Factors influencing construction waste generation: perspectives from India

Abstract

The factor influencing waste generation in the Indian construction industry has been examined in previous studies, along with the most significant factors generating waste. However, no study has answered the question: do different stakeholders have similar concerns? This study aimed to identify the significant factors generating waste from the multi-stakeholder's perspectives. The factors generating construction waste were identified through a comprehensive literature analysis. A total of 36 construction waste-generating factors were identified and clustered into six different groups: design and drawing, procurement and handling, construction methods and planning, human resources, site condition and external. A questionnaire survey was conducted to gather multi-stakeholder's viewpoints (designers, owners and contractors) and was ranked based on the relative importance index. The most significant factors indicated by all the groups were frequent design change, poor attitude and behaviour of workers, ineffective planning and scheduling and poor control and supervision. The findings could assist in facilitating waste management strategies to be more effective and focused. Overall, the study findings are expected to identify new patterns of co-operation among different stakeholders.