Academics from Northumbria University
and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia are investigating
how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can make the construction industry greener.
Dr Pablo
Martinez Rodriguez, from Northumbria’s Department of Architecture
and Built Environment and co-investigator Dr. Osama Mohsen from KFUPM have
received funding from the British
Council’s UK Saudi Challenge Fund to undertake a year-long research
project. They have been selected because of their expertise and history of research
in this field. In particular, their work will look at reducing waste from
construction sites in the UK and Saudi Arabia as part of a major drive toward
greater sustainability.
The UK construction industry uses
up to 40 percent of the UK’s raw resources every year, 20% of which ends up in
landfills. Current UK efforts have managed to divert about 13 percent of it
from landfills, looking for alternative ways of disposal or finding novel uses
to certain materials, however that is far from the 99 percent goal set up for
the near future. Waste reduction in the construction industry is key for any
country aiming to achieve the UN sustainability goals marked for 2030.
Saudi Arabia faces similar
challenges. But as a rapidly developing economy, it faces additional
difficulties in ensuring growth is managed sustainably. According to Saudi
Arabia's National Centre for Waste Management, the environmental degradation
caused by solid waste in 2021 had an estimated cost of $1.3 billion. Annual waste
generated by the construction industry in Saudi Arabia amounts to approximately
130 million tonnes, of which less than 1 percent is recycled. The rest mostly
ends up in landfills – and demand for landfill space is increasing rapidly.
Dr. Martinez Rodriguez and Dr. Mohsen will
aim to develop AI models that can identify and quantify waste from a range of
building materials, such as wood or plastics, that may end up in landfill sites
but that could be recycled. The joint research will also help create a comparative
analysis between waste management and sustainability practices in the UK and
Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Martinez Rodriguez said: “Most construction
sites analyse waste through modelling techniques, rather than measuring what is
actually being thrown away. We need a flexible way of processing the data more
quickly than we currently have, and by using AI we can install visual sensor
systems that monitor skips at construction sites and derive accurately how much
waste is actually being produced.
“This would give a value to the waste
that is being generated at construction sites and help us better understand the
capabilities of circular economy so that the building industry can become more
sustainable.”
While the UK is considered to be slightly
more advanced than Saudi Arabia in terms of sustainability, there is currently
still no accurate waste measurement system in either country. “Our research
will therefore have an impact in both the UK and Saudi Arabia and help inform
policy and develop best-practice guidelines for the industry,” added Dr.
Martinez Rodriguez.
Part of the British Council’s Going
Global Partnerships programme, the UK-Saudi Challenge Fund offers grants for UK
and Saudi institutions to support research collaboration, internationalisation,
and transnational education.
Northumbria already has a
successful track record of sustainability research collaboration with partners
in Saudi Arabia. This includes work by Northumbria’s Dr Muhammad Wakil Shahzad
to develop a sustainable solution for clean drinking water that can be
deployed to rural communities and set up easily without scientific know-how. In
2021 Dr Shahzad was awarded a prestigious Energy Globe Award (Saudi Arabia) for the project.
