Metodologias archivo - Construcía

About us

Who we are

Services

Clients

What we do

Corporate Headquarters

Methodology

Circular construction

Material Passport

HUB Innovation

BIM

Ver mas +

Archives: Metodologias

BIM: Its role in the Construcía Lean2Cradle® Methodology

BIM is changing the way people in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industry are working.

It is a collaborative work methodology that integrates all the parties involved in the building process and centralises all the information in a digital model.

BIM is a powerful engine of transformation that, combined with other industry trends, leads to significant changes and improvements in the value chain. Therefore, at Construcía our objective is to implement this disruptive technology to improve the Lean2Cradle® asset development process.

Lean2Cradle® is the tool in which we combine the Lean Construction methodology and implement the Cradle to Cradle principles, which focus on the health of users and materials, as well as the cyclability of the products installed in the building. With Lean2Cradle®, we build spaces while staying on budget and meeting deadlines, we create healthy and profitable buildings over time, and we do not generate waste because the materials’ life-cycle doesn’t come to an end when the building ends its useful life.

As a result, the need arises to record and concentrate all information in one place, which thus exponentially improves the forecasting ability of all the parties involved in a building process. This is where BIM technology comes into play.

5 Advantages of Applying BIM

Collaborative work: it allows multidisciplinary work to be done through a single platform where information is shared in real time. This two-way communication also improves the transparency of the project.
Efficient and sustainable building: it allows us to determine the energy impact of the materials used.
Savings and efficiency: it automatically generates all project documentation, such as budgets, planning, structures… thus reducing costs and time.
Minimisation of errors: much more comprehensive and reliable information is generated that allows us to analyse if there is a problem and solve it quickly. BIM gives us a great opportunity to reduce uncertainties that usually appear in the design and construction phases, such as the common deviations in existing deadlines, costs and specifications.

According to the UK Building Information Modelling Task Group: “BIM is essentially value creating collaboration through the entire life-cycle of an asset, underpinned by the creation, collation and exchange of shared 3D models and intelligent, structured data attached to them.”

BIM provides long-lasting data and its presence begins with the design phase, being included also in the construction phase and with its use extending throughout the entire building life cycle. With the development of our Lean2Cradle® methodology, we’ve sought out a transparent work protocol based on the participation of the project’s different members, facilitating interoperability and the flow of information. Thanks to BIM technology and its digital transformation processes, we manage to store and improve this flow of information, which can also be updated over time.

BIM Technology and the Material Passport

The Material Passport is the tool that allows us to identify, quantify and locate the different materials and products found in the building, in addition to assessing how healthy they are and how they will be recirculated in the future. It is a necessary part of our Lean2Cradle® methodology, since it provides us with the residual value of the materials used and tells us if they can be returned to the earth in the form of nutrients, completing their biological cycle, or reused in industry, completing the technical cycle.

Digital transformation allows us to store data about the life cycles of the materials and enables us to gain access to this information right when materials have to be removed or reprocessed.

In the projects where we apply the Lean2Cradle® methodology, where collaborative management is essential, the digital transformation process is greatly benefited by the use of tools such as BIM. An example of this is the Socrates building, where BIM offered the necessary platform for an open workflow, in addition to introducing the basic parameters of circularity with which the healthiness of the building is also measured.

Lean Construction Cradle to Cradle Lean2Cradle Material Passport

You want to know more?

Subscribe to our newsletter to know more about us

I have read and accept the privacy policy

Innovation HUB

A more modern and inclusive teamwork model that is part of the real transition towards a model of circularity.

Innovation HUB is a collaborative framework created to promote the development and execution of building projects in accordance with the Cradle to Cradle principles and the circular economy.

It is an initiative aimed at the exchange of knowledge for the development and implementation of innovative projects.

A vision that’s open to a more modern and inclusive teamwork model that’s part of the real transition towards a model of circularity.

The Innovation Hub's Objectives

The Innovation Hub seeks to achieve the following objectives:

Develop common objectives and innovation strategies for the application of the circular economy in building and city planning projects.
Develop and share knowledge about C2C^® and the circular economy in the context of the building sector.
Promote innovation and the application of these principles in the building sector.
Contribute to the development of healthy environments, activities and products, to transform the economy and society.
Apply and improve tools that are both already developed or in the process of being developed.

The Innovation HUB's Methodology

A clear idea of the work methodology, establishing collaborative work as the ideal model.
Knowledge of the Cradle to Cradle principles.
Projects with BIM models according to the BEP developed by Construcía.
Integration of project information into ITeC’s TCQi platform.
Interest in modular design and construction solutions designed for deconstruction

Project Scope

Preliminary stage

We provide a multidisciplinary team of specialised professionals, led by our L2C manager.

Workplace Analysis
Due Diligence
Feasibility Studies (technical, economic, regulatory…)
Definition of project objectives and criteria (L2C Guide)
Preliminary Plan/Conceptual Design
Energy Analysis
Studies of the environment (acoustic, electromagnetic, lighting)

Project

Based on the previously defined objectives, you will achieve the highest standards in your commitment to the environment and circular construction.

Basic Projects
Building Permit Projects
Execution of Works Projects
Measurements and Quotes
Energy Certifications
Installation Projects
Material Passport

Execution of works and follow-up

Exhaustive control of each phase in the construction project, with ongoing meetings and reports organised by the assigned managers.

PROJECT & SITE MANAGEMENT

Project Management
Site Management
Health and Safety Coordination
L2C Manager

CONSTRUCTION

Construction Manager
Project Manager
Superintendents
Health & Safety Manager
Project Administrators

Lean Construction Cradle to Cradle Lean2Cradle Material Passport

You want to know more?

Subscribe to our newsletter to know more about us

I have read and accept the privacy policy

Lean Construction: the efficient construction

Lean Construction methodology eliminates the processes that do not add value to the final product and prevents the squandering of materials, time and human resources.

Lean Construction is a methodology of management of construction projects that seeks to deliver the maximum value to the client, listening to their needs and optimizing the processes with suitable planning and risk control.

The Lean methodology allows us to be flexible to adapt to the priorities of each client, and minimize the typical problems of traditional management such as cost overruns or late deliveries.

The oirigins of Lean Construction

The Lean work system emerged in Japan in the 1950s with Toyota, as an alternative to the mass production that prevailed in the U.S.A. The Toyota Production System advocated Lean Manufacturing, that does not produce more than the market demands and seeks to reduce losses, understood as all that consumes resources and does not add value to the final product.

Lean applied to construction adopts the principles of this philosophy to optimize the construction processes and obtain the best results with maximum efficiency; that is, offer a product of the highest quality with the lowest cost and in less time.

interior lean construction construcción eficiente

The Lean principles at Construcía

Collaborative planning

If we have learnt anything at Construcía working with the Lean Construction methodology, it is that for the project to be successful, collaboration among all the actors involved is essential: suppliers, architects, builders and, of course, the client.

And together with collaboration, transparency and trust between the participants are also fundamental in order for everyone to feel they are part of a team that goes beyond the companies that comprise it. In addition, now, the client is also another co-worker of the team, and the responsibility of the final product is shared among everyone.

Detailed planning

Before starting the project, objectives are established and a detail plan is drawn up with the client and the project management to reduce the risks and resolve the problems in a collaborative way.

An important part of this planning is the Pull Sessions: meetings to define the returns, the sequence of activities and the work flow, and solve the possible overlaps.

After these sessions, the information collected in the Last Planner System is organized, a tool of collaborative planning where the daily objectives are shared and each one specifies their tasks and the time required to do them.

Just in time deliveries

Another of the principles of Lean Construction that we follow at Construcía is that of just in time deliveries. With our hub of materials, we supply only the materials necessary and at the precise moment. Thus, we avoid losses of time and superfluous movements, and we improve order and work safety.

Prefabrication

This is another of the processes that are optimized with the Lean Construction methodology. At Construcía we have seen that it is best to prefabricate all construction elements that do not need to be manufactured on site and that can be transported and assembled without difficulty.

On prefabricating, we gain in efficiency and in quality of the final product, because in the factory there is more space, better auxiliary resources and tools, and the controls are more exhaustive. In addition, in this way, time and space are utilized on site for tasks that can only be done there.

Continuous improvement and learning

Kaizen in Japanese means continuous improvement; a principle inherited from Lean Manufacturing by which we are governed at Construcía, not only in our projects, but also in our trajectory as a company. We believe that the only way to achieve excellence is to make a critical analysis of the successes and failures and incorporate that knowledge into the subsequent projects.

But we don’t do it alone; in our projects we have the support of our Cradle to Cradle suppliers, that allow us, with their experience, to improve performance, increase quality and reduce prices.

With Lean Construction we are leaving behind an obsolete way of working, incapable of offering personalized and profitable solutions. Thanks to this methodology we can fulfil our goal of always delivering maximum value to the customer according to its priorities, and do it within the costs and the period established.

links de interesse

Lean Construction Institute
Toyota Production System
¿What is Lean Construction?
Lean Construction Blog

Lean Construction Cradle to Cradle Lean2Cradle Material Passport

You want to know more?

Subscribe to our newsletter to know more about us

I have read and accept the privacy policy

Discover what Cradle to Cradle is

The paradigm of design Cradle to Cradle (C2C) has taught us that the best way to be sustainable is to imitate nature, where the waste of one system is transformed into nutrient for another. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is waste.

According to this model based on the circular economy, everything can be designed to be disassembled later and returned to the earth (biological nutrient), or be re-used as high-quality material in new products such as (technical nutrient). A process of continuous cyclability.

The current linear system of the economy (extract, manufacture, use, discard) has reached its limits due to the depletion of resources and of raw materials. While this model generates waste at all stages of production, the circular economy defends a regenerative industrial system, inspired in nature, that utilizes everything produced in an indefinite circular cycle.

Cradle to Cradle beginnings

This concept emerged in 2002 as an answer to the unsustainability of the traditional production model. In the book Cradle to Cradle: redesigning the way in which we make things, Michael Braungart and Willian McDonough launched an innovative proposal to the industry, based on three principles:

View waste materials as though they were nutrients: reintroduce the products that no longer fulfil their initial purpose into the economic circuit.
Use clean and renewable energies.
Promote diversity: design products taking into account the biological, social and cultural characteristics of the place where they are sent.

The circular model begins in the design.

It is no longer a question of minimizing the damage at the end of the cycle, recycling products without a previously established strategy. We cannot continue manufacturing products thinking only about a single cycle of use and then discarding them, or recycling them with a substantial loss of quality or with complicated processes (infracycling).

What this new paradigm proposes is to reformulate the model and tackle problems from the start, from its conception. This involves designing them taking into account the best way of re-using them to utilize their characteristics to the greatest extent (supracycle).

Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a globally recognized standard of quality that is managed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII), an independent not-for-profit entity. The certification evaluates products according to criteria of circular economy, such as the health profile, cyclability potential or the use of renewable energies.

Help others in the change to a circular economy

In the world more than 8,000 products have been certified. At Grupo Construcía, we are leading the way in Spain with our consultancy EIG, the only one accredited to make this evaluation in our country.

The criteria for obtaining this accreditation are demanding, but we are finding many suppliers who are ready to take that step. We are working hand in hand with them to manufacture cyclable materials that have a positive impact on society, the environment and the economy.

More and more developers, architects and builders of the entire world are joining in this commitment to the future and opt for C2C Certified™ materials, which, additionally, facilitate the obtaining of credits for most programs of green certification (LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, WELL).

Cradle to Cradle Materials: healthy and cyclable

Applying the Cradle to Cradle principles to construction is a radical change and, at the same time, is very necessary in this industry, one of those that generates most waste. When using C2C certified products we are optimizing their useful life and ensuring that they can be used and re-used safely, because they do not contain substances harmful for people or the environment.

In short, it is a question of advancing to a new, more harmonious model that imitates nature and works to achieve a balance between what we take from it and what we give back to it.

In addition, Cradle to Cradle contributes to integrating social responsibility into the company strategy, understood as a process of continuous improvement, in which there will always exist aspects to be improved or negative impacts to be eliminate or mitigated. And it provides a valuable road map to improve the environmental and social impact of products and measure your progress toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

links de interesse

Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Eco Intelligent Growth
Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute
Estatistics of Circular Economy

Lean Construction Cradle to Cradle Lean2Cradle Material Passport

You want to know more?

Subscribe to our newsletter to know more about us

I have read and accept the privacy policy

Circular construction with Lean2Cradle® Construcía

With Lean2Cradle^® Construcía we are able to reduce the two main negative impacts of the construction sector: the toxicity of materials and the creation of waste. This is possible thanks to the fusion of the paradigm of circular economy Cradle to Cradle (C2C) with Lean Construction methodology.

The Cradle to Cradle paradigm defends a system of regenerative production in which the materials that compose a product are cyclable; that is, they can be re-used indefinitely and safely for people and the environment.

To ensure this cyclability it is necessary, on one hand, to select materials without harmful elements, and on the other hand, to define now in the design phase how they will be used after their first useful life, to design the product according to that planned circular path.

This paradigm applied to construction means that the buildings gain value with time. In addition, circular construction does not generate waste, because now buildings are conceived as quarries that will have other uses in the future.

And not only that, the spaces constructed with our methodology are healthy and contribute to the well-being of the people that inhabit them, because they are designed and built with the persons who are going to use them in mind.

The second pillar of Lean2Cradle® Construcía is the Lean Construction methodology, a system of project management that is able to optimize the processes and reduce the risks inherent to the sector, such as cost overruns or late deliveries.

With the merger of C2C and Lean Construction, we have found the formula to compensate the higher cost that circular materials can have with a reduction in the operating costs, the reinvestment costs and the execution time.

Characteristics of Lean2Cradle® Construcía

- It dispenses with all that consumes resources and does not provide value to the client’s needs.

- It involves the entire value chain from the beginning, with the purpose of ensuring the sustainability and profitability of the project.

- It offers solutions that optimize the price and reduce the completion periods.

- It prioritizes transparency in the processes, materials and budgets.

- It focuses the design on people

Advantages of Lean2Cradle® Construcía

20%

increase of the production in our spaces

Control of the intrinsic risks of the sector.

50%

reduction of absenteeism in our spaces.

Positive effects on people’s health and the environment.

20%

return of the investment in the future

More efficient and profitable processes of construction

100%

sustainable: zero waste and re-use of the resources.

Obtaining of BREEAM®, LEED® and C2C® certifications.

20%

increase of the production in our spaces

Control of the intrinsic risks of the sector.

50%

reduction of absenteeism in our spaces.

Positive effects on people’s health and the environment.

20%

return of the investment in the future

More efficient and profitable processes of construction

100%

sustainable: zero waste and re-use of the resources.

Obtaining of BREEAM®, LEED® and C2C® certifications.

Pillars of Lean2Cradle® Construcía

Cradle to Cradle Construcía

The paradigm of design Cradle to Cradle (C2C) has taught us that the best way of being sustainable is to imitate nature, where the waste of one system is transformed into nutrient for another. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is waste.

See more +

Lean Construction

Lean Construction is a methodology of construction project management that eliminates the processes that do not add value to the final product and prevents the squandering of materials, time and human resources.

See more +

Material Passport

The Material Passport is the identity document of materials, and constitutes the first tool in decision-making of circular construction that we carry out in Construcía.

See more +

Welcome to a change of model: circular construction

Lean2Cradle® Construcía makes it possible to disconnect economic growth from the massive consumption of raw materials by the application of the principles of the circular economy. Added now to the values of linear construction —price, period and quality—, are the values on which our model is based: health, cyclability, residual value and productivity.

The linear model that still prevails (extract, use, discard) is no longer sustainable. The resources are being depleted and the planet is suffering the consequences of a way of producing inherited from the industrial revolution that no longer has any place in our time.

With regard to the waste materials, the figures of our sector give us much to think about: the construction industry is one of the sectors that generates most waste in Europe, between 25% and 30% of the total.

Because of this, the current trend in all the industries is to seek alternatives that contribute to sustainable development. While the linear model generates waste at all the stages of production, the circular economy proposes rethinking the model: a more efficient use of resources and a greater commitment to the environment.

Following our values of excellence and continuous improvement, since we decided to create the methodology in 2015, we have tested, corrected and perfected it. And since 2018 Lean2Cradle^® Construcía is a reality. We can now say that it is feasible to construct with the circular method, generating a minimal amount of waste that will continue decreasing, being competitive in costs and time periods, meeting commitments to the client and maximizing the value we deliver.

You want to know more?

Subscribe to our newsletter to know more about us

I have read and accept the privacy policy

What is the Material Passport and what is it used for?

The Material Passport is the identity document of materials, and constitutes the first tool in the making of decisions of the circular construction that we carry out at Construcía.

With it we can identify, quantify and situate materials and products in the construction space for their correct recovery at the end of the cycle of use.

Each brick, board or piece of glass in a building has a value. These materials are normally not re-used after the restoration or demolition of a building. On the contrary, the immense majority are discarded and end up as waste materials in a landfill.

“Waste is material without an identity”. Thomas Rau, author of Material Matters.

The Material Passport in circular construction

The circular economy on which our Lean2Cradle® Construcíamethodology is based promotes the permanent circulation of materials, or in other words, their cyclability. That is, it assumes that the materials and elements that comprise a construction will be re-used indefinitely after fulfilling their purpose in the building, in a regenerative system that evolves and is enriched.

So that this process is done correctly and the materials keep their value in time, we need to know what they are made of, characterize them and determine if they are healthy or not. We need to give them an identity.

Here is where the material passport comes into play, the tool that registers all the information necessary about the materials that a building contains and measures its impact on the four values of circular construction: health, cyclability, residual value and productivity.

Building as quarries

With this tool, buildings are converted into quarries and therefore, the materials cease to be future wastes and are transformed into nutrients with a quantifiable value in their next life cycles. This means that the materials then become an investment, an asset that is placed temporarily in a place, and once it has fulfilled its purpose there it is assigned to its next use; and so on, indefinitely.

To know the cyclable capacity of a material, it is necessary to know the raw materials of which it is composed. According to its components, it is classified as a biological or technical nutrient, which determines how it will be re-used in the future: returning to the earth in the first case, and to the production cycle in the second.

The Material Passport allows the traceability of the materials, indicates their location in the building and the best way of extracting them. In addition, it includes a manual of deconstruction specifying the channels of cyclability available to ensure the recovery of the raw materials and their value.

The Material Passport is the basic tool of circular construction

And finally, but no less important, it also estimates the economic value of each material according to the planned channels of recovery and analyses the possible alternatives.

Circular construction would not be feasible without this tool. Thanks to the Material Passport informed decisions can be made in the selection of materials and the level of circularity of the buildings.

Benefits of the Material Passport

- - The building is converted into a quarry with materials that can be re-used indefinitely, with the maximum quality possible.
  - Waste is prevented.
  - The extraction of raw materials is reduced.
  - Problems associated with the toxicity of materials and changes in future regulations are prevented.
  - It maintains the value of materials, products and components over time.
  - Incentive to the supply chain to produce sustainable and circular construction materials and products.
  - Facilitates for developers and directors the selection of sustainable and circular construction materials.
  - It promotes inverse logistics and the recovery of products, materials and components.