034 INNOVATION DELAY AND DISRUPTION, WASTE ON SITE

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INNOVATION DELAY & DISRUPTION WASTE ON SITE

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INNOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY

Innovation in construction is considered to be ‘the act of introducing and using new ideas’. They are:

Technologies; products and/or processes aimed at

solving problems; viewing things differently; improving efficiency and effectiveness;


immobility of the final product; the construction work happens

on site; The advantages of automated

products is rarely possible; Innovation in some areas has

improved productivity.


A recent government report suggests that:

Innovation needs to be at the heart of the construction industry’s efforts.


There are many reasons for adopting innovation in construction sector,

For small firms: Owners play a key role in driving

innovation in construction firms. Small firms focus on smaller contracts

in the market.


The broader market segments is occupied with large firms.

Small firms lack resources and finance to push towards innovation.

This often hampers the capacity of large firms to experiment and commit to investment strategies.

Innovation often does not give a return in short term.


The need for innovation in the construction industry has long been stressed from both within and outside the industry.

There is a need for innovation in construction Because of:

changes in global markets;


increased customer expectations; government pressure; all led to innovation becoming a

key focus for the construction sector.

Innovation in the Construction Industry is still slower than other industries.


The mass production in other sectors such as car manufacturing.

pushed the industry toward automation for higher productivity.

The area where application is fastdeveloping includes: the aid of computer database; robotics and automated process

control.


Innovation has been slow because: Immobility; Durability; complexity and high risk of failure; all characteristics of construction products. The key towards a successful push for

technological innovation: It occurs when in all cases, firms target

minor and peripheral markets; where the cost advantages of new

technology could be more easily demonstrated.


Factors that influence and impact on innovation in the industry are:

The external environment Innovation activity in small construction

firms is triggered mainly by key events in its external business environments.

changing client needs unforeseen project-specific events are all important for a big push towards

innovation.


There are number of approaches in which small construction firms can take advantage of changes in its external environment and advance its innovation capacity.

One approach is to make the effort to predict and identify key events within their client needs and ongoing projects


Small construction firms can also use their external environment. They can be achieved by:

developing strong client relationships; make an effort to understand client

organisations; getting involved in industry associations and

forums; signing up to newsletters; can be a way to stay informed of client

needs. Also, what is happening in the industry.


The structure of the industry The construction industry is generally

driven by single projects that require the formation of a team to do the work.

The subsequent separation of that team once the job is completed.

Put constrain on a push towards innovation.


It also can help innovation by ensuring:

great flexibility; fast adoption of new ideas and

technology; However, it can also constrain

innovation.


knowledge gained through the process of a project might be lost.

As the company moves on to the next project new people form a group.

Knowledge gained should be stored and kept in a Management Information System (MIS).


Steps towards innovation inconstruction Developing a strategyTraining within the

organisation


This can help overcome the potential problems of lost knowledge.

Once knowledgeable people leave the organization, the knowledge will be lost.


Adopt a method to: document lessons learned Including best practices after every

project valuable lesson for the organization This will help to avoid previous

mistakes and learn from experience.


strategy of documenting lessons learnt from previous projects.

It has been recognised as one of the key contributing factors in achieving KPIs.

Heathrow Terminal 5 mega project. Has meet all objectives. Excluding the opening day and lo

luggage confusion.


Organisational culture Culture of Innovation in construction

firms amongst small firms is very rear. nationally and internationally innovations is a key to become more

competitive innovation has to become a part of the

companies culture New ideas should be prevented from

getting lost.


Innovative ideas should be rewarded. Opportunities for information and

knowledge sharing between projects and business units should be created.

Management should communicate the importance of innovative solutions thoroughly.


Steps to take: give employees freedom to become

innovative support innovative employees actively This should be regardless of position

in the hierarchy. A few simple changes can make a

significant difference to the innovation culture of your business.


Changes must go through a brainstorming sessions.

The advantages or disadvantages are assessed.

Even sometimes a financial incentive might help.

Setting up a suggestion box. Encouraging inputs at staff

meetings.


One way of promoting innovating ideas is the use of Value engineering.

Value engineering is one method that promotes innovative approaches.

It looks critically at the design and methods of construction.

The use of equipment. Selecting best alternative to initial

designs or methods of work. Please go to VE Power Point

WASTAGE ON SITE

There are five significant sources ofConstruction wastage:1. design changes 2. left over material and scrap3. waste from packaging and non-

reclaimable construction materials 4. design detailing errors 5. poor weather 6. repeat work following bad

workmanship

WASTAGE ON SITE

On average 50% of the waste deposited in a disposal site in the UK is construction waste.

The construction site waste could be minimized by re-using materials.

Recycling building waste. Trying to avoid waste by reducing

repeat work. Double handling of materials etc.

WASTAGE ON SITE

Effective waste minimization strategies can be developed for construction project sites using the following steps:

Developing an inventory of all waste streams on the construction site.

Identifying the source of the waste stream.

Determining the quantities and compositions of the waste stream.

Fig. 2.03 Typical adverse material management (Thomas et al, 1989)

Extensive multiple handling of materials

Material badly stored or marked

Poor House Keeping

Wastage on Site

Access to storage area obscured by debris

Lack of planning of material deliveries

Lack of co-ordination between the time of deliveries and erection.

Remobilization and re-familiarisation after a lengthy delay.

Running out of materials

Lack of anticipation about material shortage

WASTAGE ON SITE

Based on my own research and derived mathematical formulas:

AC= Actual time for Craft to carry out a unit rate of a job.

AL= Actual time for a Labour to carry out a unit rate of a job.

PR (Loss/Gain)=MD [A-X] + {(EC . HC)+ (EL . HL)}-{(AC . HC)+ (AL . HL)}

WASTAGE ON SITE

PR (Loss/Gain) =MD [A-X] + HC(EC- AC)+ HL(EL- AL)

AC = a EC (1+Σ xi) and similarly AL = a EL (1+Σ xi)

xi = % of influential factors such as weather, crew size, absenteeism, machinery, accidents on site, etc.

JUST-IN-TIME (JIT)

In order to achieve better productivity:

Just-in-Time (JIT) has been introduced to reduce the level of wastage on construction sites.

Benefits of JIT are: the ability to streamline operation the ability to be more responsive to

the environment and shortage of resources

JUST-IN-TIME (JIT)

improvement in the level of productivity

improvement in scheduling cost saving improvement quality assurance improvement in buffer

JUST-IN-TIME (JIT)

The JIT philosophy is about having: an accurate and reliable

documentation system; which will give support to all

functional departments; tt is a good communication tool; can be used by everyone in a project

to obtain necessary information for his or her task.

JUST-IN-TIME (JIT)

significant wastage within the construction process is mainly related to factor such as:

over production; poor transportation or mishandling; excessive waiting time; processing failure; unnecessary movement on site and

high inventories.

EFFECT OF DELAY AND DISRUPTION ON CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY

Delays within the construction site are created by:

1. Idleness2. waiting times The delays associated with waiting for

supervisory instruction, IF there are severe time constraints and problems with shortages of on-

site managerial staff It will make project duration longer.


The Construction Decision Support System for delay analysis [Delay Analysis System (DAS)] is a good source of information.

It was developed by Yates in 1993 to assist managers during the decision-making process.


Delays can be classified as:1. compensable, 2. Excusable3. non- excusable a more complicated delay is

con-current delays,


compensable Delays: this type of delay is caused by

the project owner the contractor can be

compensated for such delaysexcusable Delay: this type of delay is not the fault

of the contractor or the owner of the project


non-excusable: this is caused by the

mismanagement of materials or the contractor workforce his sub-contractor because of suppliers


Types of disruptions are organized into three categories:

disruption related to resources: such as material availability, tool availability, equipment or information availability.


disruption related to rework:such as design changedisruption related tomanagement: such as congestion, out-ofsequence work, supervisory

Give employeesfreedom to become

innovative,support innovativeemployees actively,

This should beregardless of position

in the hierarchy.

Changes in globalmarkets,

increased customerexpectations,

and governmentpressure

Fast adoption ofnew ideas and

new technology,

Technologies,Products and/or

processesaimed at solving

problems,

The advantages ofautomated products

is rarely possibleconsider moreprefabricated

products

The aid ofComputerDatabase,

Robotics andAutomated

Process Control.

viewingmethodsof work

differently,Improving

efficiency andeffectiveness

INNOVATION

A PUSH TOWARDS INNOVATION

The construction work happens on site,The advantages of automated products is rarely possible.

Immobility,durability,

complexity and high risk of failure

PULL

INFLUENTIALFACTORS

The external environment

The structure of the industry

Organisational culture

HIGH PRODUCTIVITYNATIONALLY AND

INTERNATIONALLYMORE COMPETITIVE

Engineering

034 INNOVATION DELAY AND DISRUPTION, WASTE ON SITE