Browsing by Author "Mallawaarachchi, H"

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Accessibility of emergency evacuation for differentlyabled people in public hospital buildings in Sri Lanka: the national policy enhancements
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2018-06) Manoj, S; Mallawaarachchi, H; Soorige, SDA; Jayasena, N; Sandanayake, YG; Gunatilake, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS
It is very difficult task in nature and a prevailing issue in the world today to provide a reasonable access for differently abled people within any building. Specially, giving fair and impartial accessibility has become very complex and an ongoing global issue. However, various policies and guidelines have been developed in countries enabling buildings to be used by the differently abled people by building them in terms of ease of access for emergency evacuation. Among the other buildings, healthcare facility has obtained the first concern when considering its’ heavy use by differently abled people. Thus, this research was conducted with the purpose of studying on the accessibility procedures of emergency evacuation for the differently abled people in public buildings with special emphasis to public hospitals since the current evacuation means in healthcare sector are not adequately developed based on the needs of differently abled people. The research was conducted using case study method under qualitative phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among building professionals who had more than five years of experience in the field of accessibility to collect the data. Hence, three public hospital buildings in Sri Lanka were selected. Accessibility procedures of emergency evacuation and issues in existing practice were investigated related to safety and security, access to built environment and access to communication in line with the National Policy on Disability for Sri Lanka. Case study data revealed that not having predetermined procedure for evacuating differently abled people and less awareness on existing safety and security procedures thus need special attention. Accordingly, a framework was developed to propose the probable enhancements for the national policy. The enhanced policy can be used as a national strategy to assure the ease of accessibility of emergency evacuation for differently abled people in public hospital buildings in Sri Lanka.
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Adoptability of green lease in developing countries: the case of Sri Lanka
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2016-07) Hettige, NC; Perera, BAKS; Mallawaarachchi, H; Sandanayake, YG; Karunasena, GI; Ramachandra, T
The concept of Green Buildings is now being promoted as there is an increasing requirement for energy efficient buildings. With the boom of Green Buildings, Green Lease concept has become significant. However in Sri Lanka, presently Green Lease is not practiced very much. Nevertheless, attempts at adopting Green Lease cannot be ignored as there are clauses relevant to green buildings even in the existing lease agreements. Therefore, this research was carried out to investigate the adoptability of the Green Lease concept in Sri Lanka. Firstly, a literature synthesis was carried out to understand the Green Lease concept and its significance. Semi structured interviews and a documentary review were done thereafter to further identify the importance, and enablers and barriers of Green Lease. Subsequently, the findings were validated through expert interviews. The analysis revealed the significance of the Green Lease concept which provides a healthier work environment, lower utility charges and a good reputation for both the tenant and the landlord. However, there can be enablers and barriers of Green Lease. The contribution from the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL), the Government’s attempts to promote sustainable activities and conducting of business in Green Buildings are few of the enablers. Factors such as lack of policies and government rules, and poor awareness of the community about Green Lease are the significant barriers. The Government’s positive influence and the promotion of the Green Lease within the community will be beneficial towards adopting Green Lease. Several suggestions to minimize the identified barriers also have been made through the developmentof a framework.
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ADOPTABILITY OF GREEN LEASE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF SRI LANKA
(2016-08-22) Hettige, NC; Perera, BAKS; Mallawaarachchi, H
The concept of Green Buildings is now being promoted as there is an increasing requirement for energy efficient buildings. With the boom of Green Buildings, Green Lease concept has become significant. However in Sri Lanka, presently Green Lease is not practiced very much. Nevertheless, attempts at adopting Green Lease cannot be ignored as there are clauses relevant to green buildings even in the existing lease agreements. Therefore, this research was carried out to investigate the adoptability of the Green Lease concept in Sri Lanka. Firstly, a literature synthesis was carried out to understand the Green Lease concept and its significance. Semi structured interviews and a documentary review were done thereafter to further identify the importance, and enablers and barriers of Green Lease. Subsequently, the findings were validated through expert interviews. The analysis revealed the significance of the Green Lease concept which provides a healthier work environment, lower utility charges and a good reputation for both the tenant and the landlord. However, there can be enablers and barriers of Green Lease. The contribution from the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL), the Government’s attempts to promote sustainable activities and conducting of business in Green Buildings are few of the enablers. Factors such as lack of policies and government rules, and poor awareness of the community about Green Lease are the significant barriers. The Government’s positive influence and the promotion of the Green Lease within the community will be beneficial towards adopting Green Lease. Several suggestions to minimize the identified barriers also have been made through the developmentof a framework.
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Adopting net zero energy building concept to reduce energy cost of commercial buildings in Sri Lanka
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2016-07) Weerasinghe, I; Mallawaarachchi, H; De Silva, L; Sandanayake, YG; Karunasena, GI; Ramachandra, T
Fulfilling energy demand has become a major challenge faced by most of high rise buildings today as it creates high utility cost to the organization. Hence, most of the organisations, especially in commercial building sector seek better options to fulfil their energy demand as a major energy consumer among the other building facilities. Hence, several energy management practices have been introduced to enhance energy efficiency. In the governing concern on less energy and less environmental impact, Net Zero Energy Building concept has received attention. Net Zero Energy Buildings have a greatly reduced energy demand by an equivalent generation of energy from low-cost, locally available, non-polluting, renewable sources. However, the adaptation of this concept has become a major challenge due to various barriers. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the barriers to adopt Net Zero Energy Building concept to commercial buildings in Sri Lanka for proposing probable solutions. As this research required a detailed investigation, case study approach was selected under qualitative phenomenon. Three cases were conducted in three selected commercial buildings to collect the data. Cross-case analysis technique was applied as the appropriate data analysis technique. Nvivo and Decision-Explore software’s are used to analyse and present the data. As the focal point of the research, barriers to adopt Net Zero Energy Building concept was determined relating to five major categories, such as, financial, legal, policy, social, and technical barriers. According to case study findings, this concept is more suitable for new building constructions than the existing buildings, as it is more effective to adopt it at the early stage of the building. Further, major barriers include limitations of organisational internal policies, preference of organisations for short term profits, unawareness and government rules and regulations. Accordingly, a framework is developed to propose probable solutions. The developed framework gives a value to the research, as it could use as a firm base in both organisational and national levels to adopt Net Zero Energy Building concept to reduce energy cost of commercial buildings in Sri Lanka.
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ADOPTING NET ZERO ENERGY BUILDING CONCEPT TO REDUCE ENERGY COST OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS IN SRI LANKA
(2016-08-24) Weerasinghe, I; Mallawaarachchi, H; De Silva, L
Fulfilling energy demand has become a major challenge faced by most of high rise buildings today as it creates high utility cost to the organization. Hence, most of the organisations, especially in commercial building sector seek better options to fulfil their energy demand as a major energy consumer among the other building facilities. Hence, several energy management practices have been introduced to enhance energy efficiency. In the governing concern on less energy and less environmental impact, Net Zero Energy Building concept has received attention. Net Zero Energy Buildings have a greatly reduced energy demand by an equivalent generation of energy from low-cost, locally available, non-polluting, renewable sources. However, the adaptation of this concept has become a major challenge due to various barriers. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the barriers to adopt Net Zero Energy Building concept to commercial buildings in Sri Lanka for proposing probable solutions. As this research required a detailed investigation, case study approach was selected under qualitative phenomenon. Three cases were conducted in three selected commercial buildings to collect the data. Cross-case analysis technique was applied as the appropriate data analysis technique. Nvivo and Decision-Explore software’s are used to analyse and present the data. As the focal point of the research, barriers to adopt Net Zero Energy Building concept was determined relating to five major categories, such as, financial, legal, policy, social, and technical barriers. According to case study findings, this concept is more suitable for new building constructions than the existing buildings, as it is more effective to adopt it at the early stage of the building. Further, major barriers include limitations of organisational internal policies, preference of organisations for short term profits, unawareness and government rules and regulations. Accordingly, a framework is developed to propose probable solutions. The developed framework gives a value to the research, as it could use as a firm base in both organisational and national levels to adopt Net Zero Energy Building concept to reduce energy cost of commercial buildings in Sri Lanka.
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Applicability of green human resource management concept to achieve sustainable goals of green buildings in Sri Lanka
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2016-07) Weerasinghe, RL; De Silva, L; Mallawaarachchi, H; Sandanayake, YG; Fernando, GI; Ramachandra, T
Nowadays in world, construction of green building becomes a new trend. Many studies noticed that there are considerable amount of investments to the green buildings than conventional buildings. Since in last decade, the world has concerned about green building concept as one of the solutions to reduce environmental impacts. In achieving such foremost benefits of green buildings, human resource plays a vital role, especially to achieve sustainable goals of green buildings. Green Human Resource Management came into practice as a newest concept to create green responsive employees who make a significant contribution to environmental sustainability. However, Human Resource is not utilized in effective and efficient manner in most of the organizations. Therefore, the intention of this research is to investigate the applicability of Green Human Resource Management concept to achieve sustainable goals of green buildings in Sri Lanka. As this research required an in-depth investigation, the research problem was approached through three case studies which are conducted in three selected green buildings in Sri Lanka. Content and cross case analysis techniques are used to analyse the data. QSR. Nvivo software is used to simplify the data analysis. As key research findings derived through case analysis, in Sri Lanka, existing green buildings have not been implemented the proper Green Human Resource Management process. Hence, the gaps in existing Human Resource Management process in green buildings are identified in relation to the job analysis, recruitment, selection, induction, training and development, performance evaluation and discipline management. Improper job designing, not including green competencies, use of traditional Human Resource Management process, unawareness, no proper performance evaluation criteria are identified as major gaps in Human Resource Management process in green buildings. Accordingly, a framework is developed to propose various strategies to fill the gaps in existing process to effectively utilize the Human Resource for achieving sustainable goals of green buildings in Sri Lanka as the main implication of this research.
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APPLICABILITY OF GREEN HUMAN RESOURCEMANAGEMENT CONCEPT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE GOALS OF GREEN BUILDINGS IN SRI LANKA
(2016-08-24) Weerasinghe, RL; De Silva, L; Mallawaarachchi, H
Nowadays in world, construction of green building becomes a new trend. Many studies noticed that there are considerable amount of investments to the green buildings than conventional buildings. Since in last decade, the world has concerned about green building concept as one of the solutions to reduce environmental impacts. In achieving such foremost benefits of green buildings, human resource plays a vital role, especially to achieve sustainable goals of green buildings. Green Human Resource Management came into practice as a newest concept to create green responsive employees who make a significant contribution to environmental sustainability. However, Human Resource is not utilized in effective and efficient manner in most of the organizations. Therefore, the intention of this research is to investigate the applicability of Green Human Resource Management concept to achieve sustainable goals of green buildings in Sri Lanka. As this research required an in-depth investigation, the research problem was approached through three case studies which are conducted in three selected green buildings in Sri Lanka. Content and cross case analysis techniques are used to analyse the data. QSR. Nvivo software is used to simplify the data analysis. As key research findings derived through case analysis, in Sri Lanka, existing green buildings have not been implemented the proper Green Human Resource Management process. Hence, the gaps in existing Human Resource Management process in green buildings are identified in relation to the job analysis, recruitment, selection, induction, training and development, performance evaluation and discipline management. Improper job designing, not including green competencies, use of traditional Human Resource Management process, unawareness, no proper performance evaluation criteria are identified as major gaps in Human Resource Management process in green buildings. Accordingly, a framework is developed to propose various strategies to fill the gaps in existing process to effectively utilize the Human Resource for achieving sustainable goals of green buildings in Sri Lanka as the main implication of this research
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Assessing the carbon emission reduction by grid-tied photovoltaic (pv) technology for buildings in Sri Lanka
(2021-07) Ganegodage, LH; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Mallawaarachchi, H
Energy related carbon emission of buildings is a major cause of global warming. In order to mitigate energy related carbon emission, buildings tend to adopt renewable energy technologies. Amongst renewable energy technologies, grid-tied PV technology has gained the interest of building energy consumers as an alternative energy source. Nevertheless, there is considerably low implementation of grid-tied PV technology in Sri Lanka, especially as a carbon reduction strategy. A key reason for lack of implementation of grid-tied PV system is that majority of buildings still depend on traditional energy sources for their total energy needs. Hence, there is a need of highlighting the importance of grid-tied PV system to penetrate the existing traditional energy market. The aim of this study is therefore to assess the possible energy related carbon reduction of grid-tied PV system for buildings in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, total of four (4) buildings were selected as case studies, including two buildings with grid-tied PV technology and two other buildings that are totally dependent on traditional energy sources. Subsequently, carbon footprint assessment was conducted to four (4) buildings specifying to energy related carbon emitting activities. And research findings revealed that selected two buildings with grid-Tied PV technology achieve an average reduction of carbon by 3379.77kg and 3013.06kg respectively per month compared to traditional-energy buildings. Consequently, this work has successfully identified that buildings with grid-tied PV technology achieve a reduction in energy related carbon emission compared to buildings with traditional energy sources.
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Beyond the reuse: Potentials and barriers for exchanging treated wastewater among the industries in Sri Lanka.
(2022-06-24) Mallawaarachchi, H; Sandanayake, YG; Karunasena, G; Liu, C; Sandanayake, YG; Gunatilake, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS
A major drawback in the present industrial system is that the industries are directly discharging industrial effluent to nearest waterbodies in a linear way. Even though, a few of industries have considered reusing treated and untreated wastewater in their industrial premises, it can be further extended towards ‘exchange’ among the multiple industries under the concept of Industrial Symbiosis (IS). Initiating IS-based treated wastewater exchange networks is a novel approach to Sri Lankan industries and there is a lack of a study on potentials and barriers of implementing the concept. Hence, this research aimed to investigate the potentials and barriers for exchanging treated wastewater among industries. In order to achieve the aim, 16 semi-structed interviews were conducted with industry experts in the field of Industrial Water Management (IWM) to collect the data. Code-based content analysis technique was used to analyse the data by applying QSR NVivo.12 software. Findings revealed geographical proximity of industries, willingness of industries to engage in water exchange and industry level water management initiatives as major potentials for initiating water exchange networks. Lack of expected water quality for industrial needs, outdated technologies used in water management and lack of expertise and awareness were identified as major barriers. Accordingly, strategies, such as introducing national policy enhancements, ensuring cultural adaptation, enhancing technology & infrastructure, and empowering research & development, were proposed to overcome the identified barriers to ensure a successful implementation of treated wastewater exchange networks targeting the socioeconomic development of the country
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Circular Economy (CE) based material selection: Development of a CE-based ‘10R’ evaluation framework for building construction projects in Sri Lanka.
(2022-06-24) Wanaguru, K; Mallawaarachchi, H; Vijerathne, D; Sandanayake, YG; Gunatilake, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS
The building construction industry is globally identified as one of the major consumers of materials. Thus, the material wastage in building construction projects is very excessive. In the Sri Lankan construction industry, it was identified that the main reason for generating material wastage is the absence of proper material selection criteria. The concept of Circular Economy (CE) has been obtained the world attention in reducing material wastage in the construction industry as it targets zero waste and pollution throughout the lifecycle of materials. Applying CE principles in the material selection not only reduces the wastage of materials but also reduces the use of virgin materials. Hence, this research aimed for developing a CE-based 10R evaluation framework for materials selection in order to reduce the wastage of materials in building construction projects in Sri Lanka. A comprehensive literature review was first conducted to review the concept of CE, CE principles and its importance for reducing material wastage in the construction industry. Deductive approach was chosen as the suitable research approach in this study. Survey method was applied as the suitable research strategy under quantitative phenomenon. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a conveniently selected sample of 58 industry professionals to collect the data. The collected data were analysed by using Weighted Mean Average (WMA) technique. As key findings derived through analysis, the level of importance of each CE principle for selection of materials was determined. Accordingly, the CE-based 10R evaluation framework for material selection was developed as the main implication of this research. Various strategies, such as reusing demolition materials, adopting prefabricated building components, developing plans to on-site recycle and using alternative materials were also proposed to implement the all identified CE principles assuring a successful application of the developed framework.
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Driving factors for facade rainwater harvesting in high-rise buildings
Fernando, R; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Mallawaarachchi, H
Water is the most vital natural resource for all life on earth and it affects people health and wellbeing, economy and the environment. However, millions of people throughout the world still donot have enough access to fulfil this basic necessity. Thus, scarcity and the accelerating demand of water are major problems in nowadays. With respect to the sustainable management of freshwater, the of alternate or additional water resources are uses highly considered in the worldwide. In this context, rainwater harvesting has become a great necessity specially in building designs due to high water consumption, high demand on main water supply and increase of water utility bills. However, rainwater harvesting is not a new technique to collect and store rainwater for the later usage in any buildings and' can be retro-fitted to existing buildings or integrated into new building designs. Rainwater harvesting can be implemented by using various existing structures such as rooftops, parking lots, playgrounds, parks, ponds and building’s facade. Even though, other structural elements highly used in this mechanism, the less consideration and less priority have been given to the rainwater that collected through 'building’s fagade1. However, it is a still remaining researchable area , as it is a new technique used in few high-rise buildings in Sri Lanka according to the key literature findings. Therefore, this emphasizes the importance of studying the applicability of facade rainwater harvesting system in buildings designs. Thus, this paper discusses possible driving factors and design criteria which impact on facade rainwater harvesting in high-rise buildings in Sri Lanka. First, available literature was critically reviewed and, structured questionnaire survey was conducted among the industiy practitioners vyho are involved in rainwater harvesting design and construction in buildings. Relative Importance Index (RH) was used to analyse the questionnaire data and further, t-test was used to identify the significant driving factors affecting on facade RWH system. It was identified climate (rainfall pattern) and intensity of the rainfall as the most significant factors. Furthermore, the paper discusses suitable design criteria of facade rainwater harvesting in terms of implementing stage, building shape, height and type of facade materials.
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Enabling zero waste concept in the construction industry: a literature review
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2018-06) Liyanage, KLAKT; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Mallawaarachchi, H; Sandanayake, YG; Gunatilake, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS
The construction industry is one of the leading economic players in any region. However, the continuous construction and demolition activities have resulted in the generation of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste. C&D waste management in the construction industry is still at an adolescent stage where effective reduction of C&D waste is considered as a challenging issue confronted by many economies in the world. Improper waste management has led to several issues related to environmental, economic, and social over the past years. Thus, C&D waste management is considered as a persuasive issue to be addressed. The “Zero Waste” concept has emerged as a solution to eliminate the C&D waste, which eradicates waste at the source and throughout the period of the construction activity. Many researchers have mentioned that efficient material management or waste minimisation plan is an essential process in zero waste. In this process, it is pertinent to consider the potential of which materials may generate less waste, re-useable, or recyclable, i.e., diverting materials from disposal to reuse or recycling during the construction. However, limited studies are available on zero waste management in construction industry. Therefore, this paper aims to review the importance of zero waste concept to the construction industry by critically reviewing the secondary data on waste management studies conducted in the construction industry. The paper further discusses the types of C&D waste, impacts of C&D waste, origins and causes of waste, the zero-waste concept, and the importance and its application in the construction industry. Strategies, enablers, and barriers to implementing zero waste are discussed, and finally, a conceptual framework is developed to achieve Zero Waste in the construction industry.
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Ensuring health and safety in petroleum built environment : the case of Sri Lanka
(2021-07) Thennakoon, TMAS; Mallawaarachchi, H; Rathnayake, RMDIM; De Silva, L
The petroleum-built environment is an important area of concern, which mainly includes refinery and storage facilities. Since its hazardous nature leading unexpected accidents and disasters, the safety of petroleum-built environment has become a vital requirement to eliminate the hazards associated with the petroleum process. However, a comprehensive study on safe handling of petroleum products in Sri Lanka is not reported so far. Hence, this study aimed at enhancing the health and safety in handling process of petroleum products in refinery and storage facilities. A comprehensive literature review was initially conducted on the petroleum products handling process, and national and international safety guidelines. Case study method was used since this study requires an in-depth investigation. Two prominent cases for refinery and storage facilities were studied to collect the data. Content analysis technique was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that Factories Ordinance, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Guideline, Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) standard, and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Guideline are commonly considered in ensuring health and safety of petroleum-built environment. Further, the chronic deceases in lungs and heart, cancers, high noise generation, unwillingness to use personal protective equipment (PPE), bowser and wagon accidents, fuel fire risk, pipeline leakages, and water and soil pollution were highlighted as common health and safety issues in refinery and storage. Finally, various strategies were proposed to overcome the identified health and safety issues ensuring the health and safety of petroleum-built environment.
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Environmental sustainability assessment of facilities management: a case of apparel industry in Sri Lanka
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2018-06) Jayasena, N; Mallawaarachchi, H; Sandanayake, YG; Gunatilake, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS
With the adaptation of businesses to sustainable approaches, facility manager’s role has been expanded to be responsible for the sustainable performance of a building. Specially, escalating changes in the built environment has initiated the need of evaluating environmental sustainability (ES) of building facilities. Specially, apparel industry shows a significant impact to the environment, thus, it highlights the need of having a way to evaluate the environmental sustainability in facilities management (FM) in apparel sector. Therefore, this research was aimed to develop a model to evaluate the environmental sustainability of FM in apparel industry in Sri Lanka. By reviewing key literature, thirty-four (34) environmental sustainability indicators were identified under energy management, water management, waste management, asset management and maintenance management. Under the survey approach, pair-wise comparison through structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the identified indicators. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) tool was used to derive the relative performance scores of each ES indicator and ranked. Energy management was identified as the most significant FM function related to environmental sustainability. Energy sub-metering and application of sub-meter reading on identification of significant energy consumers, availability of waste management policy and availability of environmental impact assessment for the assets were determined as top priority indicators that need to be considered to ensure the ES of FM in apparel industry. Accordingly, the identified performance scores can be used as a basis to evaluate the ES of FM functions in order to formulate the suitable strategies to instigate the environmentally sustainable FM practices in apparel industry in Sri Lanka.
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Environmental sustainability of facilities management: Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) based model for evaluation
(Emerald, 2020) Jayasena, NS; Mallawaarachchi, H; De Silva, L
Purpose Rapid changes in the environment escalate the requirement of environmental sustainability assessment within built environment. The purpose of this paper is to model the environmental sustainability of facilities management (FM) functions in apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review was carried out in order to identify the importance of sustainability assessment for FM, sustainable FM functions and their environmental sustainability indicators. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was carried out to determine a relative weight of the sustainable FM functions and environmental sustainability indicators through the analytical hierarchy process analysis. Findings Energy management was identified as the most significant FM function in terms of environmental sustainability in apparel industry with a relative performance of 49.12 per cent. Subsequently, the functions of water management (29.39 per cent), maintenance management (11.98 per cent) and waste management (9.64 per cent) obtained the second, third and fourth ranks while asset management (7.85 per cent) was the function which had the least performance score. Relative weights for the environmental sustainability indicators were also determined. Research limitations/implications In respect of the apparel industry, the developed model can be utilised for assessing the environmental sustainability of FM in broader term. Originality/value No proper mechanism was found to assess the sustainability of FM in apparel sector since very fewer research studies were focussed on achieving environmental sustainability in different industries. Hence, the assessment of environmental sustainability of FM in apparel industry is an emerging necessity in the present day, which was addressed in this research.
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Evaluating Subcontractor Performance in Construction Industry
(2016-01-06) Chamara, HWL; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Mallawaarachchi, H
Most of the construction projects undertaken are more complex in nature, demanding greater skills and technologies. In the past two decades, subcontracting has been utilized extensively in construction industry. Hence, subcontractor is a key person to assure the success of a construction project although many issues involved in subcontracting practice and rarely acknowledged. The reliance of ma in contractors on subcontractors to execute major portions of construction work makes the success of construction projects highly susceptible to the performance of subcontractor organizations. Early researches picked out those subcontractors are not being fully utilized due to various issues. As a result, subcontractors are subjected to put tremendous pressures on project performance in terms of quality, time and cost in construction industry. Therefore, in construction industry, there is a gap between the required performance level and the current performance of subcontractors. Thus, this study attempts to fulfill the gap between required and current performance of subcontractors by investigating subcontractors’ issues on the project performance in terms of t ime, cost and quality. Literature review indicated number of issues with subcontractors that had adversely influenced the performance of a construction project. The study was adopted survey approach to fulfill the research objective. The structured questionnaire which was developed by supporting literature findings was distributed among main contractors and sub-contractors. Relative Important Index was adopted to analyse and evaluate the collected data. The results revealed that, selection method, critical site coordination, labour migration, delay payment and site safety wer e respectively significant on subcontractor performance. Further, it was identified there is a positive relationship between attitudes of main contractor and subcontractor. The paper describes the mitigation measures that could be used to maximize the performance of construction projects in terms of time, cost and quality, while enhancing the performance of subcontractors.
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A framework for adopting green leasing in developing countries: the case of Sri Lanka
(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2017) Hettige, N; Perera, BAKS; Mallawaarachchi, H
Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify the enablers and barriers to the adoption of green leasing in Sri Lanka and propose probable solutions. Design/Methodology/Approach – As an in-depth investigation was required, the case study method with a qualitative approach was selected as the research methodology. A documentary review and semi-structured interviews on three selected green buildings were conducted to study their leasing processes. QSR NVivo statistical analysis software was used for the content analysis. Findings – Enablers and barriers to the adoption of green leasing under different categories such as those related to processes, institutions and Government and also to legal, economic and social factors were determined along with probable solutions identified through a comprehensive framework that was developed. Practical Implications – The findings can be used as a basis to evaluate the current leasing processes that have adopted this emerging and important approach towards the sustainable operation and management of green buildings. Originality/Value – The little attention paid to this latest concept makes it important to evaluate the adoptability of green leasing in developing countries. Hence, the determination of key enablers, barriers and solutions was the focal point of this research.
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Green framework to improve indoor air quality in buildings: reducing the impact of sick building syndrome on office workers in Sri Lanka: a literature review
(2013-11-12) Mallawaarachchi, H; De Silva, L
The prevalence of harmful, natural and artificial substances, indoors are combined with poorly ventilated interior and the long period of time staff spend indoors, can lead to various health problems. Poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) can lead to such increased incidents of health related symptoms, which in turn can lead to an increase in absenteeism and loss of productivity. Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a major health effect faced by occupants in buildings with indoor air problems whilst most of buildings were potential carriers of SBS. SBS due to poor IAQ could affect to the workers who are working in the same premises for long durations. Especially in an office environment, the workers have to work in the same working area with many numbers of hours continually in the same premises. Thus, they are directly faced with the indoor air factors all along the day. Thus, poor IAQ has become a major concern and widely regarded as a significant health, environment and economic hazard. Consequently, certain guidelines are helpful to improve and control the quality of air indoors. Green building concept is gaining momentum in facilitating healthier environment specially by improving IAQ due to its potential impact on building occupants. Accordingly, a green framework of IAQ has been developed through a comprehensive literature review by considering available green strategies including green tools, standards and codes and organizational and national policies and procedures. Thus, those strategies can be applied to control sources of poor IAQ, human activities and IAQ performance as well as to improve the awareness on SBS and green strategies. Further, it is expected that the study will serve a green platform which can be applied by future researchers in order to reduce the impact of SBS on building occupants in Sri Lanka.
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Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) management framework for low carbon industrial facilities : milk processing industry in Sri Lanka
(2021-07) Karunathilaka, RWIS; Mallawaarachchi, H; Rathnayake, RMDIM
Milk processing industry consumes hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) at a great extent. Emission of HFC distresses the food security, water security and the future of healthy living beings. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to propose strategies to improve the HFC management practices in Sri Lankan milk processing industry. Case study method was involved under qualitative phenomenon. Thus, three case studies were selected based on the HFC handling process. Nine milk processing agencies representing three importers and distributors, three milk processors and three service providers were selected to collect the data. Case analysis technique was used for data analysis. Findings revealed that, lack of institutional and national level procedures, unstable governmental policies, and lack of technology have increased the unhealthy handling of HFC in milk processing industry in Sri Lanka. Initiating a national level mechanism for governing HFC importers and service providers, empowering inventers for creating sustainable applications over HFC use and improving awareness were identified as key strategies to eliminate the identified issues under organisational and national level. Accordingly, a framework was proposed, which provides a platform to investigate the status of HFC handling procedure of milk processing industry in Sri Lanka. Since there is a lack of national level concern on managing HFC use in milk processing industry, having a formal framework at national level to govern both national and institutional level procedures was determined as a vital step forward to be considered.
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Importance of Quality for Construction Project Success
(2016-01-05) Mallawaarachchi, H; Senaratne, S
Construction projects are always expected to create a balance between cost, time and quality. It is possible to have high quality and low cost, but at the expense of time, and conversely to have high quality and a fast project, but at a cost. High quality is not always the primary objective for the client; however, it is extremely important to a successful project. An appropriate level of quality could be determined during all phases of the construction project. Specially, construction and commissioning are two critical phases where the project could impact by its operability, availability, reliability, and maintainability of a facility. Ultimately, a facility with a good construction quality program and minimal defects is more likely to have a smooth and trouble free transition into the commissioning and qualification phase of the project. This creates a great potential for quality improvements in construction projects, as the poor quality could negatively effect to project failures. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the importance of quality for construction project success. Accordingly, quality and related key literature were reviewed and a framework of quality for construction project success was developed.