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The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of literature and methods that can be used for deconstruction project planning of buildings. Furthermore, shortcomings of the identified planning methods are presented and research gaps are identified.

Requirements to consider for the planning of deconstruction projects are defined, to help in the classification of planning methods. With the help of these requirements, in a detailed literature review strategic and operational planning methods for deconstruction projects are investigated and discussed. Requirements which are not met by any of the identified planning methods can be interpreted as research and/or documentation gaps.

On the one hand, the literature review shows that recent approaches deal with planning methods for deterministic time and resource scheduling. Furthermore, project costs can be well planned by several methods. On the other hand, the literature review reveals that recent approaches mostly do not consider risks and uncertainties, environmental hazards or specific safety issues. A major shortcoming is that applied planning methods can only calculate up to a specific level of detail, e.g. with a limited number of activities, due to a very high computational effort in solving such project planning problems exactly.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that provides an overview of literature and methods for the deconstruction project planning of buildings and it is also the first study that unveils research gaps for future research. Furthermore, the classified planning methods assist in identifying suitable methods for the planning of future deconstruction projects.

This paper aims to explore UAE's transition towards circular economy (CE) through construction and demolition waste (CDW) management in the pre-construction stage. The extent of circularity is assessed by five key aspects of CE, such as policies and strategic frameworks, design for waste prevention, design for disassembly or deconstruction, use of prefabricated elements and CDW management plans.

Multiple case studies were conducted in the context of the Dubai construction industry (UAE). Three significant and unique construction projects were selected as the cases. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect data, and the thematic analysis technique and NVIVO 12 software were used for data analysis.

Findings reveal several positive initiatives towards CE in the UAE context; yet it is identified that the transition is still at the initial stage. Selected case studies, the best-case scenarios of UAE (i.e. influential cases), demonstrated adequate measures in relation to four key CE aspects out of five. For instance, (a) policies and strategic frameworks such as lean standards, green building standards and standards developed by the local authorities, (b) design for waste prevention (e.g. adherence to the 3R principle, and construction planning with BIM), (c) use of prefabricated elements and application of innovative construction technologies (e.g. 3DPC, DfMA) and (d) CDW management planning such as 3R principle were evident. However, the selected cases hardly showcase designing for disassembly or deconstruction.

The existing CDW practices are mostly conventional, as most constructions in UAE are procured through conventional building materials and methods. Therefore, there is a necessity of encouraging CE principles in CDW management. Even though the transition towards CE was evident in four key CE aspects out of five, the UAE construction industry has yet to adopt more effective CE-based CDW management practices to accelerate the circularity. Hence, it is necessary to enforce standard waste management guidelines, including the 3R principle, to standardise CDW management in UAE and encourage construction practitioners to adhere to CE principles.

The findings of this study provide valuable insights for decision-making processes around CDW management towards a CE. This paper contributes to the literature by bridging the CE concept with CDW management in the pre-construction stage. The study provides insights for industry practitioners for planning CE in terms of policies and strategic frameworks, CDW management planning, construction planning and application of innovative construction technologies.

This paper aims to present a survey of the perceptions of the barriers to implementing reverse logistics (RL) practices in South Australian (SA) construction organisations. Despite the extensive research on forward logistics and RL, there is a paucity of studies that examine the barriers to implementing RL particularly within the Australian construction industry. This study builds on the ongoing research being undertaken by the authors, entitled “Designing for reverse logistics (DfRL) within the building life cycle: practices, drivers and barriers”, which is examining the best practices and drivers that could be used as a “road map” for developing appropriate solutions for the successful implementation of RL.

Data were collected by utilising a triangulated data collection approach, a literature review and 49 questionnaires. The review of the literature identified 16 barriers to implementing RL. The quantitative survey data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics with correlation analysis to examine the relationships between different pairs of variables comprising RL’s critical barriers.

The following barriers were indicated as most significant: lack of incorporation of salvaged materials by designers; regulation restrictions to usage of recovered materials and components; potential legal liabilities; higher costs; and longer-time association with deconstructing buildings. The least ranked barriers were mostly drawn from the operational and industrial categories as being: organisational lack of support for deconstruction due to incompatible design; lack of organisational support for deconstructing buildings due to higher health and safety risks; and inadequate skills and experience for deconstruction (operational). The industrial barrier was related to “higher costs of salvaged materials in comparison to virgin products”.

First, the reported findings are focussed on one study that used questionnaire surveys within the construction industry; therefore, the results may not be generalisable to other contexts. Further, studies should be conducted and extended to other industrial sectors beyond the construction industry. Second, the quantitative study (n = 49) used a smaller sample, and the survey items were based on the review of the literature.

The identified barriers could be used as a “road map” for the development of appropriate solutions for the successful implementation of RL, and to improve the environment-related decision-making processes of contractors.

This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on the subject of RL within a previously unexplored SA context. In addition, the study provides some insights on the contributory effects of the barriers to the implementation of RL. It is the first work undertaken to determine the barriers to the adoption of RL within the SA construction industry.

Design for adaptability and disassembly (DfAD) is an effective method to reduce construction and demolition waste generation, landfill loads and greenhouse gas generation; preserve natural resources; and increase environmental awareness in the construction industry. However, it is an underexplored strategy due to a lack of information about projects and a set of agreed guidelines to guide buildings deconstruction. This study aims to understand how DfAD can support the sector’s transition toward circularity.

Through an integrative literature review, this study analyzed the current publications and terminologies used, identified the main themes discussed and described the key criteria for integrating deconstruction in the building design stage.

The results showed that the term DfAD encompasses different ecodesign strategies and is concentrated in six major thematic categories (design and construction principles, tools for DfAD, components and connections for DfAD, barriers, drivers and guidelines for DfAD, existing building stock potential and selective deconstruction process). In total, 60 criteria were presented to guide the deconstruction of buildings, emphasizing standardization, modularization and prefabrication of materials and components as fundamental requirements.

The study highlighted the need to expand the knowledge and training of the design team, establish public policies and tax incentives and develop tools, methods, and circular indicators to enable the implementation of deconstruction strategies for buildings.

The design for deconstruction (DfD) technique, a contemporaneous solution to demolition by optimizing disassembly activities to enable reuse, has recently emerged with several promises to promote the circular economy. However, little attention has been given to its implementation among design professionals, especially in the Global South. Therefore, this study aims to explore the drivers for DfD implementation among design professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI).

The study adopted a mixed research approach (explanatory sequential design) with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. Data from the survey were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, one-sample t-Test, and normalization value (NV) test after a review of pertinent literature. These data were then validated through semistructured interviews with ten design professionals with in-depth knowledge of DfD.

The findings revealed that although all ten drivers are important, the eight key drivers for the DfD implementation were identified as, in order of importance, “Availability of computer software applications regarding DfD,” “Inclusion of DfD in the formal education of design professionals,” “Increasing public awareness of the concept of DfD,” “Organizing workshops/seminars for design professionals on the concept of DfD,” “Availability of DfD training,” “Regulation regarding DfD,” “Industry guidance regarding DfD” and “Establishing a market for salvaged construction components.”

This study's findings provide insights into an under-investigated topic in Ghana and offer new and additional information and insights into the current state-of-the-art on the factors that drive DfD implementation.

A large number of benefits have been reported when reverse logistics (RL) is fully implemented in the construction industry. However, RL is yet to become common place in the construction sector, particularly in Australia. The particular sub-sector in which RL operates is small and weak and the remainder of the sector must embrace and accommodate it comfortably. Research is lacking on how to promoting RL in the construction industry. Very little has been done to identify the current practices that have the potential to promote RL industry-wide. The purpose of this paper is to identify the practices that work well in the sector, a strategy could be mapped out to promote RL to all stakeholders.

In order to fill the above gap, the present study used a mixed method approach to gather and evaluate current practices and their potential to promote RL in South Australia’s construction industry. Practices that were identified using a comprehensive literature review were evaluated with a questionnaire survey and series of interviews involving construction professionals.

The findings are that practices facilitating deconstruction is the most important, followed by practices facilitating the use of salvaged materials in new construction to promote RL in South Australia. Awareness of deconstruction benefits, challenges and procedures at the organisation level and facilities and services at industry level were associated with RL implementation. Availability of salvaged materials in the market was found to influence its use in new construction and as a consequence its demand. Designing for reverse logistics is another practice that could facilitate deconstruction and the onus of its promotion lies mainly with the designers.

This research was confined to one state in Australia. As such the generalisation to other states and other countries should be treated cautiously.

The findings of this study can help inform the industry and its stakeholders on areas that they need to concentrate more on to make the South Australian construction industry a fully RL integrated one. To that end the authors propose some recommendations arising from the findings reported here.

This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on reserve logistics within a previously unexplored South Australian context. In addition, the study provides valuable insights into the contribution of RL practices to the construction industry.

The reuse of timber building parts, when designing new buildings, has become a topic of increasing discussion as a proposed circular solution in support of sustainable development goals. Designers face the difficulty of identifying and applying different design strategies for reuse due to multiple definitions, which are used interchangeably. The purpose of this study is to propose a taxonomy to define the relationships between various concepts and practices that comprise the relevant strategies for reuse, notably design for disassembly (DfD) and design for adaptability (DfA).

Literature reviews were conducted based on research publications over the previous 12 years and located through the Web of Science and Scopus.

A taxonomy for the design process grounded on two strategies for reuse is presented: DfD and DfA. Based on previous work, the taxonomy aims to build a vocabulary of definitions in DfD and DfA to support other researchers and practitioners working in the field.

The research is limited to the design phase of timber-based buildings. It does not take into account the other phases of the construction process, neither other kind of construction methods.

The application of the taxonomy can facilitate communication between different actors and provide a way for building product manufacturers to demonstrate their reuse credentials, enabling them to produce and promote compliant products and thereby support design for reuse strategies.

This paper could contribute to a closer collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the building process since the very early phases of the conceptual design.

This paper contributes a comprehensive taxonomy to support the deployment of circular reuse strategies and assist designers and other stakeholders from the earliest of phases in the building’s life cycle. The proposed definition framework provided by the taxonomy resolves the longstanding lack of a supporting vocabulary for reuse and can be used as a reference for researchers and practitioners working with the DfD and DfA.

The improper evaluation and information management of circular economy (CE) (i.e. design, planning, supply chain, waste pile and material hazard) is critical for public health and is a major problem in the waste management of precast concrete (PC) building manufacture and construction and demolition wastes industry. The CE model is particularly problematic for PC building construction projects where the standard practices for the total number of waste building materials are not appropriate and do not match the safe disposal design specification, such as the recent number increase in the Malaysian illegal construction waste pile during the Movement Control Order (11 March 2021, about 5 out of 29 landfills related to states enforcing Act 672). The study aims to develop a framework application (i.e. Building Information Modelling [BIM]) that supports intelligent waste recycling management and sophisticated CE model system solutions.

Thus, the development of a new BIM-based programming algorithm approach is proposed for optimising CE in accordance with the needs of the current PC building construction schemes. As a precursor to this study, the concepts of CE practices are reviewed and the main features of BIM tools and techniques currently being employed on such projects are presented.

Sophisticated CE system solutions are described as an essential component of this optimisation to reduce the amount of waste generated at the end of the life cycle of PC building construction projects and to better manage the resources used throughout it.

Finally, the potential for a research framework for developing such a system in the future is presented.

This paper presents findings of a comparative study on the removal and disposal of fenestration units in two separate buildings, belonging to the same period and built with similar construction materials. Demolition techniques were used for removing the fenestration units from a building that was undergoing refurbishment; while, deconstruction techniques were used for dismantling similar units from another building that was being selectively demolished.

It was concluded that the amount of energy consumed, time taken and waste generated, were far greater, and the revenues much lower, when conventional demolition techniques and tools were used. Hence, from the point of view of resource conservation (material, energy, time, and money) deconstruction was found to be more advantageous in the disposal of reusable building components.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the synergies among reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC), quality management (QM) and information management (IM) concepts to enhance the effectiveness of demolition waste management (DWM) practices.

A systematic literature review was conducted using 70 articles published between the years of 2006 and 2017, which were subjected to descriptive and thematic analysis.

The descriptive analysis established that the RLSC concept was dealt within the majority of the publications (61 per cent), followed by concepts related to quality in RLSC (24 per cent). Only 14 per cent of the articles were based on IM concepts related to RLSC. Quality and information are interrelated in the effective implementation of RLSC. The thematic analysis demonstrated that there is a need for using quality parameters in a regulatory environment in an information-based environment. Based on the findings, future research directions were developed.

The study encourages researchers to identify novel directions by combining these three concepts. The study developed a future research agenda regarding use of building information modelling (BIM) for existing buildings under novel technologies; analysis of secondary market demand and supply; and assessment of cost and safety management with quality in a BIM-enabled environment.

The practical implications include the application of sustainable management principles based on stakeholders and the regulatory environment.

Integration of the three concepts is an emerging area. This integration developed a robust approach to achieve QM in RLSC operations under a sound information flow enabling the optimisation of DWM.