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EXPORT DATE: 19 June 2026

@CONFERENCE{Nesensohn2026,
author={Nesensohn, Claus and Shigaki, Jeferson and Yamasaki, Hiroaki },
editor={Hamzeh, Farook and Poshdar, Mani and Garcia-Lopez,, Nelly P. },
title={A cross-country analysis of Lean Construction Maturity in Japan and Germany using the LCMM}, 
journal={Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)}, 
booktitle={Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)}, 
year={2026},
pages={1004-1015},
url={http://www.iglc.net/papers/details/2466},
doi={10.24928/2026/0147},
affiliation={Professor, University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany / Founder and CEO, Refine Projects AG, Stuttgart, Germany, claus.nesensohn@hft-stuttgart.de, orcid.org/0009-0002-9002-3224 ; Senior Research, Research & Development Institute, Takenaka Corporation, Inzai, Chiba, Japan, shigaki.jeferson@takenaka.co.jp, orcid.org/0000-0003-4513-6334 ; Group Leader, Construction Division, Takenaka Corporation, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan,  yamasaki.hiroaki@takenaka.co.jp, orcid.org/0009-0006-6309-9345 },
abstract={Lean Construction Maturity Models (LCMM) have been proposed to provide organisations with a systemic and holistic overview of where they are on their Lean journey and how they can progress towards greater maturity. While previous work has focused mainly on European and American contexts, empirical evidence from Japan is scarce, despite Japan often being perceived as the “natural home” of Lean thinking. This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative, international comparative study that applies the LCMM, structured around 11 key attributes, in Japan and Germany. It has employed a structured interview approach, hearing 21 experts in both countries. The findings suggest that Japanese projects, especially those delivered by large general contractors, exhibit relatively high maturity in terms of on‑time delivery, right‑first‑time quality, routines, and kaizen, supported by culturally embedded concepts and long‑term subcontractor relationships. German projects, in contrast, report lower plan stability and more frequent rework, but suggest emerging strengths in transparency, visual management, and novel commercial arrangements, such as IPD‑like risk‑sharing models. The paper concludes that the LCMM can serve as a useful structuring lens for cross-country Lean Construction maturity assessment, while maturity profiles remain strongly shaped by national culture, institutional context, and learning mechanisms. },
author_keywords={Lean Construction, maturity model, benchmark, culture, continuous improvement. },
address={Singapore, Singapore },
issn={2789-0015 },
publisher={ },
language={English},
document_type={Conference Paper},
source={IGLC},
}