Kempton, J (2006) The potential for lean thinking in the refurbishment and repair of dwellings in the registered social landlord sector. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 22nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2006, Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
Construction, demolition, refurbishment and material supply processes are responsible for a significant amount of waste; whilst estimates vary, the UK Government uses the figure of 70 million tonnes. The construction industry accounts for some 17% of the total waste produced in the UK (RICS, 2004). It is not known exactly how much of this is produced by refurbishment activities in the Registered Social Landlord (RSL) sector, but there is little doubt that refurbishing housing offers opportunities for significant waste generation. RSL housing is refurbished by a number of triggers when a dwelling is left vacant after a tenant departs. Such a property is known as a 'Void'. This paper investigates the types of void works (i.e. repair and refurbishment activities) undertaken, the potential for waste in those works and the potential for lean thinking to reduce that waste. The approach taken to the investigation is the analysis of literature and current working practices. The conclusion is that properties located in estates and built post 1980 are the most likely to benefit from lean principles.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | lean thinking; refurbishment; social housing; waste |
| Index terms: | housing, repair, estimate, construction industry, social housing, investigation, tenant, waste generation, working practice, landlord |
| Subjects: | practitioner, environmental impact, construction type, data collection methods, financial and cost management, maintenance engineering, management, industry analysis, sociology, housing and residential development |
| Topics: | Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Sustainability, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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