Material waste has been recognized as a major problem in the construction industry that has important implications both for the efficiency industry and for the environmental impact of construction projects. Moreover, waste measurement plays an important role in the management of production systems since it is an effective way to assess their performance, allowing areas of potential improvement to be pointed out. This paper describes the main results of two research studies carried out in Brazil that investigated the occurrence of material waste at 74 building sites located in different regions of that country. Some typical figures for the waste of some key construction materials are provided, and the main causes of waste in the sector are discussed. The results indicate that the waste of materials in the Brazilian building industry is fairly high and that a large variability in waste incidence is found across different projects. Most of this waste can be avoided by implementing inexpensive preventive measures, mostly related to managerial improvements.

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Abstract:Benchmarking is a systematic process of measuring and comparing an organization's performance against that of other similar organizations in key business activities. The lessons learned from other companies can be used to establish improvement targets and to promote changes in the organization. The benchmarking process can create a fertile ground for ideas, but only in a receptive environment; companies that share good practices and compare their performance against others benefit most. Recently, industry groups in several different countries have initiated benchmarking programs focused mainly on construction performance measures. This paper describes the scope of these initiatives and discusses the lessons learned and improvement opportunities that were identified in their design and implementation. This investigation is focused on four initiatives, carried out in Brazil, Chile, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This paper concludes by recommending some further directions on this research topic.

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A safety planning and control model (SPC) has been integrated into the production planning and control process. The model integrates safety into three hierarchical levels of production control. Safety long-term planning starts with the preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) of construction processes. These plans are detailed and updated at both medium- and short-term planning levels. The main performance measure adopted for safety evaluation at the short-term level is the Percentage of Safe Work Packages (PSW). It monitors the degree in which work packages are safely carried out. The model also proposes a participatory mechanism that allows workers to point out existing risks as well as to evaluate risk controls. This paper discusses two empirical studies in which the model was implemented in industrial construction projects.Safety, production planning and control, performance measurement, risk management,

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for planning and controlling the design process in companies that design, manufacture and assemble prefabricated engineer-to-order (ETO) building systems. This model was devised as an adaptation of the Last Planner® System for ETO multiple-project environments. Design/methodology/approach Design science research, also known as prescriptive research, was the methodological approach adopted in this research. An empirical study was carried out at the design department of a leading steel fabricator from Brazil, in which the proposed model was implemented in six different design teams. Findings The main benefits of the proposed model were shielding design work from variability, encouraging collaborative planning, creating opportunities for learning, increasing process transparency, and flexibility according to project status. Two main factors affected the effectiveness of the implementation process commitment and leadership of design managers, and training on design management and project planning and control core concepts and practices. Research limitations/implications Some limitations were identified in the implementation process: similarly to some previous studies (Ballard, 2002; Codinhoto and Formoso, 2005), the success of constraint analysis was still limited; some of the metrics produced (e.g. ABI, causes of planning failures) have not been fully used for process improvement; and systematic feedback about project status was not properly implemented and tested. Originality/value The main contributions of this study in relation to traditional design planning and control practices are related to the use of two levels of look-ahead planning, the introduction of a decoupling point between conceptual and detail design, the proposition of new metrics for the Last Planner® System, and understanding the potential role of visual management to support planning and control.