A systematic review of lean simulation games in the construction industry

Lean philosophy has garnered attention in the construction industry world-wide and lean simulation games have arguably played a vital role in lean’s uptake by the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Although numerous lean simulation games are already being used extensively both in industry and academia, there has been, as yet, no systematic investigation in this area. In this context, this paper reports a systematic literature review to analyse existing lean simulations and games. Relevant databases were identified, and a search strategy was devised to uncover relevant literature. Peer-reviewed papers were vetted according to a set of pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following the screening process, 52 documents were identified from the databases. From the final set of papers, 96 games in total were identified. The papers were analysed for a variety of factors including distribution along a timeline, database homes, authorship and countries of origin using social network analysis, and depth of discussion of particular simulations. Findings showed that the popularity of lean simulation games in the construction sector has grown in recent decades. According to our systematic review of the literature, the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) serves as a significant contributor to the emergence and dissemination of new and existing lean games and simulations. The analysis also indicated that most contributions have originated in the United States. Our social network analysis also indicated that a few key authors collaborate extensively, while others in the periphery are beginning to publish and collaborate.