Contributors to Construction Debris from Electrical and Mechanical Work in Hong Kong Infrastructure Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 7
Abstract
The crucial problem of construction debris is of increasing concern in Hong Kong. In the construction industry, the electrical and mechanical (E&M) installations in the infrastructure, for example, buildings, tunnels, or dams, are some of the major and usually complex components. Difficulty in coordinating the various trades affects productivity in general, and has a major impact on the quantity of construction debris. By identifying the sources of waste at each stage of E&M engineering work, some of the construction debris can be eliminated at the source during production. This paper investigates the critical production shortcomings in the E&M sector in Hong Kong. The study is based on a survey that includes a preliminary questionnaire survey, brainstorming exercises with a focus group, structured interviews with experienced frontline supervisors, and a second focus group exercise to test findings and proposed measures. The principal findings are that “poor coordination” and “design changes and/or errors” are major contributors to variations or change orders and rework, which in turn result in a high volume of construction debris. The results also indicate that construction debris can be minimized in the E&M sector of the construction industry, if the material wastes from incidental work are reduced and also controlled better in a new work process flow pattern through recommended construction project management improvements for reducing critical production shortcomings.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge all the interviewees in the survey, as well as the RGC Research Grant No. HKU7138/05E, and the Analogue Group of Companies for providing necessary support in the research.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 7 • July 2009
Pages: 637 - 646
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: May 9, 2007
Accepted: Feb 9, 2009
Published online: Jun 15, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2009
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