Delivering Green Buildings: Process Improvements for Sustainable Construction

The demand for high performance “green” or “sustainable” buildings is rapidly becoming the most significant trend in the building industry. As the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry develops the strategies and technologies for these projects, an increased emphasis must be placed on the processes and competencies required to deliver high performance buildings. This paper defines an emerging research and education program at Penn State called the Lean and Green Initiative. Focused on understanding all aspects of the delivery of high performance projects, this program is underpinned by established process-based theories and structured around a systematic methodology designed to minimize waste, maximize value, and reduce cost. Current research and educational activities are described in the paper including nine primary research thrusts and their respective goals. Initial results of each research thrust are also provided, providing an early look at the benefits of a process improvement approach to the delivery of high performance buildings.