34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) - Singapore, Singapore - 2026

https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0302

Work skills required for success as a frontline supervisor

Suliaman Al Sultan1, Timothy Becker2, Ricardo Eiris3 & Kristen Parrish4

1Independent Consultant, Kuwait, [email protected]
2Eminent Scholar, Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-1153-8282
3Assistant Professor, Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-6904-5352
4Professor, Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-3307-4693

Abstract

Frontline supervisors (FLS), commonly referred to as foremen or forepersons, play a critical role in the construction industry and lean project delivery as they direct the craft workforce and oversee production at the workface. FLS are responsible for ensuring that construction scopes are completed on time, safely, and to the required quality standards, as such, they are often the last planners for construction projects. For the purposes of this paper, an FLS is defined as “a person that is competent in their trade and leads a team of craft personnel and directs them in their day-to-day activities.” The authors conducted focus groups to elucidate the key work skills required for success in the FLS role. The analysis identifies a total of fourteen (14) work skills required for success. The findings can help construction organizations assess whether they are equipping FLS appropriately to successfully deliver projects. Moreover, the lean construction community can consider how to embed lean principles into existing or developing training materials to empower FLS to support lean project delivery at the workface.

Keywords

Work skills, frontline supervisor, foreperson, Last Planner.

Files


Full Text
 

Reference

Download: BibTeX | RIS Format

Reference in APA 7th edition format:

Sultan, S. A., Becker, T., Eiris, R. & Parrish, K.. (2026). Work skills required for success as a frontline supervisor. In Hamzeh, F., Poshdar, M., & Garcia-Lopez,, N. P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) (pp. 1312–1322). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0302

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

Sultan, S. A., Becker, T., Eiris, R. & Parrish, K.. (2026). Work skills required for success as a frontline supervisor. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0302

 

Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

2015 © All Rights Reserved.