PREDICTION OF MATERIAL WASTE GENERATION AT CONSTRUCTION STAGE OF LOW RISE BUILDINGS

Purpose: This research is steered towards developing models for predicting the quantity of material waste generated during construction stage of building projects employing in-situ construction method and the comparison of predicted quantity with the actual waste generated on site. Design/methodology/approach: The data used for the development of the models were sourced from thirty on-going projects through research assistants for six-month period consisting of one hundred and fifty cases of measurement of material waste. Standard multiple regression was utilised to develop the models. To test the accuracy of the developed models, paired sample t-test was used to compare the actual waste and the predicted quantity of waste. Findings: The model for concrete work in slab embraced three predictors: the theoretical quantity for work done, building gross floor area and the amount of rainfall accounting for 44.36%, 5.95% and 2.50% of the variance in the waste generated during concrete works in slab respectively. While the model for predicting waste generation during blockwork comprises of theoretical quantity of block for work done, the height from floor and the area of site undeveloped explaining 43.82%, 10.82% and 2.28% of the variance in the waste generation of block work respectively. Research limitations/implications: The results of this study are limited to new projects adopting in-situ construction method. Practitioners in the building industry within the study area can predict the amount of material waste anticipated in low rise construction with good accuracy using the developed models. Originality/value: This study revealed that material waste generation on building sites is predictable. There is no significant difference between the actual material waste generated on site and the predicted quantity using the developed models.