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Life Cycle Performance and Sustainable Management
Canada's built environment (roads, bridges, buildings, water mains, wastewater systems, offshore structures, dams, etc.) represents a major investment for both governments and taxpayers. The sustainable design and management of the built environment requires achieving an adequate balance or trade-off between the following performance criteria over its entire life cycle:
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Physical performance (e.g. safety, functionality, risk of failure, service life, comfort)
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Economic performance (e.g. life cycle costs, return on investment, costs vs. benefits)
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Environmental performance (e.g. GHG emissions, contamination of air/water/soil)
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Social performance (e.g. health, safety of users, well being, user/disruption costs).
To achieve the objectives of sustainable design and management of the built environment, rigorous predictions of its performance are required at all key stages within its life cycle, including: initial design, extraction of materials, production of components, construction, use, inspection, deterioration, maintenance, rehabilitation, demolition, disposal, recycling, and renewal. The life cycle performance and management of the built environment must be optimized to maximize the return on investment and ensure that the needs of our society and future generations are met, taking into consideration the requirements of health, safety, functionality, durability, economy, environmental, and societal impacts.
In addition, a sustainable design and management approach should also consider the risks associated with increased or modified environmental effects on the built environment due to climate change, which will necessitate the development of new performance requirements and their implementation in design standards and codes, as well as management systems.
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A reliable prediction of the life cycle performance of the built environment will enable engineers, managers, and owners to optimize its life cycle management by allowing informed decisions to be made with regard to design, construction, operations, maintenance, rehabilitation and renewal. This prediction of life cycle performance will also optimize the reliability, functionality, service life, costs, and environmental impacts over the life cycle of the materials, components, systems, networks or portfolios under consideration (i.e. from "cradle-to-grave"). Such detailed information about the life cycle performance is very important in selecting the optimal materials, products, systems for the built environment and will provide effective decision support to designers, owners and regulators for a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of built environment with regard to the key sustainability criteria, including: physical performance, economic performance, environmental performance and social performance.
Projects
- D-WARP -- Distribution Water Mains Renewal Planner
- Decision Support System to Quantify Social Costs Related to Municipal Infrastructure Rehabilitation
- Development of Performance Guidelines for the Selection of Sealants used in Pavement Maintenance
- Effect of aging water mains on water quality in distribution systems
- Evaluating the effectiveness of cathodic protection of water mains
- Examining the impact of water quality on the integrity of distribution infrastructure
- Expert systems for characterizing the corrosivity of pipe environments
- Framework for the Assessment of the State, Performance and Management of Canada's Core Public Infrastructure: Phase 1
- Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainability of High-Performance Concrete Structures
- Long Term Performance of Asbestos Cement Water Pipe
- Long-Term Performance of Ductile Iron Pipe
- Management Tools for Asbestos-Cement Water Mains
- Municipal Infrastructure Investment Planning (MIIP)
- Non-Destructive Evaluation of Concrete Pipes
- Performance Assessment and Field Monitoring of Sliplined Cast Iron Water Mains
- Restoration of Utility Cuts
- Risk Management of Large-Diameter Water-Transmission Mains
