Engineering Commons^™

A Framework For Strategic Decision-Making In Construction Professional Service Firms, Oluwasegun O. Seriki

Doctoral

The construction sector plays a crucial role in the global economy, having critical importance to economic growth, social inclusion and employment. In Ireland, the sector generates a combined value of over €20 billion per annum, with 144,000 persons directly employed in the sector, which is forecasted to grow by 3.9% in 2019. The sector is also hugely complex due to the diverse range of output, from productive infrastructure (roads, railways etc.) to residential (both public and private) and the numerous stakeholders involved throughout its intricate supply chain. The sector is highly susceptible to cyclical economic patterns, making it more challenging …

A Stochastic Hybrid Embodied Energy And Co2_Eq Intensity Analysis Of Building And Construction Processes In Ireland, Adolf Acquaye

Doctoral

Given a general lack of research on Irish construction greenhouse gas emissions, a subsectoral embodied carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) analysis of this sector has been undertaken with the aim of overcoming some methodological challenges such as system boundary constraints, input-output aggregation, double counting of energy inputs and a general lack of data. Using this extended methodology, it is estimated that total embodied CO2-eq intensity of Irish construction in 2005 was 1,364gCO2-eq/€ with direct sub-sectoral embodied CO2-eq intensity averaging 56 gCO2-eq/€. Some 215gCO2-eq/€ is estimated to arise from domestic sources including 160gCO2-eq/€ from domestic indirect emissions. International arising emissions constituted 84% …

Increasing Effectiveness Of Public Private Partnerships In The Irish Construction Industry, Louis Gunnigan

Doctoral

By 2003 the first Irish Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects had reached the operational stage. Media reports were emerging of significant differences in the effectiveness of these projects.

This research set out to find a means by which effectiveness of PPPs could be increased and to develop a model that would assist PPP practitioners with this task in the future. Through a literature review, the Irish PPP process was mapped, the changes encountered in the introduction of PPP were investigated and a conceptual model – based on a traditional process model - was proposed. The model was tested by examining …