21.16: Sustainability considerations for the construction phase of steel structures: Fid-Bau Portal

21.16: Sustainability considerations for the construction phase of steel structures

Siebers, Raban / Hauke, Bernhard / Helmus, Manfred / Meins‐Becker, Anica

Sustainability has been established for over one decade in the construction sector. Standardised lifecycle stages were introduced by European standards regulating construction products (EN 15805) or buildings (EN 15978) in modules from “A” to “D”. Today the main focus of sustainability considerations is on the use phase of buildings. In addition, the production and – in few cases – the end of life is included. A consideration of the construction phase on the actual building site – especially with focus on environmental factors – is still missing. Not available information in Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) reflect this drawback.

This stage and the related data may appear minor compared to the total life cycle of a product or building, but in this stage differences between construction methods are getting evident. Earlier research showed that the differences of construction materials, (Steel, Concrete, Timber) looking at production and end of life, are quite small.[1][2][3] Furthermore, this stage is essential for the steel contractors dealing with assembly and construction as their daily business.

In order to gain knowledge about the typical processes in steel construction, several example projects – multi‐storey buildings, industrial buildings and bridges – are considered. The focus is particularly on construction steps, equipment used, amount of personal, construction time and costs. This paper will present, describe and compare the construction phases, typical characteristics will be identified and pointed out. The results are related to general building constructions and an LCA can be carried out for typical construction processes of industrial buildings, multi‐storey buildings and bridges.