Circular Economy in the Construction Industry – Highways England: MBA research project survey

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RichardA35
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Circular Economy in the Construction Industry – Highways England: MBA research project survey

Post by RichardA35 »

Dear All,

I have received the following message:

"I am currently working on my MBA management project via University of Bradford on “Circular Economy in the Construction Industry – Highways England”. The project is using highways England as a case study.

I am in the middle of preparing a survey for road users of motorways and major A-roads manage by Highways England. The theme mainly focus on environmental sustainability.

Can I post the survey invite in this forum? Can you and your team circulate the invite to members?"

Please study the questions and complete the survey to help Thomas

The survey link is https://forms.office.com/r/hR23MkktqF

There is an information sheet link included which explains the project, data handling etc.
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c2R
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Re: Circular Economy in the Construction Industry – Highways England: MBA research project survey

Post by c2R »

The author has asked questions that are probably impossible for anyone to answer them all fully...

What does the author envisage a sustainable network would look like? Is it sustainable in terms of emissions from users, or construction, or operation of their vehicle fleet?

I don't know what the inner workings of Highways England are to know enough about sustainability in their day to day operations; obviously we can read the environmental impact assessment relating to different schemes, but that doesn't say what happens to old surfaces in programmes of resurfacing, for example. I could probably FOI to find that out, but I assume that they don't just dump it down the side of the embankments...

The focus is somewhat ambiguous in terms of what is being assessed - is it government's policy, societal values, Highways England? It's also somewhat leading and implies that Highways England aren't implementing a sustainable network; but without due consideration of the other actors, or the fact that the trunk network represents a very different type of journey to the local network.
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WHBM
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Re: Circular Economy in the Construction Industry – Highways England: MBA research project survey

Post by WHBM »

The bulk of highway surfacing coming from excavation etc works - known as "arisings" - is recycled. Various contractors have invested in significant plants to do this. It's not some greenwash touchy-feely approach, but the best reason for materials recycling there is - plain economics. It's cheaper than virgin stone.

The comment about recycled materials being up to spec for safety with PSV (polished stone value) for a high intensity motorway should be noted here :

https://www.fmconway.co.uk/case-studies ... t-pavement

https://www.fmconway.co.uk/our-services ... aggregates
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Chris5156
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Re: Circular Economy in the Construction Industry – Highways England: MBA research project survey

Post by Chris5156 »

c2R wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 16:57The author has asked questions that are probably impossible for anyone to answer them all fully...
Agreed, I answered a few and then ground to a halt. Reading through the rest I don't think I'd know what to say about most of them.

The information sheet suggests that the survey is aimed at users of trunk roads and motorways, but users of those roads will have little or no idea what HE is doing about sustainability, or whether a "culture" exists that might permit it, or many of the other things. It reads to me like industry professionals connected to HE would be better qualified to answer - certainly more so than someone like me.
tc2018
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Re: Circular Economy in the Construction Industry – Highways England: MBA research project survey

Post by tc2018 »

Dear All,

The survey is now closed. A big thank you for participating. I'll share the comments with Highways England and the University. :lol:

Regards

Thomas
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