Lean Construction: Experience of US Contractors

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the construction industry plagued with inefficiencies, Lean provides opportunities to identify and eliminate wastes in the construction processes and make them more efficient. Companies utilizing Lean have reported several benefits: improved reliability of outcome and profit margin, higher quality construction, greater customer satisfaction, and reduced costs and improved schedules. However, much of the current literature centers on the theories and benefits of Lean, with minimal attention to contractors’ experience. Increased familiarity and knowledge about Lean among the contractors and other stakeholders are vital as Lean construction practices are highly collaborative and need a culture change. To realize the improvement of efficiency of the construction industry, a widespread adoption of Lean is necessary. To gain insight on contractors’ experience with Lean, a survey was conducted among the top 200 contractors of the United States listed by Engineering News-Record(ENR) through an online survey of structured questions. The findings of this study support the fact that Lean is growing as an important component of construction operations and provides benchmarks to measure the evolution of Lean practice in construction firms over time and across different sectors. This study provides important insights that inform the practitioners about the experience and level of Lean familiarity.