Why tech and sustainability are a match made in heaven

Reducing traffic snarls during road construction and finding innovative methods of re-using millions of tons of waste material are just some of the ways that technology is changing the face of the construction industry.

According to AECOM Australia Associate Director Transport Planning Leigh Dalwood knowing what technology is available and its application to construction projects has led to some key industry advancements.

“It’s about knowing what new technology can do and ensuring that projects are using those products,” he says.

The Torrens to Torrens Project, a two-and-a-half year construction project on one of Adelaide’s busiest roads, is one example where the use of new technology is proving fruitful.

Dalwood says that this project has been using Bluetooth technology developed by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure called ‘AddInsight’.

The technology allows project managers to track the travel time of cars through the construction site, providing real-time information on the impacts of their construction works to traffic.

“Contractor performance targets for minimising traffic delays were set, and using AddInsight, traffic delays are measured by the degree of traffic congestion caused by construction. If delays go over a certain measure, there are penalties,” he says.

Using new technologies is a key way of ensuring a project is sustainable from end to end

“As a result of this, the construction project has gone very well in terms of minimising any complaints from the public of excessive traffic delays.”

Dalwood says there are also a number of new technologies being used to boost sustainability across the entire life cycle of projects – from design, to construction, to maintenance.

“Some of these include smart car parking systems which take up less land and energy efficient LED lighting which varies light output depending on the brightness of the day.” he says.

Opportunities also exist in greater reuse of materials, with recycled road pavement material being a key example.

“Rather than having to produce new quarry materials, existing road pavements that have reached the end of its structural life can be recycled and the material reused in new pavement designs,” Dalwood says.

By re-using materials, Dalwood says that the transport costs which come from importing materials are reduced and therefore also reducing carbon emissions.

“If we can re-use what we’ve already dug up from the ground, we don’t need to manufacture new material or have it transported to the site. This also helps to minimise waste disposal requirements,” he says.

Another example of a project with sustainability at its core is the $1 billion government- funded Gateway West Australia which has seen the upgrade of Perth’s Tonkin, Leach, and Roe Highways

Some of the technologies employed include LED lights to illuminate the highway and electric vehicles for community engagement activities.

More than one million tons of recycled materials were also used, as well as the re-purposing of 1.8 million tons of cut-waste recycled materials.

In recognition of its sustainability achievements, Gateway WA became the first Australian road project to score an ‘Excellent’ rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA).

According to AECOM Associate Director Environment and Sustainability Katrina O’Mara, the sustainability plan incorporated not only the final outcome but also the daily construction activities on site.

“Our wide-reaching sustainability plan incorporated everything that is done on the project to ensure that the entire assignment is completed in a responsible manner,” she said.

For the construction industry teaming up with technology providers is reaping many rewards, helping to create a better and more efficient build process and the collaboration is also leading to projects that are sustainable from beginning to end.