A Study of Material Waste and Cost Overrun

Material Waste and Cost Overrun 1
Running Head: MATERIAL WASTE AND COST OVERRUN
A Study of Material Waste and Cost Overrun
(Based on Evidence from Construction Project in United Arab Emirates)
[Name of the Writer]
[Name of the Institution]

DECLARATION
I declare that the literature and research included in this study is my own work. Some concepts
and theories have been adapted or taken from other researchers and authors that have been cited
properly. This study consist around 15000 words approximately.
Signed - …………………………………….
Date - ………………………………………
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My sincere thanks to everyone who helped me in many ways either it was verbal assistance or
material help, this contribution from all has enabled me to complete the study in the most
effective way.
ABSTRACT
In the construction field, materials wastage is a significant issue which needs to be addressed on
urgent basis. Wastage of materials creates a massive difference in increased project costs which
has affected several completed construction projects around the globe. This research aims to
study the link between the cost overrun and waste of materials to reduce run at the project’s
construction phase. The results obtained after the completion of the projects shows that all the
factors that causes waste of materials have a direct impact on the cost overrun of the construction
project.
The objective of the research is to signify the outcomes of an independently conducted research
on the subject of the waste materials’ impact on the cost overrun in the construction field.
Current projects of housing schemes were included in the project from UAE, amongst all a
sample of nine houses under construction in two projects was intentionally chosen. The source of
the data for this study came from the archival records (BOQ, drawings, and Project development
report) and field analysis on cost overrun and waste of material. The data that was collected for
the study was examined by utilizing the method of Pearson moment correlation.
The results of the research showed a statically noteworthy connection between waste of materials
and cost overrun. The results imply that the increase in the amount of material waste is directly
proportional to the cost overrun.
This study suggests that the managers and supervisors of the project and also the other managing
personnel of the project must reflect on the causes of the waste materials handling since it can
significantly minimize the factors effecting the cost overrun of the project.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Need for the Study..................................................................................................................... 10
Problem Statement .................................................................................................................... 10
The Pre-contract Stage of a Construction Project ................................................................. 11
The Post Contract Stage of a Construction Project ............................................................... 11
Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................. 12
Research Hypothesis ................................................................................................................. 12
Aim of the Research .................................................................................................................. 12
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................... 13
Waste in Construction ............................................................................................................... 18
Definition of Waste ............................................................................................................... 18
Material Waste .......................................................................................................................... 19
Physical Construction Waste ..................................................................................................... 19
Amount of Waste Material in Construction .............................................................................. 20
Sources of Materials Waste ....................................................................................................... 21
Direct Waste .......................................................................................................................... 21
Indirect Waste ........................................................................................................................ 22
Causes of Material Waste .......................................................................................................... 24

Steel Reinforcement .............................................................................................................. 25
Concrete ................................................................................................................................. 25
Timber Formwork.................................................................................................................. 26
Block Work............................................................................................................................ 26
Cement Sand Mortar (Plastering) .......................................................................................... 27
Tile work................................................................................................................................ 27
Material Waste Control on Site ................................................................................................. 27
Waste Minimization in Construction ........................................................................................ 28
The 3 “Rs “ of Construction Waste Minimization .................................................................... 30
Source Reduction ................................................................................................................... 30
Benefit of the Construction Waste Minimization ..................................................................... 30
Relationship between Material Waste and Construction Cost Overrun .................................... 31
Construction Cost Overrun........................................................................................................ 32
Causes of Cost Overruns ........................................................................................................... 32
Construction-Material Waste and Cost Overrun ....................................................................... 34
Research Methodology ................................................................................................................. 35
The Qualitative Method ............................................................................................................ 36
Material Wastage Percentage during Construction Activities ............................................... 36
Percentage Contribution of Material Waste to Cost Overrun................................................ 42
Test of Hypotheses ................................................................................................................ 47

Factors That Contributes To Material Wastages on Construction Sites ................................ 48
Quantitative Method .................................................................................................................. 52
Data Collection Procedure ........................................................................................................ 53
Data Collection and Analysis .................................................................................................... 53
Outline of Methodology ............................................................................................................ 54
Field Investigation ..................................................................................................................... 54
Procedure for Data Gathering and Analysis .......................................................................... 55
Case Study ................................................................................................................................. 55
Statistical Data Analysis............................................................................................................ 57
Reinforcements.......................................................................................................................... 57
Ceramic Tile .............................................................................................................................. 58
Findings and Discussions .............................................................................................................. 58
Discussion of Factors Causing Waste of Material and Cost Overrun ....................................... 61
Category 1: Contractor's Site Management Related Factor (CSM) Contractor's Site .............. 61
Design and Documentation Related Factor (DDF) ............................................................... 65
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 66
References ..................................................................................................................................... 67
Material Waste and Cost Overrun
Introduction
The most vital and essential part in development of structures like roads and highways of
a country or a state is construction. Nonetheless, the building or construction material waste is
the most common problem which is faced by many countries. As compared to many other
manufacturing industries, the construction or building activities creates and produced the most
material waste. The wastage of materials in construction and building hustle causes to decrease
the productivity which affects the atmosphere badly and raises the price of the project and
schemes. It is hard and difficult to reuse and reutilize the constructing material waste. There is no
enough space for the removal of material waste as well. Mostly, the resources which are in
excess and get wasted are timber, mortar, bricks, steel, concrete, polyvinyl chloride pipes, paints,
glass etc... But the materials which get wasted in minimal quantity and disturb the effectiveness
of products are tiles, polyvinyl chloride pipes, paints and electrical fixtures. As these materials
are wasted in minimal quantity so they are not important in producing the waste material. These
materials can harm the environment and atmosphere as they are not decomposed substances
which can be easily dumped and disposed.
Building commercial enterprises sustenance towards public is equal as financial
development of any state through serving to keep up good and excellent living by offering the
structure like institutes, health care hospitals, roads and further elementary amenities. Therefore,
it’s significant that the building development or schemes should be accomplished in the arranged
or planned period, in accounted price and it should encounter the attributes. A huge proportion of
manufactured product’s price is shown by resources excess from the building industry which is
stated in so many researches. Hence, the deprived supervision of surplus and supplies compel to
raise the entire construction price. Apart from project revenue, waste excess is significant as well
but there are some problems rising because of the material waste which can harm the
atmosphere. There is no enough space for waste disposal in the state and it is very hard to
reutilize or reuse the waste material due to the increase in criminal activities.
The waste resources during the manufacturing process are a critical matter and it needs
concentration in the building enterprise. It harmfully affected the distribution of numerous
schemes and developments in the period of time and extra building resources are often purchased
because of the wastage of materials in the building processes. The amount of excess of resources
which is produced on many building and manufacturing sites surpasses the budget. (8 percent or
15 percent or whatsoever rely on the resources and roughly additional situations). Therefore,
maintain the wastage of resources when making the evaluation of the schemes or plan. It’s
difficult to comprehend the proportion of the extra price which is paid by the depletion of
resources to the building enterprise.
Waste contributed huge proportion of the entire project as it is stated by previous studies
from numerous states. For Example: Due to the added price of 15 percent to the construction
project, the price occupies the outcome of material wastages as it is stated in UAE study by
Skoyle in Tam et al (2007). Hong Kong Construction association and Hong Kong Poly technical
did a research in (1993) that the wastage of material increased the cost at 11 percent. There are
similar studies in Netherland which states that the sum of material wastages is among 20 percent
to 30 percent of project cost increase.
Therefore, any changes or enhancements in the construction supplies manages on the
location of construction throughout the building process which is able to raise the presentation of
the construction enterprise and it receives the cost profit and the construction material waste on
the location during the constructing procedure tends to increase the cost.
Need for the Study
All around the United Kingdom, pink chicken livers are in high demand in several
restaurants and pubs, and the fundamental reason for this trend is because the chicken liver is
served rare or pink (Paxton 2016). In a research conducted by the Manchester University, which
included more than 1000 participants, chefs, and the general public, were asked regarding their
choices, and whether they could spot carefully safe to eat meats. By sight, most of the
participants were not capable of identifying securely cooked pink chicken livers. Approximately
30% of the public categorized pink livers as safe to eat which in reality had forecasted rates of
survival of Campylobacter between 46% and 96%.
Problem Statement
The basic aim of this research was to investigate the impact of waste of materials
throughout the process of construction on construction fields and the cost overruns associated
with it. The other objective of this study was to examine the precise materials which are wasted
during the process of construction.
Following are the acts that could be included for the waste of materials at the pre & post
stage of the contact throughout the construction project.

The Pre-contract Stage of a Construction Project
There are several acts encompassed for the waste of materials at the pre-contract stage
from the beginning till the contract is awarded, for instance, budget proposal, feasibilities, BOQ,
initial and detailed design, and estimation. If these acts are not methodically controlled and
managed, it can result in waste of material and fitting cost overrun.
The Post Contract Stage of a Construction Project
The acts responsible for waste of material in the post contract stage in the construction
project involve the following things:
 Construction occurring on the site
 Management
 Scrutiny
 Authorization
 User occupation
 Finishing Point
 Client Hand over
 Correction of defects
 Contract completion
 Settlement of the final account
Though this research will only aims at issues related to construction and expect to signify
the real part of waste gathered from construction materials (throughout the process of
construction) to cost overrun in the construction project.

Purpose of the Study
As mentioned earlier, wastage of material during construction projects is a significant
issue which is needed to be addressed soon. Every stakeholder in construction field has
acknowledged this matter and they all have realized that it is having a major effect in the profit
of their project. However; not much has been done by the industry giants to find an answer to
this question. This was the reason to choose this topic for the research.
Research Hypothesis
The hypothesis presumed for this study is:
H1– There is a noteworthy connection between the cost overrun of a construction project and the
amount of waste generated from a variety of materials used in building throughout the
construction phases on sites.
Aim of the Research
Wastage of material is a significant issue in the industry of construction and how to
completely eliminate or reduce cost overruns from a construction project because of wastage of
material. This research looks to find the more building materials that are wasted during the entire
process of construction and the material waste percentage role of every recognized material to
cost overrun of the project.
Objectives
The basic objective was to investigate the exact contribution of material wasted during
construction to the construction project’s cost overrun. Other than the basic aim, there are going
to be several other small objectives linked with the major objective of the research. The sub
objectives include:
- Discover the additional wasteful building materials throughout the operation of the construction.
- The factors involved which affect directly to the material wastage during construction project?
- To identify why, where, and when those matters and factors happened during construction
project.
- To investigate the individuals responsible for these problems and factors
- To highlight how these issues can be resolved, waste of materials in construction project can be
minimized and how the cost overruns can be decreased.
Literature Review
The most important aspect for economic and social success of any state is construction
industry. Anyways, it is met with some serious problems of cost increase, waste of construction
and increase in time period. Wastage of material resources is a severe problem which needs to be
taken care of soon and it has somehow the power to deliver the projects.
Alternatively, cost overrun is usual issue in developing and developed states and
countries which tend to fail the projects to be accomplished in the given amount. Cost overrun is
a very common problem which is being observed in many countries of the world. The
arrangement in the construction industry is on how to decrease the cost overrun of the project
which is among the project holders, the workers for the past seventy years and build
conservational experts but there is no significant development or resolution in justifying the
harmful consequences; whereas on-site material wastage raises the final cost of the constructing
project. As the resources are wasted, it affects the cost of the project. Nonetheless, in order to
take care of waste, the contract which is made for the erection of building from materials is just
of 4 percent budget. Furthermore, in Hong Kong, the managers and owners of building projects
and schemes do not concentrate on the material which are produced on cost overruns on record
of 12 percent and it is stated in UAE that the material waste of development cost overruns on
record of extra 16 percent. There are so many studies about this matter but it still needs more
investigation that delivers the calculation of the connection amid the reasons of cost overrun in
construction industry and the wastage of material. Therefore, in this research it inspects the
connection among the cost overruns and reasons of wastage of materials and it is signifying the
conceivable conducts on how to lower or decrease the effects of material waste which happens in
construction projects stages.
It is stated inAmehOko John et al (2013) study about the relationship and link between
the most inefficient materials in construction and building process and they also detected the
aspects and factors that contributed the most wastage of material on sites and locations of
construction and building. Muhwezi (2012) calculated and studied about the classification of the
traits and characteristics of the building and construction waste on development and constructing
projects in Uganda and suggested the most possible ways on how to decrease their
manifestations. It is suggested that a construction waste management system is a necessity which
can deliver or provide the data or info about the waste quantities, to detect the parts or zones
which are little bit problematic in producing waste production and it should be capable of finding
the harms of these wastes.
Ali Asghar Najafpoor et al (2011) stated about the activities and the hustle about the
waste produced in the projects and developments, storage and transportation. During the
feedback from investigation, the most contributing aspect of waste production was obtained.
In 2008, Jiao-Yuan Wang ET a studied the construction on the sites and causes of
building waste info or data was found during the enquiry survey and the interviews were held in
Shenzhen. The suggestions were given for minimizing the waste and most important aims were
obtained for waste production.
In 2005, Elizara B M et al presented an innovative idea that supports project supervisors
at building locations to improvise completion of projects by means of construction waste
supervision preparation. These reasons are built on connection of construction waste
management which affected the aspects and factors in reducing waste. On construction projects,
the aspects and factors are based on interview and literature. Junli Yang et al (2005) researched
thoroughly about information analysis with the link to the production of waste and identification
methodologies of 3R principle (reduce, reuse, recycle) and management system.
In 2004, Bon-Gang Hwang et al studied the survey results based on different project
attributes, affect observation on advantages from construction waste management. A survey was
planned to give opinions about the selection of the schemes and project attributes and to increase
awareness about the benefits of construction waste management. In 2004, Andrew R F Dainty et
al searched about the productivity of procedures which was applied for minimalizing waste
production in a report in construction and building projects of UK. An extensive series of waste
plans was discovered in case studies which were reviewed through a feedback from survey from
waste minimalization experts. In addition, throughout the supply chain, useful procedures were
assigned to the encourage experts of waste minimalization.
In 2003, Carlos T. Formoso et al emphases on the outcome of two researches which were
held in Brazil that examined the presence of material waste on building and construction sites
and locations construction sites and cost price successful precautionary procedures were
recognized as well.
The fact that the construction industry generates a high level of waste from material
usage has been proven by previous studies. For example, one-quarter of the world’s timber is
consumed in the construction business while the construction industry consumes 3.1 billion tons
of raw resources yearly (UNEP, 2007; WGBC, 2010). Some of these resources will inevitably
end up as demolition and construction waste, thinking realistically. In the US, the landfills are
yearly filled with about135 million tons of demolition and construction, which combines up to
become 32 percent of the waste from the entire business (Mclaren, 2009).
By (Napier, 2012), there are several construction phases in which construction waste
occurs, ranging from finishing to founding works and almost all of them originate from masonry,
material handling, metals, aggregate, wooden materials, gravels, aggregate, electrical and
plumbing fittings, plastic, and concrete.
Research conducted in the US recently in (2015-2016) the following percentage wastage
of some building materials was identified from the processing of 20,000 tons of construction and
demolition waste. The following date was discovered; asphalt roofing 5 percent, dry wall 3
percent, gravels, ferrous and nonferrous metals 9 percent, dry wall 3 percent, wood 30 percent,
aggregate and fines 20 percent, paper 3 percent, disposal as refuse 5 percent and cardboard and
plastic 1 percent (Napier, 2012). Even though the research put forward the conclusion that the
main waste product in the US is wood, however wood shows a great possibility for reuse in other
industries such as manufacturing but also in the construction business.

To reduce the impact of construction resource waste on the environment the United
States Government has instigated the green rating conditions for all construction ventures’s to
further strengthen the eco-friendly performance (Amatruda, 2012).
Various scientists/scholars have struggled to examine the material waste on construction
sites in Brazil (Formoso et al. 2002; Junior, 2009; Saraiva et al. 2012). Although Brazil has not
yet set up the amount of demolition and construction waste that goes to landfills yearly, there are
statistics for the quantity of C&D waste from key sites in the nation (Angulo et al. 2009; Junior
et al. 2009).
74 percent of natural materials, 45 percent of the overall energy in use which combines
up to make 40 percent of the total waste which is generated by Brazil’s construction industry
(Saraiva et al. 2012). Brito Filho (in Junior et al. (2009) put forward a research which denoted
that the mean waste resource in the construction sites of Brazil is composed of; 32 percent mortar
and concrete, 30 percent ceramics, 32 percent soil and 6 percent others. Also, it was further
confirmed that almost all C&D waste in Brazil comes from masonry and concrete material
(Angulo et al. 2003; Angulo et al. 2009).
Ahmed, Andel's and Gihan (2010) study in Egypt was fixated on controlling and
minimizing the occurrence of resource waste through its origin. The authors found it essential to
build their research on an in-depth study that would cover the current situation, due to the
absence of an accurate database on the rates and causes of material waste in the Egyptian
Construction Industry. The research found that the chief waste percentage (14% in average) was
linked to timber outlines. Since it is sold at the end of the project to scrap dealers which in turn
use them for minor jobs its impact on the environment is less negative than that of other
materials. Cement and steel waste percentage appear to be in the boundaries of the mean
permissible percentage of 6 percent and 8 percent correspondingly. The high cost of the bill of
quantities which would have led to a higher effort from contractors to control their waste is a
major influence in this case.
Waste in Construction
Definition of Waste
Waste can be defined as the exceeding quantity in the usage of resources, labor, supplies
or equipment than that measured as a mandatory threshold in the erection of a structure. The
procedure of construction such as material supplies, planning, and design as well as the erection
stage may be all causes for the production of waste. The main causes of waste in construction
can be termed into:
- Planning
- Procedure
- Resource Supply
- Residual
- Design
- Procurement
- Operation
Nevertheless, product waste at the building phase of the project will only be taken into
consideration for this research.

Material Waste
Waste of material can be defined to contain the following things:
- Profuse resources produced throughout the construction phase
- Unwanted resources
- Excess materials ordered or spare to necessity
- Discharged and used resources.
Material waste can also be defined as the capacity break amongst the resources precisely
measured and appropriately used on site and delivery resource cost. Additionally, waste of
resources is defined as “any resource other than the earth’s resources, which requires being
moved to another place than that of within the project site or outside of the project site with the
objective of recycling, reusing, composting, land filling or incineration independent of the
planned explicit purpose of the venture because of non-use, resource damage, noncompliance or
excess with the requirement or a side-product of the building process” (Ekanayake and Ofori ,
2000). Despite of discrepancy in the project, possible resource waste is due to comparable
inadequacies in procedure, procurement, design, operation, resource handling, and residual on-
site waste such as packing or planning (Fomoso et al., 1993; Gavilan and Bernold, 1994).
Physical Construction Waste
The waste from renovation and construction hustle and activities like civil engineering
works and building works is called Physical construction waste. Though, it is mentioned as
inactive waste: the hard or rock-hard waste, including bricks, tiles, plastics, cane, glass, sand,
concrete wreckages, blocks, wood and papers and living matter. These waste matters cannot be
reuse and recycle because of its components and they can never be repaired. Non-Physical
Construction Waste lands are filled with the waste material as they are removed from the
construction sites and locations.
During the construction development, the non-physical waste and surplus usually arises.
However, for construction and building projects the waste material or non-physical waste
recounts the cost overruns and time increment. Correspondingly, according to researchers it is
stated that the wastage of material is caused by the time waiting and delaying in repairing. In
addition, the waste material is measured in wastefulness as in labor, materials, money and
equipment. However, the waste material in construction and building development and projects
does not only requires the amount of materials which are wasted on the construction location or
site but it also includes problems of material handling, catalogs and records, over production,
time and pointless activities of labors.
Amount of Waste Material in Construction
The configuration and proportion of resource waste were identified by research in
Malaysia which shows that: metal product 1 percent, wood 5 percent, soil 27 percent, concrete
65.5 percent, bricks, and blocks 1.16 percent and roofing materials aggregate to about 0.2
percent (Begun et al., 2006).
Rameezdeen and Kulathunga (2004) in Srilanka carried out a research that recognized the
chief resource wastes as the following, Cement 14 percent, Rubble 7 percent, Sand 25 percent,
Paint 5 percent, Ceramic tiles 10 percent, Cement Block 7 percent, Lime 20 percent, Steel 7
percent, Timber 10 percent, Bricks 14 percent, and asbestos sheets 3 percent.

Per Datta (2000), about 25–30 percent of resources are unexploited on project site in
Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Zambia. Fatta et al., (2003) also specified that in Greece,
50m3 waste is produced involving 1000m3 of building activity.
Sources of Materials Waste
Construction waste can also be the result of repairing, work, refurbishment and
construction. At the construction, planning and design phase; most of these inefficient tasks can
happen, without increasing the worth of the construction project.
Direct Waste
Direct waste cost is defined as the waste which can be stopped and which encompasses
the definite loss or replacement and exclusion of resources (Skyoles and Skyoles., 1987). Usually
direct waste cost does not tally in the cost of resources; instead, it tallies in the cost of disposing
and eliminating. Therefore, to gain a financial advantage for the project, direct waste needs to be
eliminated. At any phase of the construction procedure, direct waste can take place, after
combining the material to the building to before the unloading of resources to the site
(Kulatungaet al., 2006; Formoso et al., 2002).
CATEGORY REASON EXAMPLE
Delivery Wastage -Materials being transported to site Glassing, Bricks
-Placing and unloading in accumulation to
the preliminary storage

Conventional waste - Cutting material into different Tiles, Formwork
and Cutting uneconomical shapes and sizes.
Waste due to Repair Spoiled, discarded or disposed resources Roof tiles, Bricks
during repair
Waste on application Extra resources toughening on Mortar, Plaster, Paint
and residue Can/Container etc.
Other traders causing Subsidiary trades causing damage to Painted surface
waste materials.
Criminal – Waste Theft& vandalism. Cement bags, Tiles
Waste due to Lack of supervision / Wrong decision Excess material not
management issues being stored instead
thrown away
Waste due to incorrect Incorrect materials being selected Tile with interior quality
use rejected
Table .1.Direct waste categorize
Indirect Waste
Resources are not physically lost here. Instead, they are financially lost. An example of
this would be, the thickness of a concrete block according to the structural design being smaller
than the block itself (Kulatunga et al., 2006; Formoso et al., 2002). Waste caused by incorrect
distribution of resources, replacement of resources where resources are used in surplus amount
than those designated or not evidently identified in the agreement, from waste caused by
negligence, to mistakes, where resources are used in excess to the quantity needed by the
agreement due to the project contractor’s carelessness can be the chief cause of unintended waste
(Shen et al., 2002).
SOURCE CAUSE
Procedure Severe climate
,, Mistakes by operatives or tradesman
,,
Consequent damage and trade mistakes.
,,
Accident
,,
No awareness of essential amount due to flawed preparation
,, Materials being replaced due to damaged or incorrect materials
Unconsumed Conversion waste - cutting uneconomical shape
,,
Off cuts - Material cutting required length
,,
application process waste
,,
No idea about required quantity - Materials over mixing
Table 2- Causes of Construction Waste

Causes of Material Waste
Waste production on site may take place due to many aspects. There may be one or more
causes due to which waste may be produced. By Poon at al., (2001), a study in Hong Kong
which denoted the production of waste may have many influential aspects; they can comprise of
mechanical or human actions.
In the Turkish Construction industry, the material wastage is due to the reasons listed in
the following table:
SOURCE CAUSES OF MATERIAL WASTE FREQUENCY
Workers Mistake 33 percent
Procedure Imperfect planning of construction
62 percent
Materials damaged consequent of trade 05 percent
Unconsumed Conversion waste - Cutting uneconomical 21 percent
shape
Etc. Lack of waste management plan 11 percent
Lack of onsite material control 24 percent
Table 3 – Main source and cause of material waste
Following is the list of materials that are subjected to waste on the site of construction:
 Formwork
 Steel Reinforcement
 Concrete
 Tiles
 Cement
 Cement Sand mortar
 Blocks
Steel Reinforcement
In the building site, the weight and shape of the steel makes it difficult to handle and
control the use of steel reinforcement. Moreover, the steel is mainly damaged due to cutting
during rusting and storage.
According to researchers, there exist three major reasons for steel reinforcement waste:
- When bars are chopped, some short useless pieces are produced.
- There might be some bars that have extra large diameter resulting from trespassing and
fabrication.
- Waste generated due to non-optimized cutting bars resulting from poor structural design.
Concrete
There exist two kinds of mixed concrete namely concrete site mixed and concrete ready
mixed. In both superstructure and substructure buildings, concrete is considered as the most
effective material. The waste is mainly caused when the quantity of concrete orders is higher
than required. This is because, the contractor may not be aware of the exact quantity needed
resulting in excess concrete being ordered. Due to the wastage of concrete, projects are delayed
and inappropriate waste handling takes place. According to the survey of 22 sites of construction
conducted in Hong Kong, ready mixed concrete was used in 80 percent of the construction work.
It was revealed that on average, 2 to 4 percent of the material was wasted due to broken
formwork, excessive ordering of material and poor quality of concrete placement. According to
researchers, the exact quantity to be ordered may not be known to the contractor due to in
adequate planning. These results in excessive transport costs associated with over ordering.
Timber Formwork
In the generation of waste, timber used for formwork plays a major role. Timber is
considered as an effective construction material as it has several advantages. It carries high load
bearing capacity, is light weighted and is inexpensive as compared to other materials. Moreover,
Timber is considered a material of high wastage due to its low reusability and durability. Waste
is mainly caused due to the damage resulting from usage and cutting. After using it several
times, most of the timber transported to the site was disposed of as ate in the case of formwork.
Block Work
The most popular process for walling is Block work. Cutting usually results in block
waste during walling. The fragile nature of the materials along with unpacked supply may result
in increased wastage. Blocks that are left unused at the site may result in trash afterwards.
Cement Sand Mortar (Plastering)
Most of the time, cement sand mortar is left on the ground during the process of wall
construction, plastering etc. This left out cement sand mortar is not picked by worked after the
process resulting in residual. Cement mortar is mixed by workers in the morning before initiating
the process.
Tile work
Due to poor storage facilities and transportation, ceramic tiles get damaged. In order to
produce the desired architectural design, tiles should be molded and cut in to required size and
shape. When changes in design is required by the client, some of floor tiles may need to be
removed resulting in waste. When the tiles are ordered in excess quantity, this also results in
waste.
Material Waste Control on Site
Material control is a process that involves ensuring that the availability of materials in
terms of quantity and time is in accordance with the preset corporate objectives. The process also
includes activities such as requisitioning, fabrication of components, determination of material
requirement, record keeping, and procedure relating to status reporting.
The contractor takes on the responsibility of material control a soon as he starts working on the
site. Other than the general waste of materials on the site, lack of supervision results in increased
damage and more waste on the site.

The person handling the materials must take responsibility of material control process.
Most of the supervisors and foreman does not handle materials appropriately as they consider
themselves as supplier of materials they are responsible for.
Many foremen and supervisors see their main function as that of material supplier to the group
they are responsible for, hence, ignoring material handling. If the task of distributing supplies
and setting material requirements is assigned to the controller, the trade’s foremen will be able to
focus on their job properly. The handling and use of materials is solely the responsibility of site
management.
Waste Minimization in Construction
Considerable amounts of resources are being used at the building site. However, on close
examination of the lifecycle of materials on site, it can easily be revealed that large quantity of
waste is generated at the building site due to poor material control procedures.
There exists significant potential for reducing and even eradicating the waste generated at
the construction site. Knowledge about the causes of construction waste is required to formulate
effective waste management strategies.
The waste in construction industry is significantly being reduced due to behavioral
changes in most people. In construction industry, waste is inevitable. For this reason, there exist
less resources and support to reduce waste as it is considered a low project priority. The study
conducted by Lingered et al (2002) also emphasizes on the need of effective resources and
support to reduce construction site waste. The study recommends that in order to improve
attitude towards waste management, there should be clear communication of waste management
policies and availability of required resources.

MEASURE OF WASTE MINIMIZATION
- Ensuring that materials purchased contain an expiry date
- In order to avoid excessive ordering, coordination with the concerned individual
- Implementation of appropriate site management technique and strategy
- employee training
- Use of efficient equipment
- Purchasing adequate amounts
- Use of technology that generate minimal waste
- Storing the suite materials appropriately
- Ensuring that the materials are receive in right quantity and quality
- Careful use of equipment and tools at the site
- Taking specific measures to avoid ordering wrong materials
- Employing skilled workers
- Ensuring that right quantity of materials is batched
- Practicing effective construction management
- Inducing positive attitude in workers with respect to handling of materials
- Re utilizing waste materials in project
- Strict supervision
- Recycling waste materials on site.
Table .5 List of waste minimization measure

In Table 5, waste minization measures are listed as identified from the literature source:
Begum et al ., 2006 ; Shen et al., 2002 ; Shen and Tam, 2002 ; Poon et al., 2001 ; Ho, 2001 ;
Faniran and Caban. 1998; Peng and Scorpio.1997; Sherma, 1996)
The 3 “Rs “of Construction Waste Minimization
In minimization of construction waste, there exist three “Rs” namely recycling, reuse and
reduction. The prevention of waste generation at the first place is known as Source reduction or
waste reduction, Waste reduction is one of the vital principles of sustainable construction. If
minimal or no waste is generated during construction process, there would be less cost involved
and more natural resources would be conserved. Cost such as disposable cost, and material
handling cost is greatly reduced by designing with standard size of building materials.
Source Reduction
The process of waste eradication at the source is known as Source reduction. In the
construction waste management hierarchy, source reduction remains at the top level. This
process is highly effective as it has positive environmental impacts and gives direct results.
Benefit of the Construction Waste Minimization
A business can incur high cost due to management of construction waste. This is because,
waste management requires complex and expensive technologies and equipment’s to be used at
the construction site. A business can enjoy both environmental as well as financial benefits due
to waste minimization.
Financial benefits include:
- Low cost of transportation for waste materials
- Low disposable cost of waste materials
- Less quantity required to be purchased resulting in low overall cost
- Less waste is generated
- Pollution resulting from disposal is greatly reduced.
- Transportation waste to be disposed is reduced (Hence, less energy used, pollution from vehicle
emission etc.)
Relationship between Material Waste and Construction Cost Overrun
Construction waste is generally classified into two, namely: the physical waste and the
nonphysical waste (Nagapan et al., 2012). Physical construction waste is the waste from
construction, renovation activities, including civil and building construction, demolition
activities, and roadwork. It is, however, referred by some directly as solid waste: the inert waste
which comprises mainly sand, bricks, blocks, steel, concrete debris, tiles, bamboo, plastics, glass,
wood, paper, and other organic materials (Nagapan et al., 2012 and Ma, 2011). This type of
waste consists of a complete loss of materials, due to the fact that they are irreparably damaged
or simply lost. The wastage is usually removed from the site to landfills (Nagapan et al., 2012).
Conversely, the non-physical waste normally occurs during the construction process. By contrast
with material waste, non-physical waste relates to time and cost overruns for a construction
project (Nagapan et al., 2012). Similarly, Ma (2011) defines waste as not only associated with
wastage of materials, but also to other activities such as repair, waiting time, and delays. Besides
that, waste can be considered as any inefficiency that results in the use of equipment, materials,
labor, and money in the construction process. In other words, waste in construction is not only
focused on the quantity of materials on-site, but also overproduction, waiting time, material
handling, inventories, and unnecessary movement of workers (Nagapan et al., 2012).
Memon et al. (2014) added that non-physical waste includes undesired activities, which
can cause the physical waste, such as rework, unnecessary material movements, and so 126 forth.
Figure 1 shows the general classification of construction waste and further depicts that, since
construction waste entails both the physical and the non-physical waste, there is a relationship
between material waste originating from the physical waste and cost overrun from the non-
physical waste, since they originate frame the same waste family.
Construction Cost Overrun
Cost overruns are part of the non-physical waste that has plagued construction projects
for decades or even centuries (Edward, 2009). Cost overrun is also known as
"Cost increase" or "budget overrun"; and it involves unanticipated costs incurred in excess of the
budgeted amounts (Shanmugapriya and Subramanian, 2013). It has also been referred to as the
percentage of actual or final costs above the estimated or tender costs of the project (Ubani et al.,
2011; Jenpanistub, 2011).
Azhar et al. (2008) view cost overrun simply as an occurrence, where the final or actual
cost of a project surpasses the original or initial estimates. It is the actual or final costs, minus the
estimated cost, divided by the estimated/tender costs of a project expressed as a percentage.
Causes of Cost Overruns
Cost overruns in the construction industry have been attributed to a number of causes,
including technical errors in design or estimation, managerial incompetence, risks and

uncertainties, suspicions of foul play, deception and delusion, and even corruption (Ahiaga-
Dagbui and Smoth, 2014). The two main causes of cost overruns in a project, according to
Flyvbjerg, Holm and Buhl (2004) are: optimism bias and strategic misrepresentations.
Optimism bias summarizes the systematic tendency of decision-makers to be more
positive about the results of planned actions; whereas strategic misrepresentations have to do
with confusing or misleading actions used by planners in politics and economics, to ensure that
projects proceed. Furthermore, other surveys have identified the four major factors that cause
cost overruns for a project are: variations in design, insufficient project planning, inclement
weather conditions, and building materials' price fluctuation (Allahaim and Liu 2012).
In another study, the top five (5) important causes of cost overruns in large projects in Vietnam
were: poor site management and supervision, poor subcontractors and project management
assistants, owners' financial constraints, contractors' financial difficulties, and changes in design
(Le-Hoai ET el., 2008).
Al-Najjar (2008) investigated the causes of cost overruns in the Gaza strip, and found that
fluctuations in the prices of construction materials as a result of border closure, was the major
cause of cost overruns. Other factors were: delays in the delivery of materials and equipment to
site, and inflation of the prices of materials.
In another study, Subramani et el. (2014) surveyed the causes of cost overruns in India.
The results indicated that, slow decision-making at the planning stage of a project, poor project
schedules and management, increases in the prices of materials and machines, poor contract
management, poor design, delay in producing design, rework due to mistakes, land-acquisition
problems, poor estimation or estimation techniques, and the long-time taken between the design
and the time of bidding/tendering are the major causes of cost overruns.
Construction-Material Waste and Cost Overrun
Moreover, research evidence revealed that material waste accounts for additional
percentage of cost overrun in countries like the UK, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Nigeria and so
forth (Ameh and Itodo, 2013; Saidu and Shakantu, 2015; Saidu and Shakantu, 2016a; Saidu,
2016). For instance, Tam et al. (2007 in Ameh and Itodo, 2013) reported that, in the UK,
material waste accounts for an additional 15% of construction project cost overruns and for
approximately 11% of construction cost overruns in Hong Kong.
Similarly, a study conducted in the Netherlands revealed a cost overrun of between 20%
and 30% as a result of construction-material wastage (Bossink and Bounwers, 1996). However,
the methodologies adopted to achieve these contributions of material waste to cost overruns are
based on surveys and considered a subjective assessment. Nonetheless, these studies have failed
to objectively (quantitatively and empirically) address the contributions of material waste to
project cost overruns, because of wrong perceptions and this calls for actual data such as on-site
observation and records (Saidu and Shakantu, 2016b). It was on this basis that Saidu and
Shakantu (2016b) carried out an objective assessment of the contributions of material waste to
cost overruns in Abuja, Nigeria. The results revealed that material waste contributes an average
of 4.0% to project cost overruns for the entire projects.
Construction waste entails both the physical and the nonphysical waste; therefore, there is
a nexus between material waste originating from the physical waste and cost overrun from the
non-physical waste, since them both originate from the same waste family (Saidu and Shakantu,
2016a). This classification is shown in Figure 1

Research Methodology
A term used liberally for any investigation that is intended to uncover interesting or new
facts is known as research. The accuracy with which this task is carried out, as with all tasks will
be reflected in the distinction of the results. A fundamental review of the nature of research and
the methods which are used to undertake a variety of investigations relevant to a wide range of
subjects, such as the politics, healthcare and nursing studies, social science, natural sciences,
psychology, leisure studies and sport, social anthropology, hospitality, the environment,
business, education and the humanities will be presented by this book.
An element of research that students must carry out independently is now included in
almost every university course, in the form of dissertations, projects, thesis, and the more
advanced the topic and degree, the tougher and greater the research content. There is frequent
need to research in any workplace to improve or develop the service or business, while some
firms ultimately depend on researching for their very being.
A range of tools that are used for different types of inquiry are known as research
methods, just as for various practical jobs, various different tools are used, such as, a rake for
clearing leaves or a pick for breaking up the ground. However, in all cases, it is vital to
understand or to know the appropriate equipment for completing a particular job or task, and one
must also know how to use that tool most efficiently. Basic information will be provided by this
book about the equipment or tools used in research, indicating briefly how they are used by
giving practical examples and the situations in which they can be applied. Concluding on the
above description given on the types of research informs us that there are two basic approaches
to research, the qualitative approach, and the quantitative approach. The quantitative approach is
the method in which one must generate data in the quantitative method which can be subjected to
precise quantitative analysis rigidly and formally. Research which is concerned with opinions
and behavior and subjective assessment of attitudes is known as the Qualitative approach of
research. It is the ability of a researcher’s impressions and insights to research such scenarios.
Results are generated either in the form which is not subjected to precise quantitative analysis or
in the non-quantitative form in this approach of research. Commonly, projective techniques,
depth interviews and the techniques of focus group interviews are utilized.
There exist number of quantitative as well as qualitative research methods, ranging from
observation, questionnaires, interviews, experiments and case studies. The study in
considerations involves two research methods namely questionnaire or qualitative method and
quantitative method. For the purpose of collecting responses from the respondents, a
questionnaire is used to ask questions relating to the study. Questionnaires are not only
designed for statistical analysis, but also allow researchers collect adequate amount of data at
low cost. The target group can be sent the questionnaire through post and the respondents can
choose to answer the questions whenever they wish to. Cost can be further reduced through the
use of email for communicating with the respondents.
The Qualitative Method
Material Wastage Percentage during Construction Activities
Questionnaires were provided to project managers (05), construction managers (04), site
engineers (6nos), Chief quantity surveyors (02), resident engineers (6nos), civil foremen (10nos)
and (12nos) other individuals indulged in the process of construction. Based on their experience,
the participants were asked to rate the materials with respect to wastage during construction.
Rating had to be done on a 5-pointLikert scale ranged from 1-5. (1= extremely low and 5+
extremely high)
The responses of 43 participants to the questions asked regarding material waste are listed in the
following table- 6:
RESPONDENT CONCRETE TIMBE R /F CENE TILE BLOCK
R T WORK
F/WOR SAND
K PLAST
ER
Cons. Manager - 1 4 4 3 4 3 3
Cons. Manager - 2 4 4 3 3 3 3
Cons. Manager - 3 4 3 3 3 3 3
Con.Manager - 4 3 2 3 3 2 2
Proj. Manager - 1 3 2 3 3 3 2
Proj. Manager - 2 4 3 3 4 2 2
Proj. Manager - 3 4 3 3 3 3 2
Proj. Manager - 4 3 2 2 4 3 2
Proj. Manager - 5 4 2 3 4 3 2
Chief.Q . S - 1 3 2 3 3 2 2
Chief.Q . S - 2 4 3 3 3 3 2
Site Engi. - 1 4 3 2 4 3 3
Site Engi, - 2 4 4 1 4 3 2
Site Engi. - 3 4 2 2 2 1 3
Site Engi. - 4 3 3 2 3 2 3
Site Engi. - 5 2 2 1 2 1 3
Site Engi. - 6 2 2 2 3 2 3
Resi. Engi. - 1 4 3 1 3 2 3
Resi. Engi. - 2 4 2 2 4 1 3
Site QS – 1 4 3 2 3 2 3
Site QS – 2 4 3 2 4 1 3
Civil Forman - 1 3 2 1 3 1 2
Civil Forman - 2 2 2 2 4 1 3
Civil Forman - 3 3 3 2 4 2 3
Civil Forman - 4 2 2 3 3 1 2
Civil Forman - 5 2 3 2 4 1 2
Civil Forman - 6 3 2 3 3 2 3
Civil Forman - 7 4 2 3 3 3 2
Civil Forman - 8 4 3 2 3 3 2
Civil Forman - 9 3 3 1 4 2 3
Civil Forman - 10 4 2 1 3 1 2
Other – 1 3 2 1 3 1 2
Other – 2 4 3 1 3 3 2
Other – 3 4 2 1 4 3 2
Other – 4 2 3 2 3 3 2
Other – 5 2 3 2 3 2 2
Other – 6 4 3 2 3 3 2
Other - 7 4 2 1 3 3 3
Other – 8 2 2 1 3 3 2
Other – 9 3 2 1 3 3 2
Other – 10 3 2 1 4 3 2
Other – 11 4 3 2 4 3 2
Other – 12 3 4 3 4 3 3
Mean Value
3.32 2.57 1.57 3.73 1.78 3.16
Rank
2 3 6 1 5 4
Table.6 .Percentage and rank order of material waste on construction project
Table .7 is showing the mean response and their according rank (prepared using Table. 6.)
BUILDING NO OF MEAN RANK
MATERIAL RESPONDENTS
RESPONSE
Sand, mortar& cement 43 3.43 1
(Plastering)
Concrete 3.32 2
43
Timber form work 2.57 3

43
Block worm 3.16 4

43
Ceramic tile 1.78 5

43
Reinforcement 1.57 6
43
Table 7-Most frequently used building materials and its wastage rank
According to the results, cement-sand mortar is the most effective and commonly used
building material for plastering having a mean value of 3,53. Concrete followed Cement sand
mortar with a mean value of 3.12 and timber followed by mean value 2.56. Ceramic tile had the
mean value of 1.98 and there was reinforcement in the order with the man value of 1.77. The
result of previous studies is supported by the findings of this study that plastering through
mortar generate most of the waste at building site. According to previous studies, structural
elements lacking on modular coordination contributes to high wastage in mortar during the
process of plastering. Other reasons are the lack of supervision, careless workmanship and
unskilled workers. According to researchers, source of transportation and poor formwork may
contribute to the high wastage in concrete. It should also be noted that mix design may also lead
concrete wastage at the building site. Moreover, wastage may also result from hiring unskilled
workers, carless work and lack of supervision at the building site. Researchers also revealed
that waste and natural decay from cutting is responsible for high wastage in timber formwork.
In foundation work, up to 20% wastage can occur during the timber formwork process. The dull
and wet nature of most foundation work may contribute the high wastage during timber
formwork process. It should be noted that timber formwork is highly influenced by both wet and
dry weather. According to the study conducted in Egypt, steel reinforcement was found to have
low wastage percentage of about 5 % as compared to considerably high waste percentage of
cement mortar that was found to be 20%.

Percentage Contribution of Material Waste to Cost Overrun
The study aimed at estimating the parentage contribution of materials wasted at the
building site to project cost overrun. Based on their experience, the participants were asked to
estimate percentage of materials wasted to project cost overrun, the participants were required to
rate on Likert scale ranged from 0 to 5 (0 + less than 5% and 5= more than 25%). In percentage
interpolation, the mean average is used for each material used at the building site for
construction. The participants response to the questions asked is shown in the below table- 8.
The question was “what is the percentage contribution of materials waste to project cost
overrun.”
0 = Less than 5% 3 = 16 % - 20 %
1 = 6 % - 10 % 4 = 21 % - 25 %
2 = 11 % - 15 % 5 = More than 25 %
RESPONDENT CONCRE EMENT BLOCK TIMBER CERAMI RIENF
TE SAND WORK FOMWO C TILES ORCE
MORTA RK MENT
Construction 4 4 2 2 2 2
Manager - 1
Manager - 2
Manager - 3
Manager - 4
4 4 2 2 3 2
Project Manager -
Project Manager - 4 4 3 3 3 3
5 4 4 4 3 2
Project Manager -
4 4 2 2 2 2
Project Manager -
4 4 3 3 3 2
Project 5 Manager -
4 3 3 3 2 3
Chief QS - 1
4 4 2 2 3 3
Chief QS - 2
Site Engineer - 1 4 4 3 3 3 2
3 4 4 3 3 2
Site Engineer – 2
4 4 5 4 3 3
Site Engineer - 3
3 4 4 4 4 3
Site Engineer - 4
4 4 4 4 3 3
Site Engineer - 5
4 4 3 3 3 2
Site Engineer - 6
3 4 4 4 4 3
Resident Engineer
-1
4 4 3 3 3 2
Resident Engineer -
Site Quantity 4 4 4 4 3 3
Surveyor - 1
Surveyor - 2
Site Forman - 1 4 4 3 3 3 2
Site Forman - 2 5 4 4 4 4 2
Site Forman - 3 4 4 3 3 3 3
Site Forman - 4 5 4 4 3 3 2
Site Forman - 5 4 4 3 3 3 2
Site Forman - 6 4 4 3 3 3 2
Site Forman - 7 4 4 2 2 2 3
Site Forman - 8 4 4 4 4 3 2
Site Forman - 9 4 4 3 3 3 3
Site Forman - 10 4 4 3 4 4 3
Other - 1 5 4 3 3 3 2
Other - 2 4 4 3 3 3 3
Other – 3 4 3 3 3 3 2
Other – 4 4 4 2 2 2 2
Other – 5 3 3 3 3 2 2
Other – 6 4 4 3 3 3 2
Other – 7 4 3 2 2 2 3
Other – 8 4 4 3 3 4 3
Other – 9 3 4 3 3 3 3
Other – 10 4 4 2 2 3 3
Other – 11 4 4 3 3 3 2
Other - 12 4 4 3 4 4 3
MEAN VALUE 3.91 2.91 2.37 2.34 2.28 1.86

Contribution % 16 % - 20 11 % -15 11 % -15 11 % - 15 11 % - 6 % - 10
for cost overrun % % % % 15 % %
RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6
Table. 8. Percentages and rank order of cost overrun due to material waste
The table. 8 results reveal the percentage as well as the mean contribution of materials for
building to project cost overrun. According to the recent study conducted in Nigeria, cost
overrun is highly influenced by generation of waste on the building site. Moreover, table 8 also
reveals that amongst the most commonly used construction materials, the materials with highest
percentage contribution to cost overrun is concrete with mean average of 3.91 followed by
cement sand mortar (2.91), block work with mean average of 2.37, timber form worker (2.34)
and lastly ceramic tile with mean average of 2.34.Furthermore, it was revealed that for cost
overrun, 16% to 20% is the percentage contribution of concrete wastage. For ceramic tiles,
timber and block work, the percentage contribution remains 11 % - 15 % respectively. Around 5
to 10 % is the Reinforcement contribution percentage which is lower than that of others. It is
evident from previous research that plastering generates highest amount of waste at the
construction site. Despite generating the highest amount of waste at the construction site, cement
sand plaster still does not account to the highest contribution percentage to cost overrun. The
only material that is considered to having the highest percentage contribution to cost overrun is
Concrete. This is because; around 10m3 of cement and plaster can be produced within the cost
producing 1 m3 of concrete. This could be so since the cost of producing 1 m3 of concrete could
produce 10 m3 of cement sand plaster. This is quite clear and evident from previous studies that
wastage increases the cost of the project significantly.
With exception to Concrete, most of the materials have the percentage contribution of 15
to 20% and some have less than 15%. This indicates clearly that wastage results in increased
costs. Waste from materials cannot always be avoided. Waste is generated throughout the
process of building and construction at the building site regardless of the duration and size of the
project.
Test of Hypotheses
Parsons Correlation is used to test hypotheses for collected data as shown below:
Descriptive Statistics
Mean Std.Deviation N
VAR00001 3.2417 .75045 6
VAR00002 18.8333 4.91596 6
Table .9 Parson Correlations– (Relationship between the level of material wastage and cost
overrun)
The results as revealed by table 9 shows p-value to be 0.001 whereas the rho value is
indicated at 0.973. The critical p value of 0.01 is greater than this p value indicated by the table.
Hence, the hypothesis is approved. This p value is less than the critical p value 0.01. Therefore
the hypothesis is accepted. It implied that the higher the level of material wastage the higher the
project cost overrun. In order to cover the cost of waste that has also reduced the profit of the
contactor, materials equal in amount to the materials wasted should be purchased. According to
this study in consideration, timber formwork, concrete, ceramic tiles and cement sand plaster are
regarded as materials with highest level of waste generation. These materials are also considered
to increase the cost overrun significantly.
Factors That Contributes To Material Wastages on Construction Sites
The aim of the study was to identify factors contributing wastage of materials in
construction industry. The table below reveals the actors contributing most to the wastage of
materials at the site of construction. For the collection of data, a questionnaire was formulated
and used as a major tool. Sixteen factors contributing most to the wastage of materials had to be
rated by participants on the scale of 1-5( 1- extremely low, 5- extremely high).Random sampling
strategy was used to provide the questionnaire to project managers, construction managers, site
engineers, chief estimators, civil foremen, resident engineers, and other relevant individuals
involved in the construction process.
RESPONDENT CONCRE SAND BLOCK TIMBER CERAMI RIENF
TE MORTA WORK FOMWO C TILES ORCE
R RK MENT
CEMEN
Construction
5 3 3 3 3 3
Manager - 1
Construction
5 3 3 3 2 3
Manager - 2
Construction
5 3 3 3 3 3
Manager - 3
Construction
5 3 3 3 2 3
Manager - 4
5 3 3 3 2 3
Project Manager -
Project Manager -
5 3 2 2 2 2
2
4 3 3 3 2 3
Project Manager -
5 3 3 3 3 3
Project Manager -
5 3 4 4 2 3
Project Manager -
5 4 4 4 3 2
Chief QS - 1
5 3 3 3 2 2
Chief QS - 2
Site Engineer - 1 5 3 2 4 2 3
4 3 5 4 2 3
Site Engineer - 2
3 3 4 3 2 2
Site Engineer - 3
4 3 5 3 3 2
Site Engineer - 4
3 3 5 3 4 2
Site Engineer - 5
3 3 4 4 4 3
Site Engineer - 6
4 3 3 3 3 3
Resident Engineer
-1
3 3 4 4 4 3
Resident Engineer -
Site Quantity
3 3 3 3 4 2
Surveyor – 1
Surveyor – 2
Site Forman - 1 3 3 4 4 4 3
Site Forman - 2 4 3 3 3 3 3
Site Forman - 3 5 3 4 4 4 2
Site Forman - 4 4 3 3 4 4 3
Site Forman - 5 5 3 4 3 4 3
Site Forman - 6 5 3 4 4 4 3
Site Forman - 7 5 3 3 3 3 2
Site Forman - 8 5 3 3 3 2 3
Site Forman - 9 5 3 2 2 2 2
Site Forman - 10 5 3 4 3 3 2
Other – 1 4 3 3 4 4 3
Other – 2 5 3 2 4 4 2
Other – 3 5 4 2 4 4 3
Other – 4 5 3 3 3 3 3
Other – 5 4 4 2 4 3 3
Other – 6 3 3 2 3 2 3
Other – 7 3 4 3 3 3 2
Other – 8 3 3 2 2 3 2
Other – 9 4 3 2 2 4 2
Other – 10 3 3 3 3 2 2
Other – 11 3 3 2 2 4 3
Other – 12 3 3 2 3 3 2
MEAN VALUE 4.92 3.12 2.57 2.54 2.39 2.06
Contribution % 15% - 19 10% - 16 10 % -16 10 % - 16 10% - 5%-9
for cost overrun % % % % 16 % %
RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6
Table 10– Factor that Contribute to material wastage on construction site
According to researchers, waste can be controlled most effectively if it is not generated at the
first place.
Quantitative Method
The data was collected in the form of on-site material waste volume and calculated figure
of project cost over runs. To undertake this study, two housing scheme projects were selected.
These were large projects that tend to generate more material waste as compared to smaller
projects. The cost overrun also remains high due to increased material waste in larger projects.
Moreover, large projects can provide more accurate and reliable information as compared to
smaller projects.
Data Collection Procedure
For this research, two methods of collection were used namely primary data and
secondary data collection method. The data was mainly collected through primary data
collection method that involved field investigation and reviewing project documents (project
progress report, drawings, specifications, bills of quantities etc.) Secondary data was collected
through books, articles, newspapers, internet sources and journals.
Data Collection and Analysis
From the priced bill of quantities, the material volume (concrete, block work, plaster,
reinforcement, tile, and formwork) was determined. The value of materials was then checked
against structural and architectural drawings and check with the architectural and structural
drawings. Unit rate in BOQ was then used to calculate the estimated cost of these materials.
Through field investigation and site records, data revealing the actual quantities of these
materials was obtained. Finally, BOQ unit rate was used to calculate the actual cost of these
materials.
Below is the calculation of estimated cost (EC) and actual cost (AC) to find cost overrun
percentage:
(AC – EC) X 100 = COST OVERRUN PRECENTAGE
EC
Outline of Methodology
START
IDENTIFY THE AIM IDENTFY THE OBJECTS
ORGANIZING RESEARCH SCHEAM
COLLECT ENOUGH DATA COLLECT ADDITIONAL DATA

USING DATA COLLECTION USING DATA COLLECTION
TYPE 1 TYPE 2
ANALYZE THE DATA

IN PROPER WAY
PREPARE THE FINAL

CONCLUTION WITH
THE ANSWERABLE
Figure – 1
SOLUTION
Field Investigation
For the study, 5 houses were chosen from Dubai Hill residency project whereas 4 houses
were chosen from Reem development housing project based in Dubai UAE. From the time of
construction, three houses from Dubai hill residency were carefully observed. Moreover, two of
the houses were almost constructed when observation was initiated. Observation from the
beginning was ensured in the case of all four houses in Reem development housing project. In
order to collect the information regarding wastage of materials, A survey was carried out that
lasted from September 2016 to January 2017.Interviews were conducted with several site
workers, contractors and officers to get information regarding project materials. The details
about project materials are summarized as following:
Procedure for Data Gathering and Analysis
The study aims to estimate the actual amount of wastage from materials being generated
at the housing schemes and the effect of the wastage on the cost overrun percentage. The
estimated amount of wastage will then be compared with the wastage allowed at the site. In order
to achieve this objective, the approach that would be undertaken would be deductive. The
approach would be adopted to test the hypothesis that the use of theoretical material+ allowance
of wastage in (BOQ) is less than the actual use of materials at the site.
HI: Actual material usage > Theoretical material usage +Wastage allowance (BOQ)
Case Study
The variance between definite and hypothetical figures of building resources used
throughout designated houses finalized recently will be the measurements used. Houses will be
providing the data, and the following parameters will be considered.

 Material usage will be affected by the financial worth and size of the homes. As the
houses get bigger and their financial worth increases, more resources will be needed and
used and then there will be a higher chance of material wastage.
 To guarantee that the statistics are gathered precisely the homes will be chosen using a
range of different site engineers and quantity surveyors. Different construction activities
will be carried out in different ways by each site engineer who will result in varied usage
of resources. Similarly, the agreed final accounts will be providing the final data, as the
quantity surveyors missing some works carried out on site is an imminent possibility.
Theoretical quantities not being included and only actual material is being used on site
will be the result.
To ensure data collected is accurately and fairly the data from construction houses will be
selected within the above parameters, this will permit precise decisions. A variety of houses (9
houses) will be designated for the definite measurements to be obtained, the department
undertakes the varied type of maintenance schemes, and it will be ensured the data represents
that. Plastering work, reinforcement work, form work, block work, tile, and concrete will all be
measured. The quantity of materials wastage occurring on site will be discovered by this, and
this material wastage quantity will easily be compared to theoretical quantities through this
procedure. The difference between theoretical material quantities against definite on-site material
quantities will be used to find the quantity of expenditure happening. This percentage of cost
overrun on site will be found using the quantity of expenditure taking place. Store report, daily
progress report and measured in-site will be used to acquire the actual material quantities. Plants
and materials used to undertake construction work for the particular day, Details for labors are all
included in these daily progress report. Shop drawings and bill of quantities will be used to
establish the theoretical quantities used.
Statistical Data Analysis
The materials used to measure differences in actual waste from the theoretical were found
from site investigation and experience, they are as follows: formwork (square meters),
reinforcement work (tons), tile (Nos), concrete (cubic meters) and block work (Nos). Theoretical
materials quantities will be compared against actual on-site material quantities using the result to
determine the number of wastages taking place. Theoretical and actual materials quantities used
on all of the homes for each type of resource will be shown using graphs. All the homes and
assessment of the theoretical and actual resource quantities, ratio of related and wastage cost
overruns will all be shown through detailed charts.
Reinforcements
Common resource used in constructions is steel reinforcement bars. The use of steel
support bars in building sites is tremendously hard to control since it is bulky to hold because of
its shape and weight (Formoso et al., 2002). Damage during storage and rusting, cutting is the
main causes of the wastage of steel (Shen et al., 2002).
The three chief aspects that pointed out steel reinforcement wastage were given by Formoso et
al. (2002). They
 Some bars have unreasonably large width due to manufacturing issues or trespassing
 Short, ineffective pieces that are produced when bars are cut
 Mechanical design that is poor compared to standardization and detailing, causing waste
due to the non-optimized cutting of bars.
Ceramic Tile
A fragile material ordered excessively due to waste and tolerance anticipation, and a
similar bunch of manufacturing to evade mismatching with other input is known as a tile. Poor
storage and transportation are the two chief reasons for the wastage of tiles. Some odd shapes in
architectural design are required therefore to prevent the wastage of tiles; they are cut to balance
and the right shape. Sometime consultant or client’s change the design of some floor tiles or wall
tiles to replace other tiles. Those tiles are then removed and cannot be reused due to their hard
cement backing, and the probability of all of them being wasted is high.
Due to the above reason, much permission are to be taken from the consultant, main
contractor, client, etc., before tiling commences such as finish level, size of tile, texture, quality,
surface, the design of the tile, orientation, the color of the tiles, direction, slop, etc. Then the
amount of tile wastage is easier to diminish. Proper storage of tiles without moving too many
locations is to be provided by the site facilities.
Findings and Discussions
The table below is representing the reasons of cost price increase which are linked to the
reasons of wastage of materials in current development or project.

S.N CAUSES OF COST OVERRUN COST MATERIAL
OVERRUN WASTE
1 Contractor made meager developments. √ √
2 Less interaction among partners. √ √
3 Lacking of tools. √ √
4 Enhance the opportunity of labor. √ √
5 Poor administration and site management. √ √
6 In expert worker. √ √
7 Detailed material detection. √ √
8 Advertisement state. √ X
9 Increase in material amounts. √ X
10 Rise in pays. √ X
11 Supplementary labor. √ X
12 Lack of resources. √ √
13 Impractical time period. √ √
14 Postponement in obtaining materials. √ √
15 Lack of site labors. √ √
16 Problems of work safety. √ √
17 Making changes in works to make it up-to-date. √ √
18 No usage of technology and contemporary √ √
equipment.
19 Equipment accessibility / Breakdown. √ √
20 Amount of works happening at same time period. √ √
21 No expert labors. √ √
22 Faults throughout building process. √ √
23 Postponement in making resolutions and √ √
assessments.
Table .23. Reasons for wastage of material which are found in reasons of cost increase in current
project.
The constructing materials only start about fifty percent of building project cost price
which is based on mutual agreement. Usually, the wastage of constructing materials throughout
the construction process causes to increase the cost of project. This signifies that if there is any
development made in amounts of wastage of constructing material on building locations or sites,
it is possible to improve the construction commercial enterprise’s presentation with the
advantage of cost saving.
The minimization of wastage must be coordinated into the construction development and
it should be planned at an early phase. As a part of their scope, the assortment of contractors has
to ponder upon their plan of diminishing or decreasing the amount of wastage. It is important to
give some teachings about the reduction of waste to the staff which are present on the sites to
decrease the production of wastage of materials. Furthermore, collecting information of waste
production, identifying the main zones of waste production, studying the reasons for the
production of waste, producing resolutions for lessening of waste and giving response to the
outcome of production to the labors who work on significant areas, this is all proposed by the
waste control system.

However, the price of the resources alone constitutes to around 55 percent of the
venture’s cost. A common belief is that venture cost overrun contributes to construction resource
wastage throughout the building phase of the process. The construction industry’s performance
can be enhanced with cost saving benefit by improvement in building material wastage level on
construction sites.
Development of the building procedure should commence at a tender stage, and wastage
minimization should be integrated acutely into the strategy. The wastage lessening strategy
should be considered for the selection of subcontractors and should be a part of their scope. To
reduce production of material wastage and generate a better working technique, a waste
reduction drill will be given to the on-site staff. Waste regulatory systems shall be a part of the
site development function, which classifies the major areas of waste generation, analysis the
causes for the waste generation, collects waste generation data, gives feedback to the
executives/managers and the working staff who work in those key areas and produce solutions
for mitigating waste.
Discussion of Factors Causing Waste of Material and Cost Overrun
The aspects or reasons that produced the cost overruns and time period of construction
are categorized and classified into 7 groups shown below. The classifications were modified
from Rahman et al., (2013).
Category 1: Contractor's Site Management Related Factor (CSM) Contractor's Site
The problems or harmful factors which are caused by the servicers or contractors relates
or involves Management Related Factor. It involves meager supervision and site management,
delay in schedule or planning, useless subcontractors, lacking of planning and scheduling, lack of
skills and practice, cost approximations and wrong timing, blunders and faults during building
and construction, and lacking of management and supervising and checking. Generally, the
reasons in this group happen on building or construction stage which is under the charge
contractor as it is shown and examined below:
 Poor Site Management or Supervision: The faults of contractors in controlling,
monitoring and supervising have an effect on the cost price and time period in
construction and building projects are represented by the Poor Site supervision and
management. It happens due to the absence of qualified and skilled building and
construction supervisors and lack of information about site or location management. This
causes harmful effects on the developing effort or work that directs to upgrade the work,
alteration of project extent, bad quality, and normal modification of orders by contractors.
Therefore, the effect from this aspect will affect the cost of project and time overruns. In
2008, it was maintained by Le-Hoai et al., who discovered that the poor site supervision
and management were the main difficulties and problems in Vietnam building projects.
Moreover, in 2007, Sambasivan& Soon discovered that these aspects and reasons were
the most important sources of construction interruptions and postponements in Malaysia.
Whereas, in 2010 Ali & Kamaruzzaman stated that this reason was one of the reasons
that caused the increase in cost of construction or building projects of Klang Valley.
 Incompetent Subcontractors: Reason of unskilled subcontractor is associated to the lack
of skills and experience or ability of subcontractor in managing the productions which
heads toward the risk of postponements.
 Schedule Delay: The accomplishment of projects is guaranteed if one of the main factors
which is to finish the project within the time limit. But the delay in schedule is quite
normal in building projects which causes cost and time overruns in project. These
problems occur due to variations in the accessibility of constructing and building
materials, usually extended delaying times and insecurities about distributions of the
materials, lack of resources to obtain materials, and lack of transportation.
 Inadequate Planning and Scheduling: In the initial stages of construction, scheduling and
planning should be done accordingly as it includes so many works from planning phase
till the project completion. It will initiate the delay at several stages if the planning is not
done properly and accordingly. Generally, it is linked to not holding the accurate
materials, the correct info, well training or coaching, the correct equipment and the true
individuals, altogether at the right time at correct place. Owing to this factor, it raises the
time of the projects, increases the cost and the profits of projects are relatively low. In
2009, Abdullah et al. researched that the project management consultant (PMC) showed
that the lacking of scheduling and planning via the contractors was the most important
reason of postponement. However, it was revealed that the contractors were held
responsible for not managing the tasks on the considered and planned schedule.
 Lacking in Experience: Consultants & clients usually incriminate the influence of
deficiency of contractor experience on-site as one of the chief influences of postponement
in building ventures. Contractors hold the consultants responsible for the discrepancies in
the early stage of construction due to the lack of design experience. Odeh&Battaineh
(2002) also highlighted the fact that the inability of contractors to plan describes the lack
of experience. A project can suffer from many negative impacts when the contractors are
incapable of planning and managing their projects smoothly, for example, unable to
finish the venture in the planned time. When the contractors employ young personnel and
inexperienced management to get high profit for their projects then the chances of facing
these problems arise.
 Regrettably, the project cannot be handled by them because of the deficiency of
knowledge or experience related to the work. This factor can cause delay or waste of
material indirectly and can also have a negative impact on the cost of the venture. It can
be detected that for cost overrun problem in the context of economic organization where
most contractors did not have the ability to distribute the costs due to lack of experience,
and this caused the projects to be planned poorly.
 Inaccurate time and cost estimates: Many parties usually set up the cost & project time
estimations, but since the contractors are the main party in producing the estimation they
are the ones who take all the blame. This, however, occurs because of the designs, which
are either prepared by the consultants or owners, that does not consist of enough
information of the project and are not clear or precise. Therefore, the responsibility of this
problem is shared equally by all parties. The main factors that contribute to cost overrun
of a project are inaccurate cost and time estimates, so it is vital that this problem is
avoided for the project to be successful.
 Mistakes during construction: Communications, labor, and equipment are all chief
aspects of mistakes made during the construction phase of a project. When the labors are
careless in their works and do not follow the proper procedures, they can cause mistakes
to happen which can then result in accidents to happen. Although, lack of maintenance is
the main cause of mistakes made by equipment which then leads to inefficiency of that
equipment. Also, lack of communication or miscommunication between parties can also

force blunders to take place during the operational phase of the project. Hence, to avoid
these mistakes during construction a person must be well informed & educated on
professional management. Nevertheless, if these discrepancies happen, it will indirectly
increase the cost and time of projects and can also lead to complete reworks.
 Inadequate monitoring and control: Apolot, Alinaitwe, &Tindiwensi (2011) presented a
study whose results denoted the fact that poor control and monitoring is ranked as the
third main influence in contributing to cost overruns. Additionally, schedule creep and
poor workmanship will be caused by this factor.
Design and Documentation Related Factor (DDF)
Problems or adverse factors attributable to designers/consultants are known as Design
and Documentation Related Factors. Mistakes and errors in design, approval of drawings, poor
design and delays in design, delay preparation, frequent design changes and incomplete design at
the time of tender are chief influences which are the responsibility of consultants. These aspects
occur during design and construction phase are related to the design of the project as debated
below:
 Frequent design changes: The most important factor that inhibits the ability to control
time and cost of projects is considered as frequent design. Consequently, the cost, as well
as the time of the project, will be impacted negatively. Environmental information and
inadequate site are the main causes of this discrepancy. Per Alwi& Hampson’s (2003)
study, owners demand to meet their preferences & requirements are the main cause of
design change. Therefore, the volume and type of materials, the cost estimation for the
project and even the personnel will be affected by design change. Additionally, it can also
lead to the extension of project time as it can cause rework completed tasks.
Conclusion
In this study, the aspects that paid or contributed to resources and materials which were in
minimal quantity were recognized. Furthermore, it is necessary to focus on materials that are
wasted in minimum quantity, the improvement in decreased amount of waste production benefits
in cultivating the productivity of the project and changes the construction commercial enterprises
presentation with the advantages of saving cost. Moreover, it is necessary to concentrate on
waste management plan. In material wastages, variations in conditions also play an important
part. The site manager must concentrate minimizing the material management plan. This
improves the waste supervision strategies as well as reduces the wastage of material, productivity
and diminishes the cost overruns.
Global problems which affect the success of many construction projects are defined as
cost overruns and material waste. They are induced by numerous reasons at various phases of
projects. Identification of these causes at different stages and the application of applicable
regulatory ventures to diminish their incidence is a pace in the direction of lessening the damage
of the outcomes. However, little attention is given to the effects of waste generated on cost
overrun by most managers of construction projects. Examining the relationship between the
influences of cost overruns and those of material waste with an opinion signifying the probable
and economical methods of diminishing their effects at the post-contract and the pre-contract
phase of a venture was the main objective of this research. An average of 86.83 percent
relationship between the causes of cost overruns and those of material waste at the post-contract
and pre-contract phases of a venture was also revealed by this study. The research also finds that
100 percent of the reasons of cost overruns were found to be among the reasons for material
waste at the post-contract and the pre-contract phases of a venture, while 81.35 percent and 96.87
percent of the reasons of material waste cause cost overruns at the post-contract and at the pre-
contract phases correspondingly. The macroeconomic and micro economic factors are also
reasons but are not related to this topic hence they have no importance. To accomplish effective
construction resource waste management for any construction venture, it is found that resource
waste must be regulated at the origin and all the causes must be dealt with at all the various
phases of a venture.
It can be concluded that operative managing of resource waste would decode into a
decrease in the threshold of cost overrun by 87.85 percent based on these findings. The study
recommends that to potentially minimize the cause of cost overrun for a project dealing and
resolution of all material-waste causes should be encouraged.
References

A Study of Material Waste and Cost Overrun

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Material Waste and Cost Overrun 1

Running Head: MATERIAL WASTE AND COST OVERRUN

A Study of Material Waste and Cost Overrun

(Based on Evidence from Construction Project in United Arab Emirates)

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

properly. This study consist around 15000 words approximately.

proportional to the cost overrun.

Need for the Study..................................................................................................................... 10

Problem Statement .................................................................................................................... 10

The Pre-contract Stage of a Construction Project ................................................................. 11

The Post Contract Stage of a Construction Project ............................................................... 11

Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................. 12

Research Hypothesis ................................................................................................................. 12

Aim of the Research .................................................................................................................. 12

Waste in Construction ............................................................................................................... 18

Definition of Waste ............................................................................................................... 18

Material Waste .......................................................................................................................... 19

Physical Construction Waste ..................................................................................................... 19

Amount of Waste Material in Construction .............................................................................. 20

Sources of Materials Waste ....................................................................................................... 21

Direct Waste .......................................................................................................................... 21

Indirect Waste ........................................................................................................................ 22

Causes of Material Waste .......................................................................................................... 24

Steel Reinforcement .............................................................................................................. 25

Cement Sand Mortar (Plastering) .......................................................................................... 27

Material Waste Control on Site ................................................................................................. 27

Waste Minimization in Construction ........................................................................................ 28

The 3 “Rs “ of Construction Waste Minimization .................................................................... 30

Source Reduction ................................................................................................................... 30

Benefit of the Construction Waste Minimization ..................................................................... 30

Relationship between Material Waste and Construction Cost Overrun .................................... 31

Construction Cost Overrun........................................................................................................ 32

Causes of Cost Overruns ........................................................................................................... 32

Construction-Material Waste and Cost Overrun ....................................................................... 34

Research Methodology ................................................................................................................. 35

The Qualitative Method ............................................................................................................ 36

Material Wastage Percentage during Construction Activities ............................................... 36

Percentage Contribution of Material Waste to Cost Overrun................................................ 42

Test of Hypotheses ................................................................................................................ 47

Factors That Contributes To Material Wastages on Construction Sites ................................ 48

Quantitative Method .................................................................................................................. 52

Data Collection Procedure ........................................................................................................ 53

Data Collection and Analysis .................................................................................................... 53

Outline of Methodology ............................................................................................................ 54

Field Investigation ..................................................................................................................... 54

Procedure for Data Gathering and Analysis .......................................................................... 55

Case Study ................................................................................................................................. 55

Statistical Data Analysis............................................................................................................ 57

Ceramic Tile .............................................................................................................................. 58

Findings and Discussions .............................................................................................................. 58

Discussion of Factors Causing Waste of Material and Cost Overrun ....................................... 61

Design and Documentation Related Factor (DDF) ............................................................... 65

Material Waste and Cost Overrun

a country or a state is construction. Nonetheless, the building or construction material waste is

which can be easily dumped and disposed.

Building commercial enterprises sustenance towards public is equal as financial

concentration in the building enterprise. It harmfully affected the distribution of numerous

resources to the building enterprise.

to 30 percent of project cost increase.

Therefore, any changes or enhancements in the construction supplies manages on the

Need for the Study

survival of Campylobacter between 46% and 96%.

during the process of construction.