Labor waste in housing construction projects: an empirical study

Abstract

PurposeHigh-level labor waste is a major challenge in construction projects. This paper aims to identify, quantify and categorize labor waste in the context of Iranian housing construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses a case study approach, with empirical data collected through direct observations and semi-structured interviews.FindingsHaving triangulated the findings from the literature review and empirical studies, a list of eight types of waste was derived for the thirteen observed laborers in ten case study projects. The empirical studies allowed the labor waste identified from the literature to be verified and refined by considering it in the context of the observed activities, and led to two new types of waste being identified which were not considered in the literature. Findings indicate that nearly 62% of laborers' time is spent on non-value-adding activities. It appeared that “unnecessary movement,” “waiting” and “indirect work” make up the highest labor waste.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focuses only on onsite resource flows in a housing construction site. It does not include offsite flows such as material delivery to site.Originality/valueThe findings have provided substantial evidence on type and amount of labor waste and provide a solid basis to stimulate construction actors to participate in reducing labor waste and improving productivity.

Activity sampling in the construction industry: a review and research agenda

“…(2022) and Neve and Wandahl (2018). Nassri et al . (2021) decided to categorise activities based on the Lean Construction debates and site observations.…”

“…Apart from that, Wandahl and Skovbogaard (2017) also proposed seven activity categories, Production, Talking, Preparation, Transport, Walking, Gone and waiting, which were further adopted by Neve et al (2022) and Neve and Wandahl (2018). Nassri et al (2021) decided to categorise activities based on the Lean Construction debates and site observations. Also, some studies designed their activity categories according to the purpose of the survey (Cheng et al, 2013b).…”

“…For ergonomic safety studies, the PATH (Postures, Activities, Tools and Handling) method is applied with activity sampling to identify ergonomic hazards during work (Hajikazemi et al, 2017;Sengupta Dasgupta et al, 2014;Yuan et al, 2016). For productivity study, activity sampling increases productivity by identifying waste in the workflow (Cristina et al, 2015;Khshati and Breesam, 2020;Nassri et al, 2021) and eliminating the identified waste through appropriately planned strategies (Hajikazemi et al, 2017;Karunarathna et al, 2019;Lavado-Guzman et al, 2021). The lean implementation degree was strongly correlated with productive time (Neve et al, 2021).…”

“…For productivity study, activity sampling increases productivity by identifying waste in the workflow (Cristina et al. , 2015; Khshati and Breesam, 2020; Nassri et al. , 2021) and eliminating the identified waste through appropriately planned strategies (Hajikazemi et al.…”

Into Mitigating Making-Do Practices using the Last Planner System and BIM: A System Dynamic Analysis

“…According to the meta-analysis of Horman & 2 Kenley [3], NVA constitutes 49.6% of construction operations. Other evidence confirms that nonvalue-adding activities account for more than half of all activities in a construction project [4,5]. The literature has widely investigated different types of NVA according to the classification offered by Taichii Ohno [6], including rework [7], product defects [8], waiting [9], transportation [10], intuitional waste [11], and the relation between production waste and environmental waste [12][13][14].…”