Cho, M; Bugg, R; Sattineni, A and Redden, L (2021) Wood waste minimization practices in residential construction. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 37th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-7 September 2021, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
The construction industry in the United States continues to generate a large amount of waste that is disposed in landfills. A large component of the waste stream emanating from construction projects is composed of wood and wood products. Addressing the problem of minimizing wood waste from construction has large economic and environmental implications. This research investigates industry best practices utilized to minimize wood waste generated by the construction of single family and multi-family housing to determine if these practices can be applied to the industry as a whole. Qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured interviews of construction professionals experienced in wood frame construction. In addition, quantitative research was conducted based on data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Census Bureau to quantify the amount of waste wood generated by the construction of single family and multi-family housing. The research indicates that design, schedule constraints and inexperienced labour all contribute to the generation of waste wood. The most effective wood waste minimization practices include segregation and reuse, accurate quantity estimation, and deliveries matching construction sequence. Matching the most effective waste minimizing practices to the causes of waste generation in an economically sustainable manner is the key to wood waste reduction.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction waste; family housing; waste reduction; wood waste |
| Index terms: | waste generation, wood, estimation, United States, multi-family housing, interview, quantitative research, environmental protection, minimization, waste reduction, construction industry, agency, housing, landfill, construction waste, construction professional, qualitative research, best practice, stream, construction project, residential construction |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, financial and cost management, data collection methods, construction type, business, research design and methodology, environmental impact, waste management, housing and residential development, sociology, industry analysis, environmental engineering, sustainability assessment, construction integration, algorithms, traditional and composite building materials, production management, water management, Geography, professional development |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Digital Applications, Information Management, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Sustainability, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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