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CRR Conference 2014

Elhag Hafiz. K. , Glass Jacqueline, and Gibb Alist

Towards Sustainable Business Improvement in the Precast Concrete Flooring Industry

Elhag Hafiz. K., Glass Jacqueline, and Gibb Alistair Department of Civil and Building Engineering,
Loughborough University,
Loughborough, UK.

Abstract
The manufacture of precast concrete flooring products is part of a £2bn precast concrete industry sector employing 22,000 people and accounting for nearly 28% of the total cement and concrete market in the UK. This sector has always been keen to improve its environmental performance and reduce the levels of its emissions, but this agenda has broadened in response to government and consumer demands and interest in sustainability principles. Of the triple bottom line components, environmental protection and business imperatives are closely linked within the precast manufacturing process, particularly with the sector being a core user of both primary energy and Portland cement. In this context, research is underway to identify the short and long-term environmental impacts of precast flooring products.

The BRE Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used in five precast pre-stressed concrete flooring factories to identify the main environmental impacts directly or indirectly associated with production. The study explored 12 environmental impacts, including energy consumption and concrete waste generation. Energy use, cement consumption and waste emerged as key issues, these were found to be affected with specific production systems and techniques (such as accelerated curing, or bespoke product design) employed by manufacturers to maintain workability and increase profits. These have been explored subsequently through a series of focus groups. A range of research methods has been employed to further explore the outcomes of the LCA, with a view to mapping the operational decision making behind the data. This paper reports on all of these aspects and will be of interest to researchers, academics and industrialists.

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