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16th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - Manchester, UK - 2008

Case Study: Lean Supply Chain Management in Construction Projects

Eric Zimmer¹, Ossama Salem², Ashraf Genaidy³ & Richard Shell⁴

¹Graduate Student, Construction Engineering and Management Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221
²Associate Professor, Construction Engineering and Management Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221
³Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221
⁴Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221

Abstract

Researchers and construction professionals have adopted lean manufacturing concepts and strategies in the development of lean construction principles. Much of these efforts have centered on the field construction activities themselves. However, the ideology of lean focuses on the entire value stream of an operation from raw material to final product delivery. Waste and inefficiency is still evident throughout construction supply chains. The goal of this paper is to investigate improvement opportunities in the construction industry, utilizing the practice of lean supply chain management. A case study was conducted to achieve this goal and investigate applicability in the field. An assessment was done with a local contractor already familiar with lean. From this study came a number of findings and observations: differences between lean and non-lean fabricators and effects on construction, effective staging of materials. From these findings, improvement recommendations are prepared for future projects.

Keywords

lean construction, supply chain management, just-in-time, collaboration

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