Changing construction performance using lean construction: An action research approach

This thesis describes a research investigation into the implementation of lean construction on two construction projects. Implementing lean construction became an issue for construction project teams when the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions challenged construction companies to rethink construction using the principles and tools of lean manufacturing. Prior to that, a limited number of innovative companies were experimenting with changing their working practices in line with these ideas. The problem was that existing research into lean construction offered limited help to practitioners trying to implement the lean manufacturing principles in the construction environment. The research was predicated on the need to bridge this perceived gap between theory and practice. The intention was to strengthen lean construction theory through monitoring its implementation in practice. An interpretive research methodology adopted the principles of action research to guide practitioners through a change process, involving the implementation of lean thinking on two construction projects. The implementation was based on a constructivist ontological interpretation of lean construction. The project teams worked through the four stages of the action research cycle to identify their performance problem, develop a lean construction solution applying the principles of lean thinking, implement it and observe and reflect on the results. The empirical work was captured in two thick descriptions and both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods were used to determine the results. The research concluded that a constructivist ontological position is appropriate for lean construction. An implementation process for practitioners is described and a description is given of the likely elements that need to be implemented within a project context. These are the project framework, the waste management system, and the implementation plan. Barriers to implementation are also described. The final conclusion is that implementing lean construction in this way leads to a radical rethinking of the management and control of construction projects.