Lean in construction industry

Abstract

The construction industry is one of the largest and most markable industries worldwide. As most of the professions, the construction industry has some chronic problems such as low productivity, poor safety, inferior working conditions, and insufficient quality.

These problems are serious diseases which should be managed. They cannot be eliminated completely but can be reduced and handled by specific tools and engagements. Due to the large extend of this industry, there are many aspects which can be optimized and developed. One of the most important challenges in this industry is the wastage. To maintain a sustainable and justified project, it is necessary to apply some approaches seeking towards a decreased amount of wastage. One of the approaches and groundbreaking tools is LEAN.

LEAN construction is a phenomenon inspired by LEAN Management. The arise of LEAN in the construction industry emerged first time in the 1990’s in the West, since there were seen huge success and optimization in the manufacturing industry. The core idea of LEAN is to maximize value and eliminate or minimize waste, regardless of which area it is applied to, even if it is a single process. This makes the LEAN thinking one of the best in creating value for the customers and their needs. With other words LEAN is an efficient management technique who strives to meet the customer in eye level and offer them an instant customized product. LEAN thinking operates overall with 7 key principles that aims to optimize and develop projects: (1) Eliminate waste, (2) Build quality in, (3) create knowledge, (4) defer commitment, (5) deliver fast, (6) respect people and lastly (7) optimize the whole.