MODEL FOR PREDICTING THE QUANTITY OF PLASTER OF PARIS (POP) WASTE IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION WORKS IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Quantification of material waste is very important for construction waste management; accurate estimation can be completed by developing waste quantification model that is applicable for national or regional construction waste generation. Statistical data relating to the quantities of material waste for building works have not been well documented, and there is no known model for predicting the quantities of onsite material waste for different materials, such as Plaster of Paris (POP). This research aims to develop a model for predicting the volume of POP waste in building works. The population for the study consisted 555 residential(3- bedroom) construction project sites within Abuja, Nigeria. The sample frame constituted a total of twenty 3-bedroom bungalow buildings and twenty 3-bedroom duplex buildings using stratified random sampling method. The data for this research were sourced from the field investigation including measurement of the volume of the POP waste and POP used are determined by the use of tap and measuring rule on site. Linear-regression analytical tool was used for the analyses. The study revealed a statistically significant relationship exists between the variables considered in the study. The study concludes that a statistically significant relationship exists between the volume of POP waste and volume of POP used in both bungalow and duplex works with R2 values of 52% and 33% respectively. This implies that any change in the either of the variables would lead to a corresponding change in the other variables. Based on these, the research recommends the use of these models by the building construction professionals at the early stage in order to have an idea on the likely volume of waste to be recorded, so that adjustment could be made in the areas of management and supervision of project at hand.