UTS-Hop-on

The UTS-Hop-on project proposal aims to expand the scope, adoption and outreach of the UniversalTimberSlab (UTS) project by integrating Building Information Modelling (BIM) into the Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS), incorporating a comprehensive Life Cycle Cost (LCC) assessment in tandem with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and reinforcing the dissemination effort through Extended Industry Outreach (EIO) into European and non-European contexts. BIM integration into the project will foster UTS uptake by the AEC community by incorporating it within the increasingly mandatory and used BIM methodology and creating the necessary supporting materials and applications. It will further address interoperability challenges, as BIM can centralize diverse disciplinary information into a single model that can be easily exported to other software. BIM usage will also enhance the training of the surrogate models with real-world design data. An LCC approach will enable benchmarking by accounting for embodied, operational and end of life costs of different UTS design alternatives and conventional solutions. Cost data will be coupled with life cycle inventory so costs can be mapped along each life cycle stage, revealing economic hotspots, economic paybacks, and improvement opportunities. It will also assess indirect costs (environmental, social or others) that can support the adoption of more sustainable solutions. The planned EIO aims to expand dissemination activities by developing workshops with industry experts in various EU and non-EU countries with different climate, construction materials and techniques. EIO will explore target markets, aiming to present the UTS and test the developed BIM and LCC tools, collecting systematic feedback that will support the project’s development. In parallel, dissemination efforts will include the creation of a UTS-dedicated newsletter, events and Cluster integration to potentiate UTS outreach to construction sector stakeholders.