Contributors to Construction Debris from Electrical & Mechanical Work in Hong Kong Infrastructure Projects

The crucial problem of construction debris is of increasing concern in Hong Kong. In the construction industry, the electrical and mechanical (E&M) installations in the infrastructure, whether buildings, tunnels or dams for example, are some of the major and usually complex components. Difficulty in coordinating the various trades affects productivity in general, and has a major impact on the quantity of construction debris. By identifying the sources of each stage of E&M engineering work, some of the construction debris can be eliminated at the source during production. This paper investigates the critical production shortcomings in the E&M sector in Hong Kong. The study is based on a survey that includes a preliminary questionnaire survey, brainstorming exercises with a focus group, structured interviews with experienced frontline supervisors and a second focus group exercise to test findings and proposed measures. The principal findings are that ‘poor coordination’ and ‘design changes and/or errors’ are a major contributor to variations or change orders and rework, in turn resulting in a high volume of construction debris. The results also indicate that construction debris can be minimised in the E&M sector of the construction industry, if the material wastes from incidental work are reduced and also handled properly in a new work process flow pattern through recommended construction project management improvements for reducing critical production shortcomings. CE Database Subject Headings: Construction debris; Coordination; Design; Electrical & mechanical; Flow pattern; Production shortcomings.