Browsing by Author "Tutesigensi, Apollo"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Enhancing sustainable construction in the building sector in Uganda
    (Habitat international, 2016) Kibwami, Nathan; Tutesigensi, Apollo
    To further the sustainability agenda of the building sector, recent research and practice suggest that integrating embodied carbon (EC) in the sustainability assessment of buildings is necessary. This paper presents an investigation to assess whether the consideration of EC in the development approval process (DAP) could enhance sustainable construction (SC). A recent proposal for integrating the assessment of EC in the DAP of building projects in Uganda was used. Structured interviews were used to collect data from construction professionals. Findings show that construction professionals were highly aware of SC, suggesting that initiatives of enhancing SC could be easily appreciated. However, the concept of SC was found to be largely interpreted in terms of environmental sustainability, implying that measures that highly promote environmental sustainability could be adopted. A hypothesis test confirmed that integrating the assessment of EC in the DAP of building projects in Uganda could enhance SC. This provided new evidence to corroborate the assertion that assessment of carbon emissions associated with buildings can enhance sustainable construction. Having further found that social sustainability could be enhanced the most, this study provides new evidence linking the assessment of EC to promoting social sustainability. Recommendations on introducing the assessment of EC in the DAP of buildings in Uganda are also provided. These include taking necessary steps to increase awareness of SC, implementation of a pilot program in a selected area of Uganda, and further research to capture more opinions from stakeholders, other than construction professionals. Overall, this study shows that transition to sustainable low carbon development in developing countries is possible and a potential way of achieving this could be through implementing measures that bring carbon emissions to bear on the environmental impact assessment of prospective buildings.
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    Integrating Clean Development Mechanism into the Development Approval Process of Buildings: A Case of Urban Housing in Uganda
    (Habitat International, 2016) Kibwami, Nathan; Tutesigensi, Apollo
    Since climate change is no respecter of geographical boundaries, concerted mitigating actions such as clean development mechanism (CDM), are desirable. In CDM, developed countries can earn certified emission reduction credits from emission reduction projects undertaken in developing countries. Recent research suggests that, theoretically, CDM can be extended to the building sector. However, there is limited research on how CDM can be integrated in the development approval process (DAP) of buildings. This paper presents an investigation on how CDM could be integrated into the DAP of buildings in urban Uganda. A method of process modelling was used to describe the existing DAP, and also to design a new DAP. To demonstrate how CDM could be integrated into the new DAP, a typical dwelling unit was used. Two options for the dwelling were considered: a baseline (i.e. constructed using typical materials, plant, and workforce) and alternative (i.e. constructed using provisions to reduce carbon emissions). The difference in emissions in the two options constituted the basis for a CDM. Results suggested that the existing DAP does not consider carbon accounting and thus was not congruent with CDM modalities. A new DAP which is compatible with CDM was proposed. When the CDM concept was integrated into the new DAP, a bottom-up projection regarding construction of 28,000 houses annually within the capital city showed that reductions of over 200 ktCO2 could be achieved in a period of 10 years. These figures were comparable with prevailing CDM initiatives. The structure of a CDM programme aided by the new DAP was presented and discussed. This study shows that integrating CDM into the DAP of buildings in Uganda is possible if assessment of carbon emissions is incorporated in the existing DAP. The overall findings suggest that CDM could promote market-based mechanisms of enhancing sustainable construction in developing countries.
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    Mathematical Modelling of Embodied Carbon Emissions of Building Projects
    (ARCOM., 2014) Kibwami, Nathan; Tutesigensi, Apollo
    It is increasingly recognised that if the emphasis remains on reducing operating carbon emissions (OC) of buildings, embodied carbon emissions (EC) will eventually attain a significant proportion of buildings' lifetime carbon emissions (LC). Emphasis on minimising EC is equally desirable if LC is to be reduced. A first step to minimising EC is quantification, in order to know what quantities to minimise. However, several prevalent approaches of quantifying EC pose challenges in promoting potential alternative actions to reduce EC. In many cases, besides the limitations associated with the boundaries usually adopted, it is difficult (if not impossible), to attribute the respective sources of energy (e.g. diesel, coal, biomass etc.) to the resulting EC. This paper presents a mathematical model for computing EC of building projects and in contrast to previous studies, a concept of disaggregation is adopted in order to identify EC with the respective energy sources. The approach enables the specific sources of energy to bear on the quantification of EC, in a manner that allows differentiation of the contribution of the different sources of energy. The model is presented in a series of mathematical equations. The major benefit associated with the nature of the developed model is that, even without recourse to material substitution (e.g. timber for concrete), it is possible to achieve emission reductions from the same material by optimising the parameters (e.g. energy used in manufacturing and transportation) associated with its EC.
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    The Status of Value Management Practice on Construction Projects in Uganda and Strategies for Improvement
    (Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 2021) Tutesigensi, Apollo; Kibwami, Nathan; Matege, Saul B.
    In many developing countries, value management (VM) is not applied widely and systematically in construction projects. This limits the achievement of value for money. The objectives of this study were to describe the state of VM practice in Uganda and suggest strategies for improvement. Based on the extant literature, a conceptual framework depicting VM practice in the lifecycle of construction projects was developed. A questionnaire containing both nominal and ordinal measures was distributed to a sample of Ugandan construction industry professionals. During data analysis, the distributions of nominal variables were expressed in terms of percentages. A univariate analysis of the ordinal variables was undertaken using measures of central tendency (mean) and dispersion (standard deviation). A bivariate analysis of the ordinal variables was undertaken using Friedman, Fisher's exact and Mann-Whitney U tests. The application of VM in Uganda was rudimentary, inconsistent and misguided, based on the reports of the respondents. This finding constitutes the first major contribution of this work to knowledge. It also led to the idea that the practice of VM in Uganda can be improved by raising awareness and the standard for VM application. Ten strategies for these two purposes have been put forward in this article. These strategies constitute the second major contribution to knowledge.
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    Towards Improving Schedule Performance of Construction Projects in Uganda with Lean Construction
    (Association of Researchers in Construction Management., 2019) Abarinda, Jerusha; Kibwami, Nathan; Tutesigensi, Apollo
    Schedule performance of construction projects in Uganda, is wanting - most projects are not completed within their original contract durations. A growing body of research suggests that such poor performance could be addressed by implementing lean construction. However, evidence suggests that such implementation needs to be carefully designed to take contextual project environment factors into account. In this paper, we report on how lean construction can be applied to ensure timely completion of construction projects in Uganda, considering the project environment factors surrounding construction practice. The research approach that was adopted was mixed-methods, and thus involved a variety of data collection methods - participant observation, structured interviews, and questionnaires. The subjects were contractors that had ongoing projects in 2016. Construction practices were assessed, project environment factors impacting their projects identified, and their compatibility with standard lean tools assessed. The findings reveal that design changes due to inadequate initial planning were among the leading causes of poor schedule performance and that contractors lacked discipline to work within timeframes. Lean tools that were found to be applicable and thus recommended were value stream mapping to remove unnecessary processes and use of the last planner and collaborative planning tools. A strategy for integrating lean construction in the construction practice, cognizant of the environmental factors, was argued for based on the most appropriate lean tools suitable for the identified project environment factors. The research contributes to the understanding that project environment factors cannot be ignored because they affect project performance and consideration of these factors enhances effectiveness of lean construction techniques.
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    Using the Literature Based Discovery Research Method in a Context of Built Environment Research
    (ARCOM., 2014) Kibwami, Nathan; Tutesigensi, Apollo
    For two disparate research groups, unaware of each other's work, one group can inadvertently solve a problem prevalent in the other. Without considering work from both groups together, such breakthroughs may remain undiscovered. The solution is literature based discovery (LBD), a method which involves investigation or search for novel hypotheses connecting work from two or more disparate contexts. However, LBD has predominantly been used to address medical problems, and its uptake outside medical research remains scanty. In the context of built environment research, there are countable studies that have claimed using LBD and moreover, they presented sparse details. On one hand, studies that have claimed using LBD as a research method seem to confuse it with traditional literature reviews, and on the other hand, even those that could have used LBD seem unaware that they used some kind of LBD-style analysis. Following the original principles of LBD, this paper presents an LBD-inspired research method and a demonstration of its applicability within a built environment research context. The findings indicate promising leads to encouraging LBD and elucidating several misconceptions surrounding its use in built environment research. It is hoped that this paper will encourage future research in built environment, like construction management research, to confidently use LBD appropriately and consciously.