1. Analysis of Defects Waste in Low-Rise Residential Buildings in Victoria
In Australia, construction and demolition activities have substantially grown over recent decades leading to the generation of a large amount of waste. In 2021, the construction industry produced 29 million tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, of which only 23.2 million tonnes were recovered (National Waste Report, 2022). It is documented that one of the main reasons for waste generation in the building construction sector is defects. Building defects are a common phenomenon in the Australian construction industry. A recent study estimated that at least one defect was detected in around 70% of buildings built between 2000 and 2018 and Australians have spent 10.5 billion dollars to manage building defects (Johnston and Reid, 2019). A fraction of this figure is spent on managing defect waste. To date, there has been no research conducted to quantitatively evaluate the impact of building defects on C&D waste generation in Australia.
This proposed research is at the intersection of two disciplines: C&D waste management and building defect management. The research aims to provide clear insight into the role of building defects on C&D waste generation in Victoria, Australia. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are proposed.
- To identify the building elements/trades where defects often occur
- To investigate the type of waste generated due to defects.
- To quantify the construction waste generated due to the defects.
- To estimate the costs associated with defect waste management for low-rise residential buildings.
Project Team
Dr Argaw Gurmu (project leader)
Dr Gayani Karunasena
Dr Nilupa Udawatta
Dr Salman Shooshtarian
Prof Tayyab Maqsood
Grant Details
School of Architecture and Built Environment- 2023 School Research Fund
Grant amount = $14,300
2. Examining low completion rates in construction trade apprenticeships in Australia and its impact on skill shortages.
The Australian construction industry is currently seeing a skill shortage In the Constructions sector. Data from the National skills Commission (Australian Government, 2021) indicate Skill Shortages were prevalent in the Construction Trades Worker occupations assessed for the 2021 Skills Priority List (SPL), with all 17 occupations in shortage. Apprenticeships are an integral ingredient of Skill development. Despite an increase recently in growth of trade Apprentices this year enrolling we still see Individual completion rates for apprentices and trainees commencing in 2017, 54.0% for trade occupations, down 3.0 percentage points from those commencing in 2016. (NCVER, 2017). Given the importance of the construction industry to the Australian economy and the significant impact of the high dropout rate of apprentices, it is essential to identify the factors contributing to the problem and develop strategies to address them. Therefore, this research proposal aims to investigate the factors contributing to the high dropout rate of construction apprentices and the impact of their dropout on skill shortages in Australia. This research aims to provide insights that can help to improve completion rates and reduce skill shortages in the construction industry.
References:
Australian Government (2021). National Skills Commission – Construction. Retrieved from https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/reports/australian-jobs-2021/jobs-industry/construction
National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) (2017). Apprentices and trainees 2017: September quarter. Retrieved from https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A79170
Project Team
John Kite (Lead Researcher)
Prof Anthony Mills
Dr Argaw Gurmu
Dr Nateque Mahmood
Dr Jamal Thaheem
Dr Asheem Shrestha
Dr Dominic Doe Ahiaga-Dagbui
Rachel Finneran
Grant Details
School of Architecture and Built Environment- 2023 School Research Fund
Grant amount = $12,000