CPD RE VEN
Brucele
UK20204042_Final_A3.docxEffects of Transportation waste
Stalled construction site
Source: (Maltz Auctions 2020)
Improper planning in transportation
Source: (Humphrey, 2017)
Description of the problem
Some of the companies in the construction industry are faced with poor job planning (Al-Zwainy et al. 2018). They fail to plan for all the resources required in the projects. The poor job planning makes the contractors visit the suppliers to fetch materials for numerous trips than what is required. Some of these trips are made to collect few materials in big capacity vehicles. Two things come out clear in this problem; the first one is that the vehicles space is underutilized in some of these trips and second one is the high fuel consumption. The resources consumed in these unnecessary trips amount to transportation wastes. This problem can be avoided through having proper planning processes for the materials required (Gandhi and Sharma 2018). This paper examines poor planning in the construction industry which leads to transportation wastes. Also, recommendations on suitable solution for this problem are offered in this paper.
Alarge dump truck carrying less construction materials
Source: (Dragonwhisper 2016)
Justification of the problem
Improper planning is one of main causes of the operation in the construction industry. The duty of ensuring the planning process is done properly falls on the contractors. They are expected prior to commencement of the project to plan for every activity. The crucial part of the planning processes focuses on the resources required in the construction. The contractors have to estimate the materials required to complete the project. Proper estimation of the materials required in the project is important work flow. Shahsavand et al (2018) established improper planning to be one of the main causes of project completion delays. Similar sentiments have been passed by Omarov et al (2017) that improper planning caused a delay in construction if residential buildings. Some of the main resources required in the construction process are the materials. The findings by the two researches explicitly indicate improper planning to be the main problem which causes project stalling. It makes it hard to complete the project on time.
The stakeholders affected
Improper resource planning affects all the stakeholders in the construction industry. However, the experiences are different across all of them. The contractors are the first persons affected by the improper planning (Gopal 2016). They have to go out of way to order for other materials in case what they received was inadequate. Also, they are forced to work under tight deadlines due to the delays experienced in the project (Harris Evolution 2018). The project owners push them to finish the projects at the initially agreed timelines. The contractors get a share of the increased project cost due to the transportation waste. For instance, extra fuel is consumed in fetching new materials for the project which may have not been budgeted for.
Stakeholders likely to be affected by poor project planning
Source: (Morgan 2020)
The project owners are the other group affected by the improper resource planning (Naem et al 2018). They are adversely affected by the project delays. They do not get to enjoy the benefits from the projects in due time. The investments made for the projects do not bear returns at the planned time since they have to wait longer for the completion of the projects. Also, the incurred overrun costs which were not budgeted for initially (Gopal 2016) The contractors will run to them asking for extra materials which were not included in the initial plan. The site engineers as well will be affected by time on time stoppage of the project due to inadequate materials.
Impacts of poor resource planning
The improper resource planning has a great impact on transportation activities in the construction industry (Subramani et al 2018). It leads to transportation waste in the respective companies. When the procured materials fail to meet the required capacity, the contractors have to order for more resources. The main issue in this arrangement is that the vehicles are not well utilized. The vehicles will make many trips to fetch the materials and in most of the cases will not carry to capacity. The poor planning in this incidence leads to misuse of resource of resources. First the vehicle consumes extra fuel going to pick the materials from the suppliers. Even if the supplier ferries the materials to the construction site, the construction company caters for transportation cost. Secondly, the vehicles undergo wear and tear executing functions which could have been done appropriately with a good plan. If the contractors draw an efficient plan, then the company vehicles will carry all the needed materials in fewer trips. If the contractors plan for the construction projects properly, then the vehicles will make fewer trips and save on fuel consumption (Hertwich et al 2019). Also, the mileage in the vehicles will be minimized reducing wear and tear. The number of times for maintaining and repairing the vehicles will be reduced as well.
Idling Transporation vehicles
Source: (ADTP 2019)
The other effects fall of improper planning is the delays in the construction projects. The contractors cannot meet the deadlines set for completion of projects due to improper planning (Singh et al 2018). The completion is faced by delays caused by diminished construction materials. The fault falls on the part of the contractors for quoting procurement of inadequate materials. Unfortunately, the project owners suffer most for not seeing their investments materialize on time. In case of public projects, the people who should be receiving the respective initiative benefits have to wait for longer for completion. For the incidences where the projected are funded through public finances then a part of these resources goes to waste where the materials have to be supplied at different times.
Delay in construction due to poor planning
Source: (Himalayan Times 2019)
The other impact of inefficient planning is increased construction project costs. Poor planning leads to inefficient management of the materials required at the construction site. Lack of proper management of materials leads to overrun costs (Kumar and Murali 2019). The contractors are forced to order for new materials even at the midst of implementation of the construction project. The purchase of materials at this stage is done on need and may not consider the prices at the market. They purchase the materials to use in finishing the projects. This sporadic procuring leads to an overrun of the project construction cost. Also, the improper planning leads to increase in transportation costs. Part of the cost spend in the transportation of materials goes to waste in the cases where the trucks do not carry up to their capacity and instead make many trips.
Solutions
A comprehensive plan is required for construction industry. The high costs incurred in implementation of the projects require extensive prior planning as part of management (Keshk et al 2018). It is straining for both the contractors and the investors to implement a project without a prior plan. Therefore, the contractors should draw proper plans which are realistic. The estimation on the materials to be used should be near perfect. Seemingly, it is detrimental for the contractors to start procuring for additional materials when the project is ongoing. Also, it inconveniences the project owners since they have to provide for more funds which were not in the initial plan. In a similar way all the required equipment for the construction process should be procured before the project commences. All the repair and maintenance to this equipment should be budgeted for in the initial plan to avoid any inconveniences. Proper planning will ensure no transportation cost incurred by the contractors running to the suppliers to buy materials during the implementations of the project (Choudhary et al 2019).
Fleet Management tool to reduce fuel cost
Source: (Tyler 2020)
The contractors can as well create a check list of the materials to be carried by each vehicle (Humphrey 2017). The check list should ensure that the vehicles carry up to their capacity. Through making a checklist the contractors will only use the needed vehicles only. They will solve the issue of having underused vehicles. The checklist will depict the required capacity of vehicles hence the contractors will not send excess trucks. Therefore, the space to be occupied by every piece of equipment or material is planned for properly. Efficient planning for transportation minimizes waste arising from misuse of the resources. They fuel consumption will be reduced as well as the maintenance cost for the vehicles.
The contractors should as well keep accurate vehicle logs. They should update the log regularly as well. These logs provide important information about the construction company vehicles. They indicate the number of trips made by the vehicles together with the capacity carried. Also, it indicates the maintenance of the vehicles. This move keeps the vehicle fit and overcome the transport waste. This move will ensure that the vehicles are properly utilized to offer the company best service. It will help resolve the issue of using many vehicles to carry fewer materials. All the vehicles will carry up to their capacity hence help to reduce fuel consumption as well as maintenance costs (Humphrey 2017).
Visual Illustration
Fish borne Diagram showing causes and solutions of transportation waste
Source (Perez, 2018)
Conclusion
References
Al-Zwainy F. S., Mohammed I. A. & Varouqa I. 2018. Diagnosing the Causes of Failure in the Construction Sector Using Root Cause Analysis Technique, Journal of Engineering, PP 1-12
ASRP 2019. Idling Break the Habit. Available at: http://www.dot.alaska.gov/stwdmno/antiidle/index.shtml/
Choudhary S., Nayak R., Dora M., Mishra N. & Ghadge A. 2019. An integrated lean and green approach for improving sustainability performance: a case study of a packaging manufacturing SME in the U.K., Production Planning & Control, 30:5-6, 353-368, DOI: 10.1080/09537287.2018.1501811
Dragonwhisper 2016. Safety and Maintenance Tips For Operating Dump Trucks and Trailer. Available at: https://dragonwhisperblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/safety-and-maintenance-tips-for-operating-dump-trucks-and-trailers/
Gandhi P. & Sharma S. 2018. Applying Lean Principle to Road Transport for Improving Operational Efficiency and Sustainability, International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development, Vol 5, PP 225-233
Gopal, R.R., 2016. Planning Scheduling and Delay Analysis-Case Study. Planning, 3(6).
Harris Revolution 2018. Deadlines Before Safety. Available at: https://harrisevolution.com/2018/09/27/deadlines-before-safety/
Hertwich E. G., Ali S., Ciacci L., Fishman T., Heeren N., Masanet E., Asghari F. N., Olivetti E., Pauliuk S. & Tu Q. 2019. Material Efficiency Strategies to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Buildings, Vehicles, and Electronics-a review, Environmental Research Letters, PP 1-21
Himalayan Times. 2019. Construction Delay: Poor Planning to blame? Available at: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/construction-delay-poor-planning-to-blame/
Humphrey B. 2017. Lean Construction: Planning to Reduce Transportation Waste. Available at: https://www.forconstructionpros.com/business/business-services/article/10983382/lean-construction-planning-to-reduce-transportation-waste
Keshk M. A., Maarouf I. & Annany Y. 2018. Special Studies in Management of Construction Project Risk , Risk Concept, Plan Building, Risk Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis, Risk Response Strategies, Alexandria Engineering Journal, Vol 57, PP 3179-3187
Kumar S. and Murali S. 2019. Factors Affecting Overruns Construction Time and Cost: A Case Study, International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, Vol 7, PP 284-288
Maltz Auctions 2020. Stalled Construction Site. Available at: http://www.maltzauctions.com/auction/357090/stalled-construction-site/
Morgan C. 2020. Stakeholder Research and Consultation: Keep Your Ears Open. Available at: https://www.b2binternational.com/publications/stakeholder-research/
Naem S., Mubashir T. & Sohail H. 2018. Impact of Project Planning on Project Success with Mediating Role of Risk Management and Moderating Role of Organizatin Culture, International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol 9, PP 88-98
Omarov M., Durdyev S. & Ismail S. 2017. Causes of delay in residential construction projects in Cambodia, Cogent Engineering, 4:1, DOI: 10.1080/23311916.2017.1291117
Perz C. T. (2018). Developing a Taxonomy of Transportation Waste in Construction Production Process, DOI: 10.1108/BEPAM-04-2018-0062
Shahsavand P., Marefat A. & Parchamijalal M. 2018. Causes of Delays in Construction industry and Comparative delay analysis Technique with SCI Protocol, Engineering Construction and Architectural Management, Vol 25, PP 497-533
Singh S., Bala A. & Dixit S. 2018. Critical Analysis of Causes of Delay in Residential Construction Projects in India, IJCIET, Vol 9, PP 330-345
Subramani T., Khan S., Raj A., NajeebA. M. & Rajan J. K. 2018. Lean Technology and Waste Minimization in Construction Industry Using SPSS, International Journal of Emerging Trends and Technology in Computer Science, Vol 7, PP 224- 234.
Tyler T. 2020. Fleet Management Tools Help You Reduce Fuel Cost. Available at: https://www.verizonconnect.com/resources/article/how-a-fleet-management-tool-can-help-you-reduce-fuel-costs/
4 |8 Page
