Saidu, I; Shakantu, W; Adamu, A and Anugwo, I (2017) A bespoke approach for relating material waste to cost overrun in the construction indsutry. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 1(1), pp. 39-52. ISSN 2521-0165
Abstract
The problems of material waste and cost overruns are common in the construction industry. These problems occur at different stages of a construction project, from planning, design to project completion. The argument on how to eliminate cost overrun has been on-going for the past 70 years as on-site wastage of materials leads to increase in the final project cost. This paper examines the relationship between the causes of material waste and those of cost overrun at the pre-contract and post-contract stages of a project. The desktop methodological approach was firstly adopted in comparing the causes of material waste and those of cost overruns from the literature, in order to determine the possible relationship. Subsequently, interviews were purposively conducted with construction professionals within Abuja, Nigeria, in order to verify the literature based information. The result reveals that all the causes of material waste also cause cost overrun at the pre-contract and the post-contract stages of a project. 97% and 82% of the causes of cost overrun also cause material waste at the pre-contract and post-contract stages respectively. Other causes which are not related are mostly, the micro-economic and macro-economic factors. These results are not different from those of the interviews conducted with professionals and summarised in the tick box. It was also found that to achieve Effective Construction Material Waste Management (ECMWM) for any construction project, material waste must be controlled at its sources and causes, and at different stages of a project. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that effective management of material waste would translate into a reduction in the level of project cost overrun. The study recommends that construction-project managers, as well as the construction practitioners should encourage the management of material-waste causes, as it has the potential to minimise cost overrun for projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cost overrun; interview; materials management; waste |
| Index terms: | Abuja, materials management, waste management, construction project, construction practitioner, overrun, project cost, interview, economic factor, construction industry, construction material, construction professional, Nigeria, cost overrun, project manager |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, profession, waste management, operations management, building materials, financial and cost management, economics, professional development, economic concepts, production management, Geography, project controls, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Time Control, Site Management, Roles and Professions, Sustainability, Cost Management, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here