A Systems Approach for Sustainability Assessment of Civil Infrastructure Projects

Prequalification (PQ) is a significant process in the selection of private sector for the delivery of civil infrastructure projects. But, the extant literature, for the most part, focused on PQ of construction projects. The need for setting proper PQ, i.e., criteria and corresponding limits in public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects, especially municipal solid waste (MSW) projects is still a lacuna in the body of knowledge of Indian PPPs. To this end, this paper identified PQ criteria using content analysis of the sample of MSW projects. These identified criteria were subjected to regression modeling. These results were compared with the results of well-matured highway sector to draw comparison with MSW projects. The practical implications are that urban local bodies (ULBs) are but less competent and less uniform in the rationale of setting the PQ criteria and limits. This paper suggests that lowering the technical and financial PQ limits considering the market orientation will help in bringing more competitive bidders into the bidding. Since MSW is in a very nascent stage of application of PPP, the study results could lay directions for future project procurement to discern right limits for right project sizes.

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Improving the Use of BIM Using System Engineering for Infrastructure Projects

Sustainable Infrastructure ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-0948-7.ch009 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 230-247

Author(s):

Charles-Edouard Tolmer

Keyword(s):

System Engineering ◽

Level Of Detail ◽

Civil Infrastructure ◽

Infrastructure Projects ◽

Execution Plan

BIM is defined and used in several ways. As standardisation is now increasing on BIM, it is time to optimise the use of BIM, especially for civil infrastructure projects. The level of detail of the information produced and exchanged is not defined enough to allow production optimisation. It concerns a lot of processes and documents in the project, not only the BIM Execution Plan. It is proposed here to use system engineering principles to complete the BIM principle, helping to optimise the use of BIM. Some of these principles are similar but they have to be merged, regarding both System Engineering and BIM paradigms. Finally, integration of systems composing the civil infrastructure is the final aim. Using BIM and System Engineering principles in an efficient way is crucial to make BIM not a constraint but a need for the project.

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Improving the Use of BIM Using System Engineering for Infrastructure Projects

International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling ◽

10.4018/ij3dim.2017070102 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 17-32

Author(s):

Charles-Edouard Tolmer

Keyword(s):

System Engineering ◽

Level Of Detail ◽

Civil Infrastructure ◽

Infrastructure Projects ◽

Execution Plan

BIM is defined and used in several ways. As standardisation is now increasing on BIM, it is time to optimise the use of BIM, especially for civil infrastructure projects. The level of detail of the information produced and exchanged is not defined enough to allow production optimisation. It concerns a lot of processes and documents in the project, not only the BIM Execution Plan. It is proposed here to use system engineering principles to complete the BIM principle, helping to optimise the use of BIM. Some of these principles are similar but they have to be merged, regarding both System Engineering and BIM paradigms. Finally, integration of systems composing the civil infrastructure is the final aim. Using BIM and System Engineering principles in an efficient way is crucial to make BIM not a constraint but a need for the project.

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Indicator-Based Sustainability Assessment Tool to Support Coastal and Marine Management

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11113175 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 3175 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Donalda Karnauskaitė ◽

Gerald Schernewski ◽

Josianne G. Støttrup ◽

Marija Kataržytė

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Systems Approach ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Coastal Development ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

Marine Management ◽

Management Measures ◽

Integrated Approaches ◽

User Friendly

The applied Indicator-based Sustainability Assessment Tool (InSAT) serves as a user-friendly computer-aided tool to support coastal and marine management. Focus is on sustainable coastal development, including environmental, social, and economic aspects. We apply the InSAT to assess the changes in sustainability before, during, and after the implementation of management measures. The assessments address three case studies in Lithuania: the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Klaipeda, the renewal of the port of Sventoji, and the opening of a beach in Nida. The application of core and optional indicators highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the management measures. We analyze to what extent, how, and when the InSAT can be applied within a stepwise Systems Approach Framework (SAF) to support sustainable coastal and marine management. Further, we assess how the tool can be applied within other integrated approaches. The application of tailor-made indicators helps to identify potential conflicts and raise discussions about sustainable development between stakeholders and decision-makers and therefore supports the decision-making process. The tool indicates the management measures’ weaknesses, but the assessment results do not indicate what kind of solutions should be undertaken. However, it can still serve to support, guide, and supplement the participation and discussion processes.

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