Lean methodology to reduce waste in a construction environment

Date
2011-07-23
Authors
Vilasini, N
Neitzert, TR
Gamage, JR
Supervisor
Item type
Conference Contribution
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS)
Abstract

Productivity and waste factors are interdependent of each other. Waste is a major problem in the construction industry which amounts to 60% of the construction effort. A study focused on the construction efficiency by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the UK has documented 25% - 50 % of waste relates to coordinating labour and managing, moving, and installing materials. Therefore the main aim of this study is to find out the possibilities of waste reduction in the construction industry through lean construction applications. The method adopted for this study is a case study research approach where it concludes the results obtained from a major construction project in New Zealand. A pilot case study was carried out to understand the existing practices. The research study substantially followed the process mapping method to identify the level of concern in waste minimisation on a construction site. Outcomes from the studies indicate that one third of non value adding activities are resulting from factors under the control of management. This study concludes that there are more opportunities to eliminate waste and add value to the construction process. Hence by improving management practices through a lean implementation the non value adding time of a construction project can be reduced and thereby productivity can be improved significantly.

Description
Keywords
Lean Methodology , Process Map , Value , Waste
Source
Proceedings of the 15th Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors Congress annual meeting, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp. 555 - 564
DOI
Rights statement
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication.