The Value Flow of a Workplace in Construction Process – A Case Study

Lean construction papers have shown a great deal of interest in project management and delivery. However, the end-customer or tenant perspective has not yet been emphasised similarly in the lean construction literature. This paper focuses on end-customer value creation in construction projects. The specific focus is on workplace creation through the construction project. The purpose of the paper is to assess how the end-customer value is managed in a workplace construction project. The end-customer value and the value flow of a workplace creation project are analysed through value stream mapping in a descriptive case study. A generic map of value creation with the utilised investment management process is constructed according to the documents of the case, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires. The value stream analysis showed that a workplace project can potentially produce significant additional value for the end-customer, but inadequate value management during the investment process can waste the potential. The studied investment management process was found not to support value management; instead it focused heavily on optimising the delivery and managing the investment costs of sub-processes. In order to enhance the end-customer value creation in workplace construction process the role of value stream management needs to be highlighted along with delivery.