Lean management in the context of construction supply chains

Abstract

Construction started its lean journey with learning from manufacturing. Unlike lean manufacturing, few studies to date have investigated lean construction in both breadth and depth, especially from the perspective of construction supply chains. The limited understanding of lean construction results in a research problem. This research aims to explore the implementation of lean principles in the context of project-based construction supply chains. It achieves its aim through an empirical investigation in the UK. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies provides this research with validity and reliability. Lean principles are found applicable to both residential building projects and many other types of construction projects. It is also found that lean construction can be enhanced if it synergizes with supply chain collaboration. Another finding is that lean management has a significant impact on project performance. Nowadays, construction pursues best lean practices through both learning from manufacturing and developing its own paths. Similar to manufacturing, more and more construction projects adopt industrialised and standardised production and lean management with supply chain collaboration to become leaner. On the other hand, construction-specific management approaches and information technology (IT) tools are increasingly used in lean construction practices to maximise value and minimise waste.