CHARACTERIZATION OF WASTE IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

PROJECTS

ALFREDO SERPELL
Department of Construction Engineering and Management, Pontificia Universidad
Catlica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago, Chile.

ADRIANO VENTURI, JEANETTE CONTRERAS

School of Civil Construction, Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile, Casilla 306,
Santiago, Chile.

ABSTRACT

Information obtained from productivity consulting services provided to a substantial

number of building construction projects from 1990 to 1994, has been processed and
organized with the purpose of studying the types of construction waste in this kind of
construction projects. From the results obtained in this study, this paper presents: 1) a
classification of construction waste and their main causes, and 2) statistics of the
frequency and relative importance of these types of waste.

1 Introduction

Since the beginning of a construction job, project/site management has to deal with
many factors - most of them caused by their own actions or inaction - that negatively
affect the construction process, producing different types of waste that can convert a
good "to be" project into a bad "it was" project. In most cases, construction managers
do not know or recognize the factors that produce waste nor have they measurements of
their importance. It can be said that most of the factors are not easily visible. Thus, the
identification of these factors and their causes, and the measurement of their importance
is a useful information that would allow management to act in advance to reduce their
negative effects.
During the last 5 years, consulting services have been provided by a consulting
group at the Department of Construction Engineering and Management of the Catholic
University of Chile, to more than 40 construction sites that have started programs to
improve their site performance, most of them successfully. Seventeen of these
construction sites were high rise building construction projects and were selected for
studying purposes.
This consulting experience has generated a great amount of information on wasted
resources and time in building construction projects. The information obtained has been
processed to study the types of waste that have occurred during construction work, and
their relative importance.

2 Characteristics of the sample and information

The sample implicated 17 buildings constructed by seven construction companies in the

Metropolitan Region of Chile, around the capital city of Santiago, from 1990 to 1994.
Table 1 shows a summary of the building's sample.
Table 1. Characteristics of the sample
Number Type of building # of stories Total gross area Time of observation
(m2) (months)
1 Office 33 90,000 19
2 Office 25 60,000 6
3 Office 23 30,000 5
4 Housing 20 30,000 (app.) 7
5 Housing 19 7,000 14
6 Hotel 18 15,000 13
7 Housing 17 14,000 10
8 Housing 17 13,000 13
9 Office 16 33,000 7
10 Hotel 16 10,000 13
11 Housing 16 10,000 9
12 Housing 15+15 16,800 5
13 Housing 15 9,000 8
14 Housing 14 10,000 11
15 Housing 14 8,000 13
16 Housing 14 7,000 8
17 Housing 12 6,000 8

During the consulting/observation time, information was generated mainly in the

form of reports that were delivered to site managers once a week. The structure of these
reports consisted of two sections:
1 Quantitative section, based on work sampling results.
2 Qualitative section, where an analysis of the quantitative data and general
observations regarding work conditions were presented, and corrective actions
proposed.

The quantitative section is the most important part of the report because it works as
detection tool of waste sources. Work sampling results in this section have been divided
as follows:
General activity levels, using the categories of Productive work, Contributory work
and Non-contributory work for the complete job site.
Activity levels of company personnel and subcontractors' personnel separately.
Activity levels of each of the most critical trades.

The categories of contributory work and non-contributory work have been further
subdivided into the following subcategories included in the reports:
Contributory work: transporting, cleaning, receiving instructions, measuring, and
other specific activities.
Non-contributory work: waiting, idle time, traveling, resting, and reworking.

This relative detailed information facilitates the identification and attention to the
most significant waste sources, and becomes the basis for analysis of improvement
actions to reduce any identified waste. Supporting information from visual observations
and, sometimes, from other parallel studies, is also incorporated in the qualitative
analysis.
The information provided by work sampling presents some limitations that should
be considered. The most important are as follows:
a) It does not show clearly and precisely the origin of waste.
b) It only measures work time utilization, but it doesn't directly provide production
rates, which should be measured in other ways.
c) It doesn't provide measurements of waste of materials or equipment.

Despite these limitations, the information obtained using the described approach has
been extremely useful to achieve the stated objectives. The application of judgment and
experience allows consultants to identify and detect situations that are producing waste
and to point out the main causes that are producing them.

3 Background on the construction production process

Figure 1 presents the construction production process on which this work has been
based. The proposed model is an open and dynamic system inside an environment that
conditions its status and behavior. Part of this environment is controllable by the system
but other factors are outside of its control.

Non-controllable area
Controllable area
Flow and Process
Management
Feedback
Flow Regulation Operational Methods

External Internal Conversion

Products
Flows Flows Processes

ENVIRONMENT

Fig. 1. Construction production process model.

The main and most critical components of the construction process as portrayed in
the figure, are:

a) Flows and conversion management: responsible of making the decisions that define
the performance of the system.

b) Flows: are the inputs to the system and can be separated in two types, resources
(labor, materials and construction equipment), and information. These flows
contemplate all activities since the need is defined and the elements arrive to the
conversion location. There are controllable and uncontrollable flows. Examples of
 the first type are the flows of materials or instruction from a warehouse or
management respectively, to the workplace. Uncontrollable flows are: suppliers'
provision of resources and design information.

c) Conversion activities: the processes that transform the flows into finished and semi-
finished products. The methods used in this activities are decided by the flows and
conversion management.
d) Products: the results of conversion activities.

The flow and process management, is the function that puts the system into action
through three major actions:
1. Resources and information flow regulation, including:
Allocation of resources, defining quantity and specifications.
Planning and coordination.
Distribution.
2. Design of work methods, looking for optimization of activities' execution.
3. Monitoring and controlling of system activities.

Construction waste is then produced during the construction process due to several
causes as shown in the following section.

4 Classification of construction waste

This study deals with the identification of the most relevant factors that produce waste
of productive time in building construction works. This waste comes from flow
activities, conversion activities and management activities. Their occurrence is
generally manifested by two common construction situations: work inactivity and
ineffective work. Figure 2 shows the classification adopted in this study after reviewing
the information collected from the building construction projects.
The classification shown in the figure presents some limitations that should be
considered:

Slow work: this waste of time is related to the efficiency of processes, construction
equipment, and personnel. Then it is difficult to measure it because it is first
necessary to know the optimal efficiency that could be reached, which is not always
possible.
Rework: not always is the result of labor ineffectiveness; uncontrolled problems like
weather conditions, earthquakes, etc. also result in rework, although they can be
prevented.
 Waiting time
Idle time
Work
inactivity Traveling
Resting
Physiological needs
Waste of time
(man-hours &
equipment time)

Reworking
Ineffective
Working slowly
work
Inventing

Fig. 2. Categories of wastes of productive time.

5 Classification of waste causes

The most important causes of wasted time identified by the study were classified as
shown in Figure 3.

Lack of resources
Flows
Lack of information

Inapropriate method
Controllable Conversion Poor planning
Poor quality

Bad allocation
Decision making
CAUSES Poor distribution
Management

Ineffective control

Failures in external flows

Non controllable
Environmental causes

Fig. 3. Classification structure of causes of wasted time

5.1 Controllable causes associated to flows

The principle flow causes were as follows:

A RESOURCES

- Materials
Lack of materials at the work place.
Materials are not well distributed.
Inadequate transportation means.
- Equipment
Non availability.
Inefficient utilization.
Inadequate equipment for work needs.
- Labor
Personal attitudes of workers.
Stoppage of work.

B INFORMATION
- Lack of information.
- Poor information quality.
- Timing of delivery is inadequate

5.2 Controllable causes associated to conversions

The following causes were identified:

A METHOD
- Deficient design of work crews.
- Inadequate procedures.
- Inadequate support to work activities.

B PLANNING
- Lack of work space.
- Too much people working in reduced space.
- Poor work conditions.

C QUALITY
- Poor execution of work.
- Damages to work already finished.

5.3 Controllable management related causes

The following causes were identified:

A DECISION MAKING
- Poor allocation of work to labor.
- Poor distribution of personnel.
B SUPERVISION
- Poor or lack of supervision.

Regarding the non-controllable causes, the majority of them were associated to

suppliers' and designers' performance. Also, there were some causes related to the
environment, like weather conditions and festivities.

6 Analysis and results of the study

This section presents a summary of the most relevant results obtained from the analysis
of information.

6.1 General distribution of work sampling

The average distribution of working time of the 17 observed building is shown in Figure
4. The minimum value of productive work was 35% and the maximum was 55%.
Regarding the non-contributory work category, the minimum value was 18% for the
same building that has the top productive value, and the maximum was 31%,
corresponding to the building with the lowest productive value. Finally, the extremes
for the contributory work were a minimum of 24% and a maximum of 34%.

Non
contributory
work
25%

Contributory
Work
28%
Productive
Work
47%

Fig. 4. General distribution of work categories.

The differences between the best and the worst building are very important.
Analysis are being done to find out what were the factors that might explain these
differences.

6.2 Types of wasted time measured by non-contributory work

As shown in Figure 5, the main subcategories of non-contributory time which explain

87% of the total value of this category are: waiting time, idle time and traveling, in that
order. A second order subcategory is the time spent in resting. An unexpected result is
the low value of rework, a factor that has been observed more critical that is shown
here. One possible explanation of this outcome is the fact that work sampling is not the
most appropriated tool to detect and measure this type of waste.

100 99
95 97,4
90
80 87

70
Activity level (%)

60 63

50
40 36
27
30 24
20
8
10 2,4 1,6
0
Waiting Idle time Traveling Resting P. Needs Rework

Fig. 5. Distribution of non-contributory time.

The causes that were found accountable of the waiting time, are presented in Figure
6. The graphic displays the total frequency of occasions where each factor was
identified as responsible of waiting conditions. Overmanning clearly was the most
critical factor, which is consistent with other observations. There is a general agreement
that Chilean building construction projects normally have more people than needed,
especially unqualified people. Foremen like to have a surplus of people to face
potential risks in their work.

Lack of materials Lack of supply

Lack of equipment 12% 10%
14%

Overmaning
27%
Others
19% Lack of progress
18%

Fig. 6. Causes of waiting time.

Figure 7 shows the factors that are responsible for idle time. The most important
factors by far are: lack of supervision and overmanning. The lack of supervision has
two components:
- Workers stop when they are not controlled; a cultural and educational related
problem.
- Workers cannot work because they are waiting for instructions that supervisors
should give them.

Overmanning also produces idle time when there are more workers than work to do,
a common problem as mentioned before.
 Worker's Decision making
attitude Others
9%
20% 5%

Lack of
Overmaning
supervision
27%
39%

Fig. 7. Causes of idle time.

Finally, the main causes of traveling time are presented in Figure 8. Again,
overmanning appeared as the most frequent factor, followed by lack of supervision,
workers' attitude, materials supply and site working conditions.

Lack of
progress Others
Working conditions 5% 18%
11%
Overmaning
22%
Materials supply
12%
Worker's attitude Lack of supervision
13% 19%

Fig. 8. Causes of traveling time.

6.3 Wasted time related to contributory work

Figure 9 describes the main categories of contributory work found in the study.
Although it is not possible to completely eliminate contributory work time, its reduction
allows an increasing of productive time and thus it is highly convenient. Transporting is
responsible for almost 50 % of the total category, a very interesting outcome, that
confirms previous observations performed at many building construction sites.
 100 100
89
90
Activity level (%) 80 76,5
70 64
60 49
50
40
30
15 12,5 12,5 11
20
10
0
Transporting G. Others Measuring Cleaning
Instructions

Fig. 9. Distribution of contributory work time.

The factors that account for most of the transportation time are presented in Figure
10. Inadequate transportation methods is the most significant factor, being responsible
of almost 40 % of the transportation cases. In many cases, qualified personnel
(carpenters, plumbers, electricians) dedicate a considerable amount of time transporting
their materials and tools instead of having laborers or less qualified personnel doing this
job. Poor distribution and the lack of transportation equipment also are important
sources of transportation time.

Lack of Others
equipment 16%
27%

Inadequate
Poor methods
distribution 37%
20%

Fig. 10. Causes of transporting time.

Inadequate distribution of materials is a situation that has been observed in almost

every construction project. Long transportation distances due to deficient layout of
temporary facilities, extra movements of materials and equipment because of lack of
planning of their initial unloading positions are just two of many other similar cases of
transportation waste.

6.4 Summary of findings

Work time distribution in the building construction projects considered in this study,
demonstrates that around 53% of the total working time is dedicated to non productive
activities. Many different factors are the sources of these activities. A summary of the
most relevant ones identified in this study is shown in Figure 11. Many others were
found to be significant but less important and have not been reported here.

Waiting time Idle time

Poor allocation
of work
Lack of Workers
Lack of equipment attitude Overmaning
materials
Lack of
Overmaning progress Lack of
Supervision
Waste
Overmaning
Lack of Inadequate
supervision method
No motive
Lack of
equipment
Lack of Poor work Poor
resources conditions distribution
Traveling time Transporting time

Fig. 11. Cause-effect diagram for the main causes of construction waste.

7 Conclusions

The information provided in this paper can be very valuable for site managers in many
ways. First, they will be able to inform themselves about the main waste factors in
construction work. Thus they may become better informed managers, who know what
are the problems they face, a requisite to solve any problem. Second, they can then
focus their attention on these potential risks of unproductive time and act effectively to
reduce both the risks and their impacts.
Planning is the key managerial function that should be used to be effective in
reducing or eliminating these waste factors. Most of the factors shown in Figure 11 are
clear demonstrations of a lack of adequate planning. Resources not available,
supervision not available or inadequate, poor layout distribution, overmanning, lack of
progress, poor allocation of work, are all planning deficiencies.
As reported by Serpell et al. (1995) project planning faces several problems in
construction. The most frequently are related to a poor definition of job objectives,
insufficient use of computer planning systems and the reduced availability of planning
and control data. What might be the main problem is the lack of time that site managers
have to plan. Generally, they are assigned to the project team a short time before the
project starts. Later, after the project is under execution, traditional priorities and habits
restrict their available time for planning. These problems has also been addressed by
Howell and Ballard (1994).
Then, to be effective in addressing these problems, planning should be an activity of
every site manager, from project managers to foremen. Although professionals
normally have received planning instruction, general foremen and foremen have not.
Then we need to educate and train our first line managers, to make them able to carry
out effective planning.
The major planning focus at this level should be on short-term planning. Most of
the wastes that take place at construction sites on day to day operations are the result of
lack of effective short-term planning. A simple, but effective tool to carry out short-
term planning has been used successfully in construction works as shown by Serpell
(1993).
Finally, this work, still underway, contributes in that it is a systematic attempt to
observe and measure wastes in construction processes. Outcomes of the study will help
in the understanding of the nature of the construction production process. This
understanding is necessary to create a much needed theoretical framework of
construction.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Corporacin de Investigacin de la

Construccin(ConstructionResearchCorporation),forprovidingfundingtosupport
thisresearcheffort.

REFERENCES

Howell, G. and Ballard, G. (1994) "Implementing Lean Construction: Stabilizing

Work Flow," 2nd. Annual Conference of the International Group of Lean
Construction, Santiago, Chile, September.
Serpell, A., Crovetto, J. and Seymour, D. (1995) "A Current Vision of Construction
Management Practices in Chile," unpublished paper submitted to the CIB Working
Commission 65 Organization & Management of Construction Symposium to be held
in Glasgow, Scotland, 1996.
Serpell, A. (1993) Construction Operations Management (in Spanish), Ediciones
Universidad Catlica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.