Integrating lean and sustainability for waste reduction in construction from the early design phase

Figures & data

Figure 1. Literature review methodology. “Source. Authors’’.

Figure 2. Publication period of analyzed studies. “Source. Authors’’.

Figure 3. Types of the located studies. “Source. Authors’’.

Figure 4. Classification of construction waste. “Source. Authors after [11,12]’’.

Table 1. Root causes of construction waste.

Construction waste’s main causes	Root Causes	Impact	References
Design	-Design changes. -Design Errors. -Change in client requirements. -Complex design. -Errors in the contract. - Insufficient design quality and quality control. - Lack of necessary design information -Bad selection of material. -Communication problems.	Increasing the cost due to the rework and extra processing (economic impact).	[6] [12] [15]
		Changes lead to waste in the material which can be thrown and releases harmful gases (environmental impact).
Procurement	- Limited early coordination among parties during design. -Waste from packaging. -Mistakes in quantity. -Suppliers’ error. - Purchased goods do not agree with the requirements.	Extra materials lead to resource waste (economic & environmental impacts).	[9] [14] [12] [15]
Workers	-Workers errors. -Overtime. -Time stress. -Lack of training.	Stress at work cause health issues (social impact).	[12]
		Errors lead to inadequate usage of material. (economic & environmental impacts).
Site management	-Late information flow. -Leftover materials. -Procedures in an uneconomic way. -Using the wrong materials -Bad material handling	Increasing the cost of the material because of rework and redoing (economic impact).	[15]
Construction operation	-Poor supervision. -Poor experience and knowledge. -Inadequate planning	Lack of experience leads to rework and overdoing (economic impact).	[15]
Storage	-Inadequate storage methods.	Material consumption (environmental impact)	[6,14,15]
External Factors	-Weather - Lighting problems -Inaccessible project location -Governmental issues. -Stealing issues -long project duration	Material damage and waste of resources (economic & environmental impacts).	[13] [14]

Figure 5. Design phase stages “source. Authors after [16]’’.

Table 2. Causes and sources of design waste.

Causes of Waste	Sources of Construction Waste generated in the design	References
Inappropriate supplying of information	- Poorly defined waste reduction roles. -Waste reduction strategies are not included in contract documents. -Missing waste reduction guidelines - No waste reduction target setting. -Delay in providing information to the late design stages. - lack of necessary design information -Unrespect for environmental requirements	[6] [15]
Clearness, recognition, and Communication	-Client is unaware of waste reduction advantages. -Waste reduction is not a requirement among designers. - Inadequate communication between project parties. -Design changes by designers. -Insufficient and incomprehensible project brief. -Design doesn’t include client requirements because they are not clear enough. -Delay in information flow. -Design visualization is missing. -Design complexity -Difficulty in communication among different specialists.	[5] [15]
Feasibility study	-Inadequate feasibility studies. -No waste management feasibility studies.	[7]
Coordination and accuracy	-Limited early coordination among parties. -Waste reduction strategies are not involved during design. -Errors in design. -Errors in construction drawings. -Insufficient design quality and quality control.	[17]
Project users	-Users rarely participate in the briefing process. -Unrespect for users’ cultures. - Several last-minute changes provided by the client.	[6] [7]
Value	-Frequent value engineering changes.	[18]
Quality and Sustainability	-Upgrading project facilities -Bad quality for the selected materials. -Unrespect for the complete project life cycle.	[3,4,7]
Technological Advancement	Insufficient response to technological advancement.	[15]

Table 3. Waste in the context of lean.

Waste Category	Definition	References
Transportation	Unnecessary movement of materials, and tools this leads to increasing the cost and variability of the project.	[1,2,14,16,17]
Waiting	Much variability in the design processes leads to problems with activities flow that also end up with time waiting for the following processes with no adding values to the final product.
Overproduction	Producing earlier or more than client orders. (Unordered products). Thus, waste of resources, waiting, and inventory are the outcomes.
Defects	Producing parts that do not meet the client’s satisfaction. So, rework cycles and more resources are wasted to reproduce the product to meet specifications.
Inventory	Related to unnecessary material stores and work processes that lead to a lack of workspaces and additional costs.
Motion	Unnecessary movement of individuals or equipment that does not add value which could result in decreasing the productivity of the processes.
Extra processing	Unnecessary process steps to produce things exceeded what is needed by the client or defined by the project scope

Table 4. Lean design waste items.

Category of Waste Sources	Lean Wastes Sources of Construction Waste generated by design	Transportation	Waiting	Overproduction	Defects	Inventory	Motion	Extra Processing
Inappropriate supplying of informatio	Poorly defined waste reduction roles.		√		√
	Waste reduction strategies are not included in the contract.				√
	Missing waste reduction guidelines		√		√
	No waste reduction target setting.				√
	Delay in providing information in the late design stages		√	√	√	√		√
	Lack of necessary design information		√		√			√
	Unrespect for environmental requirements		√		√			√
Clearness, recognition, and Communication	The client is unaware of waste reduction advantages.		√		√
	Waste reduction is not a requirement among designers.		√		√
	Inadequate communication between project parties.		√		√			√
	Design changes by designers.		√	√		√		√
	Insufficient and incomprehensible project brief.		√	√	√	√	√	√
	The design doesn’t include client requirements.			√	√	√		√
	Delay in information flow.		√		√			√
	Design visualization is missing.	√	√		√
	Design complexity			√	√	√		√
	Difficulty in communication among different specialists.				√			√
Feasibility study	Inadequate feasibility studies.			√	√	√
	No waste management feasibility studies.		√		√
Coordination and accuracy	Limited early coordination among parties.		√		√			√
	Waste reduction strategies are not involved during design.		√		√
	Errors in design.	√			√			√
	Errors in construction drawings.	√			√			√
	Insufficient design quality and quality control.		√	√	√	√		√
Project users	Users rarely participate in the briefing process.				√
	Unrespect for users’ cultures.		√	√	√	√		√
	Several last-minute changes provided by the client.			√	√	√		√
Quality and Sustainability	Upgrading project facilities		√	√		√
	Bad quality for the selected materials.		√	√	√	√		√
	Unrespect for the complete project life cycle.			√	√	√		√
Value	Frequent value engineering changes.			√	√	√
Tech.Advan.	Insufficient response to technological advancement.		√	√	√	√		√
Regulations	Ineffective communications with the government	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Design Expertise	Waste reduction is not a design priority.		√		√
	Lack of understanding of design waste causes.			√	√		√	√
	Selected materials are not available on the market.	√	√		√		√	√
	Not design to standard material sizes.		√	√	√	√		√
Cost	Limited fees		√
Time	Inappropriate design timeline		√
Unforeseen Conditions	Sudden conditions	√	√		√		√	√
Mar. cond.	Insufficient response to market condition		√	√	√	√		√

Table 5. Impact of waste reduction on sustainability.

	Benefits	References
Transportation	Reducing transportation leads to reducing energy usage, emissions, and cost.	[26]
Waiting	Reducing waiting can accelerate the phase of design. Thus, less energy will be consumed in cooling, heating, and lighting during the design time.	[22]
Overproduction	Reducing the unnecessary parts will lead to less usage of raw material, energy to operate, and the risks of not using these parts	[26]
Defects	Reducing defects means that there is less energy consumption that is used to produce or recycle defective parts.	[21]
Inventory	Reducing inventory means that organizations can use the spaces efficiently for necessary demands, less consumption of raw materials, and decrease the risks associated with obsolescence and undiscovered defects.	[27]
Motion	Reducing motion means that the distances which must be taken by employees are less which leads to improving the human factor and minimizing the consumed energy.	[22,27]
Extra processing	Improving the processing means that there is a cut down on waste and minimizing the negative impacts on the environment.	[23]

Table 6. Relationship matrix between lean wastes and sustainability impacts related to ‘resources and material’ waste.

	Resources and Material Waste Generation
Transportation		-
Waiting		Indirect
Overproduction		Direct
Defects		Direct
Inventory		Direct
Motion		-
Extra processing		Direct

’Source. Authors after [7]’

Table 7. Designing out waste strategy principles.

Designing out waste approaches	Description	References
Design for Waste Efficient Procurement	- Identifying the root causes of reused substances and materials. - Minimizing the packaging that is used for materials Procurement. - Ensuring the logistics of material delivery within the needed time	[29]
Design for Materials Optimization	- Concentrating on the minimum material usage from early design. - Promoting the use of local materials. - Defining recycling criteria. - Focusing on building maintainability. - Replacing defective parts throughout the building life cycle.	[29]
Design for Off-Site Construction	- Using prefabricated building parts. - Using off-site elements, modular volumetric construction, and pre-cut building components	[16]
Design for Reuse and Recycling	- Re-entering construction materials and parts in the production chain. - Evaluating, if any existing building parts on-site such as windows, tiles, and bricks could be partly or completely reused. -Identifying the adjustments to these components to fit the project needs.	[9]
Design for Deconstruction and Flexibility.	- Considering maintenance and refurbishment as priorities. - Identifying material recovery strategies during the life cycle of the building.	[30]

Table 8. Matrix for construction waste reduction from the early design phase.

Category of Waste Sources	Design phase stages Course of action	SD	PB	CD	SC	TD
Clearness, recognition, and Communication	Identifying waste reduction advantages to the client	√	√
	Considering Waste reduction strategies as Design Priority		√	√		√
	Providing adequate communication between project parties using the last planner system (LPS) lean technique	√	√			√
	Minimizing design changes by designers as much as possible		√	√		√
	Providing sufficient and comprehensible project brief.	√	√	√		√
	Involving clients at the early stages of the design	√	√
	Including all the client requirements in the design	√	√	√
	Efficient information flow.	√	√	√	√	√
	Providing Design visualizations.		√	√
	Simplifying the design.		√	√		√
	Establishing training programs to promote the realization and the technical skills of responsible parties			√	√	√
	Granting efficient communication among specialists.		√	√	√	√
Appropriate supplying of information	Well-defined waste reduction roles.	√	√
	Including waste reduction strategies in the contract	√	√
	Providing waste reduction guidelines	√	√
	Setting waste reduction targets.	√	√
	Providing information from the early design stages	√	√	√	√	√
	Providing all the design information	√	√	√	√	√
	Focusing on environmental requirements	√	√			√
Coordination and accuracy	Providing early coordination among parties.	√	√	√	√	√
	Involving Waste reduction strategies during design.	√	√	√	√	√
	Minimizing design errors as much as possible			√	√	√
	Minimizing errors on construction drawings.				√	√
	Providing sufficient design quality and quality control.		√	√		√
Design Expertise	Understanding design waste causes.	√	√	√		√
	Considering maintenance in design decision making	√	√
	Choosing designers based on their experience regarding sustainability	√	√
Project users	Participating of project users in the briefing process.	√	√
	Importance of respect for users’ cultures.	√	√
	Minimizing several last-minute changes provided by the client.	√	√	√	√	√
Quality and Sustainability	Minimizing upgrading project facilities if it is not crucial	√	√	√		√
	Respect for the complete project life cycle.	√	√	√		√
	Focusing on procedures related to energy savings and environmental issues	√	√	√		√
	Applying lean construction management for achieving sustainability			√		√
	Using 5s and error-proofing lean techniques to develop health and safety considerations for employees.				√	√
	Reusing building facilities			√	√	√
	Reusing demolition parts		√	√		√
	Identifying recycling criteria		√
	Using precast steel frames			√
	Encouraging the commitment of top management to sustainable waste strategies			√		√
Feasibility study	Providing adequate feasibility studies.	√	√
	Providing waste management feasibility studies.	√	√
Value	Minimizing the frequent value engineering changes.	√	√	√	√	√
Resources and Material	Good quality for the selected materials.		√			√
	Using local material.	√				√
	Rapidly Renewable Materials	√				√
	Using certified wood	√				√
	Choosing reusable and sustainable materials.		√			√
	Design a storage to collect recyclables					√
	Using material waste reduction strategies such as 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle				√	√
	Ensuring that the selected materials are available in the market		√			√
	Reusing existing materials			√	√	√
	Recycling used materials			√	√	√
	Design to standard material sizes (Standarisation)		√		√	√
	Design to Prefabrication		√		√	√
	Adopting the “just-in-time” lean technique to reduce material supply delays.		√		√	√
Technical Advancement	Efficient response to technological advancement.		√		√	√
	Offsite prefabrication elements and structures					√
	Considering new technologies for design based on cloud computing such as BIM		√			√
Regulations	Efficient communications with the government	√	√	√	√	√
Cost	Unrestricted design fees	√	√
	Controlling the payment schedules to ensure that companies get paid on time.	√	√
Time	Appropriate design timeline	√	√	√
Unforeseen Conditions	Preparation plans for reducing waste result from weather conditions	√	√	√	√	√
Market Condition	A sufficient response to market condition	√	√	√		√
	Supervising price changes in the construction material market	√	√	√	√	√

’Source. Authors after [3,4,6,12,13,15,16,18,20,22,30]’

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