Kifokeris, D; Bahnariu, B and Koch, C (2022) A mapping of Swedish lean construction variants in practice: Review and survey. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 38th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2022, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
Swedish Lean Construction (LC) practices focus mainly on improving technical process parameters – however, issues claimed to have been solved by LC (e.g., high production costs), are still apparent. This study reports on a survey about Swedish companies' LC practices. A literature review on Swedish LC variants served as the background. The questionnaire survey itself was answered by around 490 construction-related companies across all Swedish regions. Survey results indicate a cross-sectoral discrepancy of LC knowledge and practices, with almost 65% of respondents claiming not to know about LC – while those doing so, are applying it in variants (e.g., integrated with location-based planning). Such an implementation can either pertain to project portfolios or be required by clients – and is more visible in large contractors and some SMEs claiming to be LC-competent. A stronger cross-industry collaboration may be needed for facilitating LC knowledge in Sweden, as well as underpinning LC practice variants befitting each company’s specific business model.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | lean construction; practical variants; Sweden. |
| Index terms: | mapping, collaboration, business model, questionnaire, implementation, lean construction, production cost, literature review, survey, Sweden |
| Subjects: | building construction, spatial and geospatial analysis, management, manufacturing engineering, Geography, contractual arrangements, data analysis and analytics, business, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Site Management, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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