Enhancing sustainability through early defect detection in India’s residential building sector
Sreedevi R. Arayamparambil, Kumar Neeraj Jha, Amarjit SinghPurpose
Sustainability in construction has been widely researched, with a primary focus on materials, energy and lifecycle aspects. The influence of defects and rework on attaining sustainability remains underexplored. This study formulates and evaluates a residential building defect checklist tailored to the Indian industry, investigating its implications for sustainability and the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Design/methodology/approach
Checklists were developed to examine defects in newly built residential buildings. An inspection of 110 residential units was performed across 24 buildings of diverse types, settings, construction periods (0–7 years) and builders. Homeowner surveys were conducted to determine their consensus on the utilisation of checklists for early defect detection. The underlying causes of defects were determined through structured interviews with 15 experts, which included academics, builders and experienced engineers. The procedural gaps leading to defects were identified for a few commonly occurring defects.
Findings
A total of 190 defect types have been identified across 12 components, utilising literature review, professional consultation and feedback from homeowners. In the buildings that were inspected, a total of 105 distinct defect categories were identified. Research revealed that inadequate supervision, substandard material quality, poor workmanship and divergence from mandated construction methods are the reasons for the occurrence of defects in buildings.
Originality/value
The checklist facilitates systematic early detection of defects, contributing to environmental sustainability through minimised rework and construction waste, enhancing social sustainability by improving health and safety conditions in homes and promoting economic sustainability by reducing lifecycle costs and inconveniences for occupants, aligning with the SDGs.