TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantifying construction waste reduction through the application of prefabrication
T2 - a case study in Anhui, China
AU - Hao, Jianli
AU - Chen, Zhikun
AU - Zhang, Zihan
AU - Loehlein, Gisela
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Due to the rapid pace of urbanization in China, there has been a significant increase in construction work, which has resulted in the generation of more waste. Reducing the waste at source is the most efficient way to reduce its negative impacts, and prefabrication is a construction method that does exactly that. Since prefabricated construction generates less waste compared to conventional cast-in-situ construction, it is being promoted by the Chinese government. This study investigates the benefits of prefabrication and quantifies the percentage of construction waste reduction through its application in China. It does so by using a 26-storey concrete-brick residential building as a case study, and by conducting uncertainty analysis with Oracle Crystal Ball simulation software to assess the reduction of waste when using prefabricated components in place of cast-in-situ elements. Simulation results demonstrated that the waste generation rate for in-situ timber formwork and masonry work was 10.52 and 4.77 kg/m2 respectively, and that the use of prefabricated components reduced those figures by 36.04% and 25.53% respectively. This study quantifies the benefits of prefabrication as a method for reducing the generation of construction waste in China. Not only would extensive use of prefabrication decrease the cost related to construction waste management in China, but it could also mitigate the environmental and social impacts of construction waste globally.
AB - Due to the rapid pace of urbanization in China, there has been a significant increase in construction work, which has resulted in the generation of more waste. Reducing the waste at source is the most efficient way to reduce its negative impacts, and prefabrication is a construction method that does exactly that. Since prefabricated construction generates less waste compared to conventional cast-in-situ construction, it is being promoted by the Chinese government. This study investigates the benefits of prefabrication and quantifies the percentage of construction waste reduction through its application in China. It does so by using a 26-storey concrete-brick residential building as a case study, and by conducting uncertainty analysis with Oracle Crystal Ball simulation software to assess the reduction of waste when using prefabricated components in place of cast-in-situ elements. Simulation results demonstrated that the waste generation rate for in-situ timber formwork and masonry work was 10.52 and 4.77 kg/m2 respectively, and that the use of prefabricated components reduced those figures by 36.04% and 25.53% respectively. This study quantifies the benefits of prefabrication as a method for reducing the generation of construction waste in China. Not only would extensive use of prefabrication decrease the cost related to construction waste management in China, but it could also mitigate the environmental and social impacts of construction waste globally.
KW - China
KW - Construction waste reduction
KW - Prefabrication
KW - Quantifying
KW - Uncertainty analysis
KW - Weight and volume
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85085077777&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11356-020-09026-2
DO - 10.1007/s11356-020-09026-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 32358748
AN - SCOPUS:85085077777
SN - 0944-1344
VL - 28
SP - 24499
EP - 24510
JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
IS - 19
ER -