Research Program
High performance buildings as those with energy, economic, and environmental performance that is SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER than standard practice. They pay particular attention to ENERGY EFFICIENCY and INDOOR AIR QUALITY. The Lean and Green Research Program focuses on high performance capital facilities such as office buildings, educational facilities, and healthcare facilities.
Goal and objectives
Define the PROCESSES and COMPETENCIES for delivering high performance capital facilities.
- Define integrated design and delivery processes
- Identify enabling delivery and procurement strategies
- Develop project management tools and metrics
- Define core competencies of integrated project teams
- Educate students and professionals
Methodology and process
We apply value-adding and waste-reducing strategies throughout the life cycle of planning, managing, design, construction, and operation of capital facilities. The figure below describes our various research focus areas throughout the delivery life cycle. Our work extends the Integrated Building Process Model, adopting a process emphasis to meet our research goal and objectives. A common research methodology is followed through each of our research focus areas.
- Process Identification: Processes are diagnosed through exploratory research
- Process Mapping: Through case study analysis and applying lean theory, these processes are mapped in detail
- Process Validation: High Performance Process Models are evaluated for reductions in first and/or life cycle cost, potential to improve facility performance esp., in energy use and IAQ, and reduction of process waste
- Process Guidelines—Dissemination of Results: Research results are formulated into guidelines that contribute to the evolving understanding of high performance project delivery. Most are directed to owners
The most significant research focus areas we are pursuing are summarized. Further details can be obtained by e-mailing the graduate researcher directly, reviewing our publications (esp., J. Green Bldg), or contacting the Director. Our latest Program Brochure can also be downloaded.
Focus areas
- Alignment of sustainability and constructability: The continuous value enhancement process
GOAL: Enable project sustainability goals to be achieved in an efficient and cost effective manner
OBJECTIVES: Work with the Pentagon Renovation and Construction Program Office to develop, implement and validate a process that enables project teams to identify sustainable solutions that also improve project constructability. PI, Publication
- Operations and Maintenance Knowledge for Sustainable Construction
GOAL: Improve the quality of operations and maintenance input in the design and construction phases of projects
OBJECTIVES: Work with the Pentagon Renovation and Construction Program Office to accomplish this goal using tools such as a DBOM contract approach. PI, Publication
- Mapping the Toyota Delivery Process for High Performance Green Buildings
GOAL: Capture critical value-added steps and identify opportunities for improvement by mapping Toyota’s delivery process for green projects
OBJECTIVES: Develop a modeling approach to map the RE&F delivery process, apply it to a case study project, and highlight key components that enable successful HPGB delivery. PI, Publication
- High Performance Green Building Factors: Understanding the Pre-Design Phase
GOAL: Identifying scalable factors used in the pre-design phases of high performance green buildings
OBJECTIVES: Examine successful high performance green building projects. Develop a list of guidelines for the pre-design phase of high performance green building projects. PI, Publication
- Decision Support for Prefabrication Strategy Selection
GOAL: Facilitate informed decision-making (DM) regarding the efficient use of prefabrication strategies on key systems of sustainable buildings during the design phase
OBJECTIVES: Articulate synergies and tensions among prefabrication strategies, building performance and sustainability criteria; develop a methodology to facilitate DM; identify key variables that dominate DM on building systems (e.g. wall/partition, curtain wall, and MEP systems); identify attributes of building systems which can most benefit from prefabrication strategies. PI, Publication
- High Performance Design Processes for High Performance Buildings
GOAL: Characterize the H.P. design processes and project team competencies that increase overall project success
OBJECTIVES: Develop tools to measure the performance of key activities and processes on H.P. buildings and provide industry professionals a mechanism to easily utilize the research findings. PI, Publications
- High Performance Green Building Delivery
GOAL: Study the relationship between project delivery, project efficiency, and levels of sustainability to develop a delivery method decision-making tool for green building industry
OBJECTIVES: Gather case study projects and examine delivery methods for various green building performance metrics. Survey Details, PI, Publications
- Continuously Improving Green Buildings: Using Quality Principles to Identify & Quantify Valuable Delivery Process Characteristics
GOAL: Identify valuable green building delivery process characteristics by mapping and analyzing the process used by Penn State's Office of the Physical Plant (OPP)
OBJECTIVES: Work with OPP to map their green building delivery process, identify valuable process characteristics and eliminate wastes in process. delivery process. PI, Publications
- High Performance Green Building Principles for an Affordable Housing Model
GOAL: Achieve an integrated design and delivery process for an affordable housing model
OBJECTIVES: Evaluate and understand current practices of housing design & construction in developing countries, identify key factors of HPG buildings applicable to housing sector, design and deliver an affordable, sustainable & worldwide applicable housing model. PI, Publications
- Greening Healthcare Facilities
GOAL: Provide the industry of healthcare a better understanding of how the delivery of building envelopes affects the energy systems, long-term building performance, occupant productivity and health
OBJECTIVES: Investigate case study hospital buildings to evaluate the current delivery process of its envelope systems; identify synergies and conflicts between the building envelope, energy systems and occupant performance; Improve process for delivering building envelope systems. Greening Healthcare Consortium, PI, Publications