I recently listened to a discussion about circular construction and the potential for reusing older materials to reduce waste. There are numerous opportunities to minimize waste, starting from the design phase, continuing through construction, and extending into the building's use phase. Waste can take many forms, including resource waste (also resources used during occupancy, like water, gas etc.), as well as time and financial waste.

When building my house, I leveraged the benefits of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to enhance my project and noticed several significant improvements in waste reduction. In this post, I will explain the benefits that BIM can bring to both small and large construction projects in terms of reducing waste.

First of all, using BIM allows for a reduction in unexpected changes during construction by utilizing processes such as 3D design reviews and clash detection. During the construction of my house, I noticed that there were no significant errors found in the design that affected construction, so no changes or rework was necessary.

By well-considered, I mean decisions made during the design phase that take into account the construction process. One such example is the placement of windows in relation to building blocks. It's rare to see architects consider this, but it can significantly reduce waste (both material and time) by minimizing the need to cut blocks on-site.

Building Information Models allow for the extraction of more accurate quantities, enabling the contractor to purchase much more precise amount of material needed and avoid wasting leftovers. During the construction of my house, I noticed that for some works there were virtually no leftover materials. For instance, the quantity of floor parquet I estimated from the models was nearly perfect and I could see from the garbage that less than 1% material was wasted due to cutting.

Finally, the combination of these factors means delays are less likely, saving the most expensive resource—time.

Although BIM is not a miracle cure for reducing waste and there are many other aspects that could be improved (such as having less packaging waste), it can still be highly beneficial for reducing waste during the construction of your family home.