Analysis of Factors Influencing Materials Wastage in Building Site in Oredo LGA
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives of the study
The main objective of the study is to carry out an analysis of factors influencing materials wastage in building site in Oredo LGA.
Specifically, the study sought to:
- Examine the material wastage level at various stages of construction on site.
- Examine the factors contributing to material wastage on construction sites.
- Examine the effectiveness of methods for minimization of material wastage on site.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of Construction Waste
Researchers and authors have different views as to what constitutes construction waste and provided various definitions in relevant literature. Cheung, (2016) defines construction waste as the by-product generated and removed from construction, renovation and demolition workplaces or sites of building and civil engineering structures. As Shen et al, (2021) defines it is the difference between the value of materials delivered and accepted on site and those properly used as specified and accurately measured in the work, after deducting the cost savings of substituted materials transferred elsewhere, in which unnecessary cost and time may be incurred by material wastages.
The wider definitions of construction waste include the concept of value. According to Formoso et al, (2016), for instance, ‘waste is defined … as the loss of any kind of resources— materials, time (labor and equipment), and capital—produced by activities that generate direct or indirect costs but do not add any value to the final product from the point of view of the client’.
Skoyles (2021) defines waste broadly as the difference between the value of materials delivered and accepted on site and those properly used as specified and accurately measured in the work after deducting the cost saving of substituted materials transferred elsewhere, in which unnecessary cost and time may be incurred by materials wastage. His definition includes and indirect waste due to substitution or inefficiency as well as monetary loss such as, waste due to concrete slab thickness larger than specified by the structural designs.
Shen,et al (2016 ) also defined construction waste broadly as the difference between the value of materials delivered and accepted on site and those properly used as specified and accurately measured in the work after deducting the cost saving of substituted materials transferred elsewhere in which unnecessary cost and time may be increased by the material wastage.
Serpell and Alarcon (2018) presented a similar concept stating that all construction activities that produce direct or indirect cost, but do not add value or process to the product can be called waste. Construction waste is also considered as losses resulting from activities that consume direct or indirect costs but do not add value to the product.
This study focuses on direct material waste produced during the construction process and lifecycle of the study sides and excludes indirect waste such as those relating to manufacturing, production and transport.
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Research design
The study employed quantitative descriptive research design to examine the factors influencing materials wastage in building site in Oredo LGA. The scope of this research work will cover the collection of data from all the organizational hierarchy and levels of management of the company. To achieve this, the researcher would adopt good methods of data collection, analysis and interpretation of the research through the use of chi-square.
Sources of Data
The data for this study were generated from two main sources; Primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources include questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary sources include journals, bulletins, textbooks and the internet.
Population of the study
A study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. the population of the study constituted builders, quantity surveyors architects, site supervisors, foremen, and store keepers working in two building construction sites in Oredo LGA, Edo state. The respondents were all staff of Humtrex Building Construction Company.
Sampling technique
The study employed a simple random sampling method. In selecting the sample size, the researcher employed exactness. Therefore, a sample size of 35 respondents were selected on the day of visit.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Information gathered from interviews conducted and questionnaires administered to respondents were converted to data expressed in percentages as presented in Table 4.1. The data were tabulated according to the response of the question answered with the use of yes or no options as required by variables.
Table 1 above, comprises the respondents’ backgrounds in the Questionnaires Administered according to categories of their professions. The respondents’ backgrounds represent 20% Builders, 13%Quantity Surveyors, 17% Architects, 17%Site Supervisors, 13% Foremen and 20% Store keeper.
Similarly, Table 4.2 below shows that 12 respondents were of the view that sandcrete blocks have the highest level of wastage; ceiling boards with 6 respondents is next to it, while 2, 4, and 3 respondents were for tiles, timber and cement respectively.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of findings
In the course of this study, certain findings were made and necessary recommendations were also made as follows:
- In hypothesis 1, based on the decision rule, the null hypothesis (Ho) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) accepted. Thus, it was concluded that material wastage is not totally avoidable on construction site.
- In hypothesis 2, the null hypothesis (Ho) was accepted and it was concluded that wastage results from human error rather than being inherent in process or methods.
- After the analyses of the ranking of factors responsible for material wastage on construction site, the following factors were discovered to contribute to material wastage on construction site in the under listed order:
- Poor Supervision = 80%
- Attitude of worker = 72%
- Inexperience = 71%
- Inefficiency = 64%
- Vandalism = 62%
- Poor workmanship = 64%
- Theft = 60%
From the above ranking, it was established that the major cause of material wastage on construction sites is the attitude of workers to their various jobs. This arises from the facts that most workers do not appreciate the work they found themselves doing. It ultimately results in a nonchalant attitude to work and this affects the way they handle materials on construction sites.
Based on the observation made during the course of this study, the following can be attributed to the level of material wastage on construction sites. On most sites, there was poor supervision giving room to most workers to work as they please on site. Example; already mixed mortar was left without placing for more than two hours by workers who claimed that they went for break. Also, there was inadequate or lack of good storage facilities on some site. It was equally observed that there was lack of proper security arrangement, therefore cases of theft were reported which could have been perpetrated by site workers or other persons.
The analysis shows that sandcrete blocks are more prone to wastage due to their susceptibility to breakage during handling and transit. Most workers do not carefully stack blocks properly on site or sometimes stack them too high. Ceiling boards are also prone to wastage due to lack of proper handling by inexperience workers, cement are liable to get in contact with wet surfaces and being wastage because of setting. Tiles when not carefully cut breaks easily while timbers are prone to defects such as warping, splitting, termite attack when not properly season, treated and well arranged. Whereas reinforcement bars are liable to cutting waste.
Conclusion
The study identified that material wastage is not totally avoidable on site. Material wastage results from human error rather than being inherent in the process or methods. Sandcrete blocks are more prone to wastage due to their susceptibility to breakage during handling and transit as workers do not carefully stack blocks properly on site or sometimes stack them too high. Poor Supervision was also ranked as high factor that causes material wastage on construction sites; it is therefore concluded that competent staff (Supervisors) should be employed to supervise construction projects to enforce strict rules that will enhance minimization of material wastage.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, the following have been put forward as recommendations:
- Monetary incentives should be introduced so that workers get motivated and thereby change their negative attitude to work.
- There is need for workers to exercise more care when carrying out their work especially while working with breakable materials such as sandcrete blocks, tiles, ceiling boards etc.
- Competent staff (Supervisors) should be employed and allocated to construction sites to enforce strict rules that will enhance minimization of material wastage.
- Adequate security should be provided for construction materials on site.
- There is need to ensure that materials delivered to sites are those specified and ordered for.
- There should be awareness programmes for all construction companies on construction waste management. Formal education should be given to storekeepers and foremen on effective material handling system.
- Finally, the use of computers for storing records on construction sites should be encouraged.
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