ANALYSIS OF FACTORS INFLUENCING MATERIAL WASTAGE ON BUILDING SITE IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT: The study was carried to critically investigate the analysis of factors influencing material wastage on building sites in Kaduna State. To achieve this objective, three research questions were stated to guide this study. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, tables and graph to analyze research questions. A structured questionnaire was used as the major instrument for data collection from the respondents in selected Building Companies in Kaduna State. After the careful analysis of the data, the following findings were revealed that; there are major causes of material wastage; there are factors causing the material wastage according to their influence on the budget of the project and there are possible means of reducing the wastage. The study was concluded with some recommendations that monetary incentives should be introduced so that workers get motivated and thereby change their negative attitude to work; and there is need for workers to exercise more care when carrying out their work especially while working with breakable materials such as sandcrete blocks, tiles, ceiling boards etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: The construction industry is the backbone of every nation, as it is one of the forces driving the socio-economic growth and development of nations of the world. It improves the quality of live through the provision of infrastructure like roads, schools, hospitals, and other necessary basic facilities.Construction sector activities include the construction, renovation, maintenance and demolition of buildings (residential and non-residential), as well as work conducted in civil engineering projects such as roads and utility systems(ILO 2015).A variety of market segments are involved, including architecture and design, equipment and material manufacture, transportation, and energy and waste management. Value is added by transforming source materials into capital assets essential both for economic activity and the delivery of infrastructure services. The construction sector has its significant impact on income generation and poverty reduction. Its significant job creation potential also comes from its labour-intensive nature and strong links with other economic sectors.

However wastage on building construction site has become a canker worm in Nigerian construction industry. This problem has negatively affected the performance of many projects in Nigeria. Obiegbu (2002) noted that wastage in construction firms has come to stay considering the fact that at least 5% is attained when preparing the estimate for a project which is usually not adequate. Wastage is seen in many ways as peculiarity of construction projects. This means that many construction works have wastage because it is an issue that cannot be divorced from construction work.There have been different definitions of construction material waste by different authors.

For the purpose of this study, building material wastage can be defined as the difference between the value of materials delivered and accepted on site and those properly used as specified and accurately measured in the work after deducting the cost saving of substituted materials transferred elsewhere in which unnecessary cost and time may be incurred by the material wastage (Shen and Tam, 2002).