A. James Clark School of Engineering
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1654
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Facility design and worker justice: COVID-19 transmission in meatpacking plants(Wiley, 2023-06-17) Lou, Jiehong; Borjigin, Sachraa; Tang, Connie; Saadat, Yalda; Hu, Ming; Niemeier, Deb A.Background Meatpacking plants were major sources of COVID-19 outbreaks, posing unprecedented risks to employees, family members, and local communities. The effect on food availability during outbreaks was immediate and staggering: within 2 months, the price of beef increased by almost 7% with documented evidence of significant meat shortages. Meatpacking plant designs, in general, optimize on production; this design approach constrains the ability to enhance worker respiratory protection without reducing output. Methods Using agent-based modeling, we simulate the spread of COVID-19 within a typical meatpacking plant design under varying levels of mitigation measures, including combinations of social distancing and masking interventions. Results Simulations show an average infection rate of close to 99% with no mitigation, 99% with the policies that US companies ultimately adopted, 81% infected with the combination of surgical masks and distancing policies, and 71% infected with N95 masks and distancing. Estimated infection rates were high, reflecting the duration and exertion of the processing activities and lack of fresh airflow in an enclosed space. Conclusion Our results are consistent with anecdotal findings in a recent congressional report, and are much higher than US industry has reported. Our results suggest current processing plant designs made rapid transmission of the virus during the pandemic's early days almost inevitable, and implemented worker protections during COVID-19 did not significantly affect the spread of the virus. We argue current federal policies and regulations are insufficient to ensure the health and safety of workers, creating a justice issue, and jeopardizing food availability in a future pandemic.Item INFLUENCE OF PROJECT DESIGN TEAM CHARACTERISTICS ON CONSTRUCTION COST OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS(2022) Hu, Ming; skibniewski, Miroslaw; Civil Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Sustainability has become a driver of innovation in the built environment, but the affordability of sustainable building remains a significant challenge, according to developers, building owners, and design teams. This dissertation proposes a framework to understand how the characteristics of a project design team are influential cost drivers. We use empirical data to understand: (1) the sustainable building construction cost (SBCC) in relation to level of sustainability; (2) the influence on the SBCC of soft cost associated with the project design team; (3) the causal relation between project characteristics, project design team characteristics and construction cost of sustainable buildings. A mixed methodology is employed with four steps: research flow; a regression model and structural equation model in the quantitative research phases; and a comparative case study in the qualitative research phase. Altogether, thirteen project and project design team characteristics are studied, and ten hypotheses tested. The findings reveal: (a) the construction cost of studied sustainable building is comparable to conventional buildings, even lower; (b) the relationship between the construction cost and level of sustainability achieved is inconclusive; (c) among the project design team characteristics, skill and experience dominate, while communication, collaboration, and innovation are less influential; and (d) technical complexity is not always related to sustainability, hence the empirical data does not proved its influence. The proposed research contributes to research and practice at three levels: data, evidence, and methodology. The broad impact of this research is to advance an understanding of the SBCC cost as a means of promoting building green. The findings and methods resulting from this research project can empower architects, engineers, and developers to promote affordable sustainable building.