On my way home from work yesterday, I bumped into an old friend of mine who happens to be a civil engineer, so we got chatting for awhile. Fortunately for me we got deep into conversation and he started to enlighten me on some very vital issues about building. I told him about how I have been secretly saving; hoping one day, I can build my own house. He encouraged me and told me that it is a project anybody can embark on. The important thing is learning to curb costs.
“Once you know how to minimize wastage” he said, “the sky is the limit for you”.
He also pointed out that wastage habitually caused by ineffective planning, can result in spending double the amount of money you ought to have spent on a building project if not more, yet the building may not end in perfect shape in contrast to properly handled ones.
Here are some of the causes of wastage he pointed out:
1) Inappropriate site planning: Before you open up a site it is very important you plan on what to do and at what stage tasks will be done so that you don’t end up prolonging some tasks and not doing some until when it will affect other tasks on site. This will cause wastage to arise on a site, for example you decide to paint the building before you realized there are some spots that need to be patched, obviously whenever the repair is done you will still need to paint again which is a loss/wastage to the project.

2) Unskilled labour: A reckless way to waste money on site is using quacks or unskilled labour to carry out important tasks, you may have been charged less for the labour, but at the end you’ll spend more money repairing the work the unskilled labourers do.
3) No schedule of work: There must be a document containing how a project will be carried out, the time allocated to each task and showing how the task will intercept each other and help to achieve a good project.

4) Inadequate storage facility and security: A proper storage facility and security should be provided on site where materials like cement and other working tools can be kept and protected from rain, negative environmental conditions, and theft.
5) No accountability or inappropriate accountability: How money is spent, reconciliation of materials coming to site, how the materials is being used and for what purposes, are needed to be put into consideration as the project progresses otherwise, workers on site will waste materials unaccounted for.

6) No site investigation before moving to site: One of the major and most important steps to take before embarking on any project is a proper site investigation, This is how you will know If the soil is waterlogged or not, and to know if there is need for soil test or if the soil strength can sustain the structure. Also, you have to check how safe the place is for your materials that will be brought to site. If all these are not planned for, you’ll be surprised at the resources that will be wasted.
7) )Improper handling of Omo-onile: If the Omo-onile’s are not properly addressed, they will always come to disrupt your work on site and this will lead to wastage of materials already mixed either for mortar or casting and also prolong the duration of the project in the long run.

8) Inadequate study of weather conditions: Environmental factors such as rainstorms can affect a construction site which can lead to waste of materials. Imagine if you had prepared mix for mortar or casting for some work, the rain can wash away the mix before execution of the task.
9) Contractual matters: Contracts should be clear and stated in black and white between the client and contractor about specifications during the process of a project to prevent delay of work which can result in loss of time and money.

These are just a few of the causes I have mentioned, there is still more to come, ensure you have a great weekend.
Cheers.