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Tech's SFI Program::Core Competencies and Assets
Research Capabilities and Assets
SFI's research expertise
includes:
Metrics and evaluation
of Sustainability
SFI researchers have developed the nation's first systems-based
assessment tool for projects at a whole facility scale (site + buildings
+ occupants). This tool provides data collection protocols and documents
the impacts of construction, operations, maintenance, and deconstruction
actions on project stakeholders, resource bases, and natural ecosystems.
Economic and cost
models of built facilities
Working with national experts on parametric estimating and cost
modeling, SFI researchers are developing databases and models of
project costs that incorporate innovative building materials and
systems, and that take into account new ways of constructing built
facilities. Through case studies and the development of hybrid qualitative-quantitative
models, SFI researchers are finding new ways to account for project
costs and benefits that are not usually recognized, such as increased
productivity, reduced impacts on the natural environment, and improvement
in occupants' quality of life. SFI has also pioneered new, artificial
intelligence-based methods for identifying project cost and schedule
drivers that should be managed in order to reduce project risks
during implementation.
Sustainability decision
support and prioritization tools
By combining its research in sustainability measurement with
cost models for built facilities, SFI researchers have developed
a new methodology for identifying improvement opportunities in built
facilities, exploring the economic and sustainability implications
of those opportunities through scenario building, and prioritizing
opportunities according to economic feasibility and sustainability
"bang for buck" analysis.
Models of decision
making, sustainability implementation, and organizational change
In conjunction with research on decision support, SFI researchers
are exploring the implications of implementing sustainability from
an organizational standpoint. Research in this area includes developing
assessment tools to predict organizational readiness and receptivity
to the concept of sustainability, problem framing strategies and
tools that increase the likelihood of finding sustainable solutions,
project rating tools that generate a "Sustainability Likelihood
of Success" index in terms of technological and organizational parameters,
and inventories of sustainability implementation barriers along
with strategies used by leaders in industry to overcome them. SFI
is also a recognized leader in econometric evaluation of facility-related
sustainability programs.
Sustainability knowledge
base
As part of its knowledge services, SFI researchers are actively
analyzing the growing international knowledge base on sustainable
design and construction and developing research agendas to target
areas of opportunities. SFI's efforts in this area include gap and
redundancy analysis of heuristic knowledge on built environment
sustainability and development of performance-based specifications
for as yet undeveloped technology that is necessary to meet specific
sustainability needs for built facilities.
Sustainable facility
strategies and technologies for disaster response, affordable housing,
and military installations
With its focus on management tools for effective implementation
of sustainability in facility-related practices, SFI has many opportunities
to identify needs for new technologies and to work with researchers
around the world to develop and test those technologies. Focusing
on the needs of disaster-stricken communities, SFI researchers have
contributed to the development of modular, rapid-response housing
technologies that can be adapted on site by disaster victims and
built into infrastructure as the community recovers. These technologies
can also serve as a basis for low-cost housing in developing countries
and the United States, where the focus is on developing customization
technologies that can be used in a variety of contexts by unskilled
workers. SFI's efforts in technology development for military installations
have focused on identifying environmental, safety, and occupational
health applications for military-developed technologies, including
analysis methods for identifying least-cost ways to adapt these
technologies for new uses.
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Educational Capabilities and Assets
SFI's training and education
capabilities include:
Customized, interactive
contract courses on sustainable facilities and infrastructure
Courses range in length from three hours to multiple days, and
have been offered to military, corporate, and government clients.
Longer courses include interactive exercises that provide the basis
for an organizational opportunity analysis presented in the form
of a report and recommendations.
Delivery of standardized,
interactive, public offering continuing
education courses with topics relating to sustainable facilities
and infrastructure, including:
- Primer on Sustainable
Facilities & Infrastructure
- Evaluation and Assessment
Tools for SFI
- Economics of SFI
- Sustainable Design
Practices
- Sustainable Construction
Practices
- Sustainable Real Estate
Development
- Sustainable Facility
Management, Operations, and Maintenance
Sustainability-related
Graduate and Undergraduate
courses
Multiple courses have been designed and taught, including sustainable
engineering problem solving, green building, and environmentally
conscious design and construction.
Tailored presentations
to industry and the public
SFI organizes annual expositions and public displays about green
building materials, sustainability assessment, and sustainable problem
solving. SFI also conducts periodic roundtable sessions of sustainable
facilities professionals to discuss the states of sustainable facilities
knowledge. Additionally, numerous presentations have been given
to local companies, professional associations, and professional
forums.
Outreach/Service
SFI provides presentations on sustainable building materials
and technologies to classes at local area school and forums of K-12
teachers.
Education is imperative
in order to ensure that future generations understand the importance
of sustainability in such areas as design, planning, and construction.
SFI strives to offer this education to both facility professionals
and the general public, through its outreach efforts, training,
and public course offerings. In addition to the current education
efforts, SFI is planning a host of new projects and activities to
further spread its message of sustainability. SFI continues to expand
and improve its public course offerings by examining its own continuing
education courses to determine where curriculum changes can have
the most impact. Through education and public outreach, SFI is helping
people recognize the importance of sustainability in everyday life.
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Technical
Assistance Capabilities and Assets
To date, SFI has focused
on two sectors of the total BES market: single-family housing and
military general-purpose facilities (i.e., not including industrial
or heavy facilities). We have also provided technical assistance to
selected commercial, institutional, and multi-family housing projects.
Within our sector, we have provided both formal and informal training
to architects, engineers, planners, construction managers, contracting
officers, owners, and representatives of government who support the
application of sustainability. SFI's past projects include:
Evaluation of facility
sustainability
In addition to nationally and internationally adopted tools
such as LEED, BEES, and BREEAM. SFI has developed a systems-based
measurement tool to measure the sustainability of facilities and
their sites. This tool, assists decision makers in modeling the
changes in sustainability for different scenarios, and performing
cost-benefit analysis for the options they consider.
Development of sustainability
improvement recommendations
Using SFI's sustainability measurement system and knowledge
base, SFI staff assisted with review of design and construction
plans and specifications and identified opportunities for improving
the sustainability of the facility. SFI also provided technical
assistance to identify improvement opportunities in existing buildings,
including operations, maintenance, and renovation.
Documentation of processes
and project outcomes
Using cutting edge multimedia technology, SFI provided documentation
and process analysis services for project design charrettes, construction
operations, team meetings, and other events. SFI can help you design
a project documentation plan that will capture documentation needed
for LEED and other assessments, and will work with your project
team to assemble documentation throughout the project. We can also
assist in post-occupancy evaluation of facilities in terms of occupant
satisfaction and sustainability performance.
Facilitation of sustainable
team building and project alignment
Partnering
with internationally known staff from the Georgia Institute of Technology,
SFI provides one- to two-day team building and project alignment
seminars to facilitate the early phases of project development.
These seminars provide a forum for project team members to voice
their opinions and concerns about the project. The outcome for major
firms around the country was the identification and prevention of
costly construction problems before they occur.
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