Identifying sources of design error in the design of residential buildings

There is scarce literature discussing errors as a source of waste in design. Also, there
is poor understanding on what constitutes waste in the context of design development.
This paper aim is to identify the main perceived causes of errors and waste in the
design phase of residential buildings. The paper reports on part of an on-going PhD
research, which aims to develop a framework to support designers to identify sources
of errors and reduce waste through different design phases. In order to obtain an
initial understanding of the designers’ perception of waste and gauge their knowledge
of design errors, interviews were conducted in Jordan, with senior design engineers
from the private sector, lead design engineers from the Jordan Engineers Association,
and the assistant to the manager of Public Works. Results demonstrate perceptions
that the main causes of errors and waste are related to (a) client changes; (b) design
drawing and detail issues; and (c) problems with following regulations and building
codes.