Material waste has been recognized as a major problem in the construction industry that has important implications both for the efficiency industry and for the environmental impact of construction projects. Moreover, waste measurement plays an important role in the management of production systems since it is an effective way to assess their performance, allowing areas of potential improvement to be pointed out. This paper describes the main results of two research studies carried out in Brazil that investigated the occurrence of material waste at 74 building sites located in different regions of that country. Some typical figures for the waste of some key construction materials are provided, and the main causes of waste in the sector are discussed. The results indicate that the waste of materials in the Brazilian building industry is fairly high and that a large variability in waste incidence is found across different projects. Most of this waste can be avoided by implementing inexpensive preventive meas...

Benchmarking is a systematic process of measuring and comparing an organization’s performance against that of other similar organizations in key business activities. The lessons learned from other companies can be used to establish improvement targets and to promote changes in the organization. The benchmarking process can create a fertile ground for ideas, but only in a receptive environment; companies that share good practices and compare their performance against others benefit most. Recently, industry groups in several different countries have initiated benchmarking programs focused mainly on construction performance measures. This paper describes the scope of these initiatives and discusses the lessons learned and improvement opportunities that were identified in their design and implementation. This investigation is focused on four initiatives, carried out in Brazil, Chile, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This paper concludes by recommending some further directions on this research topic.