Compass 2024 Video - An Engineer's Approach to Decarbonisation

An Engineer's Approach to Decarbonisation with Raed El Sarraf, Principal Engineer, WSP

This Compass 2024 video, presented by COLORBOND® steel, features Raed El Sarraf, Principal Engineer at WSP, one of the world’s largest engineering and technical services firms. A passionate advocate for building lifecycles, the stewardship of steel, and the intersection of engineering and sustainability, Raed shares an engineer’s perspective on decarbonisation.

Highlighting the significance of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a transformative digital solution, Raed emphasises its role in integrating both design and asset management. According to Raed, BIM provides a comprehensive baseline for developing long-term asset management plans.

"When we have a new building, we have all the drawings and all the information documented on the BIM model… and then 5, 10, 20 years from now, an asset manager can still access that core information,” he explains.

Another key benefit Raed outlines is BIM’s potential to facilitate the future reuse of building materials. With detailed information about steel members and other components, buildings can be designed for dismantling and reuse, reducing both waste and carbon emissions.

While BIM is still relatively new, and its full potential may not be realised for another 25 or even 50 years, Raed advocates for integrating digital solutions now. He highlights the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders, including architects and engineers, to ensure that buildings are designed, detailed, and constructed with longevity and sustainability in mind. By integrating digital solutions and fostering greater collaboration, the engineering profession can drive progress in reducing operational carbon and creating long-lasting structures.

"As part of our long-term, whole-of-life thinking, ensuring that information can be transitioned to the future can be incredibly advantageous,” Raed says. “By developing a whole-of-life approach to building design - which considers operational carbon, building maintenance, and end-of-life reuse from the outset – engineers can now design buildings that are easier to dismantle and reuse in the future.”

Watch the video: An Engineer's Approach to Decarbonisation with Raed El Sarraf, Principal Engineer, WSP

Further information:

• See our sustainability resources on steel.com.au
   
• Watch more videos from Compass 2024:
  • See the entire Compass 2024 event
  • Compass Opening with Shelley Craft, TV Presenter, The Block and Mark Vassella, Managing Director and CEO of BlueScope
  • Built Environment of the Future: Insights from Davina Rooney, CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia
  • Designing with Sustainability in Mind with Talina Edwards, Director, Envirotecture
  • Future Design Trends and Aesthetics with Alexander Symes, Director, Alexander Symes Architect
  • BlueScope Innovation and the Fitzroy River Bridge Case Study, A Collaborative Future for Steelmaking and Renewables
  • Directors Cut – Renewables