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Skills required to deliver energy efficient school retrofit buildings.

Bevan, Whitney; Lu, Shu-Ling; Sexton, Martin

Authors

Shu-Ling Lu

Martin Sexton



Abstract

Purpose: The prevailing literature argues the need for "new" skills to deliver energy-efficient buildings. The concept of new skills, however, has not been subject to empirical investigation. This paper aims to provide insight on the required new skills, and their development and application, for the successful delivery of energy-efficient school retrofit buildings. Design/methodology/approach: The research employed a case study approach of a school retrofit building project in the early stages of the adoption of energy-efficient measures. Through the application of the socio-technical network approach (STNA) as the data collection and analysis framework, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and a review of relevant organisational documentation and were analysed using thematic coding. Findings: The findings reveal key actors (i.e. the local authority, energy contractors and school end-users), their principal interests and the required communication, project management, energy management, technical and research skills during their interactions in the successful delivery of the school retrofit building project. The results further reinforce the crucial role of the local authority in driving energy performance improvement of school buildings. Originality/value: This study demonstrates empirical evidence of the principal actors and skills required for the delivery of energy-efficient school retrofit buildings, contributes to new theoretical insights at the identification of key micro-level development of construction skills through the project network and evidences on how the STNA can be mobilised in construction skills research.

Citation

BEVAN, W., LU, S.-L. and SEXTON, M. 2020. Skills required to deliver energy efficient school retrofit buildings. Engineering, construction and architectural management [online], 27(10), pages 3051-3073. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-03-2019-0126

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 27, 2020
Online Publication Date May 29, 2020
Publication Date Oct 20, 2020
Deposit Date Aug 11, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Engineering, construction and architectural management
Print ISSN 0969-9988
Electronic ISSN 1365-232X
Publisher Emerald
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 27
Issue 10
Pages 3051-3073
DOI https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-03-2019-0126
Keywords Energy-efficientmeasures(EEM); Energy-efficientschoolbuildings; Newskills; Skill development; Socio-technical network approach (STNA)
Public URL https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1716924

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