Lean Integrated Project Delivery for Construction Procurement: The Case of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The choice of proper procurement methods has an impact on the overall productivity and sustainability of construction projects. The current procurement methods have alerted the construction industry (CI) due to the exacerbating fragmentation among parties and the resulting low level of productivity. Therefore, introducing a new procurement system to eliminate the above challenges is imperative to the CI. Therefore, this research investigated the applicability of lean integrated project delivery (LIPD) as a construction procurement system and developed a framework for its successful implementation. A qualitative exploratory approach was adopted, informing an interpretivism stance. Accordingly, semi-structured interviews with 15 Sri Lankan (SL) CI experts were conducted to determine the applicability of the LIPD concept in a real-life CI context. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the collected data. This research identified the significance of LIPD compared to existing procurement methods, which may contribute to the long-term planning and management practices in the CI. However, the findings elicited several barriers that could hinder successful LIPD implementation. As a result, some of the strategies discovered include providing LIPD training and awareness, obtaining expert support, and encouraging professionals. This is the first study of its kind to reveal a LIPD framework in a developing country like SL without restricting itself to a specific construction type. Therefore, this study is expected to impact the global CI by paving the way for LIPD as a new procurement system to improve the performances of similar CIs in developing countries across the world.

A Literature Study On E-Procurement Technologies And Method Selection In Construction Projects

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Can lean principles assist to reduce BIM implementation costs? A contemporary application of lean principles to the Sri Lankan construction industry

“…Even though lean and BIM are two separate and independent philosophies that have an impact on the construction industry, there can be a coaction between them to make the construction industry more effective by applying both approaches (Kekana et al, 2014). However, both approaches are in their infancy stages, and both are still urging their effective adoption in the construction industry (Hettiaarachchige et al, 2022). Higher costs have acted as a barrier to the BIM implementation, and thereby the benefits of the implementation can outweigh the costs (Tan et al, 2019).…”

“…, 2014). However, both approaches are in their infancy stages, and both are still urging their effective adoption in the construction industry (Hettiaarachchige et al. , 2022).…”

How Can the Irish Construction Industry Become Less Fragmented and More Productive?

“…There is a reluctance for stakeholders to move from traditional project management techniques towards the process based collaborative approach that fuels the lean ethos (Nesensohn, Demir and Bryde, 2013;Ghannoum et al, 2019;Hettiaarachchige et al, 2022) which may be compounding the fact that global productivity of CIs is increasing at a lethargic rate (Barbosa et al, 2017).…”