Sustainable Construction in Sultanate of Oman - ScienceDirect.com

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ScienceDirect Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 980 – 987

Creative Construction Conference 2017, CCC 2017, 19-22 June 2017, Primosten, Croatia

Sustainable Construction in Sultanate of Oman: Factors Effecting Materials Utilization Sina Safinia*, Zamarad Al-Hinai, Hussin A.M Yahia,Mohammed F.M. Abushammala Middle East College, KOM, Rusayl, Muscat PC 124,Oman

Abstract Due to rapid growth in population and economy in Oman, housing and urban expansion are considered as high priorities for development. Despite attempts for promotion of sustainable building construction in the sultanate, construction industry has not yet embraced the concept in many sectors. Sustainable construction materials, as the major component to enable the construction of sustainable buildings, have not been implemented in most construction projects in Oman. This research aimed to find the main obstacles that prevent the application of sustainable construction materials in Oman. Two main methods of research included review of literature and interviews with experts from construction industry to identify important factors. Questionnaires prepared based on the factors identified from interviews and literature review, were distributed between members of construction industry in various sectors. Results of this survey indicate that according to members of construction industry, factors that are significantly preventing the effective application of sustainable construction materials in the order of impact are: lack of demand and culture of green construction, high costs of sustainable construction materials and lack of knowledge regarding sustainable construction materials. © by Elsevier Ltd. by This is an open © 2017 2017Published The Authors. Published Elsevier Ltd.access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2017. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2017 Keywords: Oman construction industry, sustainable construction materials, obstacles.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +968-92064083; fax: +968- 24446028. E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-7058 © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2017

doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.08.039

Sina Safinia et al. / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 980 – 987

1. Introduction The continuous development in construction and neglecting the environmental needs lead to negative impact on the environment and its surrounding [1, 2]. Over the past years, a rapid development in construction sector has been observed at the Middle East region which increases the level of per capita energy consumption [3, 4]. The worldwide building construction sector consumes approximately 40% of energy produced in the world [5]. The Middle East countries produce high amount of per capita carbon dioxide emission, and even considered among the highest countries contribute to carbon dioxide emissions [6]. Sustainable buildings enhance quality of life, work productivity, and create healthy environment. Therefore, sustainable construction or green buildings has been identified as the response of the building construction sector to the challenge of sustainable development [7]. The sustainable construction commonly uses green materials, reduces energy consumption, saves water, preserves indoor air quality, and many more. Oman is one of the Middle East countries with a middle-income economy and produces lower oil and gas than other countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council with higher production cost [8]. Rapid population growth, income level, rapid development and urbanization have a direct impact on the increase of energy, water demand, and construction. The Omani construction projects have been raised by 9.4% annually between the years 2012 and 2016, and expected to expand between the years 2017 and 2021 [9]. Therefore, the government of Oman has decided to broadly practice the sustainable or green construction to mitigate the demand on energy and water needs, and to minimize the environmental impacts associated with the rapid construction and development [10]. As a part of Oman Vision 2020, the Government of Oman is investing continuously in constructing large-scale infrastructure projects [11]. Some of these projects are already undertaking sustainable building practices and using green building materials which supports the country’s growth scheme. Utilizing sustainable materials can significantly reduce the damages of construction to the environment. However, it is not only adding the green materials in building that affect the environment impacts, but the methods of building and operating with these materials have a huge impact as well. [10] The selection of building materials is a very important and complex task in every construction project [12], which can be determined with numerous preconditions, decisions, and considerations. Therefore, detail information on building material and product must be constantly studied for the best material selection during the design phase in every construction project [13]. The use of sustainable materials in construction to replace traditional materials enhances the overall environmental sustainability and reduces the environmental impacts during the building life cycle. The use of environmentally friendly materials in building construction preserves natural resources and reduces pollution [14]. Furthermore, it offers specific benefits to the building owner and building occupants. However, many construction projects are still only applying traditional materials. The use of sustainable materials in construction encounters various obstacles [6, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21]. Identifying these obstacles in the Sultanate of Oman can boost the application of green buildings broadly in the country. This paper attempts to discover these obstacles in Oman. The findings and data from existing literature, interviews and the result analysis of expert’s survey identified a generic set of factors that discourage the implementation of sustainable materials in Oman construction industry. 2. Objective This research aimed to discover the primary factors which obstruct the utilization of sustainable construction materials in Oman. 3. Methodology In order to accurately identify the factors which are preventing the industry to implement green construction materials, a comprehensive research method was applied. First through in-depth review of literature, five major factors were identified. Moreover, interviews with number of experts from different sectors of construction industry were conducted to include the local professionals’ opinions and inputs. During the interviews participants were asked to state the possible reasons of deficient utilization of

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sustainable materials. Based on the answers from the interviews and factors identified from the literature, a set of questionnaires were prepared and distributed within the stakeholders in construction industry in three groups; contractors and consultants, government employees and managers and construction materials suppliers. The target of questionnaire was to rate the factors in the order of impact that they have on the industry. The members of the industry were asked about their experience in sustainable construction and subsequently to select from 1 to 5 to what level they believe each factor is preventing the use of sustainable materials. (very low, low, medium, high, very high) 3.1. Review of Obstacles in Implementing Sustainable Material (desktop study) x High Costs High commercial costs in sustainable construction, particularly, upfront costs for procurement of sustainable materials, is one of the major causes of discouragement among the stakeholders and decision makers. [16,15,17]. Moreover higher costs of labour and installations as well as amounts spent to ensure consistency with design specifications, can also add up to the final costs when sustainable materials are implemented. [20] [16, 15] Zhang et al. and Griffin et al. describe that although costs of sustainable materials can be higher in comparison to traditional materials. Most stakeholders assume that this applies to all sustainable projects. Incorporating sustainable materials may require extensive amount of time to integrate with other parts of the project. Therefore, delays caused to adapt to these new materials may have financial consequence for the stakeholders. [6] x Lack of knowledge regarding sustainable construction materials [17]Sin et al. and [16] Griffn et al. classify awareness with respect to concept of sustainable materials and green options within the stakeholders as a major challenge in adapting sustainability in construction. [18] Szydlik states that lack of knowledge and bad experience can cause poor “perception” of sustainable construction among the experts in construction industry. Insufficient understanding of this concept has been found as an obstacle for green development in Oman by Powmya and Abidin. [21] x Unsatisfactory enforcement of Green regulations [20]Darko and Chan find shortage in authority and enforcement of Green Building regulations as an obstacle in sustainable construction. [17]Sin et al. discuss that inefficient regulation cannot be correctly enforced as it should be and therefore will discourage the investors to favour sustainable options during the decision making process of a construction project. [21] Powmya and Abidin argue that government should emphasize more on regulatory ‘pressure’ in order to drive sustainability in Omani construction industry. x Shortage in publicizing sustainable materials Actively promoting green construction and materials is recognized as an essential factor that leads to more sustainable selections by the decision makers. [22] Olubunmi et al. [23] state that governments hold responsibility towards promoting sustainable construction through arranging incentives. [21] Powmya and Abidin find shortage in promoting sustainability as an obstacle in green construction. Moreover they emphasize on the importance of education and training as well as media and advertisement with respect to publicizing sustainable materials. [10] x Lack of demand and culture of green construction Clients demand is a major motivation in the construction industry that can encourage the adaption of sustainable materials. [20, 18, 16] If the customers show no interest in living in green and environmental friendly buildings it would be extremely challenging for the decision makers to implement sustainable materials in the construction. [24] Lack of demand and culture for sustainable construction has been identified as a barrier in several countries; China [15], India [25], Ghana [26] and US [27]. Zhang et al [15] argue that this phenomenon takes place when the concept of sustainable lifestyle and social responsibility towards environment are not yet stabilized within the potential buyers. In Oman, the lack of demand has been linked to the lack of knowledge with respect to sustainable construction.[21] 3.2. Extracting factors based on experts opinions (interview) Following Factors are extracted based on the interviews with experts form the industry.


x x x x x x x x

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Inadequate experience of designers and builders with new materials and technology Construction companies’ cautiousness to detach from traditional methods and use sustainable materials Unavailability of sustainable materials Shortage in Government’s interest and initiative Difficulty and complexity of working with sustainable construction materials Insufficiency of encouraging policies towards sustainable materials Unpopularity of Sustainability Concept Limited recycling plants

4. Result and analysis SPSS software was used to analyse the data received from questionnaire. The result represents the responses of contractors and consultants, suppliers and clients in the government. Where, the following tables display demographic information, statistical analysis of the responses and rank of the factors. 4.1. Demographic information Table1.Participants demographic information Participants’ Years of Experience in Construction Industry Experience Per cent % Frequency

Cumulative Per cent

0-2 years

20

32.3

32.3

2-5

27

43.5

75.8

5-10

13

21.0

96.8

More than10

2

3.2

100.0

Total

62

100.0

Participants’ Sectors in Construction Industry Sectors Frequency

Per cent %

Cumulative Per cent

Contractor

27

43.5

43.5

Supplier

9

14.5

58.1

Government Departments

26

41.9

100.0

Total

62

100.0

Participants’ Experience with Sustainable Construction Projects Experience with sustainable Per cent Frequency construction

Cumulative Per cent

Yes

7

11.3

11.3

No

55

88.7

100.0

Total

62

100.0

The table demonstrated that while 43.5% of participants have 2-5 years of experience in Omani construction industry, only 3.2 % have worked here more than years. Moreover 43.5% of the respondents of the questioners are from the contractor companies, 42% from the government departments and 14.5% are the construction material suppliers. 88.7% did not participate in sustainable concentrated construction project.

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4.2. Factors effecting inefficient utilization of sustainable construction materials in Oman Table2. Factors effecting inefficient utilization of sustainable construction materials Codes Factors F1

Unpopularity of Sustainability Concept within the members of construction industry

F2

Difficulty and complexity of working with sustainable construction materials

F3

Lack of knowledge regarding sustainable construction materials

F4

Unavailability of sustainable materials

F5

Insufficiency of encouraging policies towards sustainable materials

F6

Shortage in Government’s interest and initiative with the utilization of sustainable construction materials

F7

High Costs of Sustainable construction materials

F8

Unsatisfactory enforcement of Green regulations

F9

Construction companies cautiousness to detach from traditional methods and use sustainable materials

F10

Limited recycling plants

F11

inadequate experience of designers and builders with new materials and technology

F12

Shortage in publicizing sustainable materials

F13

Lack of demand and culture of green construction

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 F13 F12 F11 F10 F9 very low

F8

low

F7

F6

medium

F5

F4

high

F3

F2

F1

very high

Figure 1.Main 13 factors that prevent the application of sustainable construction materials in Oman

Out of totally thirteen obstacles that may affect the application of sustainable construction materials in Oman, unpopularity of the concept of sustainability, being selected by 18(29%) and shortage in publicizing by 14 (22.6%) participants were the factors that received highest number in very low category of impact. Difficulty of working with sustainable materials with 1(1.6%) and high costs of sustainable construction materials with 2(7.2%) received the lowest number of sections among the participants of this survey within this category. Unsatisfactory enforcement of Green regulations and inadequate experience of designers and builders with new materials and technology with 31(50%) were highest and high costs of sustainable construction materials with 9(14.5%) and lack of demand and culture of green construction with 8(12.9%) were the lowest factors with respect to low impact class. Thirty participants (48.4%), highest among all factors, believe that difficulty and complexity of working with


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sustainable and high costs of sustainable construction materials are moderately affecting the industry with respect to use of sustainable materials. Whereas only 13 respondents (21%), lowest among all, find shortage in publicizing as a moderate factor. 26 (41.9%) respondents considered that Lack of demand and culture of green construction is highly preventing the use of sustainable materials. The factor, shortage in publicizing sustainable materials, was the factor that received the lowest number of in high impact category, only 3(4.8%).Inadequate experience of designers and builders with new materials and technology and high costs of Sustainable construction materials towards sustainable materials with 9 (14.5%) were the highest and unpopularity of sustainability concept within the members of construction industry with 1 (1.6%) was the lowest factors with respect to group with very high level of impact. Table3. Ranking of factors effecting inefficient utilization of sustainable construction materials Factors

Rank

Mean

F13

1

3.2903

F7

2

3.2742

F3

3

2.8710

F2

4

2.7903

F11

5

2.6935

F6

6

2.6935

F4

7

2.6290

F9

8

2.5645

F5

9

2.4516

F8

10

2.3710

F10

11

2.3387

F12

12

2.1774

F1

13

2.0968

The above table demonstrates the rank between total 13 factors that are possibly preventing the use of sustainable material in construction industry. These facto were extracted from the literature review and interviews with experts. Factor 13 and 7 include 3 and above Mean, while factors 3,2,11,6,4,9 are between 2.9 and 2.5. Factors 5,8,10 and 12 are in the range of 2.45 and 2.09. Three following factors are positioned in the top of the ranking;

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Rank1-F13 Rank2-F7 Rank3-F3

Figure2. 3 top rank factors that prevent the application of sustainable construction materials in Oman

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1.Lack of demand and culture of green construction This factor comes as first in the ranking with Mean of 3.2903.it was selected by 5 participants (8.1%) as very high and 26 participate (42%) as high impact factor that is preventing the use of sustainable materials in construction industry. Not only, this factor was identified in the literature review furthermore during the interviews was supported by members of industry. All interviews discussed that demand for sustainable materials is limited only to few individual cases and lack of established green lifestyle and culture is preventing construction industry to adopt the relevant martials and technology. Experts suggested that by improving publicity and demonstrating the benefits of this culture and providing examples of successful projects, the demand and culture of green construction can be improved. 2.High Costs of Sustainable construction materials Total number of 9 participants (14.5%) selected this factor as very high and 9 (19.4%) as high impacting factor while 30(48.4%) placed it in moderate level of impact. This factor is second in the ranking with mean of 3.2742. Many scholars find this factor as a significant setback in advancement of stabilizing sustainable construction. Some of the experts mentioned that most members of the industry believe that applying any sustainable material will increase the final cost of the work and this is still alarming for the most decision makers in the industry. One interviewee discussed that strategies by the government to increase the number of local sustainable materials producers can reduce the initial procurement costs and hence more developers will consider applying this materials and technologies. 3.Lack of knowledge regarding sustainable construction materials Lack of knowledge, the third factor in the ranking, with the mean of 2.8710, was selected by 9 participants (14.5%) as high and 8 participants (13%) as very high. Many literatures support this factor and this study revealed that it is still contributing as an obstacle towards application of sustainable materials. Improving the general public knowledge through use of media as well as training courses through local professional associations is suggested by experts during the interviews of this research as possible methods to overcome this barrier. 5. Conclusion Entire members of construction industry and users can not benefit from advantages of using sustainable materials until the existing obstacles in establishing sustainable construction are identified. This research revealed that from all the possible potential obstacles, Lack of demand and culture of green construction, High Costs of Sustainable construction materials and Lack of knowledge regarding sustainable construction materials are significantly causing setback in development of green and sustainable construction in Oman. Proper actions and polices should be put into place consequently to overcome these problems. Members of construction industry in Oman seem to have high expectations form government in terms of resolving the existing difficulties. While undeniably governments have an imperative role, proactive measures in individual, corporate and professional association’s level can also enhance the pace of improvements particularly to create higher levels of social responsibility and awareness among the stakeholders. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the interviewees and respondents for their cooperation in completing this research and management of Middle East College for their support and encouragement.


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