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Small commercial buildings, or buildings comprised of 50,000 square feet or less, are responsible for an increasing share of the United States’ energy consumption and account for 90% of the total number of commercial buildings in the US. Americans use ∼30% of the world's energy, and in the US, small commercial buildings account for approximately 10% of the nation's energy consumption. As such, small commercial buildings became a focus of a $6 M investment by the US Department of Energy. One project included in the DOE's small building efforts developed a Small Commercial 2030 District Program and Toolkit. This toolkit helps small commercial buildings participate in Architecture 2030 Districts that have been proven successful at reducing energy and CO 2 consumption, predominantly in large commercial buildings in urban areas. Part of this toolkit is a case study library that includes more than thirty small commercial building projects that achieved energy savings of up to 100%. The case study library includes small commercial building retrofits that address electricity, natural gas, and steam systems. This paper reports the end uses impacted from the retrofits and explores correlations with retrofit measures implemented, climate zone, end uses impacted, building type, and energy savings. In particular, we explore retrofit measures selected in different 2030 Districts and discuss why these trends may hold true. The paper concludes with a discussion of next steps in the research and possible implications of this project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected vehicle technology (CVT) is being tested at various research laboratories across the United States for its real-world applications. The aim is to properly know its benefits in order to make travel safe, reliable and environment-friendly. Although, with time, vehicles are becoming eco-friendlier and resourceful in energy consumption and utilization, majority of vehicles today still operate on fossil fuels and the resulting emissions are a by-product. Thus, most affordable cars and even trucks in future will continue to run on fossil fuels and might simultaneously be equipped with CVT features. Fossil-fuel dependent vehicles when fully equipped with CVT would need to accelerate or decelerate appropriately around critical junctions and locations of a network to avoid collisions. CVT in vehicles will be most appreciated for safety reasons at least at the roadway merge locations of the network. However, frequent accelerations and decelerations of the vehicles at merge points such as from ramp to freeway will also lead to increase in emissions and fuel consumption. This is precisely what this paper explores and investigates. A computer-based simulation exercise is carried out using an example of a ramp to Interstate 405 freeway merge location in Long Beach, California. Based on some basic but realistic assumptions for vehicular motion made in his paper, it is found that benefit from CVT in emission reduction is marginal for the three traffic conditions of free-flow, transitional period and rush-hour congestion. These findings will help engineers to prepare vehicles with a more sophisticated CVT that can provide better emission reductions and fuel savings at several ramp-to-freeway merge locations that exist across the city of Long Beach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy have been always on the forefront of every nation's priority list, more importantly, affordable energy is one of the main objectives for every country. Hence, the fracking process have dominated the last decade because of its contribution to a more affordable energy. In the meantime the fracking process proved to have several negative impacts on the environmental sustainability. Therefore, the net cost of fracking have to be identified and its benefits have to be weighed against its negative sustainability impacts as well. This paper presents an identification of the major cost centers and the impacts needs assessment for the fracking process across the phases of its Life Cycle from the exploration and acquisition to the well completion. The paper is also serving as a step forward to estimate the real value and worth of the fracking process as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) 1999 report, Condition of America's Public School Facilities, approximately one-quarter of the nation's schools, housing 11 million children, require extensive repair. According to the 2013 ASCE American Infrastructure Report Card, major knowledge gaps exist regarding the current state of our school infrastructure. Funding for school facilities has dropped by 50% since the start of the 2007 recession. The ASCE report emphasizes a need for the development of comprehensive preventive maintenance programs. This paper reviews the literature on risk-based maintenance management and compares this approach to condition-based management systems. The paper further describes an ongoing study to develop and validate a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) system for maintenance management risk analysis for public school facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy have been always on the forefront of every nation's priority list, more importantly, affordable energy is one of the main objectives for every country. Hence, the fracking process have dominated the last decade because of its contribution to a more affordable energy. In the meantime the fracking process proved to have several negative impacts on the environmental sustainability. Therefore, the net cost of fracking have to be identified and its benefits have to be weighed against its negative sustainability impacts as well. This paper presents an identification of the major cost centers and the impacts needs assessment for the fracking process across the phases of its Life Cycle from the exploration and acquisition to the well completion. The paper is also serving as a step forward to estimate the real value and worth of the fracking process as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) 1999 report, Condition of America's Public School Facilities, approximately one-quarter of the nation's schools, housing 11 million children, require extensive repair. According to the 2013 ASCE American Infrastructure Report Card, major knowledge gaps exist regarding the current state of our school infrastructure. Funding for school facilities has dropped by 50% since the start of the 2007 recession. The ASCE report emphasizes a need for the development of comprehensive preventive maintenance programs. This paper reviews the literature on risk-based maintenance management and compares this approach to condition-based management systems. The paper further describes an ongoing study to develop and validate a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) system for maintenance management risk analysis for public school facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an intensive survey of literature focused on the different aspects of fracking as related to the environment, economy, energy security and sustainability and establishes an understanding of the economic benefits and negative impacts of fracking on the environmental sustainability. The paper is also suggesting the use of all of those implications in a more comprehensive framework that can identify the real cost and benefit in fracking such as the Life Cycle Costing which can use all these implications along with others that occur across all the phases of the fracking process to come up with the real value and worth of the fracking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘wildland–urban interface’ (WUI) is a term commonly used to describe areas where wildfires and the built environment have the potential to interact resulting in loss of properties and potential loss of life. Significant residential losses associated with wildland interface fires have occurred worldwide in recent years and substantial research has been conducted on developing numerical models of ignition due to convection and ember attacks. These studies provide substantial insight into the behaviour and growth of wildland fires, which have been further utilized to build fire exposure rating of structures. The FireWise program in the United States and the FireSmart manual in Canada are two key examples of provisions developed for determining fire exposure ratings for a structure. While previous studies provide significant contribution to modelling fire propagation, a much more comprehensive model is required, which would encompass all the key variables associated with WUI fires. This paper aims at extending previously conducted efforts by developing a simulation-based model. A typical fire propagation simulation requires solving the coupled fluid-thermal differential equations which results in extreme run times making it unsuitable for general purposes, however the model in this study utilizes theory of cellular automata, which reduces the processing times substantially by simplifying the underlying equations involved. Cellular automata utilize a specific set of rules to model propagation by convection as well as ember travel. In addition, the model also considers key parameters such as humidity, nature of vegetation and topology while evaluating the propagation paths. Due to the flexible nature of the model its accuracy can be tuned to a certain extent by optimizing the propagation rules using real-event data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology advances in recent years have resulted in Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) designs that are more reliable, less expensive, and easier to control. This research looks at the current use of UASs within the United States construction industry. Areas of focus include risks associated with using UASs on construction sites, in-house verses outsourced resources, and a look at the future of UAS applications in construction. Survey results indicate many US companies use UASs on their sites with the majority of applications replacing traditional still photo and video acquisition. In addition to traditional uses of photographic information, photogrammetry software is being used to integrate this data into building information models. In August of 2016, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued new regulations creating a Remote Pilot Certificate and defined requirements for commercial use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. This paper looks at current and projected uses of UASs in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction management education programs must endeavor to provide students with instruction on cutting edge technologies to ensure that these students are prepared for entry level positions into the construction industry today. The use of mobile technology is rapidly growing throughout the United States design and construction industry. Based on a review of accredited programs in the United States, construction management students receive little exposure to the vast amount of mobile technologies used in industry. This paper provides a framework for how the McWhorter School of Building Science at Auburn University proposes to integrate mobile technology into the construction management curriculum. A search and filter process of the Apple™ iTunes App Store was completed to discern which apps were most applicable to construction management. The learning objectives for professional program core construction management courses taught in the McWhorter School of Building Science were reviewed and compiled. App capabilities were analyzed and tied to the appropriate course learning objectives. The conclusions of the analysis showed that there is vast opportunity to integrate mobile technologies into construction management curricula. Future research includes the development of course specific exercises to assess the improvement of student learning through use of mobile technologies, as well as how this framework could extend beyond the programs in the United States into other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key tasks of an airline company and management is to ensure a high standard of service quality to the customers. Therefore, the paper deals with the importance of the quality-profitability link in the air transportation business. Although there are several quality indexes in the airline business, we are focusing exclusively on the Airline Quality Rating Index (AQR). The AQR includes four main aspects in the measurement, namely on-time performance (OT), denied boardings (DB), mishandled baggage (MB) and customer complaints (CC). The results of this study show a significant effect of the AQR on the US airlines’ profitability. On time performance, mishandled baggage and customers complaints also affect the profitability significantly, while a non-significant effect on profitability is given by the AQR component denied boardings. None of the previous researches took into account the link between the AQR index and the profitability of the US airlines. Therefore, this identified gap could encourage airline managers to invest more in quality and its related aspects, as far as the results confirm a significant impact on the airlines’ profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lafayette consolidated government purchased “Horse Farm”, therefore plans are undergoing to develop it into a city park. The developments proposed to the city park have implications for the hydrologic and hydraulic conditions of the main channel that runs through the park, Coulee Mine, and its overall watershed. The proposed master plan is suggesting two main changes: (1) Converting the concrete coulee into natural coulee and, (2) Adding natural lakes to the right bank of the coulee. This paper is focusing on investigating the effects of the proposed project on the entire watershed. The investigations are conducted using numerical modelling techniques; namely the HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS models. Finally, the changes in water surface profiles, flow hydrographs across the Coulee Mine channel and storage of the natural lakes added are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the impact of uncertainty in modeling the thermo-physical property of building envelopes and building occupancy on energy analysis has recently received attention. This paper evaluates the impact of the variations of the thermo-physical property of building envelopes and occupancy on building energy analysis. As the data format for accessing and updating building information for energy analysis, gbXML-based BIM is leveraged. We first studied the impact of reflecting the as-is thermo-physical properties of different building envelopes from thermographic sensing on building energy load calculation. Then, the response of energy simulation model with respect to the variations of building occupancy is explored. Finally, the impact of each variation on building energy use intensity is analyzed through the regression analysis. Several experiments were conducted on a building located in six different climatic zones in the U.S. The perceived benefits of continuous updating of energy profiles for model calibration for reliable energy analysis under uncertainty and the related open research challenges are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As female's participation in the US labor force continues to grow, there is a need to separate workplace injuries suffered by men and women. Statistics showed that women faced different types of injuries compared to men, especially on workplace violence. For example, women faced more fatality from workplace violence, and murders by personal acquaintances than men. The authors’ study shows that women faced different types of workplace hazards and the risks have been increasing over the past years. Some analysis suggests that some jobs better protect women and the others. The study also finds that there is a lack of understanding of the different safety issues each gender faces, and the lack of data or separation of data between genders. This paper focuses on the main events of fatal and nonfatal injuries among women in all industries, especially on homicides and assaults to shed lights on the gender gaps on safety issues and the need for more gender-specific research and data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As female's participation in the US labor force continues to grow, there is a need to separate workplace injuries suffered by men and women. Statistics showed that women faced different types of injuries compared to men, especially on workplace violence. For example, women faced more fatality from workplace violence, and murders by personal acquaintances than men. The authors’ study shows that women faced different types of workplace hazards and the risks have been increasing over the past years. Some analysis suggests that some jobs better protect women and the others. The study also finds that there is a lack of understanding of the different safety issues each gender faces, and the lack of data or separation of data between genders. This paper focuses on the main events of fatal and nonfatal injuries among women in all industries, especially on homicides and assaults to shed lights on the gender gaps on safety issues and the need for more gender-specific research and data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings consumed 36% of total energy consumption in United States. With the concept of sustainability continues to grow in importance, more researches have been focused on improving energy efficiency during a building's operation phase. Academic settings, such as university facilities, pose a unique set of challenges to facility managers and administrators in achieving energy efficiency. Unlike commercial, residential or industrial buildings, campus facilities are composed of different building types with different requirements for indoor air quality, humidity, temperature and ventilation from continuously changing occupants. The current practice with campus facility management requires facility managers to manually schedule tasks, often based on the order of incoming requests without considering their impact on building energy consumption. This paper aims to develop an energy-aware intelligent facility management system for campus facilities. It first builds a knowledge database which includes two main parts: basic information on common daily work request and work instructions; and also the impact on building energy performance. An artificial intelligent model is then proposed to automatically analyze and prioritize future work requests based on factors such as safety, energy consumption impact, occupant satisfaction, etc. A case study is conducted on campus to validate the system with focus on HVAC tasks. The goal is to help facility managers improve building energy efficiency while meeting other restraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging sustainable development movement in the construction industry requires the recycling of waste materials to reduce the negative environmental impact of construction activities. In many countries, old concrete, a major waste stream generated from the demolition of obsolete buildings/structures, is being recycled. However, for various reasons, progress toward concrete recycling varies from country to country. This paper discusses the current status of concrete recycling in the U.S. construction industry based on results from a two-part questionnaire survey. The first part of the survey collects information on the recycling practices of surveyed concrete companies. The second part adapts questions from a study conducted in Australia and Japan to examine the awareness, benefits, difficulties, and recommended methods related to concrete recycling. The findings showed that although recycling old concrete is common in the U.S., its application is mostly limited to backfill and pavement base; using waste concrete in new concrete production is not widely applied. There are also similarities and differences in the perceptions of concrete recycling between U.S. concrete companies and their counterparts in Australia and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintenance free operating period (MFOP) philosophy is proposed by the UKMilitary Aerospace industry, which has advantages for both the operation andmaintenance of aircraft. An MFOP is a period of time for which the aircraft will operate without failureandwithout the need for anymaintenance, however, faults and minorplanned, contractually agreed maintenance are permissible.Each MFOP isfollowed by a MaintenanceRecovery Period (MRP) during which maintenance is performed on the aircraft tocorrect any failures which have occurred, carry out servicing and prepare the aircraft forthe next period of operation. There are several advantages to operating aircraft in thismanner. The first is that it will be known, with a high degree of confidence, howmany products will be available for operational purposes at any time. This enablesaccurate, effective mission planning. However, the aircraft must be designed tooperate in this way and be able to carry faults in the MFOP withoutan unacceptable risk. This paper will model the performance of aircraft utilizing maintenance freeoperating periods and explore issues relating to the design and operation of aircraft inthis manner. An example is provided to expatiate on the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]