Abstract
The lean ideal is to deliver customer value without waste. Traditional sustainability outcomes, which are attributed to the pursuit of the lean ideal in construction projects, consisted of economic outcomes instead of environmental outcomes. This paper explores how lean design methods can reduce construction and demolition (C&D) waste and contribute to environmental sustainability. Three case studies are conducted to analyze three hospital projects in California that employed lean tools and methods during design. These three cases demonstrate that C&D waste reduction (e.g., recycling construction waste, reducing material use, and enhancing recovery after use) can be indirectly achieved by economic waste reduction. Testable hypotheses were generated from the case study findings and were proposed as future research topics.
Highlights
The construction industry exerts a significant impact on the environment, such as noxious gases released into the atmosphere, the extensive use of water, and the generation of construction and demolition (C&D) waste
Van Ness and Geary Campus Under construction Under construction. It is described each of the three case studies, including details about the employed lean design methods and the evidence of C&D waste reduction
5.1 Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley 5.1.1 Background. This hospital project is located in Castro Valley, California
Summary
The construction industry exerts a significant impact on the environment, such as noxious gases released into the atmosphere, the extensive use of water, and the generation of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. C&D waste generated by construction is defined by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (2014) as “...materials resulting from the construction, remodeling, repair or demolition of buildings, bridges, pavements and other structures and the use of energy, materials and labor which does not add value to the construction process.”. C&D waste is considered to be a major problem in the construction industries of developed countries and is becoming an increasing problem elsewhere. Renovation, use and demolition constitute approximately two-thirds of all nonindustrial solid waste generation in the US EPA (US EPA 2003). C&D waste threatens human health and the natural environments
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