Technological Impacts on a Construction business

The construction industry had been dealing with major changes because of technological
innovation. This could go as far from advancements in materials and even the methods they use
related to technology.

Innovation had been transpiring in all aspects of business relatively inclining towards
sustainability. The goal is to be able to construct in high volumes whilst at the same time being
able to save the environment (as compared to traditional construction processes). The innovation
of technology (i.e. the materials) is not only helping the environment, but the path of ‘going
green’ is also becoming a long-term cost effective solutions for businesses. Technological
advancements such as these will only bring positive changes to the construction industry. “The
culture of innovation is one of the most exciting parts of the sector and will continue to yield
positive outcomes in the future.”

Environmental Issues In the Construction Industry

Construction projects around the world have a significant impact on our environment,
both on a local and a global scale. Every stage of the construction process has a
measurable environmental impact: the mining processes used to source materials, the
transportation of these materials to the building site from sources around the world, the
construction process itself and the waste removal and disposal process that follows the
completion of the project. With a rapidly developing global economy, it is crucial that
we understand how the construction projects we undertake impact the environment
and how we can measure and reduce that impact in the future. This article discusses
the impact of construction projects on the environment and how contractors and firms
can work to reduce that impact.

Climate change scientists believe that the Earth is rapidly getting warmer and that

human activity is playing a significant role in accelerating this process. The biggest way
in which construction firms are doing this is by contributing to carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon dioxide is a gaseous product of burning fossil fuels like gas and diesel. This gas

gets trapped in our atmosphere, creating a “greenhouse effect” that warms the Earth

over a long period of time.

Given that, every construction project results in the emission of carbon dioxide,

methane, and other waste products that pollute the air and are believed to contribute

to global climate change. The most harmful aspect of construction in terms of

contributing to climate change is the operation of heavy machinery in mining projects

that extract raw materials from the Earth for use in construction projects. The global

cement industry contributes approximately 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Applications of fuel and electricity are also major contributors – fossil fuels are used to

extract and transport minerals, to process materials, and even to power tools on

construction sites.

Aside from contributing to climate change on a global scale, individual construction

projects can have a significant impact on local environments and nature. There are

numerous sources of water pollution on building sites, including diesel and other fossil

fuels, paints, solvents, and toxic chemicals. Even minor chemical spills leech into the

ground and may enter waterways where they toxify water and harm aquatic life. In the

developing world, there are often less stringent requirements for the disposal of toxic

construction waste products, resulting in significant local environmental damage

following a building project.

Even greater than the impacts of the construction process itself is the environmental

impact of the actual buildings that are being constructed. It has been estimated that

the daily operation of buildings accounts for 40% of total energy usage worldwide.

Projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline have been criticized for their long-term

environmental impact on the areas they run through. Critics of this project suspect that

transporting fossil fuels through hundreds of miles of pipeline will lead to oil spills that

can go undetected for long periods and damage or destroy wild lands that were

previously undisturbed.

Reducing the environmental effects of construction requires a collaborative effort from

many different stakeholders. While legislators work to create regulations surrounding

construction waste management and green building construction, many global

construction firms are taking the initiative to create, study, and enforce their standards

for limiting the environmental impacts of construction projects.

One of the main areas of innovation is the usage of green building materials in new

projects. Green materials can be synthetically produced, reducing, or eliminating the

need to engage in destructive and costly mining practices that use a lot of fossil fuels.

Green materials may also be easier to recycle or re-use in other projects in the future,

leading to cost savings for firms and lesser environmental impacts that benefit

everyone. Construction debris disposal is also streamlined by the use of materials that

are quickly and efficiently recycled.

For construction companies that operated before there was significant data on climate

change, life may have seemed much easier. Today, more and more firms are being

asked to shoulder the costs of construction waste recycling and environmentally

responsible construction practices.

As a result, many of these firms are stepping up to the plate and coming up with new
methods to reduce costs and reduce the impact that their projects have on the
environment. More cooperation is needed between firms, lawmakers, and the public to
fund research for better methods, impose tighter regulations on construction firms and
the people that benefit from their work, and elevate our collective stewardship of the
environment. Working together, we can move towards a more sustainable paradigm for
construction projects.

https://esub.com/environmental-impacts-of-construction-projects/

Ever since the dawn of the industrial revolution and the invention of the internal

combustion engine in the 19th century, environmental pollution has skyrocketed to

unimaginable rates. This is because with the development of internal combustion

engine came a wide range of machinery that has made our lives much easier but has

had and is continuing to have detrimental effects on our atmosphere.

The transportation sector was revolutionized by the invention of vehicles and hence

road networks. Unfortunately, these road networks are not efficient in taking care of

the billions of vehicles that exist on our planet today; the result- unimaginable gridlocks
in many major cities like London and New York, leading to more emission of

greenhouse gases that ultimately destroys the ozone layer.

Even trains that are being powered by diesel engines or electricity are not free from

contributing to these pollution. Aircrafts are truly great and it has truly cut travel time to

levels unimaginable 130 years ago. However, there has also been an ever-increasing

pollution from aircraft. Ever since ships stopped using wind has its source of power, it’s

contribution to air pollution has been on a continuous increase. Spillage from oil tankers

has also had detrimental effects on both terrestrial and aquatic life.

All these and many more sources of pollution has led to a pressing struggle that
scientists and architects all over the world are up against: the quest to meet up to the
rising energy demands to power our transportation mechanism with clean energy
solutions.
Aside from the transport sector, the Industrial sector has also contributed to this
environmental degradation that we experience.
Industrial activities have drastically changed our landscape; the invention of steel has
helped raise our buildings to unimaginable heights, the demand for raw materials has
also spawned an eclectic rise in diverse industries from quarrying operations to level
highlands, drilling down great depth to access the black gold, mining operations to
obtain limestone and so much more. They have all contributed jointly to all forms of
pollution; air pollution from the engines we run, land and water pollution from the
waste we dump or oil spillage. The landscape as we know it will never remain the same
again.
This article attempts to discuss briefly the Environmental issues in the construction
industry.
According to the U.S Green Home Building Council, the construction industry accounts
for 40% of worldwide energy usage and is expected to rise in the years to come. This is
not hard to believe if you consider the number of buildings that sprout up every day.
For a building to come to life, a lot of components is required to make things work out.
From excavating for raw materials like limestone to as little as getting water. In fact,
everything you see in a building has taken a particular amount of energy to be
transformed to its usable form. The result- ever increasing pollution.

International communities have realised that to ensure sustainability, building design

must allow for smartness and efficiency.
Sustainability is a convoluted concept because various factors have to be put into
proper consideration before it can be achieved. However, it has become a necessity if
we want the earth to still be habitable in the future. Sustainability as a concept is the
proper management of natural resources so as to avoid depletion and ensure ecological
balance. For a project to be considered sustainable, it must meet the following criteria:

1) It must be energy efficient

2) Reduced emission
3) Prevent pollution
4) Improved indoor air quality
5) Inexpensive
6) Low maintenance cost
7) Biodegradable after abandonment

Home building experts have begun to consider ways in which buildings can be
sustainable. They tackle the problem from a bottom-up approach by isolating all the
processes involved in building and looking for ways they can make each of them
sustainable. From the building design stage to completion, sustainability is the
watchword. However, in current times, a broader eye view is being taken by focusing
on global objectives while micro-level integrated decision making is neglected.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, it is sustainability on this micro level that is
practically feasible and can add up to make the greater change, by taking a holistic
approach to enhance decision making. Although different technologies exist to help in
structure design, from Building Research Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
to Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES),
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The common goal is to provide
building design that will have the least impact on the natural environment and the
health of humans.

According to research, by the year 2056, global economic activities will increase by a
factor of 5, world population would have increased to about 11 billion and energy
demand will be at least tripled. As indicated earlier a reasonable amount of this energy
will be taken by building construction. A completed home building project initiated by
an architect uses energy for its HVAC system, lighting, power and ventilation systems.
Current natural resources are being depleted at an uncontrollable rate and our future
depends on making the right decisions now.
It is sad however to know that most of this energy used is wasted in form of emissions
and pollutions. Not only is it being wasted, the waste product is also damaging our
environment. Now global warming is a worldwide pressing environmental issue due to
our depletion of the ozone layer by the emission of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,
and other greenhouse gases.
The principal environmental issues that have been identified in the construction industry
are now being discussed.

Energy usage is a pressing environmental issue in today’s world; of which buildings are
the dominating consumers. Buildings require energy for each stage of the process from
design, construction, and the final demolition. One approach to solve this energy crisis
to make our buildings more energy efficient. This means that buildings should be
constructed at a fraction of their current energy requirement. What this will do is to
drastically cut down the rate at which we are depleting our non-renewable energy
sources like oil and coal, and also, it will greatly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
associated with buildings.
On achieving energy efficient building, reduction in the operational energy consideration
is key. Operational energy is the energy required to maintain the inside environment of
a building. According to Thormark’s life cycle, operational energy accounts for up to
95% of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission associated with the HVAC
systems. By making buildings more energy efficient, their operational energy will be
hugely reduced.
With this realization, in recent years, the construction industry is beginning to take
consideration of the approach and more energy efficient buildings structures are being
constructed to set the pace for this movement. Of course, we have no option than to go
more energy efficient in our buildings if we want planet earth to remain habitable for
generations to come.

Building structures require a lot of materials for their construction. In most cases, these
materials are non-renewable like limestone and in some cases, they are like trees,
however, their depletion is so great that they cannot be sustained. This material usage
has an immense impact on the natural bio-diversity thereby affecting the ecosystem. It
is therefore imperative that when buildings want to be constructed, the proper analysis
is done on how material consumption can be substantially reduced. This can either be
through adopting synthetic building materials where applicable.

All these should be properly considered in the design phase when discussing with the
architect, so as to come up with a very material efficient building with least
environmental impact.

The land is a finite resource i.e. it can be exhausted. All construction is realized on land.
Land use, therefore, poses a major challenge as other activities like farming compete
for land space. In fact, urban cities are even extending habitable land into the oceans
and desserts and architects are being tasked with almost impossible projects. Land
reclamation from the ocean on a large scale can greatly affect the aqua system. Even
farming lands are being destroyed by increased erosion due to tree felling for
construction, groundwater pollution, industrial pollutant and so on. This is destroying
our plant life and actions much the taken to restore natural habitats.

It is therefore important that certain policies be put in place to ensure that our land is
used wisely. Zero-expansion policies can be placed on already expanded urban cities,
this can be attained by using land occupied by old buildings to construct new
structures.
Also, the way in which building arranged on land can be more executed efficiently by
increasing the population density to a sustainable amount. For example, a concentration
of medical centers, recreational centers, shopping malls in a certain area would ensure
settlement within the neighborhood of such centers. This will prevent expansion as the
new buildings will have lower access to infrastructures. Another idea is to develop non-
arable land for construction purposes and integrate efficient transportation system.

Tweaking design is one of the great ways to be environmentally oriented when

construction of a building is being planned. There are 4 ways to achieve this:

Health Interior Environment

It must be ensured that health-friendly materials are used in buildings. Materials that
emit toxic gases should be avoided as they are detrimental to humans. Also, proper
ventilation should be planned to ensure proper fresh-air circulation in the building.

Energy Efficiency

Buildings should be constructed in such a way that they use the least amount of
energy. Material type and design structure should be properly selected to ensure that
the HVAC system consumes a considerably lower amount of energy.
Ecological Building Materials

Renewable materials should be the first option of consideration in construction before

non-renewable materials can be used if its purpose cannot be achieved by a renewable
material.

Good Design

A good building should be efficient as well as aesthetically pleasing. Material, structure,

and beauty must be integrated in such a way that the resulting building is safe, efficient
and lovely. Also, green designs should the guide of architects when designing. From the
way the windows are arranged and inclined to the materials used, the goal should be to
have a green building while not compromising its look.

Conclusion
Environmental issues are a major concern in today’s world and sustainable buildings is a
most for the building design industry and other architects to adopt. Sustainable building
structures will help achieve that balance between economic, social and environmental
performance when implementing constructions. Construction of structures is of high
economic value and so it is indispensable. However, with the rising alarm on
environmental pollution from construction, a check has to be placed on construction
practices and policies to ensure that the new generations of buildings that will be
emerging are environmentally friendly. We have seen that to achieve this state of
sustainability, three core framework must be upheld; resource efficiency, cost efficiency
and proper design. All these will ensure that right from the conceptual stage, all key
variables are accounted for to result in a sustainable building.
This framework has the potential to speed up the understanding and execution of
sustainable buildings. This framework emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach
when tackling the environmental issues associated with buildings. All key components,
including material, design and so on are taken into consideration in the design,
construction, operation, renovating and demolition stages of a building.
The requirements for sustainability are intertwined and the challenge is for the designer
to look for innovative ways to efficiently account for these requirements in a proportion
that will ultimately result in a building with least environmental impact.
Sustainable building designs are the way to go and unless we realize and work toward
it, progress will prove difficult.

https://www.greenbuildingsolutions.org/life-cycle.../environmental-issues-construction...

Social Analysis of a Construction Industry (Philippines)

In 2017, the Philippines was among the top three growth performers in the region. Only
Vietnam and China did better. The Philippine economy grew from 6.9 percent year-on-
year in 2016 to 6.7 percent year-on-year in 2017. This trend will create a demand for new
infrastructure, especially in the urban environments which means more opportunity for
construction workers.

Graph of the Philippines population in the coming years

Source: (http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/philippines-population/)
Age Profile

The majority of the population in the Philippines belongs to the working class (15-64 years:
61.1% or 62,201,170). This is the portion of society who are about to start their own families
until those who are about to retire from their respective careers. People in this segment are also
the ones who have the capacity to invest in residential developments.

Housing Backlog

In the world majority of the countries especially under developing have housing backlog,
countries like the Philippines as reported in the Housing Industry Roadmap of the Philippines,
the housing backlog as of 2012 stood at 3.9 million housing units; as many as 832,000 families
who cannot afford to pay amortization for any unit, no matter how much the subsidy. The
deficits are in the economic (almost 1.96 million units), socialized (663,282 units) and low-cost
(462,160 units) sectors.

A 2016 University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) study found that the country will have a
housing need of 12.3 million by 2030—given a backlog of 6.7 million from 2001 to 2015, and a
projected housing demand of 5.6 million from 2016 to 2030.

Sources:

https://businessmirror.com.ph/government-urged-to-allocate-more-funds-for-low-cost-housing/

https://businessmirror.com.ph/government-urged-to-allocate-more-funds-for-low-cost-housing/

https://businessmirror.com.ph/why-is-there-a-housing-crisis/

LEGAL FACTOR

Safety of construction workers

 - the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWG), the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Professional
Regulation Commission (PRC) signed a Memorandum of Agreement last May 4,
2011 to strengthen the campaign to minimize accidents in construction activities.
Distribution of PCAB Licensed Contractors for CFY 2017-2018 By Category as of 6 February
2018

- As of 6 February 2018, the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB)

issued a total of 10,112 contractors’ licenses for CFY 2017-2018, 87 percent of
which were renewing contractors and 13 percent were new entrants.
Contractualization

- President Duterte wants to put an end in contracualization. It will affect the

construction industry based on how they would handle their construction workers
since it is preferred to work on a project basis.
- The end of contractualization will increase the overhead of the industry because
of the salary
TRAIN LAW

- decreased income taxes and revised excise taxes

- the Manila Standard reported that the TRAIN law is projected to boost the real
estate industry in the country.
- Due to the increase in tax of materials such as coal, petroleum, oil, and other
products, inflation of the cost of building materials is to be expected as well.