Research Article
Evaluation of the Implementation of Lean Techniques to Reduce
Construction Process Waste in Real Estate Firms in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
Fitsum Ayfokru,
1
Bahiru Bewket Mitikie ,
1
and Andinet Kebede Tekile
2
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 1888, Adama, Ethiopia
2
Department of Water Resources Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 1888, Adama, Ethiopia
Correspondence should be addressed to Andinet Kebede Tekile; andinetm@gmail.com
Received 29 August 2022; Revised 2 February 2023; Accepted 3 February 2023; Published 16 February 2023
Academic Editor: Gladis Camarini
Copyright © 2023 Fitsum Ayfokru et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
aste in the construction industry is the loss produced by activities that generate direct or indirect costs but do not add any value.
In recent years, waste in the construction industry has been the subject of several research studies around the world; however, it
still continues to be a critical issue. Tus, the objective of this study was to develop an analytical hierarchical model for the
implementation of lean techniques for the reduction of construction waste in real estate companies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Te
study was conducted on seven private residential real estate companies which were actively involved in the construction sector at
the time, by targeting decision•makers as respondents. Analytical hierarchical process•based questionnaires and face•to•face
interviews were conducted for the collection of primary data. Tus, comparison•based surveys and data analyses were used to
quantify the relative priorities for a given set of alternatives on a ratio scale based on the judgment of the construction pro•
fessionals. According to the data analyses, poor material handling, poor site management, and frequent changes in the design were
identifed to be the three most dominant sources of construction waste. It was found that the real estate companies do not have any
waste reduction strategies or practices. Furthermore, the concerned professionals have limited awareness of the lean techniques
and their implementation. Based on the fndings, the construction companies are recommended to give proper attention to
construction waste minimization and a huge task is ahead of the policymakers for lean techniques implementation.
1. Introduction
Te construction industry plays a key role in the economic
growth of a country. However, it relies heavily on the natural
environment for its supply of raw materials, as building
construction consumes 40% of the world’s raw stones,
gravel, and sand, 25% of the virgin wood, 40% of the energy,
and 16% of water, annually [1]. On the other hand, one of the
common and tough challenges related to the industry is the
high rate of waste generation. Luangcharoenrat et al. [2]
found that the proportion of construction waste that is
landflled in 13 countries to be between 13 and 60% com•
pared with the total amount of waste. Moreover, the pres•
ence of a signifcant number of waste types within
construction activities afects the overall performance and
productivity of the industry. Tus, waste within the industry
is the center of attention not only from the resource ef•
fectiveness point of view but also due to its adverse efect on
the environment and productivity.
For a lot of nations, rising levels of waste generation, due
to the fast development of towns and cities, are critical issues
[3, 4]. Te waste created on construction sites results in two
cost factors for the builders, which are the cost of the
material procurement and that of transporting it and dis•
posing of site waste. Subsequently, waste needs to be
characterized as any losses produced by activities that create
direct or indirect costs but do not add any value. As a de•
veloping nation with rapid population growth and urban•
ization rates, presently the construction industry in Ethiopia
involves a wide variety of buildings, extending from simple
Hindawi
Advances in Civil Engineering
Volume 2023, Article ID 2379347, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/2379347