Enhance the construction industry performance through lean applications

The influential reports initiated by UK government like Latham (1994) followed by Egan (1998) which focussed on enhancing or improving the quality of construction. These reports have managed to improvise the condition but still lot needs to be done. Also, the construction project that has long design and construction phase has even longer lifecycle as compared to any other products. Generally, the construction project undergoes conception, design, procurement, construction, project delivery, maintenance and demolition. The construction industry in the 21st century is undergoing a dynamic change. Whilst there is increasing demand for infrastructure of built environment at the same time projects have stricter deadlines and also scale and complexities of the projects is increasing. The construction industry is seen as heterogeneous sector driving expertise from various disciplines Emmitt and Gorse (2006) that involves teams from different organizations having individual / organizational understanding and goals of the project. Construction industry has been operating in ever challenging times as projects are not only getting larger but also complex which are put up against the tight deadlines. The cost is always a crucial factor in most of the construction projects as the industry is criticised for often exceeding the budget. At the same time the recent global recession has badly hit the industry and left impacts that would take years to heal. The delays, quality, costs in construction industry are few of many critical issues anywhere around the world. One of the main reasons for such state is said to be lack of ability to tackle “waste” generated during lifecycle of the project. The design phase bears the tremendous impact on the success or failure of the project on many fronts, consequently has potential to produce waste within the phase and subsequent stages of a project. The “waste”, in general terms is understood in two ways, one refers to wasteful products generated during the construction activities, and the other one, refers to wasteful activities carried out during the process of construction which affects the projects negatively in many ways. Most obvious and crucial in this period is time and economic factor. These wastes are generated throughout the lifecycle of the process and planning phase has great potential in minimising them. This throws the industry practitioners a great challenge of minimising the waste at the same time enhancing the quality of construction. This dissertation is focuses on identifying and addressing the waste activities during construction projects, and specifically designs activity in depth in a serious attempt to minimise it. Hence this calls apt management and along with appropriate tools and techniques. Lean management theory evolving from manufacturing industry focuses on enhancing the value through minimizing the wastes generating out of the various activities is applied to design and construction phases of the projects to address various problems faced by the industry. A better design management is possible through the application of lean production planning and control techniques to the design management process (Whelton, et al., 2007). Lean management theory having attributes of enhancing the value to the end customer through minimizing the waste along with other modern tools and techniques is discussed. The research work is carried out through the literature and questionnaire, interviews and case studies of the professionals from Iran to gain insights. The findings were analysed by qualitative method. Several issues were highlighted during the research such as poor coordination, poor planning, late deliveries, knowledge transfer, to name few. Finally the recommendations are made to optimize the design process by addressing waste by application of lean management principles along with BIM, 5’SConcept, Last Planner System and other discussed tools and techniques.