Analyzing sustainability of construction equipment in the state of California

Abstract

Construction equipment encompasses highly polluting machines adversely affecting the environment. Management tools are necessary for sustainability assessment of construction equipment fleets to allow contractors to reduce their emissions and comply with local or federal regulations. In addition to management tools, there is a need for a metrics that will allow companies to accurately assess the sustainability of their construction equipment fleets. The State of California USA is adopting innovative approaches to reduce adverse impact of humans on the environment. Once successfully implemented, the chances are that such practices attract other states to adopt similar approaches. This paper presents an evaluation of construction equipment fleets and data analysis. When measured and recorded, such results can be used along with decision-support tools for selection and utilization of construction equipment. The metrics for construction equipment evaluation as well as the tool for sustainable decision-making are developed based on readily available data from manufacturers or maintenance shops without a need for additional effort by contractors or government agencies for their adoption. The metrics developed and the decision support tool incorporate logical strategies of supply chain management for optimal selection of construction equipment for construction site while taking into account the availability, cost, and mobilization related constraints. The metrics and the model can benefit both the government agencies responsible for inspection of fleets and owners of construction companies in their decision-making processes related to environmental sustainability.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Construction equipment / greenhouse gas emissions / sustainability index / sustainable construction

References

[1] ARB (2007). “OFFROAD model”. Off-Road Emissions Inventory. California Environmental Protection Agency.

[2] ARB (2010a). “Proposed Amendments to the Regulation for in use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets and the Off-Road Large Spark-Ignition Fleet Requirements”. California Environmental Protection Agency.

[3] ARB (2010b). “Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program”. California Environmental Protection Agency.

[4] Avetisyan H, Miller-Hooks E, Melanta S (2012). Decision models to support greenhouse gas emissions reduction from transportation construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 138(5): 631–641

[5] Avetisyan H, Skibniewski M (2014). “Web–Based Management System for Construction Equipment Fleets: Global and Local Allocation of Equipment”. Project Management Symposium, MD, College Park. ISSN 2374–9377, 34–43

[6] DieselNet (2013). “Tier 1–3 Emission Standards”.

[7] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2009a). “Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. Climate Change.

[8] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2009b). “EPA NONROAD Model Updates of 2008”. April 2009 International Emission Inventory Conference.

[9] Fan H, Abourizk S M, Kim H, Zaïane O (2008). Assessing residual value of heavy construction equipment using predictive data mining model. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, 22(3): 181–191

[10] UCSUSA (2015). “California's Clean Construction Regulation”.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2017 The Author(s) 2017. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)