Special Issue "Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Assoc. Prof. Elżbieta Radziszewska-Zielina
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Management in Civil Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, 24 Warszawska Street, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Interests: civil engineering; multi-criteria decision making; sustainable construction; organization; management; marketing in construction; construction project management
Dr. Małgorzata Fedorczak-Cisak
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Malopolska Energy Efficiency Laboratory, Cracow University of Technology, 24 Warszawska Street, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Interests: nZEBs (nearly Zero Energy Buildings); sustainable buildings and complexes; sustainable and innovative materials and technologies; energy consumption in new and thermomodernised buildings; energy performance; sustainable design; cost-optimal analysis; air quality; building user comfort
Dr. Grzegorz Śladowski
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Management in Civil Engineering Tadeusz Kościuszko Cracow University of Technology ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków, Poland
Interests: systems engineering; operational research; network science; meta-networks; dynamic network analysis; multi-agent systems; deep learning; risk and uncertainty in construction, restoration of historical building

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable development has ceased to be a fashionable idea—it is a necessity. This approach requires an interdisciplinary and multi-aspect perspective. In the context of relevant challenges, modern materials and technologies are continuously developed in the sustainable building sector, as are planning, organization, and construction management systems.

This Special Issue will discuss efforts to support sustainable construction, and, in particular, aspects associated with technology, organization, and management in this sector. The subject matter aligned with this question includes the design, construction, modernization, and occupancy of both individual buildings and entire building complexes, as well as the management of smart infrastructure and construction.

  • Sustainable building
  • Smart infrastructure and construction
  • Sustainable management
  • Nearly zero-energy buildings
  • Indoor air quality
  • Sustainability materials and technologies
  • Building materials and structures
  • Construction processes
  • Construction economics, cost management
  • Risk management
  • Construction procurement, public procurement, construction work
  • Competitive bidding procedure organization
  • Construction management and organization
  • Construction company management
  • Construction company marketing, construction market research
  • Decision-making support systems in the construction sector
  • Building life-cycle analysis
  • Information technologies, computer-aided problem solutions
  • Construction project management
  • Planning and organization of construction
  • Communication at the construction site
  • Self-organizing networks of communication,
  • Social network analysis (SNA),
  • Multiple-criteria analysis
  • Fuzzy modeling and control (expert systems)
  • Network methods, graph theory
  • Survey studies and interviews
  • Statistical analysis and correlation and regression models
  • Operational research, optimization methods

Assoc. Prof. Elżbieta Radziszewska-Zielina
Dr. Małgorzata Fedorczak-Cisak
Dr. Grzegorz Śladowski
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable building
  • smart infrastructure and construction
  • nearly zero-energy buildings

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

Article
Sequential Model for Long-Term Planning of Building Renewal and Capital Improvement
Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9575; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179575 (registering DOI) - 25 Aug 2021
Viewed by 208
Abstract
The paper puts forward a mixed integer linear programming model to support the long-term planning and budgeting for renewal and capital improvements of residential buildings, i.e., to select the optimal sequence of repair and improvement actions over a predefined planning horizon. The input [...] Read more.
The paper puts forward a mixed integer linear programming model to support the long-term planning and budgeting for renewal and capital improvements of residential buildings, i.e., to select the optimal sequence of repair and improvement actions over a predefined planning horizon. The input is provided by the evaluation of the building performance according to a set of criteria. Then a set of possible repairs, replacements and improvements needs to be proposed together with the estimates of their cost and benefits; the latter are expressed by increments of building performance ratings according to predefined criteria. The renewal and modernization measures are not mutually independent: at least some of them are complementary and should be carried out in a specific order. The optimization problem was to define the order of renewal/improvement measures resulting with the highest benefits available within the budget, or to achieve the required levels of building performance at the lowest cost. A unique feature of the model is the approach to the constraints on sequential relationships between the measures and to their selection. The model can be used to construct long-term renewal and capital improvement plans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction)
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Article
A Simulation Model of Construction Projects Executed in Random Conditions with the Overlapping Construction Works
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5795; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115795 - 21 May 2021
Viewed by 388
Abstract
Reducing the duration of construction works requires additional organizational measures, such as selecting construction methods that assure a shorter realization time, engaging additional resources, working overtime, or allowing construction works to be performed simultaneously in the same working units. The simultaneous work of [...] Read more.
Reducing the duration of construction works requires additional organizational measures, such as selecting construction methods that assure a shorter realization time, engaging additional resources, working overtime, or allowing construction works to be performed simultaneously in the same working units. The simultaneous work of crews may affect the quality of works and the efficiency of construction processes. This article presents a simulation model aimed at assessing the impact of the overlap period on the extension of the working time of the crews and the reduction of a repetitive project’s duration in random conditions. The purpose of simulation studies is to provide construction managers with guidelines when deciding on the dates of starting the sequential technological process lines realized by specialized working crews, for sustainable scheduling and organization of construction projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction)
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Article
Analysis of the Thermal–Technical Properties of Modern Log Structures
Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2994; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052994 - 09 Mar 2021
Viewed by 468
Abstract
“Ecological buildings” and “energy-efficient buildings” are concepts which we encounter on a daily basis and which define modern trends. The purpose of their design is to create an optimal thermal microclimate by means of heat flows that form within it or enter it. [...] Read more.
“Ecological buildings” and “energy-efficient buildings” are concepts which we encounter on a daily basis and which define modern trends. The purpose of their design is to create an optimal thermal microclimate by means of heat flows that form within it or enter it. A balanced combination of heat flows creates suitable conditions for thermal comfort—a factor contributing to the quality of the internal environment of buildings. This research addresses the problem of heat distribution in construction materials based on wood and their thermal–technical properties in relation to the sustainability requirements for the thermal–technical properties of constructions and buildings. The research examines the structural parts of the external walls of modern log constructions. The objective of this work is to analyse the thermal–technical properties of the structural parts of modern log wood constructions in laboratory conditions and verify them against calculated values and values declared by manufacturers. This publication is also a contribution to the current needs in terms of the sustainability and internal environment quality of constructions in general. The publication is also a contribution to the current needs in the field of heating technology in terms of sustainability and the quality of internal environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction)
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Article
Renovation Management Method in Neglected Buildings
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 929; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020929 - 18 Jan 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 494
Abstract
Renovation works to buildings are often not carried out or there are shifts in time, which causes degradation of the building. The article presents an analysis of the consequences of abandoning renovation works. The aim of this article is to present a method [...] Read more.
Renovation works to buildings are often not carried out or there are shifts in time, which causes degradation of the building. The article presents an analysis of the consequences of abandoning renovation works. The aim of this article is to present a method of preliminarily planning renovations of a MRUB (Managing Renovation in Un-renovated Buildings). This method of decision-making support is based on the consequences in the case of the omission of renovations. The omission of renovations may lead to a threat to the stability of the building’s structure, threaten the lives of its users, and further damage the building by damaging further elements, or even cause a building disaster. Often, as a result of the abandonment of renovation, usually caused by the lack of the owner, improper manager, or irresponsible owners, these objects are degraded. The consequences of the failure of renovating buildings lead to irreversible processes of destruction. As a result of the research, it was found that it was not only a bad technical condition that was a prerequisite for carrying out the renovation. The consequences of the absence of renovation works, in addition to the technical condition, should be a motivating factor. The problem of the abandonment of renovations is presented using the example of the palace in Drwalewice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction)
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Article
Analysis of the Impact of Omitted Accidental Actions and the Method of Land Use on the Number of Construction Disasters (a Case Study of Poland)
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 618; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020618 - 11 Jan 2021
Viewed by 725
Abstract
As climate changes progress we are dealing with violent and excessive environmental actions. However, the impacts of loads acting on a building object caused by unlikely phenomena such as: fire, explosion, flood, vehicle impact, plane impact, excessive snowfall, and excess wind gusts are [...] Read more.
As climate changes progress we are dealing with violent and excessive environmental actions. However, the impacts of loads acting on a building object caused by unlikely phenomena such as: fire, explosion, flood, vehicle impact, plane impact, excessive snowfall, and excess wind gusts are still being ignored when analyzing the structure of building objects in the combinatorics of loads. The paper presents a multi-criteria approach to accidental actions and analyzes design situations and load combinations in relation to accidental actions. The existing legal acts were used to define the concept of a construction disaster. The authors verified, on the basis of applicable legal acts and design guidelines, individual analysis strategies for ensuring the safety of building objects and divided them into consequence classes of structural damage. They collected and analyzed the number of construction disasters which occurred in Poland between 1995–2019 (25 years) based on the data from the General Office of Building Control. The number of disasters was divided by voivodeships and causes and supplemented with the data on the number of people injured. The article presents the direction of research development that could be undertaken in order to eliminate future catastrophes caused by the omission of the analysis of the impact of accidental actions at the design stage. Statistical analyses were carried out to show whether land use, population density, and weather factors (wind) affect the number of recorded disasters. It has been shown that regions that have preserved the sustainable development of their territories are less vulnerable to disasters resulting from extreme weather events. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction)
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Article
Preferences of Construction Managers Regarding the Quality and Optimization Criteria of Project Schedules
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020544 - 08 Jan 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 525
Abstract
In the literature on the scheduling of construction projects it is difficult to find a justification for adopting the criteria for evaluating work schedules based explicitly on the preferences of those who develop them. This article tries to fill this gap and provide [...] Read more.
In the literature on the scheduling of construction projects it is difficult to find a justification for adopting the criteria for evaluating work schedules based explicitly on the preferences of those who develop them. This article tries to fill this gap and provide information on the preferences of construction site managers for sustainable scheduling and organization of construction projects. The publication focuses on the views and needs of construction site engineering staff regarding methods of work organization, the need to reduce downtimes in the work of crews, the deadline for project realization and the selection of crews for tasks. This information was obtained on the basis of surveys conducted among managerial staff of various levels (74 people). The authors hope that the information provided in this publication will allow the creation of more reliable tools to support construction managers better adapted to their preferences and needs, and therefore more likely to be applied in practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction)
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Article
Annoyance Based Vibro-Acoustic Comfort Evaluation of as Summation of Stimuli Annoyance in the Context of Human Exposure to Noise and Vibration in Buildings
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9876; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239876 - 26 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 468
Abstract
This paper presents the issues of assessing the comfort of people staying indoors who are exposed to vibrations and material noise caused by vibrations of partitions like floors and walls (ground-borne noise). Current criteria in the evaluation of vibrational and acoustic comfort cannot [...] Read more.
This paper presents the issues of assessing the comfort of people staying indoors who are exposed to vibrations and material noise caused by vibrations of partitions like floors and walls (ground-borne noise). Current criteria in the evaluation of vibrational and acoustic comfort cannot be assessed in the context of the simultaneous occurrence of stimuli such as noise and vibration. Railway transport, including passenger and cargo transport, is becoming increasingly prevalent, and new railway lines are being planned for environmental reasons. Sometimes, there are changes in stimuli produced by existing railway lines. For example, high-speed trains appear on an old railway track. Such a situation appeared on the Central Railway Line in Poland, which is still used by old trains, yet its operator plans to raise their speed limits. The analysis of the problem of the simultaneous occurrence of stimuli presented in this paper was based on measurements performed in a residential building located near the Central Railway Main Line in the city Zawiercie. Noise and vibration as the analyzed stimuli in both cases meet comfort requirements, yet when exposure to two stimuli was considered, comfort may be at risk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Organisation and Management in Sustainable Construction)
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