Browsing by Author "Weerasinghe, AS"

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item: Conference-Full-text
Are green buildings economically sustainable? a LCC approach
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2017-06) Weerasinghe, AS; Ramachandra, T; Sandanayake, YG; Ramachandra, T; Gunatilake, S
In the context of Sri Lanka, the number of green certified buildings is still at a minimal level and the reason could be attributed to green building investors who continue to perceive that green buildings are costly and the initial cost premium ranges from 20 to 25% and fail to appreciate the subsequent benefits in terms of running costs. However, in the global context, researchers have indicated that green building construction cost varies largely between -15 to 21% while only a little information is available on the status of operation and maintenance costs reduction. As part of the larger study which investigates the impact of sustainable features on life cycle cost of green buildings, this paper presents a comparison on life cycle cost of green certified industrial manufacturing building with that of a conventional building to establish the economic sustainability of green buildings. Quantitative data on the construction and running costs of green and conventional buildings were collected and analysed using Net Present Value. The analysis shows that the construction cost of green industrial manufacturing building is 28% higher than that of a conventional building while the reduction in running costs is 39%. Overall the green buildings offer an economic benefit of 50% savings over its life time. It is expected that the outcome of this research would contribute to the organisational learning of green built environment and thereby uplift the sustainable construction.
item: Article-Full-text
Comparative life-cycle cost (LCC) study of green and traditional industrial buildings in Sri Lanka
(Elsevier, 2021) Weerasinghe, AS; Ramachandra, T; Rotimi, JOB
The demand for green buildings is growing, but the trend is below the expected level due to the perceived higher construction cost required by building investors. In addition, the industry or the practitioners knowledge and awareness of major operational cost savings of facilities is questionable. on that note, this study aims to establish the cost implications of green buildings via a comparative life-cycle cost analysis of two green certified industrial and one traditional building. The industrial sector is one of the largest energy consuming sectors in the world with over 50% of the world’s total delivered energy is absorbed by the sector. Energy consumption of industrial sector is likely to increase more due to the economic and population growth. The data for the analysis were extracted from construction, operation, and maintenance expenditure budget records of the selected organisations. The analysis shows that in terms of life-cycle costs, green industrial buildings are 17% cheaper than that of traditional buildings. Though the initial construction cost of a green industrial building is 29% higher, the operation and maintenance costs of green buildings result in 23% and 15% overall savings throughout the life cycle. The findings provide further empirical proof of the benefits of green buildings, especially in industrial manufacturing where it is expected to improve future uptakes and consequently the achievement of sustainable development initiatives.
item: Article-Full-text
Economic sustainability of green buildings: a comparative analysis of green vs non-green
(Emerald, 2018) Weerasinghe, AS; Ramachandra, T
Purpose In Sri Lanka, a limited number of buildings have been certified for incorporation of green features and the reasons are attributed to green building investors who continue to perceive that green buildings are expensive. Further, the green building investors fail to appreciate the subsequent benefits received by those buildings during the operational phase. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compare the life cycle cost (LCC) of green certified industrial manufacturing buildings with a similar form of the conventional buildings to establish the economic sustainability of green buildings. Design/methodology/approach The study involved a comparative case study analysis of two green buildings and a similar natured conventional building. The data required to perform the LCC analysis were extracted through documentary analysis. Findings The comparative analysis shows that the construction cost of a green industrial manufacturing building is 37 per cent higher than that of a similar natured conventional building while operation, maintenance and the end life cost of green buildings result in 28, 22 and 11 per cent savings, respectively. This results in an overall cost saving of 21 per cent in green buildings. Originality/value The current study provides an assessment of the total LCC of green industrial manufacturing buildings. In Sri Lanka, green industrial manufacturing buildings offer LCC saving of 21 per cent over its lifetime compared to similar natured conventional buildings. Thus, comparative analyses would enable green investors to make informed decisions before commissioning their investment in green facilities and thereby promote sustainable construction in Sri Lanka.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Impact of sustainable features on life cycle cost (LCC) of green buildings in Sri Lanka
Weerasinghe, AS; Ramachandra, T
Recently, the focus to green buildings has fore-fronted in countries like Sri Lanka. However, in the context of Sri Lanka, the number of green certified buildings is still at a minimal level and the reason could be attributed to green investors who continue to perceive that green buildings are costly with a 20 to 25% of green premium. They fail to appreciate the benefits that could be absorbed in the long run in terms of operation and maintenance costs. Further, in the global context, there are contradictory views with regards to green cost premium. However, in both context, only a little information is available on the status of operation and maintenance costs reduction. Further, quantitative evidence of running cost reduction in green buildings compared to conventional buildings, would enable green investors in their decision making. Therefore, this study establishes the economic sustainability of green buildings followed by a comparison of life cycle cost of green certified and that of conventional industrial manufacturing buildings in Sri Lanka and an assessment of the impact of each sustainable feature on life cycle cost of green buildings. First, a preliminary study was conducted using the already published data on LEED certified buildings in Sri Lanka to identify the level of sustainability achievement in terms of variable sustainable features and the reasons for the level of achievement of those sustainable features. Afterwards, two green buildings and a conventional building with similar physical and performance characteristics were selected with due considerations to year of construction, Net Internal Area, and occupancy rate. The quantitative data on construction, operation, maintenance and end of life cycle costs of the selected green and conventional buildings were collected referring to green building construction budget, operation and maintenance expenditure budget records and analysed using Net Present Value and sensitivity analysis. The analysis shows that the construction cost of green building is 37% higher than that of a conventional building while the green building offers a saving of 28%, 22% and 11% in terms of operation, maintenance and end of life cycle costs respectively. Overall the green buildings offer an economic sustainability of 21% over its life time. According to the sensitivity analysis, the changes in variables do not affect the economic sustainability of green buildings, still the life cycle cost of green building is less than that of a conventional building. Further, the sustainable features: Energy and Atmosphere and Indoor Environmental Quality contribute more to life cycle cost of green buildings due to the implementation of energy metering and sub metering, Building Management System, CO2 and airflow measurement equipment, high-performance glazing, building commissioning and 3D energy modelling. Therefore, the study recommends the green building investors to select suitable green strategies and technologies to reduce the life cycle cost of green industrial manufacturing buildings.
item: Article-Full-text
Implications of sustainable features on life-cycle costs of green buildings
(Weerasinghe, A. S., & Ramachandra, T. (2020). Implications of sustainable features on life-cycle costs of green buildings. Sustainable Development, 28(5), 1136–1147. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2064, 2020) Weerasinghe, AS; Ramachandra, T
The green buildings seem unattractive to developers who prioritize fast investment returns, due to costs attributed to implementing sustainable features and consequently, only 19% of existing buildings are certified for green, globally. Furthermore, green buildings are aimed at achieving a minimum sustainability level in certification. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the significant sustainable features and the implications of those features on green buildings' life-cycle costs. The study involved a preliminary investigation to find the significant sustainable features implemented. Subsequently, two green buildings were carefully selected, and a detailed analysis was performed. The data relating to the green building construction, operation and maintenance costs were collected and analysed using Net Present Value. The features have varying degree of contribution to sustainability in terms of the achievement of allocated points in the rating system. The certified buildings have achieved over 75% of allocated points in terms of water efficiency and sustainable sites features, while the achievement level of other features is below average level. Further, highly achieved features are more economical in terms of their less contribution to construction and maintenance costs. On the other hand, the features with lower achievement in certification, contribute significantly to construction and maintenance costs, while providing higher savings during operation. Therefore, the current study recommends, green building investors to select the most suitable features for a given construction based on their respective contributions to the life-cycle cost of green buildings.
item: Conference-Abstract
Improving construction safety through safe working cycle concept a literature review
Mendis, NSK; Rajini, PAD; Rathnayake, RMNU; Weerasinghe, AS
Safe Working Cycle (SWC), which is also known as Site Safe Cycle (SSC) or Safety Work Cycle is a concept which incorporates safety management into the construction management system to improve safety in construction. It enables an organisation to regulate its daily working process, provide a model for management to follow, and implement certain elements of the safety management system. Currently, SWC concept is effectively practiced in countries like Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, United Kingdom etc. in their construction projects. As literature shows, after implementing the SWC, these countries have exhibited exceptional progress in construction safety and health, and the number of accidents have been decreased significantly. Though SWC is a novel concept to Sri Lanka, it is one of the best safety management tools which can be adopted to improve safety in construction industry in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this paper aims at reviewing the literature related to SWC concept which will assist the researcher to evaluate the applicability of SWC concept to the Sri Lankan construction industry, in the next phase of study.
item: Conference-Full-text
Key performance indicators for measuring the performance of facilities management services in hotel buildings: a literature review
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2018-06) Fernando, WDIJ; Dissanayake, DMPP; Manjula, NHC; Weerasinghe, AS; Sandanayake, YG; Gunatilake, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS
People travel across the world for leisure, business, and relaxation purposes and seek short term or longterm accommodation facilities. With the increase in globalisation and rapid development in technology, the hospitality industry is changing quite momentously in order to respond to the changing needs and expectations of the travellers. Similarly, hotels as one of the main pillars of the hospitality industry, have an important role in a country’s economic development. Subsequently, Facilities Management (FM) has become a demanding profession in developing and developed economies, which maximise profits while reducing operation and maintenance costs. In this context, Facilities Managers support the functionality of non-core activities of the hotel sector in line with the core objectives. However, there is an inadequate performance in building services and maintenance of hotel buildings, which lead to loss of productivity, a reduction in profitability, a loss of clients and a general negative company image. To this end, the Performance Measurement (PM) is an essential requirement in hotel sector to increase the performance of FM services. Therefore, this paper synthesises the FM performance based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that indicates how well the organisation is performing in accordance with their strategic objectives and goals. Further, the paper discusses the requirement of PM for FM services in hotel sector. Ultimately, a set of KPIs have been identified based on the available literature in order to measure the performance of FM services in hotel buildings.
item: Conference-Full-text
Risks associated with physical asset management: a Literature review
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2018-06) Thatshayini, P; Rajini, D; Weerasinghe, AS; Sandanayake, YG; Gunatilake, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS
Accelerated physical asset operations in organisations are necessitated in order to sustain within the competitive business environment. These asset operations involve a number of risks. The management of risks associated with physical assets as well as their operations is an essential element of Physical Asset Management (PAM). Although there is a growing interest in PAM around world, a lack of consideration of risks associated with PAM is evident. However, it is believed that a proper understanding of these risks is essential for effective Physical Asset Risk Management (PARM). Accordingly, the aim of this paper was to review the existing literature to investigate the risks associated with PAM. A comprehensive literature survey referring data sources, and a subsequent desk study were carried out in order to achieve the above aim. The study identified thirty-five risks, which could be categorised under six (06) groups as 'physical failure risks', 'operational risks', 'risks associated with natural environmental events', 'risks associated with the factors outside the organisations’ control', 'stakeholders related risks' and the 'risks associated with different lifecycle phases of assets'. Giving a prior concern for the identified risks and reviewing the exposure level of each risk towards PAM will support the organisations to evaluate the risk levels and make decisions on risks mitigation. This will provide the organisations with a smooth operation of physical assets and numerous benefits associated with it.
item: Article-Full-text
Towards sustainable commercial buildings: an analysis of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs in Sri Lanka
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2020) Weerasinghe, AS; Ramachandra, T; Rotimi, JOB
Rising energy costs and increasing environmental concerns are catalysts for introducing sustainable design features in buildings. Incorporating sustainable design features in commercial buildings cannot be overstated because it could confer benefits to the investor (owners) and occupants. This study aims to develop a model that could aid in the prediction of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs from the knowledge of building-design variables. There is little evidence that design variables influence the O&M costs of buildings. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between design variables and O&M costs in commercial buildings with the intent of developing a cost model for estimating O&M costs at the early design phase.
item: Article-Full-text
Towards sustainable commercial buildings: an analysis of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs in Sri Lanka
(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2022) Weerasinghe, AS; Ramachandra, T; Rotimi, JOB
Purpose Rising energy costs and increasing environmental concerns are catalysts for introducing sustainable design features in buildings. Incorporating sustainable design features in commercial buildings cannot be overstated because it could confer benefits to the investor (owners) and occupants. This study aims to develop a model that could aid in the prediction of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs from the knowledge of building-design variables. There is little evidence that design variables influence the O&M costs of buildings. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between design variables and O&M costs in commercial buildings with the intent of developing a cost model for estimating O&M costs at the early design phase. Design/methodology/approach The study was approached quantitatively using a survey strategy. Data for the study were obtained from 30 randomly selected commercial buildings in the CBD in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pareto's 80/20 rule, correlation and regression analysis were performed on the data to prove the statistical relationships between the buildings' O&M costs and their design variables. Findings The study found that 12 significant O&M costs elements contribute to about 82% of total O&M costs. Repairs and decoration had a strong correlation with building shape. Furthermore, the regression analysis found that O&M costs values were primarily dependent on the building size (the gross floor area and height of the buildings). The gross floor area and height handled over 73% of the variance in the O&M costs of commercial buildings in Sri Lanka. Originality/value These findings are a useful insight into the principles for design economies that could contribute to more sustainable commercial buildings.