A Bespoke Approach for Relating Material Waste to Cost Overrun in the Construction Industry

Abstract

The problems of material waste and cost overruns are common in the construction industry. These problems occur at different stages of a construction project, from planning, design to project execution. The argument on how to eliminate cost overruns has been on-going for the past 70 years as on-site wastage of materials leads to increase in the final project cost. This paper examines the relationship between the causes of material waste and those of cost overrun at the pre-contract and post-contract stages of a project. Literature review revealed that all (100%) the causative factors for material waste at the pre-contract and post-contract stages of a project are linked to 96.88% and 81.36% of the causes of cost overruns at these stages respectively. The results were further validated by interviews conducted with 30 construction professionals using purposive sampling method within Abuja, Nigeria. Other causes of cost overruns which are not related to those of material waste are mostly the micro-economic and macro-economic factors. It was also found that to achieve Effective Construction Material Waste Management (ECMWM) for any construction project, the causes of material waste must be controlled at its sources and causes, and at different stages of a project. The implication of these findings is that project cost overrun can be effectively controlled by curbing the causes of material waste.