Potentials of DfMA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) in reducing GHG emissions in timber construction

The project aims to study the carbon footprint of pre-manufactured timber sections in the construction industry over its supply chain. This will include the following subobjectives: 1) Mapping of the activities of the supply chain. The aim here is to formalize a process model for all activities related to pre-manufactured timber. Equally important, the study will benchmark best practices in other countries (especially in Europe) and in other industries. 2) Estimating the contribution of each activity to the carbon footprint. This will include considering different scenarios for the structure of the supply chain, which can be helpful in conducting a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the relative role of each activity. 3) Examining best practice in reducing the carbon footprint and suggesting realistic means to implement them, with analysis of the return on investment for key best practice: positive impact on carbon footprint vs. the cost, schedule, and risk implications of each best practice.

Faculty Supervisor:

Tamer El-Diraby

Student:

Partner:

Promise Robotics Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Toronto

Program: