Enshassi, A; Saleh, N and Mohamed, S (2021) Barriers to the application of lean construction techniques concerning safety improvement in construction projects. International Journal of Construction Management, 21(10), pp. 1044-1060. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
This paper identifies the barriers that prevent construction projects from implementing lean construction (LC) techniques for safety improvement. To achieve this objective, a deductive approach is adopted using a questionnaire survey of 107 construction professionals. A total of 39 barriers were identified through an intensive literature review, and were grouped into six categories: management, financial, educational, governmental, technical and human attitudinal. Data were analysed using the simple but widely used effect index (EI). The strongest barriers to implementing LC techniques for improving safety in the Gaza Strip are lack of LC concept understanding, lack of government support for applying innovative strategies in construction projects, and lack of knowledge on how to apply LC techniques for safety improvement. Regular training should be provided to all construction practitioners to provide them with the most appropriate LC techniques for improving construction safety. This paper will be valuable for stakeholders in the construction industry to focus their attention and resources on the significant barriers and to identify strategies to address these barriers and facilitate the application of LC techniques to improve safety in local construction projects. It will add value to the existing LC knowledge and to the region.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | barriers; lean construction; safety; training |
| Index terms: | construction professional, construction industry, Gaza Strip, government support, questionnaire, construction project, construction safety, lean construction, survey, construction practitioner, literature review, strategy |
| Subjects: | management, physical geography and landforms, professional development, production management, building construction, environmental health, industry analysis, government bodies, data collection methods, data analysis and analytics |
| Topics: | Site Management, Business Strategy, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Information Management, Governance, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here