Wahhaj Ahmed
Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Architectural Engineering
Biography
Wahhaj Ahmed is a PhD Candidate in Architectural Engineering at the Melbourne School of Design (MSD), Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Australia. He is awarded the prestigious 'Graduate Research Scholarship' available to high-achieving students researching at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on developing information requirements for BIM-enabled multi-criteria decision making in energy retrofitting commercial buildings. Wahhaj holds a BSc degree in Architecture and a MSc degree in Architectural Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining University of Melbourne for his PhD, Wahhaj was working at KFUPM as a lecturer for three years. During this tenure, Wahhaj was involved in teaching several courses including architectural design studios and BIM concept and applications. Additionally, Wahhaj was involved in several high-profile research projects producing high impact outcomes and publications in reputable Journals and Books. His research interests are in the areas of energy retrofitting, BIM, and analysis and decision making in energy retrofitting buildings.
Thesis
Developing Information Requirements for BIM-Enabled Energy Retrofitting
In the light of carbon targets responding to climate change and global warming, countries need to curtail the energy consumption of their building sectors. Existing buildings represent most projects in that sector and energy retrofitting of existing unsustainable buildings is, hence, essential in achieving the above goal. Energy retrofitting means to upgrade a buildings component using Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs). It is vital to analyse and consider the energy, environmental, and economic trade-offs while deciding which EEMs to apply in energy retrofitting. However, the conventional process adopted by decision makers in selecting the EEMs does not allow for the considerations of these trade-offs. It is a fragmented and simplified process heavily relying on intuition and experience of decision makers. This results in multiple issues for energy retrofitted buildings including under-performance and sub-optimal buildings that are not future proof and will not be able to contribute to achieving the environmental targets for mitigating climate change. The process must shift to a more structured data-driven method, such as Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) that analyses the trade-offs between energy, environment, and the economy for the EEMs.
Adoption of MCDM in the industry can be enabled by using Building Information Modelling (BIM). Studies have shown the BIM-enabled MCDM leads to better and optimized selection of EEMs. However, a critical systematic literature review of these studies indicates that while BIM-Enabled MCDM works in theory, there is a disconnect with practice and this is not sufficiently addressed in the existing literature. The process lacks standardization and information requirement structure needed for it to be adopted by the industry. This study will address this gap by adopting BIM ISO 19650 standards’ principles to bring that information structure and standardization needed for MCDM. The main outcome of the study will be an Energy Retrofitting Information Requirements (ERIR) Guide for MCDM in Energy retrofitting. This guide will enable MCDM and ensure optimal selection of EEMs while energy retrofitting.