Influence of Labour Experience in the Generation of Construction Material Waste in the Sri Lankan Construction Industry

Abstract

The construction industry consumes a huge quantity of raw materials, some of which ends up as waste in the construction process. Among many factors, studies suggest that the inexperience of labour is one factor that generates construction material waste. However, an in-depth analysis of construction material waste generation concerning the different levels of labour experience has not been undertaken. Thus, this study investigates the influence of labour experience in the generation of brick and tile material waste in the Sri Lankan construction industry and, thereby, develops a model to predict average waste generation with respect to labour experience. Bricks and tiles were considered since they are identified as the materials most wasted in the Sri Lankan construction industry. To carry out this research, nine similar commercial projects under construction using bricks and tiles were selected from three large building construction organizations in Sri Lanka. Non-participant direct observations and unstructured interviews were adopted as data collection techniques. A simple arithmetical mean method was adopted to analyse material wastage and a scatter diagram was used to identify the correlation and regression to develop a prediction model. The findings revealed that, when labour experience increased, brick and tile wastage generation decreased, although there were slight fluctuations.

Influence of Material and Labour on Construction Index Predictability

“…The finding also revealed that the efficiency of the Turkish construction cost index is low as up to three layers of lagged material index and lagged labour index significantly explain the changes in the current total construction cost index. Studies from Hong Kong [21] and Sri Lanka [9] have also reported that construction materials and labour could be more efficient. Reference is made to construction material waste and inefficient use of construction labour, which contributed to the increase in the total construction cost index [9,21].…”

“…Studies from Hong Kong [21] and Sri Lanka [9] have also reported that construction materials and labour could be more efficient. Reference is made to construction material waste and inefficient use of construction labour, which contributed to the increase in the total construction cost index [9,21]. As housing affordability is becoming a burden for individuals and the government, the authority needs to step into the policy of shaping the construction industry right, as all the costs involved in the construction process would either directly or indirectly pass on to the final retailers.…”

“…Construction material cost index, construction labour cost index, total cost index for Turkish construction index, Turkish Building index, Turkish residential index and Turkish non-residential index. Construction labour is a valuable asset in the construction industry [21] and construction materials [9]. It has been argued that proper workforce planning contributes significantly to construction economic recovery [23].…”

“…Those costs could be classified as unsystematic and eliminated through the full technological integration of the construction industry process. Although the construction industry consumes a substantial quantity of raw materials, some of those material ends up in waste in construction waste [9]. Several countries experienced a shortage of construction labourers, which obstructed the construction work progress [13].…”

“…This could be traced to the nature of the tasks involved, and those who are ready to work may need more experience and are temporarily engaged in the construction labour force. Labour inexperience contributes to construction materials waste [9]. Either of the above may contribute to task delay, which may cost the construction industry.…”