Abdulwahed Fazeli, Saeed Reza Mohandes, Khuong LeNguyen, Saeed Banihashemi
Construction generates substantial material waste with environmental and economic impacts, yet current methods rarely integrate waste estimation with project schedules. This study develops and validates semi-automated 4D BIM framework that links element-level quantities to standardized resource specifications — CSI MasterFormat and the Iranian Cost Estimation Standard (ICES) — and propagates material-specific waste factors into a time-phased (Autodesk Navisworks Timeliner) analysis. Two custom applications (“Material-DB” and “Waste-Estimation”) import ICES items, map them to MasterFormat codes, compute waste by unit (area/volume/mass), and populate BIM parameters that are visualized over the construction programme. A municipal office project in Tehran ( ≈ 6800 m 2 , four floors) is used for validation. BIM-based estimates align with observed site waste within ≤ 17% deviation across key streams (e.g., concrete −7.6%, masonry −14.0%, tiles +8.0%, iron −16.7%), with concrete waste peaking early during foundations and primary envelopes. Five design/material scenarios demonstrate how the method supports fast scenario testing and cost appraisal; for example, Scenario 3 yields the lowest waste cost, whereas Scenarios 5 and 2 are highest. The framework enables schedule-aware waste planning, targeted design changes (e.g., exterior wall systems, stone/tile use), and routine waste audits, offering a replicable path towards time-cost-waste trade-off decisions in early project phases.