Comparison of Sources of Waste between Construction and Manufacturing Industries

Prior research has investigated the sources of waste in order to gain better understanding of waste in production systems and to promote the use of lean methods [1]. The study considered two types of waste, operational waste and organizational waste. In comparison with the manufacturing industry, the three peculiarities of construction, specific customer, site production, and temporary organization are acknowledged[2]. This article will give you a summary on the different sources of waste between construction and manufacturing.

Source of Operational Waste

A product of the construction industry, such as a building or a house, is produced on a construction worksite. Once materials are delivered to the site, they don’t leave the site and only wait to be consumed. After completing the project, a contractor needs to hand over the finished product to the client in the same location as where the construction worksite is. Therefore, it is necessary not only to ensure the product’s quality, but also at the same time to develop the living environment for users of the product during the construction process. These conditions lead to differences in supply chain management and managerial control, compared with operations within the factory environment, which provides finished products to the market that is accessed by end users.

The size of the managed resources, including materials and machines/equipment/facilities, on a construction site is usually much larger than in the case of the manufacturing industry. Depending on the nature of tasks, construction professionals may track the progress of a project by calculating the amount of materials/components constructed or installed. However, similar control is carried out using the number of finished products in the case of a factory. The same production lead time approach as in the manufacturing industry can be used in the construction industry by dividing larger tasks (i.e. building or floor) into smaller work chunks or even into smaller areas (location-based planning and control). Such a difference in the physical and temporal scales of management resources brings the result that in construction, a reliable picture of the whole of production, and progress against plan, cannot be confirmed at a glance.

In addition, there is the general principle that the more there is repetition, the easier it is to reduce variability. In factories, many repeated operations are included in the mass production system, catering to mass consumption. In the construction industry, this principle is confirmed in operations when constructing a building which consists of multiple rooms with exactly the same structure. Table 1 summarizes the mentioned differences in the attributes of a production system between the two industries.

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Cottagecore : The Wellness Trend of 2021

This pandemic has inspired many things, but what it made us realize the most is to spend more time at home, and spend it as wisely as possible. What contributes to positivity and a general feel-good emotional experience can vary person to person. However, it seems more and more people are into the ideas of going back to nature, getting rid of plastics, and using or creating sustainable and eco-friendly products in the home themselves. These simple acts of going back to simpler times in modern homes has given birth to the trend of ‘cottagecore’. The name itself suggests that this is a cottage-inspired interior that blends modern and rural activities that contribute to your wellness. The trend has taken people by storm and here are a few reasons why!

Romanticized Rural Living

If cottagecore became Instagram and Pinterest-worthy, it was because of this! As people wanted to deploy more greens into their home during lockdown and isolation periods, they turned to gardening in their spare time. The result included mini gardens that looked straight out of a countryside cottage. Thus, the first step to cottagecore living is to incorporate more greens in your home! While you cannot manage elaborate beautiful gardens like the old romantic days, you can add plants here and there in your home and create romantic vibes. Think climbing plants, flowering plants, or vegetable patches. However, to truly live the cottagecore life, you have to tend to these plants without modern technologies and products such as pesticides or fertilisers, and go for completely organic methods. Comforts of a modern home and a little bit of hard work behind gardening equals a wellness-inspired and balanced lifestyle.

Organic and Sustainable Ways

The previous generation worked hard to get to the modern era we live in, only for the current generation to go back to older times. Nowadays, it is preferable to wear and use clothing materials that are easy to wash and easy on the eyes too. This includes linens, quilts, knit blankets, stone-washed or organically sourced cottons. People now avoid synthetic materials such as velvet and polyester and opt for shine-free, simple and soothing clothing for fashion. Learning sewing and embroidery or making cute pillows has become a favorite hobby for many.

Beauty in Simplicity

Cottagecore fans recognize the importance of a simple life. Instead of giving into processed food items, people are now more interested in making butters, bread, or jam at home on their own. Although this slows life down, it allows you to enjoy life more steadily and truly appreciate the outdoors. Opting for homes with proper ventilation and sunlight has become a norm, as the health benefits of sunlight and breeze are now better understood among those living in the concrete jungles of cities.

Old-World Charms

We are quite familiar with countryside artworks, since the heart of our nation is our villages. Artists love the peaceful look of villages, and you can bring that your cottagecore-inspired home. Include vintage artworks or paintings done in traditional styles to remind you of the countryside life. Stone and wood items were used back in the day, and you can use them too! Stone or wood decor items or kitchen utensils and props are a great start. Serving dishes could be stainless steel or wood. You will still have the modern stove, kitchen hood, and electrical appliances but these elements put the cottagecore aesthetic in its place. For example, your furniture or rugs and towels could be of rustic colors with traditional motifs and intricate craftsmanship that were popular decades ago.

These are just some of the reasons why Cottagecore has become so popular. It has greatly influenced buying decisions, as homeowners now want more than just four walls. They want a complete lifestyle dedicated to their wellbeing within modern homes, which will include perks such as greenery, big outdoor space, community activity space, landscaped walkways and rooftops, etc along with modern smart home features. You could check out bti’s Wellness Communities Collection if you too are looking for the Cottagecore lifestyle.

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The Changing Role of Health & Safety In Construction

Ensuring health and safety in the workplace is already a critically important issue, especially within the built environment industry. Organisations or worksites that invest in occupational health and safety perform better, reduce turnover and help workers do their jobs more effectively. However, COVID-19 has prioritised workplace and safety like never before. Companies have been forced to act quickly and decisively to not only ensure the safety of employees but the day-to-day continuation of key projects. Even recently, construction sites in both Victoria and NSW experienced a snap shut down due to the number of positive cases linked to worksites across the sector. It has become clear that COVID compliance has become a significant part of workplace health and safety and that effective leadership and management within this space, will be critical for the built environment industry to complete the mounting number of infrastructure projects in the pipeline. Consequently, in conjunction with safe work month, Design & Build explore the shifting state of workplace health and safety within the built environment industry, and what will be a focus for the industry moving forward:

Like with the majority of industries worldwide, the construction industry had to adjust the majority of its processes and systems to minimise the risk of exposure and spread of COVID-19, such as physically distancing and additional hygiene and screening precautions. However, there are some unique factors within the industry that make implementing the necessary COVID-19 safety precautions difficult. For example, the nature of work being conducted means that certain tasks cannot be performed remotely and require workers on site. Sites traditionally will also have multiple pieces of communal equipment or machinery and especially on bigger commercial projects, will use personnel hoists and lifts for workers to travel across the worksite; all things that pose an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. Consequently, on top of all the standard health and safety procedures occurring on a worksite, management and health and safety professionals also had to develop control measures to best minimise these risks, such as providing PPE to all workers on site where possible, limiting employee movement between levels and floors on-site where possible, managing and organising the regular cleaning of shared equipment, transit areas etc (Work Safe Victoria, 2021)[1].

Another unique challenge the built environment has faced during this time is the mounting pressure on the industry to deliver key projects. The industry is seen as a vital part of stimulating the post-COVID economy and there have been significant incentives from the federal government to start work on ‘shovel ready’ projects. For example, transport civil engineering projects to maintain road and rail networks across different states have been deemed ‘essential’ and have received considerable financial investment so that work can start immediately. Schemes like converting roads to cycle lanes, or the construction of new train stations have become a key focus for state governments, as they try to adapt to the new travel patterns arising from COVID-19 (Laverty et al.,2020)[2]. Because of the sheer number of mounting projects, it’s important that the built environment industry can develop measures that allow workers to work safely, while still in a flexible and productive manner that is better equipped to withstand COVID-19 outbreaks, snap lockdowns and even future pandemics. And building this level of resilience won’t be possible without effective health and safety practices and leadership in place.

What is Safety Leadership?

Safety leadership should exist at all levels of an organisation and across all industries. While the level of safety maturity will vary from person to person, the aim of an effective safety leadership program is to create a safer and more productive workplace through education and empowerment. An effective safety leadership program will appoint safety leaders at all levels (not just upper management) and across multiple segments. As these leaders develop their practices over time, they can pass their learnings on to others, motivating and empowering individuals across the business to improve and drive health practices and cultivating a culture of safety within the workplace[3] (Worksafe QLD,2020).

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The 4 Best Construction Estimating Software on the Market

First things first it completely depends on the size of your company. A multinational company will have entirely different needs and budget than your small residential builder. Licenses for complex solutions can cost thousands of dollars per year per user but there are some really great, simple to use & affordable solutions also.

Another major factor to consider is, who will be using the software? Will it be a professional estimator who has completed a degree in estimating or a will it be a builder or sub-contractor looking to price a job after doing a days work?

Why would you need takeoff/estimating software?

“I spend too much time measuring plans and calculating labour and materials costs”

“I make mistakes when estimating labor & materials costs and quantities”

“I’m not great at creating professional looking quotes”

“My plans, quotes and material estimates are all over the place, and I need to store it in one place”

Estimating (large companies vs small)

In Australia 97% of construction companies are classed as small or medium (19 or less people). Up until recently there was no real software available for these smaller builders and subcontractors. The process of estimating/quoting manually from plans is time consuming and inefficient.

On the other hand estimating for large construction companies is entirely different. Companies like Lend Lease, Brookfield Multiplex and John Holland will have completely separate divisions for their estimating, and will strive to make the process as efficient as possible.

Let’s have a look at the various options out there, and see what is the best for you.

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Why Subcontractors Need to Own Their Construction Data

As new construction projects get underway, a routine practice is for general contractors to ask their subs to use software such as Procore or PlanGrid. The GC’s goal is to ramp up efficiency by making sure all parties stay on the same page with billing, RFIs, submittals, logs, photos, and various key performance indicators (KPIs).

After the job is finished, the GC can then analyze that historical data to do things better, faster, and cheaper down the line. Subs, though, usually have no choice but to say au revoir to the data relating to their portion of the project.

As a result, subcontractors too often miss out on the full benefits of project management and construction analytics software. Busier subs may be so focused on the present project—making sure things run smoothly right now—that “leaving the data to the GC” even feels like a relief.

COMO (Costs of Missing Out)

But for subcontractors, there is a problem with this status quo—namely, the costs of missing out on data analytics are increasing all the time.

Today’s construction-management researchers are hard at work on new approaches to analysis that stand to provide powerful competitive advantages to subs. The potential benefits here are eminently practical. They include things like reducing or eliminating the need to file liens against GCs due to payment delays (a relationship-ruiner if ever there was one).

Manideep Tummalapudi, a Ph.D. candidate in the construction management and education program at Colorado State University, is among those researchers. You have likely read about how collecting and analyzing medical data can lead to earlier and better interventions. Tummalapudi and his CSU colleagues are working on something similar with respect to the project data collected by subs and GCs.

The idea is to put real-world construction projects’ cash-flow curves under the microscope by collecting planned-versus-actual data on schedules, estimates, and billings from a diverse array of projects, as differentiated by type, size, and other characteristics. “We want to look at these various metrics and attributes so that we can better understand the kinds of patterns that emerge on successful projects,” the researcher explained.

With enough project data in hand, Tummalapudi says, predictive analytics should allow subs and GCs to dramatically improve their day-to-day project management.

“The subcontractor could say, ‘right now at this stage of the project, our cash-flow curve is looking like X, and we know from past patterns that it is likely for this project to be delayed,’” he said. “If you learn this in month two or three of the project using data, you can do what it takes to help the GC/subcontractor avoid delays and overruns. If you don’t know it’s happening until month nine of the project, you’re apt to lose time, money, and reputation.”

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