An appraisal of lean construction project delivery application of lean construction

One major theoretical issue that has dominated the construction field for many years, concerns the general misconception that lean can only be successfully applied to manufacturing. Its introduction into design and construction industry has been slow due to a conflation of reasons including organisations disinclination to make the necessary capital investments. Recent research has shown that many aspects of the construction industry have improved with the development of lean construction. It has been suggested, however, that unpredictability in construction processes creates complications when implementing this philosophy to the industry. The aim of this paper was therefore to investigate the application of lean construction to construction project delivery. A framework for managing construction project delivery is proposed. To obtain the empirical research, a two-phase sequential mixed methods study was undertaken. The investigation concluded that heavy construction-engineering organisations are likely to successfully apply lean construction to construction project delivery, and achieve a new level of project performance if the appropriate considerations are given by the construction industry.