Paper

Tools for Sustainability Management in Pavement Industry


Authors:
Arash Saboori; Magdy Abdelrahman; Anthony Waldenmaier
Abstract
Sustainability is defined as human stewardship towards resources of our planet. Researchers recognize 7 general tools for implementing sustainable practices, which can be applied to project alternatives or decision making. Considering the significant amount of materials, energy, and other resources involved in pavement industry and the impact it has on the environment, implementation of sustainability in pavement industry is of grave importance. This could be achieved either through: (1) optimization of current processes or (2) development of new processes and technologies for pavement construction. For optimizing current processes, this paper targets quality as the main channel for promoting sustainability in pavement construction. Quality is the main parameter in construction activities which is constantly controlled and could serve as a measure on how efficiently resources have been used in the project. In other words promoting quality could act as a method for implementation of sustainable development. In pavement projects incentives/disincentives for quality are applied using pay factors. Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is introduced as a rational method for calculating pay factors, discussed as a method for quantifying the quality performance and providing a method to choose the most sustainable alternative through cost evaluation. Besides improving quality, new technologies that allows reduction in use of resources (such as fuel) and CO2 emission are of interest in pavement construction. In this regard Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is discussed as an alternative to Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), which would promote sustainable development. The paper finalizes the discussion with a review of recycling in pavement industry and use of recycled materials in construction.
Keywords
Sustainability; Quality; Pay Factors; Life Cycle Cost Analysis; Warm Mix Asphalt; Recycled Materials
StartPage
55
EndPage
71
Doi
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