Brandon Byers

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Byers

First Name

Brandon

ORCID

0000-0002-8622-8529

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Publications 1 - 10 of 13

Data carriers for circular construction supply chains: An exploratory quantitative analysis
Byers, Brandon; Stengele, Kaspar; De Wolf, Catherine (2025)
Journal of Cleaner Production
This article is an exploratory study on data carriers for circular construction supply chains (CCSC) essential for the reuse of building components and the transition to a circular economy in construction. Different track and trace technologies (Quick Response (QR) codes, Near Field Communication (NFC) chips, and Direct Product Marking (DPM)) were investigated on how they perform as data carriers in CCSC. Using a quantitative and experimental design, the study evaluates these technologies based on speed, user experience, and error rates in a controlled setting. The use of QR codes and NFC chips significantly improves efficiency and user satisfaction compared to DPM, which could help facilitate material reuse in the construction industry. The research offers evidence-based recommendations for selecting efficient and user-friendly data carriers that contribute to supply chain and circular economy practices within the construction sector.
Calculating embodied carbon for reused structural components with laser scanning
Byers, Brandon; Gordon, Matthew; Iuorio, Ornella; et al. (2023)
Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems
The global warming potential (GWP) of reused building elements can be evaluated based on two variables: structural material quantity (SMQ) and embodied carbon coefficient (ECC). The volume of the SMQ can often be unknown, however, and it is not clear how to best estimate the ECC of a reused element. This paper illustrates a method for extracting the volume of reused metal structural elements to calculate their GWP in buildings that lack documentation. The authors use laser scanning and voxelization to extract the volume and a method based on the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA) 2032 norms for calculating the GWP of reused materials. The reality capture method is accurate enough to approximate structural material volume, although it requires exposed structures. The results are important for building managers to understand the relative environmental impact savings from reused versus new building elements.
Decentralized Data Networks for Lifecycle Management in the Built Environment
Bucher, David; Hunhevicz, Jens Juri; Byers, Brandon; et al. (2025)
Journal of Information Technology in Construction
The management of lifecycle data poses significant challenges for the built environment, hindering effective transformation toward important concepts such as a circular economy. Many recent scholars propose blockchain technologies as a solution; however, there is almost no investigation into decentralized data networks, which also offer significant potential for lifecycle data management. This might be due to a lack of clarity in understanding the fundamental characteristics and potential use cases for decentralized data networks. Therefore, this paper combines a comprehensive review with inductive reasoning to classify three functional typologies—immutable, comprehensive, and privacy-centric – of decentralized data networks. Through testing with material passport data, we evaluate the practical implications of these typologies for lifecycle data management in the built environment. The findings highlight that decentralized data networks can improve data sovereignty and interoperability, but their effectiveness depends on use-case-specific trade-offs, such as mutability, access control, and storage location control. To navigate these trade-offs, the paper derives a decision framework that guides practitioners and researchers in selecting the most suitable decentralized data network. These insights contribute to a better understanding of decentralized technologies beyond blockchain and provide actionable recommendations for the future of data management in the built environment.
QR Code-Based Material Passports for Component Reuse Across Life Cycle Stages in Small-Scale Construction
Byers, Brandon; De Wolf, Catherine (2023)
Circular Economy
The rise of attention to the circular economy in the built environment faces a pervasive problem that buildings are designed to last longer than the careers of those who built them. Predicting how to best preserve and convey information on building construction and materials from the beginning to the end of life is difficult. This paper explores the impact of track and trace technology, specifically quick-response (QR) codes, on reusing elements at the end of a building’s life. In two case studies, we tested the effectiveness of using a material passport (MP) in small-scale construction, providing insights into the digital and physical processes. Ultimately, QR codes are shown to be good stores of static information but are not optimized for dynamic process information during construction life cycles. Despite the challenges of ensuring sustainable, circular construction, the results of this study should motivate those in the construction industry to implement and improve these processes in anticipation of future policy, environmental, and economic demands.
Whole life cycle environmental impact assessment of buildings: Developing software tool and database support for the EU framework Level(s)
De Wolf, Catherine; Cordella, Mauro; Dodd, Nicholas; et al. (2023)
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
The European Commission has published a framework on the environmental sustainability of buildings, called Level(s), a set of indicators addressing the resource efficiency and environmental impact of buildings. This framework is now a key element of European initiatives to develop a circular economy and aims to address whole life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to drive a renovation wave for existing buildings. Analysis of the whole life cycle environmental impact of buildings, with an emphasis on GHG emissions, is also the focus of initiatives in several EU Member States. To support users, Level(s) was accompanied by a list of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software tools and databases for calculating such indicators. A need was identified for practical, user-orientated information about the scope, consistency, cost, and accessibility of LCA software tools and databases. Therefore, a list of LCA tools and databases used in Europe for the assessment of the whole life cycle environmental impacts of buildings was compiled in 2017–2020 and their characteristics analysed based on a set of criteria. This paper describes the policy context of Level(s) and discusses criteria that can be used for the characterisation of LCA software tools and databases from the list compiled for Level(s). The methods included a literature review, surveys/interviews, and the co-creation of criteria for the categorization of tools and databases. The results are criteria including construction-specificity, system boundaries & scope, indicators, modelling granularity, methodological adherence to Level(s) and EN standards, data quality, transparency and verification, accessibility, data exchange and interoperability, cost, training and support, as well as additional information. By providing greater visibility regarding the features of tools and databases, this paper contributes to the mainstream use of Level(s) and also to the implementation of key EU policy initiatives aimed at enhancing the environmental sustainability of the built environment, such as the EU Renovation Wave, the New European Bauhaus, and the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities.
Reality capture and site-scanning techniques for material reuse planning
Xiong, Zhijia; Gordon, Matthew; Byers, Brandon; et al. (2022)
Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia ~ Proceedings of the IASS/APCS 2022 Beijing Symposium: Sustainable Heritage Challenges and Strategies in the Preservation and Conservation of 20th Century Historic Concrete Shells
The reuse of building materials requires both broad-ranging and detailed information on available building stocks in order to effectively plan for connecting available materials with their eventual reuse in new buildings. Critical information includes component counts, dimensions, and on-site locations. Currently, this information is usually gathered using manual measurements, though contemporary digitization and scanning technology can be used to efficiently gather dimensional and geometric data about pre-demolition sites. The primary digital technologies to automate this data gathering, being photogrammetry and terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), have historically shown significant gaps in efficiency and accuracy, while their hardware and software systems are rapidly advancing in capabilities. In this study, contemporary implementations of these methods are compared for their efficiency, interior coverage, and raw accuracy across two case studies with significant geometric differences. These results inform decision-making regarding the appropriate integration of these technologies in industry and identify technologies that require more development for effective use.
Exploring Tokenized Product Passport for Circular Construction Supply Chains
Byers, Brandon; Hunhevicz, Jens Juri; Honic-Eser, Meliha; et al. (2024)
Computing in Construction ~ Proceedings of the 2024 European Conference on Computing in Construction
A token is a cryptoeconomic entity on a blockchain that can be used to digitally secure, represent, and trade assets. Existing research does not sufficiently explore the use of tokenization as digital representations of physical construction assets within the context of circular supply chains. Thus, this research explores why tokenization for circular construction may be helpful by employing a mixed methods approach via quantitative and qualitative analysis of expert surveys and a technical review of tokens. The contribution proposes scenarios of tokenization's potential for blockchain-based product tracking and product passports for AEC.
Design Dimensions for Blockchain Oracles in the AEC Industry
Dounas, Theodoros; Hunhevicz, Jens Juri; Byers, Brandon (2023)
Computing in Construction ~ Proceedings of the 2023 European Conference on Computing in Construction and the 40th International CIB W78 Conference
The literature on blockchain for AEC often has limited discussion on the design of the blockchain Oracle, the entity that ensures trusted information input from the real world. This work aims to illuminate an often-unaddressed topic of how to best design Oracles in application to the AEC industry. To answer this, the paper reviews the state-of-the-art of existing Oracle taxonomies, literature on blockchain for AEC that implement Oracles, and proposes Oracle design dimensions to frame future blockchain work. The work can help researchers and practitioners to think about relevant dimensions when designing and discussing Oracles for AEC use cases.
Circular Construction Supply Chains: Implementing Decentralized Building Product Passports for Tracking and Tracing Reused Materials
Byers, Brandon (2024)
The construction industry is infamous for its inefficient consumption of resources and production of waste, along with negative financial and environmental externalities. Calls for shifts towards a circular and digitalized built environment continue to grow, but the technologies to facilitate this remain nascent. This dissertation addresses a significant challenge in reusing building components, the persistent lack of detailed information regarding their original production and prior uses, exacerbated by the involvement of numerous fragmented stakeholders. The challenge of information persistence for reusing building components in circular construction is addressed through the specific question of how to implement product passports with the aid of decentralized technologies. This work is broken into several parts to address the aim of the work. After the introduction, the first part examines managing and acquiring component level knowledge to aid reuse. The next part dives into data carriers as the bridge between the physical and digital. The subsequent part focuses on integrating decentralized technologies for product passports in a track and trace system. To explore both the physical and digital aspects of the solutions, a multi-method pragmatist research approach was employed. These methods included expert surveys and interviews to gather insights on current practices and ideal implementations, qualitative case study prototypes, and quantitative experiments comparing various data carriers. The findings demonstrate effective strategies for enhancing information transparency and accessibility in construction supply chains. This research is significant for stakeholders in the construction industry, particularly in aligning with emerging European Union regulations on digital product passports and calls within industry to develop material passports for better material transparency and accounting. The work through this thesis sets a foundation for future research on integrating digital tools in circular economy practices, particularly through developing track and trace systems and alignment with decentralized data storage. Researchers can use the findings and limitations as starting points for more advanced track and trace development and field testing, and practitioners can use the results to guide the development of their tailored solutions. The facilitation of material reuse will help reduce the vast amount of waste produced by the construction industry and bring down the embodied emissions resulting from the production of new materials, driving our built environment toward a circular economy.
A steel element reuse ontology for building audits in circular construction
Schönfelder, Leonhard; Byers, Brandon; Honic-Eser, Meliha; et al. (2025)
Developments in the Built Environment
The construction sector's transition to a circular economy necessitates the closure of material loops through reuse. However, there is little consensus regarding the information to assess the reusability of building elements. This paper determines the necessary information for evaluating steel member reusability and explores the structure of an ontology for conducting building audits. The methodology involves surveys and interviews with European experts in reuse to create the Steel Element Reuse Ontology (SERO). The results show 1) that economic, technical, and condition factors are important to define reusability, and 2) an ontology to assess the reusability should account for the condition and documentation of steel members. SERO establishes definitions and a human- and machine-readable framework for assessing the reuse potential of steel H- and I-profiles in a European context. This framework could be employed in developing digital tools aimed at streamlining inventory procedures in construction, fostering the practical implementation of circular economy principles.

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