What are the Benefits of Adopting Lean Construction

What are the Benefits of Adopting Lean Construction? Newessays. co. uk Sample

Outline of the Presentation Introduction Literature Review Research Methodology Results and Discussion Recommendations Newessays. co. uk Sample

Introduction Newessays. co. uk Sample

Lean Construction - Definition • Lean construction is an adaptation of lean production techniques applied to the construction industry (Lacatelli et al. , 2013) • It is about managing and improving the construction process to profitably deliver what the customer needs • Lean production can be identified as the application of minimal buffers and materials to stock and delivery of components in factory settings to ensure that the production line is more efficiently managed to reduce overall cost (Berggren, 1990) Newessays. co. uk Sample

Research Background • Efforts to spread awareness of the concept of lean construction have been going on since 1998 in the UK • Common et al. (2000) argue that in spite of the continuous efforts to spread awareness in the UK of the concept of lean construction, large UK based construction firms have not shown an inclination to adopt lean construction and management practices • There exists a much bigger gap when it comes to the number of researches that have delved into lean construction practices in the UK when compared to other countries Newessays. co. uk Sample

Aims of the Study • To identify the determinants (both benefits and barriers) of lean construction from existing literature • To determine the impact of benefits of lean construction on construction buildability • To assess the impact of negative factors which reduce the impact of lean construction and construction project buildability • To provide recommendations to overcome the negatives of lean construction management Newessays. co. uk Sample

Literature Review Newessays. co. uk Sample

Lean Management • According to Liker (2004) and Womack and Jones (1996), the concept of lean production and management can be examined from the perspective of the following attributes: • Strategic management • Efforts undertaken to increase focus on customer value and resource efficiency • Cross functional teams which can function with cross disciplinary talent • Simultaneous or concurrent development of multiple systems and subsystems • Production approach aimed at ensuring that a larger subsystem can be promoted with a higher level of supplier involvement Newessays. co. uk Sample

Benefits of Lean Construction • Strategic management of project and minimisation of project rework • Reduces the cost of construction project • Increase in project quality and value Newessays. co. uk Sample

Weaknesses of Lean Construction • Fragmentation of the UK construction industry • This has resulted in the need to differentiate between lean principle application across other industries and the construction industry in the UK • Culture and labour • The inherent fragmented nature of the construction industry has resulted in the growth of a static and hierarchical organisational structure Newessays. co. uk Sample

Research Methodology Newessays. co. uk Sample

Research Design • Research Philosophy – Positivism • This philosophy is used as the study primarily engages in collecting data from an objective point without interrupting the phenomenon involved • Research Approach - Deductive • This approach is used as it verifies if a given theory is credible in a given situation • Research Strategy – Survey • Research Method - Quantitative Newessays. co. uk Sample

Data Collection • • Methods of Data Collection - Questionnaires Time horizon - Cross sectional Sampling method - Convenience sampling Pilot Study is conducted among a group of researchers and the research study is verified in terms of reliability and validity Newessays. co. uk Sample

Data Analysis • Saunders et al. (2011) assert that the use of a questionnaire requires a quantitative data analysis using statistical tools • In the current research, quantitative data analysis is promoted using the SPSS Version 21. 0 software Newessays. co. uk Sample

Results Newessays. co. uk Sample

Analysis of Participants Demographics • Analysis of the results from the survey showed that: • Most of the respondents were between the age of 20 -29 (28. 3%) or 30 -39 years (35%) • Most of the respondents were men (82. 5%) rather than women (17. 5%) • Most of the respondents have been in the industry for more than 5 -10 years (37. 5%) or 4 -5 years (33. 3%) Newessays. co. uk Sample

Analysis of Knowledge and Practice of Lean Construction • It is argued that there is no significant association between their knowledge and practice. • This is because 80% of respondents who identified that they have limited knowledge of lean construction also identified that they did not practice lean construction principles. • At the same time, 30. 8% of respondents who had vague knowledge of lean construction principles were found to have good practice of lean construction. • Most respondents indicate moderate (25 respondents) to good (22 respondents) practice of lean construction. • Few of the construction managers presented interesting insights on this. • They responded that the practice of lean construction was a principle of the construction organisation and that construction managers had limited say in the same Newessays. co. uk Sample

Table 1: Cross tabulation of Knowledge of Lean Construction and Practice of Lean Construction Knowledge of lean construction * Practice of lean construction Cross tabulation Practice of lean construction Knowledge of lean Not at all construction Count Total Not at all Vague Moderate Good 4 1 0 0 5 20. 0% 100. 0% 5 4 3 13 38. 5% 30. 8% 23. 1% 100. 0% 9 10 5 25 36. 0% 40. 0% 20. 0% 100. 0% 8 5 9 22 36. 4% 22. 7% 40. 9% 100. 0% 0 0 1 3 0. 0% 33. 3% 100. 0% 23 19 18 68 33. 8% 27. 9% 26. 5% 100. 0% % within Knowledge of 80. 0% lean construction Vague Count 1 % within Knowledge of 7. 7% lean construction Moderate Count 1 % within Knowledge of 4. 0% lean construction Good Count 0 % within Knowledge of 0. 0% lean construction Very good Count 2 % within Knowledge of 66. 7% lean construction Total Newessays. co. uk Sample Count 8 % within Knowledge of 11. 8% lean construction

Analysis of Barriers to Lean Construction • The analysis of the results show that lack of flexibility, complexities in coordination and management, difficulties associated with multiple stakeholder involvement, difficulties in communication and the use of subcontractors are definite barriers to the promotion of lean construction • The respondents also indicate that the lack of exposure, difficulties in applying lean construction management principles of manufacturing in construction, lack of HR development in terms of lean construction and lack of training are definite barriers to the promotion of lean construction • The respondents indicate that the lack of coordination between design and construction, the presence of incomplete design and the lack of control during design phase are definite barriers to the promotion of lean construction Newessays. co. uk Sample

Benefits of Lean Construction • The respondents indicate that the setting of project scope at the design stage, clear identification of objectives, maximisation of performance and the promotion of stakeholder involvement at the design stage are definite benefits which reduce project rework due to lean construction • The respondents also indicate that the promotion of waste reduction, reduction in project uncertainty and project risk and reduction in project delay are definite benefits which reduce project cost due to lean construction Newessays. co. uk Sample

Impact on Project Buildability • The results shows that only two attributes are found to have a significant impact on construction project buildability • It is observed that human resource factors and funding are found to negatively impact construction buildability • Project cost has a significant positive impact on construction buildability Newessays. co. uk Sample

Table 2: Impact on Construction Project Buildability I Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardised t Sig. Coefficients B 1 Std. Error (Constant) 3. 094 . 753 Human resource factors -. 064 . 179 Project integration -. 257 Fragmentation in the industry Funding Issues Beta 4. 107 . 000 -. 269 -2. 477 . 044 . 181 . 265 -1. 420 . 160 -. 016 . 103 . 020 -. 158 . 875 -. 18 . 103 . 020 -3. 158 . 007 a. Dependent Variable: Construction Project Buildability Table 3: Impact on Construction Project Buildability II Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized t Sig. Coefficients B 1 (Constant) 1. 979 . 679 Project cost . 119 . 114 Project quality and value . 197 Project rework . 099 a. Dependent Variable: Construction Project Buildability Newessays. co. uk Sample Std. Error Beta 2. 917 . 005 -. 010 3. 082 035 . 111 . 217 1. 769 . 082 . 109 . 114 . 908 . 367

Recommendations • The general recommendations identified from the study results include: • Investment in lean construction training • Promotion of greater awareness amongst the top and middle management with respect to lean construction • Improve the funding given by private organisations to lean construction • Provide a clear definition of lean construction application throughout the project • Ensure that lean construction is part of the construction design and procurement and involve multiple stakeholders Newessays. co. uk Sample

References • Berggren, C. (1990). Detnyabilarbetet: Konkurrensenmellanolikaproduktionkonceptisvenskbilindustri 1970 -1990. Ph. D. Thesis published by Arkiv //Studentlitteratur, Lund, Sweden. • Common, G. , Johansen, E. , & Greenwood, D. (2000). A survey of the take-up of Lean Concepts among UK construction companies. In Proceedings of the 8 th International Group for Lean Construction Annual Conference. Brighton, United Kingdom. • Lacatelli, G. , Mancini, M. , Gastaldo, G. and Mazza, F. (2013). Improving Projects Performance with Lean Construction: State Of The Art, Applicability and Impacts. Organization, Technology & Management in Construction: An International Journal, 5, pp. 775 -783. • Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota Way. (1 edition. ), Mc. Graw-Hill. • Saunders, M. N. , Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2011). Research Methods For Business Student. 5 th edition, published by Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. , Licensces of pearson Education in south Asia. • Womack, J. P. , and Jones, D. T. (1996). Beyond Toyota: how to root out waste and pursue perfection. Harvard business review, 74(5), pp. 140. Newessays. co. uk Sample