Year
2015
Degree Name
Master of Engineering (Research)
Department
School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering
Recommended Citation
Redwood, Scott, Project management framework for delivering sustainable residential developments, Master of Engineering (Research) thesis, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, 2015. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4588
Abstract
Sustainable residential development is the pursuit of increasing house liveability through form, function, materials, operation and comfort, while reducing the overall environmental impact of the development with marginal increases in capital cost. The ability to successfully design and construct sustainable residential developments is important, as the housing sector in Australia accounts for a large and escalating share of the nation's energy consumption. Achieving any significant reduction is greatly dependent on the knowledge and skill of the design consultant and engaged builder. It is generally accepted that only a minority of practitioners in the industry are experienced in the subject area of sustainable residential development, and that there is a significant amount of work to do in improving standard design and building practices, processes and decision making in Australia. Accordingly, this research focussed on the development of a standardised project management approach to successful delivery of sustainable residential developments.
The objective of this research was to develop a project management framework to assist design and construction professionals in delivering sustainable houses. To develop the framework, case studies on current sustainable residential developments and project management best practices are presented. Interviews with key stakeholders in the Australian market (i.e. clients, design consultants and building contractors) are also presented and discussed. The author interviewed four clients, one architect, one building designers and two builders. Key findings included the importance of deriving and monitoring sustainable project objectives (derived from social, financial and environmental indicators), stakeholder management, information dissemination and communication, and facilitated decision making with respect to managing outcomes. To validate the project management framework the framework was applied to two practical case studies.
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.