和返工。为了解决这些系统性问题，该项目将与GRCE创新合作伙伴和供应链密切合作，简化数据收集流程，并为铁路建设开发总体数据架构。这将改善数据一致性，并使数据驱动的决策能够减少浪费和材料的低效使用。开发的最先进的框架将对整个英国建筑过程产生更广泛的影响，并将使参与建筑项目的不同系统和组织之间的数据共享和集成，以突出英国价值链上的碳盲点。

Global warming poses a significant threat to the well-being of people and the planet. The UK government set a legal requirement to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and a target for a 78% reduction in emissions by 2035\. Globally, construction is responsible for 11% of emissions, and in the UK capital carbon from construction increased by 60% over the last decade. It is essential that construction reduce its carbon use through data-driven optimisation of its processes. To this end, GCRE (Global Centre for Rail Excellence) aims to achieve operational net zero and reduce embodied carbon through recycled materials and innovative structures.To achieve these aims, enhanced analysis of the life cycle of material use within construction projects is required. This will allow both optimisation of existing material use and pave the way for introduction of novel materials. However, a key challenge in the construction industry is the fragmentation of the process and the resulting difficulty in sharing and integrating data. Currently, disconnected databases and paper-based data collection systems create challenges in accurately tracking cement and concrete use throughout the value chain.This innovation aims to create an integrated data platform to capture and analyse data from across the life cycle of the construction process, with the goal of improving material efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. The project will focus on concrete, a carbon intensive and yet widely used material in rail construction. Inefficient use of concrete results in unnecessary carbon emissions, increased cost and can result in delays. Causes for inefficient use include over ordering, rejected batches, over specification and rework. To address such systemic issues, the project will collaborate closely with GRCE innovation partners and supply chain to streamline data collection processes and develop an overarching data architecture for rail construction. This will improve data coherence and enable data-driven decisions to reduce waste and inefficient use of materials.The developed state of the art framework will have a wider impact on across the UK construction process and will enable the sharing and integration of data across different systems and organisations involved in construction projects to highlight carbon blind spots across the UK value chain.