Purpose: Although prior studies have noted the importance of trust for project performance, research remains scant on describing the role of trust when using lean design management (LDM) in projects. This study explores the connection between LDM and interpersonal trust in solving construction projects' design management problems.Design: A qualitative study was conducted that included 29 trust-and LDM-themed semi-structured interviews in the United States (California), Brazil and Finland; 11 focus group discussions were also organized to validate the interview findings.Findings: The study reveals how LDM contributes to solving design management problems through two distinct but interconnected mechanisms: 1) improved information flow and 2) improved trust among project team members. A conceptual framework was crafted to illustrate the mechanisms in building trust by means of the social domain of LDM concepts. Research limitations:The conceptual framework requires testing through an international survey or through multiple case studies. Practical implications:The results indicate that design management would benefit from trustful environments and that trust may be the catalyst for actors' engagement with LDM. Managers in charge of design within projects can use the conceptual framework when selecting the appropriate LDM tools, which should include both the social and technical domains.Originality: The study emphasizes the importance of the social domain of LDM concepts. Previous studies have focussed on information flow aspects of LDM but have overlooked the value of interpersonal trust in solving design management problems.

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Few construction companies apply the available lean tools and processes in an integrated manner when managing design. Additionally, lean design management tools and processes each have their own strengths and optimal phases in which they should be applied. Earlier approaches in lean design management have not explicitly included the level of detail of building information model (BIM) models in connection with planning methods. For example, the Last Planner System (LPS) uses collaborative social methods to obtain task dependencies and commitments from project stakeholders, but it does not provide any guidance regarding what those tasks should be in a BIM-based process. With regard to production, this guidance is provided by combining location-based methods, such as a location-based management system or takt planning, to LPS. In a similar manner, by combining information from various sources, this paper defines a location-based design management process using the concept of level of detail that can be integrated with LPS. The level of detail definition must be based on the requirements of the end-user in each stage of the construction project. The process was cocreated and validated in focus group meetings with design and construction companies and further evaluated and assessed by applying it in a case project.

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Despite recent developments in construction design management, too much variability still occurs in design processes. Batch size (BS) and throughput time (TT) reduction are recurring concepts in the lean construction literature related to the Last Planner© System (LPS). These three parameters are often used to reduce variability and improve flow and reliability in work processes. Some have attempted to reduce design variability through lean design management (LDM) and agile methods, but very few studies have analysed the interaction of these parameters in the design process. The purpose of this study is to investigate these variables and their interactions. Design process stability and reliability were measured over nearly two years in this study by using three parameters. According to the results, design teams with smaller BS's of design tasks and higher percentages of planned tasks completed also had shorter design task TT's. Designers may use these findings to improve their workflow monitoring and as a novel addition to LDM and coordination metrics.

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Waste in all project processes is hindering productivity and project's financial goals. Successful design management operations ensure error-free design documentation just in time so that production may start when scheduled with confidence for design quality. However, traditional design management processes aim to remove waste on individual design processes, thus neglecting to view the process as a whole. This research answers the question: How the project participants perceive waste in design management operations, and in which ways the waste could be eliminated? Following a design science research approach, methods applied in this research consist of a single-case study and semi-structured interviews with the project's design-related organization as well as orientation to previous research related to waste in design management process. Several factors related to waste in design management process are identified, and potential countermeasures are proposed. A conceptual, holistically optimized design management process is presented to remove waste to support project teams' struggle in reaching shared goals. The key aspects are a shared technical design process in combination with decentralized team-based processes, emphasizing designer's resilience and ability to solve uncertain events by themselves. The flow between these two perspectives is acquired by a social collaboration that is initiated through trust.

It is generally acknowledged that good-quality design is a prerequisite for good quality and productive construction work. One proposed measure to improve the quality of construction has been contractors’ involvement in the design phase, and this phenomenon has been studied by several researchers. However, such approaches have not adequately addressed how this involvement affects the quality of the design. In this study, the aim was to study the effects of the early involvement of contactors on design quality based on evaluating the design quality factors. A case study was used to collect data and content analysis to analyze structural drawings and design meeting minutes of a large-scale infrastructure project. Particularly, the focus was on gathering information on the quality of the design and how it was addressed in the design coordination. We combined this quantitative data with qualitative open-ended thematic interviews, including respondents who led and coordinated the design on both the client and contractor sides. Our findings suggest that despite the vast amount of design changes, contractors’ involvement and development work in the detailed design phase improved design quality and constructability. Our findings also suggest that the contractor’s involvement during the schematic design phase had a design-enhancing effect in the detailed design phase. This study contributes to our understanding of contractors’ valuable role in design quality.