Method for Waste Control in the Building Industry

The paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing research project which aims to develop a method for controlling waste on building sites. The main focus of the method is to establish waste control procedures as part of site management on a routine basis, using a pull learning approach and emphasising the principle of process transparency by using qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. The study also intends to make some contributions for the consolidation of the Lean Construction theory, through the application of some of its principles in practice. A classification for waste in the construction industry is proposed, based on previous studies concerning waste measurement. Based on that classification, a protocol for data collection was developed and applied in case studies carried out in three different Brazilian building companies. One of the main conclusions of the paper is concerned with the need to integrate waste control into the production planning and control process.