Purpose -The objective is to explore the transfer of lean manufacturing/production from the Japanese manufacturing industry to the construction sector in the west. Design/methodology/approach -Research literature from the fields of lean manufacturing/production and lean construction was reviewed. This revealed a number of characteristics that are specific to lean construction, most notably the recognition that critical research findings have been slow to emerge but appear to be gaining momentum. Findings -In the transition from manufacturing to construction the process losses appear to be related to critical aspects and the challenges surrounding practical application to a different context. Lean is highly interpretive and there is no shared definition or understanding of what is meant by lean, lean production, and lean construction. The focus has been mainly on production system design, planning and management, and implementation. This narrow focus has meant that some important issues concerning the wider aspects of lean have been overlooked. There is a need for a 'back to basics' discussion on many other aspects of the approach, such as whole-life value and waste identification. Research limitations/implications -The work is limited to an extensive literature review. Originality/value -The extensive literature review makes an original contribution to the lean construction field and provides a valuable resource for researchers.
Citation: JORGENSEN, B. and EMMITT, S., 2009. Investigating the integration of design and construction from a lean perspective. ConstructionInnovation: Information, Process, Management, 9 (2), pp. 225 -240.Additional Information:• Design/methodology/approach -Following an extensive review of the literature a multiple case strategy approach was used to explore the practical application of lean approaches to design and construction integration in an organisational setting.Summaries of the case studies, one from the USA and two from Denmark, help to highlight a number of pertinent issues facing practitioners and researchers.Findings -Findings suggest that it is possible to identify a number of aspects that (in theory as well as in practice) both influence and, to various extents, limit the applicability of the lean philosophy to construction. Findings also help to emphasise the importance of a number of interdependent factors for achieving better integration, namely: value identification/specification; an appropriate project delivery framework; structuring and planning of delivery processes; transparency; management and leadership; learning; and the importance of local context. Originality/value of paper -The findings provides an original contribution to the integration of design and construction activities from a lean perspective. The findings are generic and could be practically applied in a variety of contexts.
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