Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
energy supply constraints. Therefore, careful planning should be done during the
design phase so the building stakeholders do not face these challenges during the
operation phase. Another source of uncertainty during the operation and mainte-
nance phase is the revenue from building operation. Other sources of uncertainty
are the operation and maintenance costs of the NZER. There is limited information
about the actual performance of NZER, and therefore, a clear base of proven returns
and costs are not available to building stakeholders for benchmarking and com-
parison. Studies have shown that the uncertainty due to operational factors can
overshadow the impact of design features; thus, operating and maintaining the
building efficiently are a top priority for building stakeholders (Wang et al.
2012
).
Changes in regulation of real estate and the future demand of sustainable
buildings are sources of uncertainty for NZER. Today, there is an increasing
demand for this type of buildings, which might not be the case in the future
especially as sustainable and green design and construction become the norm.
Thus, the additional premiums that building owners can claim for improved
building performance will be offset by increase in supply of green buildings
(McCabe
2011
).
One final uncertainty and probably one of the most influential is how the NZER
are capitalized into the resale value of the building. Very limited information
exists on this topic thus it will be challenging to obtain an accurate estimate
(Brown
2008
).
4 Risk Management Approaches
After identifying and classifying uncertainties, it is important for building stake-
holders to determine the most appropriate framework to manage these uncer-
tainties to properly evaluate NZER investments. Figure
1
presents a general risk
management process that can be used in NZER. After identifying and classifying
uncertainties, it is important for building stakeholders to determine the most
appropriate framework to manage these uncertainties to properly evaluate NZER
investments. Figure
1
presents a general risk management process that can be used
in NZER. The first step in the risk management process is to identify and classify
the NZER risks and uncertainties. As mentioned before, in this chapter, these
uncertainties and risks can be internal and external according to their sources and
the possible control that building stakeholders have over them. In the following
steps, the stakeholders need to evaluate the uncertainties and risks with an
appropriate framework to determine whether they will accept or manage the risks.
Afterward, if risk management is chosen, then the stakeholders should use an
appropriate management tool. An example of a framework to manage the risks and
uncertainties in NZER will be presented later in this chapter. Finally, these risks
should be monitored constantly during the life of the NZER. As with the case of
uncertainties, the risk management framework can also be divided over the project
life cycle.
