Just-in-Time Management of a Building Project in the Middle-East

Abstract

The Just-in-Time (JIT) philosophy originated from and is widely used in, but not limited to the manufacturing industry. Many studies have been conducted to examine the possibility of adopting JIT principles to specific areas of the construction industry. This study aims to identify the application of the JIT principles for a building project in a region of the Middle-East from the perspective of the main contractor through a case study approach. The study provides anecdotal evidence of the project applying the seven principles of JIT successfully to improve productivity and quality standards, which helped the main contractor to achieve the target completion date. The study also reveals top management commitment as a major underpinning for implementing the JIT system as well as some of the hindrances which may be inevitable because of the corresponding barriers encountered. Some of these barriers are due to the inherent features of the construction industry such as the multidisciplinary nature of practices and complexity of projects. Other barriers are region-specific and include perceptibly lenient and less effective resource management techniques and philosophies of many local clients driven by their high liquidity and strong spending capacities.