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

https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0316

Integration of the lean thinking principles into the owners’ project management

Paul Christian John1 & Shervin Haghsheno2

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Abstract

Construction projects face expanding requirements, while project performance remains a persistent concern. This paper examines how Lean Thinking can be integrated into project owners’ project management. Using the five Lean Thinking principles proposed by Womack and Jones as an analytical lens, the study draws on an iterative series of five focus-group workshops involving eight experts and the two authors. The workshop results were synthesised through structured memos, written feedback loops, and a final group review of the consolidated results. The findings suggest that many owner organisations and owner representatives already apply routines consistent with Lean Thinking, although often implicitly and in fragmented form. At the same time, the workshops identified principle-based action options for a more systematic integration. These suggest that Lean Project Management at the owner level differs from conventional approaches not by adding (isolated) methods, but by placing stronger emphasis on proactively shaping the conditions for reliable, value-oriented, and continuously improving project delivery. The paper thus provides an initial principle-based orientation for project owners and seeks to stimulate further discussion on Lean project management.

Keywords

Lean project management, lean project delivery, project owner, client, lean principles.

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Reference in APA 7th edition format:

John, P. C. & Haghsheno, S.. (2026). Integration of the lean thinking principles into the owners’ project management. 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. 1346–1357). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0316

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

John, P. C. & Haghsheno, S.. (2026). Integration of the lean thinking principles into the owners’ project management. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0316

 

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.

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