Identification of Construction Waste in High-Rise Building Projects in Sri Lanka & Solutions from a ‘Lean’ Perspective

Abstract

The construction industry in Sri Lanka is a major contributor to the country’s economic growth hence the importance of eliminating all forms of waste. This study focused on identifying principal forms of construction waste and their respective root causes among selected high-rise building projects in Sri Lanka. The criteria used for analysis consisted of both quantitative and qualitative measures. Thirty three high-rise building projects were chosen and provided with a questionnaire enlisting different forms of construction wastes, initially identified from literature, and their respective root causes. Results indicated that the wastes of materials, damaged materials, failures of external flows and works not done as principal factors of construction waste in general, while weather conditions, slow labour, materials and equipments shortage, and ineffective material schedule were recognized as major causes of wastes particular to high rise building projects. Results also indicated that more than 85% of high-rise building personnel are not aware of lean ideology and the responses for accepting awareness on lean were the same people who gave the correct definitions for construction waste. This study provides an extensive list of solutions from lean teaching which can be easily implemented at high rise building projects to improve their construction efficiency.