Although planning and policy instruments are important for climate change adaptation, the implementation of these measures is critical for success. This paper studies different climate change adaptation strategies by analysing the measures adopted by stakeholders in charge of government policy development and implementation to minimise the impacts of climate change in the northern tropical region of Queensland, Australia. Local government organisations are responsible for taking a leading role in climate change adaptation. State and commonwealth government agencies are primarily responsible for developing climate transition policies and guidelines, as well as providing limited financial aid to help support the local government. Interviews were conducted with local government practitioners identified from different local government authorities in the study region. Although all the government bodies made some progress in developing better climate change adaptation policies, the interview participants identified that a lot more needs to be done, especially in implementation, including devising and the application of relevant action plans, economic assessments, stakeholder participations and engagement. From a local government practitioners' viewpoint, both the water sector and local economy will face the highest immediate impacts if climate change adaptation actions are not adequately implemented at local government level in the study region. There are currently no notable legal bindings to address climate change risks in the region. In addition, financial liability assessments due to climate risks and cost-share mechanisms among different levels of stakeholders and government authorities to face and prepare for climate change impacts hardly exist. Although the interview respondents recognise their high importance. As there are uncertainties in the achievements of climate change adaptation plans, from a local government practitioners' standpoint, the local authorities should take appropriate actions to integrate adaptation and mitigation works to face and prepare for climate risks rather than focusing only on adaptation. The respondents informed that some work has been done to identify flood prone areas and a few policy documents exist that accommodate sea level rise in planning practice, but these are done in fragments with no holistic implementation, monitoring or evaluation plans put in place.

In recent years, flooding has caused disruptions to road management by significantly increasing rehabilitation costs. To date, there is very limited literature addressing the rapid deterioration of pavements immediately after a flooding event. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of the literature on assessment and modeling deterioration of flood-affected pavements. Twenty peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers and nine published reports are reviewed. Very few studies have attempted to incorporate flooding events on pavement condition. The critical review of the literature discusses the contributions and limitations in the assessment of flood-affected pavements to date. It also discusses the research conducted on the development of new deterioration models specifically for flood-affected pavements and the importance of developing such models for the road management system. Because there is no deterioration models for rutting and roughness of flood-affected pavements, this paper also presents two mechanistic-empirical deterministic based models for deterioration of rutting and roughness of flood-affected pavements. These models are sufficient to be used by other road agencies after calibrating for local road conditions. The outcomes of this paper will guide future research and help to understand the impact of flooding events on rapid deterioration of pavements. The newly developed deterioration models will help road agencies make effective decisions for the rehabilitation and management of flood-affected pavements.

In areas with limited access to electricity or during power outages, ensuring continuous and reliable use of grid-powered electrical instruments is challenging, especially in remote emergency centers. A stable source of electricity is crucial to prevent disruptions in power supply, as they can lead to severe medical complications, jeopardize patient well-being, and even result in fatal incidents. To address this issue, integrating renewable electricity sources such as off-grid solar systems into existing power supply infrastructure can be a viable solution. Recent studies suggest that off-grid solar systems can be reliable and sustainable options for powering medical facilities, particularly in areas lacking uninterrupted grid connectivity. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of integrating off-grid power to support critical medical instruments. Based on an extensive literature review, interviews with experts, and surveys among relevant users, this study finds that the system has the capability to maintain a consistent, dependable power supply, even during adverse weather conditions. Cost and feasibility are highlighted as paramount considerations, based on surveys and focus group results. The study concludes that off-grid solar systems offer an economical, low-maintenance, and environmentally sustainable alternative for remote medical facilities. Finally, this study proposes recommendations to optimize critical device performance during power outages and improve overall system functionality and efficiency.

Roofing tile manufacturing is a mass production process with high operational and inventory wastes and costs. Due to huge operational costs, excessive inventory and wastes, and quality problems, roofing tile manufacturers are trying to implement lean manufacturing practice in their operations in order to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive global market. The aim of this research is to evaluate the possibility of reducing the operational and inventory costs of the tile manufacturing process through waste minimization. This paper analyses the current waste situation in a tile manufacturing process and develops current and future value stream mapping for such a process with a view to implementing lean principles in manufacturing. The focus of the approach is on cost reduction by eliminating non-value-added activities.

The Australian Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) Summit in 2018 attracted much-needed national attention towards environmental goals and targets compared with other aspects of sustainability. Road infrastructure is the backbone of modern society and plays a crucial role in accomplishing a targeted balance between these aspects of sustainability and achieving the SDGs. This article presents an integrated sustainability performance assessment methodology that acts as a decision support tool. A series of two conceptual modelling techniques—drivers—pressure—state—impact—response (DPSIR) and system dynamics (SD)—is employed, with the cause-and-effect relationships of the sustainability indicators developed utilising the DPSIR framework, and a quantitative analysis carried out through a subsequent SD model. The end result is the generation of a Sustainability Performance Index (SPI) for road infrastructure created by analysing the SD model and DPSIR index layer relationship. The benefits and applicability of the proposed methodology are validated through case study analysis. The overall aim is to determine restricting factors and response strategies influencing road infrastructure and transport sustainability performance during the operation and maintenance phase. Thus, a significant contribution is made through the proposed methodology for assessing factors influencing the long-term achievement of the SDGs.