0.Waste.Plan
A waste prediction tool integrated in BIM software
Abstract
The construction industry is the UK’s biggest consumer of natural resources. It uses 400 million tonnes of material every year, resulting in 100 million tonnes of waste–over a third of the UK’s total yearly waste production.
0.Waste.Land is a platform that facilitates the exchange of waste in the construction industry. It connects those who want to minimize their waste landfilling and those who are looking to reuse someone else’s materials in their projects.
However, this platform lacks a deeper understanding of how construction sites operate. One of the factors that contributes to such a big waste intensiveness of the industry is its waste behaviour culture. A generic supply chain in traditional UK-based construction business follows a linear system. It generates different types of waste at various stages of the construction process (such as the construction stage, demolishing stage, and refurbishment stage) without feeding the leftover material back in the supply chain, internally or externally. Such a lack of continuity is not surprising since material management in distinct stages of the construction process never falls under responsibility of a single actor.
The limitation of 0.Waste.Land is that its platform exclusively deals with the consequences of waste, it is essential to analyze and help minimize waste creation at the design stage. This is why, a creation of a waste prediction and prevention tool was important.
In this regard waste prediction tools, designed for deconstruction and waste efficient procurement of materials, have proven to be efficient. Nonetheless, they are often poorly adapted to the use in the industry, or are cost-ineffective. 0.Waste.Plan is a waste management tool, used at early design stages, compatible with BIM software. This plug-in (0.Waste.Plan), produced by 0.Waste.Land can further contribute to the mission of waste reduction in the construction industry.
I. Introduction
According to the WRIP report (), the construction industry is one of the largest contributors to waste production in the UK. It is heavily resource-intensive and projected to only increase its scale of operation in the medium-term (). Containing the industry’s environmental impact should therefore be a national objective, one that could be attained by the means of smarter waste management strategies. In addition to its apparent environmental benefits, waste reduction is also economically beneficial to the construction companies themselves. According to BRE report (Building Research Establishment, 2013), reducing construction waste by five percent would save construction industry up to £130 million. While the environmental side of things concerns the government, these financial gains can directly incentivize professionals working in the industry.
Waste management reduction is an ongoing effort of the construction industry. Many strategies are being developed to help minimize waste during all stages of the construction process. By way of example, sorting and recycling on-site, SWMP development, flexibility and deconstruction, and material reuse and recovery. The 0.Waste.Land platform provides a user-friendly interface which helps facilitate the material reuse and recovery strategy. Its mission is to encourage easier exchange of information between different industry stakeholders, as sometimes communication between architects, clients, contractors, sub-contractors, and suppliers can be challenging.
This tool was initially created as an online marketplace for used materials that we conventionally called “waste” — according to the Cambridge dictionary (), “waste” means unwanted matter or material of any type, especially what is left after useful substances or parts have been removed. In the context of this platform, the word “waste” obtained a more positive meaning, as it transformed into something useful and demanded.
0.Waste.Land facilitates transparency by providing background information on each of the marketed materials: Was it certified? How much did it travel? From which project was it removed? What are its physical properties? This boost in transparency works in both ways. The seller could similarly find out how the supplied material (waste) is being reused.
However, the tool is far from being perfect, as many of its functions are simplified and limited.
The platform only tackles waste at the realization of construction stage and does not consider other stages of the construction process. The four main stages of the project life cycle can be summarized as the following: design, realization, occupation and management, demolition (fig. 1). Each stage contributes to the production of waste in its own way.
The design stage is a critical point for implementation of preventive waste measures in construction activities. This essay identifies practical limitations of the waste prevention strategies in the design stage and proposes modifications to these strategies that aim to overcome such limitations. The rest of the paper proceeds as follows. Section II analyses waste reduction strategies used in the design stage of the construction process. Section III identifies limitations associated with each strategy and proposes potential solutions. Section IV consolidates these solutions into the 0.Waste.Plan plugin for the BIM platform.
II. Pre-Construction Waste Management Strategies
There is a large variety of causes for and sources of construction waste. It is known that construction waste is generated throughout the project from inception to completion. The pre-construction stage, however, plays a important role in the construction waste generation. It has been estimated that about thirty-three percent of construction waste occurs because of design-related factors[1]. According to a recent study[2], procurement-related waste sources usually fall under four main categories: uncoordinated early involvement of project stakeholders, ineffective project communication and coordination, unclear allocation of responsibilities and inconsistent procurement documentation. Nonetheless, construction waste minimization through design can often be complicated, as buildings embody many materials and processes. Additionally, the communication between clients, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers can often be challenging, to say the least.
The design stage is a crucial moment for implementing waste-preventive strategies. Correction of mistakes, such as mis-calculated material requirements or flaws in the building plans, is less costly and more probable than at later stages of the construction process. One of the strategies that are widely employed at this stage is the use of waste prediction tools. Such tools were developed to effectively manage site waste (generated during on-site construction) by anticipating the waste output based on a wide range of supplied project-specific information.
NetWaste is probably the most popular instance of such tools in the UK construction industry. It has been developed by WRAP[3] and is funded by the UK government. It assists architects in estimating cost and quantities of waste that will potentially be generated. The tool collects necessary information such as material types and building volume to perform a waste evaluative function. Figure 2 presents the input/output structure of the tool while Figures 3 and 4 give a glimpse of its interface.
Another strategy for minimizing waste is designing for flexibility and deconstruction. This strategy yields during the demolishing or refurbishment stage of the project. However, the decision to use this strategy is ultimately taken during the design process. A design is considered to be flexible when it can adapt to external and internal changes. This can be seen in cases when a design is optimized to the industry standard so that its materials, when removed, can be perfectly fitted into another project.
During the design stage, elements of the building system are coordinated and standardized, preventing waste due to offcuts. It is evident that, while recycling and re-use of materials tackle the result of debris, pre-construction measures tend to be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly, as they tackle the issue of waste at the source (fig. 5)
Studies conducted by Yeheyis N. (2013)[1] and Blenghini G. A. (2009)[2] show that waste generated during the demolition stage contributes to a large portion of total construction waste. As a result of the study, it was suggested that it would be better to consider deconstruction instead of demolition to reduce end-of-life waste. Deconstruction is a more expensive and time-consuming process. Still, it results in carefully removed materials, optimized for re-use in other projects (instead of demolished materials that end up on a landfill). Planning for deconstruction should occur at the pre-construction (early design) stage.
Procurement of materials is an essential part of the pre-construction process. It can largely contribute to reducing waste occurring on-site. For example, “Just in time” (JIT) is a lean manufacturing logistics strategy in which materials are kept off-site and delivered to the manufacturer precisely when they are needed (as determined by demand signals or a pre-determined schedule).
Material packaging, double handling, improper storage of materials also contributes to waste created on-site. Often some materials could be substituted with recycled options. All of these aspects of material procurement could be perfected if collaboration between supply chains is improved.
III. Limitations of pre-construction design strategies
Despite pre-construction waste management strategies, waste landfilling remains a significant practice within the industry.
This indicates at specific difficulties that the industry workers meet whilst using these pre-construction waste management strategies. There is evidence suggesting that in reality, these strategies are not as easily applied as they are in theory.
Lukumon O. Oyedele conducted research investigating the limitations of various waste management strategies[1]. The study involved four group discussions, with design and construction professionals grouped into four key teams: sustainability team, lean practitioners’ team, design managers team and site waste managers team (fig.6).
The sustainability team consisted of professionals in the industry whose job is to advise and ensure a project’s overall sustainability. Lean practitioners are those seeking to employ leanthinking in design and construction[1]. Site waste managers are professionals who prepare and manage site waste management plans for construction companies.
All of the participants in this research were active professionals with at least seven years of experience in their field. This study’s main aim was to understand the limitations of the waste minimisation strategies usually employed in the industry.
As a result of this study, these professionals discussed limitations to all of waste management strategies. Besides that, they also discussed ideas for the improvement of these strategies. However, in this essay, I will look at the comments made concerning pre-construction waste management strategies (discussed in Pt. 1 of this essay).
Usage of waste prediction tools can be a very effective method to control waste produced on construction sites. This strategy is the most cost-effective, as changes are made at an early stage. However, this strategy is also very complex in reality. According to the study of Lukumon O. Oyedele, the disadvantages of this strategy are the following:
-Many prediction tools lack provision to actual waste reduction
-Building information is put in manually in the tool, which discourages the use of such tools
-Existing prediction tools (such as NetWaste) are incompatible with drawing tools
-Extra efforts are required, as these tools are external to conventional drawing software
-Waste prediction is often not realistic in intricate designs with irregular shapes.
One of the designers argued that:
“Waste prediction tools offer excellent approach to waste management. However, their main problem is that they are not compatible with design tools. You waste a lot of time on waste, while manually entering the information”
Another participant in the discussion added the following:
“You know, most of our activities are time bound, nobody is interested in doing something that would waste time…assuming we can do it within the design platform, it would be awesome to predict likely waste before actual construction”
Similarly, design for flexibility and deconstruction strategy consists of planning to deconstruct a building instead of demolishing it. This planning takes place at early design stages and assures that optimised materials can be reused with other standardised buildings, after their removal from the original project. In theory, this strategy solves a significant part of the waste in the industry. This strategy can help maximise the reuse of materials instead of them ending up at landfills. The research that was conducted reveals that in reality, the following problems limit this strategy:
-Designing for deconstruction requires added expertise as well as dedicated planning, which are unpaid for
-Deconstruction is more expensive than demolition
-It does not offer immediate benefits to project teams
Waste efficient procurement of materials can be an excellent solution to minimising problems such as packaging waste. In reality, the study reveals that this strategy can be:
-More expensive than conventional material procurement
-It can sometimes delay projects
Although there is a penalty being paid for waste landfilling, the participants discussed the cost-effectiveness of some waste management strategies. They suggest that some increase cost of the design as they require extra working hours, while others may delay the project, which can increase its price. For example, one of the discussants stated that:
“Although Just in Time delivery could reduce waste generation, but it is cheaper to deliver your materials in bulk. If you use JIT, you will pay multiple transportation fees and sometimes, your materials would be delayed.”
IV. 0.Waste.Plan
Reducing waste in landfill still remains a pressing issue in the industry. With the construction industry, 13 % of waste is new, unused material (BRE). To reduce the construction industry’s waste intensiveness, experts strongly believe that the design stage is a decisive point.
According to the study conducted by Lukumon O. Oyedele[1], one of the main challenges that limit preconstruction waste management is the incompatibility of prediction tools, such as NetWaste, with drawing tools. Manual input of complex building properties is a job that is time-consuming and unpaid for, which results in extra efforts to predict and prevent design-related causes of waste.
Integration of tools like NetWaste with BIM[2] design platforms, such as Revit, would immensely help the design industry. This integration would ensure that waste output is easily simulated as an integral part of building design. Making such a tool accessible to any designer would also bring attention to waste, eliminating waste behavioural culture within the industry.
The development model of 0.Waste.Land could be even more beneficial to the industry if it addressed Waste management at the design stage.
In a new, improved version of the platform, a software development team becomes a new actor. This team would be responsible for developing and maintaining a waste predicting and preventing tool, compatible with BIM software. For example, this tool could be contained in an additional Revit plug-in, downloadable on the site of 0.waste. land.
After download and set up, the user would see a sustainability analysis of his project. Some basic information would be required to be manually typed, but the manual work would be minimized. As you can see in the following examples, the 0.waste.land plug-in would accomplish a full analysis of the waste that would be created in the construction.
As the next step, the tool would show ways of preventing specific waste outputs. It would also suggest ways of improving the percentage of recycled materials used in the project. The tool would directly analyze if a conventional material could be substituted with a used one, presented at one of 0.Waste.Land warehouses. These alternative materials would improve the overall sustainability of a project; additionally, they would be compliant with waste efficient procurement strategies (reusable material packaging, JIT delivery).
The analysis report would be uploaded to the online platform to be viewed by all the stakeholders involved in the project. The architect, the client and the contractors could all vote on the changes proposed by the tool, which would facilitate communication between them.
Complex projects that require more attention would be additionally assessed by a professional team, which would adjust the predictions to make them more realistic to the design.
The new service would bring even more awareness to the problem of waste in the construction industry.
By bringing used materials to the clients directly, the tool would generate an even more significant customer base.
Most importantly, this new tool would help 0.wate.land tackle the issue of waste generation at the source.
Footnotes:
[1] Construction Waste Minimization in the UK: Current Pressures for Change and Approaches, Osmani, 2012
[2] I.S.W. Gamage, M. Osmani, J. Glass, An investigation into the impact of procurement systems on waste generation: the contractors’ perspective, In: Proceedings of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM), Nottingham, UK, September 2009, p.103–104.
[3] Waste & Ressources Action Programme
[4] An overview of construction and demolition waste management in Canada: A lifecycle analysis approach to sustainability, Yeheyis N. (2013)
[5] Life cycle of buildings, demolition and recycling potential: A case study in Turin, Italy, Blenghini G. A. (2009)
[6] Waste effectiveness of the Construction Industry: Understanding the impediments and requisites for improvement, November 2016
[7] Lean thinking is a business methodology that aims to provide a new way to think about how to organize human activities to deliver more benefits to society and value to individuals while eliminating waste
[8] Waste effectiveness of the Construction Industry: Understanding the impediments and requisites for improvement, November 2016
[9] Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an intelligent 3D model-based process that gives architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals the insight and tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure.
Sources:
Articles and Studies:
Waste effectiveness of the Construction Industry: Understanding the impediments and requisites for improvement, L. Oyedele, November 2016
Construction Waste Minimization in UK: Current Pressures for Change and Approaches, M. Osmani, March 2012
A model for quantifying construction waste in projects according to the European waste list, C. Llatas, February 2011
Construction waste generation across construction project life-cycle, January, 2013
Management and Sustainability during the Design Phase of a Construction Project: A Qualitative Review, D. Clarke-Hagan, 2015
An overview of construction and demolition waste management in Canada: A lifecycle analysis approach to sustainability, Yehevis N., 2013
Life cycle of buildings, demolition and recycling potential: A case study in Turin, Italy,
Blenghini G. A., 2009
Online Resources:
https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/waste-in-construction/65702/
https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/construction/design-out-waste
wrap.org.uk
https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/disposing-of-construction-waste/
http://www.wastebook.org/matex.htm
https://www.bresmartsite.com/how-we-help/waste-management/
https://www.communitywoodrecycling.org.uk
https://www.wastechange.com/cgi-bin/freexchange.cgi?gid=100273&action=add
