Plumbing waste reduction through lean tools: A case for high-rise building construction

Abstract

Global construction of high-rise buildings is on the rise due to the shortage of land. Plumbing work significantly contributes to the overall waste generated in high-rise construction projects. Recognizing lean tools for waste reduction in construction is essential to minimize waste generated through plumbing work. Therefore, this research aimed to propose lean tools to minimize the plumbing waste of high-rise buildings in Sri Lanka. This research adopted ontological, idealist assumptions in the interpretive paradigm for the study to collect, analyse and validate data. The data collection was done by using a qualitative approach consisting of three Delphi rounds with construction industry experts selected through purposive sampling. Manual content analysis facilitated to analyse the data. This study identified various types of plumbing waste and assessed the potential of the lean concept to mitigate waste in plumbing work during the construction stage. Just in time, 5S, Value stream mapping, Last planner system, and Frist run study were acknowledged as the most commonly used lean tools to minimise plumbing waste. There is dearth of literature on use of lean tools to reduce plumbing waste in high-rise building construction. This is one of the first studies which focus specifically on the use of lean tools to minimise plumbing waste in high-rise building projects in Sri Lanka. The findings can be further validated using case studies for similar context, which will be the next phase of this study.