Sarhan, S and Fox, A (2013) Performance measurement in the UK construction industry and its role in supporting the application of lean construction concepts. Construction Economics and Building, 13(1), pp. 23-35. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
Performance measurement has received substantial attention from researchers and the construction industry over the past two decades. This study sought to assess UK practitioners' awareness of the importance of the use of appropriate performance measures and its role in supporting the application of Lean Construction (LC) concepts. To enable the study to achieve its objectives, a review of a range of measurements developed to evaluate project performance including those devoted to support LC efforts was conducted. Consequently a questionnaire survey was developed and sent to 198 professionals in the UK construction industry as well as a small sample of academics with an interest in LC. Results indicated that although practitioners recognise the importance of the selection of non-financial performance measures, it has not been properly and widely implemented. The study identified the most common techniques used by UK construction organisations for performance measurement, and ranked a number of non-financial key performance indicators as significant. Some professed to have embraced the Last Planner System methodology as a means for performance measurement and organisational learning, while further questioning suggested otherwise. It was also suggested that substance thinking amongst professionals could be a significant hidden barrier that militates against the successful implementation of LC.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction management; lean construction; project performance measurement; psychology; UK |
| Index terms: | questionnaire, project performance, key performance indicator, practitioner, organizational learning, financial performance, performance measurement, construction organization, lean construction, methodology, last planner system, survey, psychology, construction industry, performance measure, implementation |
| Subjects: | project delivery, behavioral psychology, industry analysis, contractual arrangements, building construction, project controls, project management theory and practice, practitioner, professional development, organization, business analysis, research methods, performance measurement, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Procurement, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Project Management, Information Management, Business Strategy, Time Control, Site Management, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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