Forman, M (2010) Lean construction and health and safety on site: Analysed in a planning and empowerment perspective. In: Egbu, C (ed.) Proceedings of 26th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2010, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
This paper presents experience gained by using Lean Construction in the construction industry and reveals its present impact on health and safety on site. Lean Construction represents a new way to manage, plan and coordinate construction projects and can be seen as a new management concept. Lean Construction used on site in Denmark was studied with a focus on the importance of, and interaction with, health and safety. The study applied theories of knowledge management and literature dealing with construction safety management. The measurements were carried out by studying two different cases on site. The construction sites were observed over a six-month period by applying the methods: observation, documentation and interviews. Production and health and safety are often seen as two separate areas with different key actors. They are reflected and handled as two different management areas with their own embedded management problems. Common to both areas are the dialectics between respectively, planning and self-governance, infrastructure and culture, and control and empowerment. It is concluded that 1) Lean Construction can support safety infrastructure, 2) Lean Construction needs a construction manager to support empowerment, 3) under-empowerment safety culture can push towards increased self-governance.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction planning; health and safety; lean construction; management; organizational culture |
| Index terms: | documentation, construction site, health and safety, interview, empowerment, safety culture, self-governance, lean construction, organizational culture, knowledge management, construction planning, construction safety, construction industry, Denmark, interaction, construction manager, construction project |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, profession, policy studies, construction planning, work location, production management, Geography, health safety and environment, professional development, management, industry analysis, environmental health, behavioral psychology, building construction, sociology |
| Topics: | Governance, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Site Management, Organizational Design, Human Resources |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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