Strategies for Material Wastage Minimization on Building Construction Sites in Kaduna State – Nigeria.

Abstract

A major feature of average construction sites in Nigeria is the presence of material wastage in various forms and in large quantities. Construction materials often account for more than 50% of the total cost of buildings in Nigeria and a greater part of it is wasted during construction process. To this extent, the study evaluated the cost of wastage of some selected materials and waste minimization techniques adopted on construction sites. Mean score, ranking and T-test were employed for data analysis. Findings revealed that the major factors that contribute to material wastage were poor supervision, improper material handling and faulty workmanship. In addition, the study indicated that there is no significant relationship between estimated and actual material waste on construction sites based on the p-value of 0.296 which was greater than 0.05. It was concluded that material wastage has an effect on contractor's profit margin and overall project cost which accounted for over 50%. Cement, blocks and formworks had the highest wastage indices of 6.01, 10.67 and 10.09 respectively. The study recommended that materials with high negative wastage indices should be given greater attention.