Ecological Footprint of the Life Cycle of Buildings
9
For the definition of the limits, the ISO 14040 [20] standard on LCAs and the
UNE-EN 15978 [58] standard (sustainability of construction works, assessment of
the environmental performance of buildings, calculation method) will be taken into
account.
The limits of the system are defined for each of the phases of the BLC in three
sectors: industry, construction and occupants. The impacts produced during the
manufacture of furniture, appliances, decoration and other objects belonging to the
building’s occupants are assigned to the corresponding industrial sector, not to the
building. Similarly, the impacts generated by the occupants, such as food consumption, mobility and municipal solid waste, are their personal impact [59]. With regard
to the wastewater and waste generated by other consumables (coal, biomass, etc.), it
is considered part of the impact caused by the occupants, not the building itself.
In summary, the limits of the system are the resources consumed by the building,
namely the building materials and their transport, the machinery used and the
manpower required to carry out the work, as well as the electricity and water
consumed during the use stage.
(c) Systematic work classification and cost database selection
The selection of the correct systematic work classification in the building will
be fundamental to establish a robust and reliable structure for the incorporation of
environmental data into the building budgets and to make possible the unification of
criteria for all the stages, that is to say, to create a construction cost database (which
includes economic and environmental costs) for the BLC. The model is based on the
Work Classification System (WCS) of construction budgets for each stage of the life
cycle, urbanization, construction, use and maintenance, renovation and demolition.
The automation of data and processes is advanced in Information Technology (IT)
that provides great advantages in predictive analysis and in the sector prevails the
classification systems of construction information (SCIC) as management tools, in a
review by Freire [60], are highlighted among others, MasterFormat [61], Uniformat
[62], Standard Method of Measurement of Civil Engineering [63], CI/SfB [64] and
the Uniclass [65].
All these bases are proposed as ideal tools for the realization of the economic
quantification or budgeting and also as an integrating element since its system of
decomposition and hierarchization allows the introduction of a standardized process.
All classification systems have the same basic concept, to divide a complex problem
into simpler parts that can then be added, without overlap or repetition, to define the
complete development of the projects. In Spain, construction cost databases have
their own classification and its scope is usually the geographical setting, the Institute
of Construction Technology of Catalonia [66], PRECIOCENTRO in Guadalajara
[67], BPCM Madrid [68], BDEU in the Basque Country [69], BDC-IVE in Valencia
[70] and the ACCD in Andalusia [71, 72].
The model used in the present work is the ACCD [72], widely used for estimating costs in construction by the Andalusian public administration. Based on
a hierarchical and tree structure with defined levels, where each group is divided
9
For the definition of the limits, the ISO 14040 [20] standard on LCAs and the
UNE-EN 15978 [58] standard (sustainability of construction works, assessment of
the environmental performance of buildings, calculation method) will be taken into
account.
The limits of the system are defined for each of the phases of the BLC in three
sectors: industry, construction and occupants. The impacts produced during the
manufacture of furniture, appliances, decoration and other objects belonging to the
building’s occupants are assigned to the corresponding industrial sector, not to the
building. Similarly, the impacts generated by the occupants, such as food consumption, mobility and municipal solid waste, are their personal impact [59]. With regard
to the wastewater and waste generated by other consumables (coal, biomass, etc.), it
is considered part of the impact caused by the occupants, not the building itself.
In summary, the limits of the system are the resources consumed by the building,
namely the building materials and their transport, the machinery used and the
manpower required to carry out the work, as well as the electricity and water
consumed during the use stage.
(c) Systematic work classification and cost database selection
The selection of the correct systematic work classification in the building will
be fundamental to establish a robust and reliable structure for the incorporation of
environmental data into the building budgets and to make possible the unification of
criteria for all the stages, that is to say, to create a construction cost database (which
includes economic and environmental costs) for the BLC. The model is based on the
Work Classification System (WCS) of construction budgets for each stage of the life
cycle, urbanization, construction, use and maintenance, renovation and demolition.
The automation of data and processes is advanced in Information Technology (IT)
that provides great advantages in predictive analysis and in the sector prevails the
classification systems of construction information (SCIC) as management tools, in a
review by Freire [60], are highlighted among others, MasterFormat [61], Uniformat
[62], Standard Method of Measurement of Civil Engineering [63], CI/SfB [64] and
the Uniclass [65].
All these bases are proposed as ideal tools for the realization of the economic
quantification or budgeting and also as an integrating element since its system of
decomposition and hierarchization allows the introduction of a standardized process.
All classification systems have the same basic concept, to divide a complex problem
into simpler parts that can then be added, without overlap or repetition, to define the
complete development of the projects. In Spain, construction cost databases have
their own classification and its scope is usually the geographical setting, the Institute
of Construction Technology of Catalonia [66], PRECIOCENTRO in Guadalajara
[67], BPCM Madrid [68], BDEU in the Basque Country [69], BDC-IVE in Valencia
[70] and the ACCD in Andalusia [71, 72].
The model used in the present work is the ACCD [72], widely used for estimating costs in construction by the Andalusian public administration. Based on
a hierarchical and tree structure with defined levels, where each group is divided