TY  - CONF
TI  - Unravelling the backbone of lean transformation in construction megaprojects
AU  - Ibrahim, Abdelazim
AU  - Zayed, Tarek
AU  - Lafhaj, Zoubeir
AD  - PhD Candidate, Department of Building and Real Estate, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, abdelazim-ib.mansour@connect.polyu.hk, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4487-4151
AD  - Professor, Department of Building and Real Estate, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, tarek.zayed@polyu.edu.hk, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3249-7712
AD  - Professor, Laboratoire de Mecanique Multiphysique Multiechelle, LaMcube, UMR 9013, Centrale Lille, CNRS, Universite de Lille, Lille, France, zoubeir.lafhaj@centralelille.fr, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1985-9176
ED  - Hamzeh, Farook
ED  - Poshdar, Mani
ED  - Garcia-Lopez,, Nelly P.
ED  - Gan, Vincent
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/22
T2  - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)
C3  - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)
CY  - Singapore, Singapore
SP  - 606
EP  - 617
DO  - 10.24928/2026/0131
SN  - 2789-0015 (ISSN)
AB  - Despite growing interest in lean construction for megaprojects, implementation remains fragmented. These complex, high-cost endeavors are prone to delays and inefficiencies, yet there is a limited understanding of how practices interrelate and which serve as foundational enablers. This study addresses this gap by uncovering the causal hierarchy among 35 Lean Construction Practices (LCPs) across six categories. The methodology integrates a literature review, expert input from 15 senior practitioners in Hong Kong and Mainland China, and Fuzzy DEMATEL analysis. Results reveal four Cause categories: Customer Focus & Waste Elimination, Standardization & Process Transparency, Planning & Scheduling, and People Involvement & Continuous Improvement, acting as critical enablers. Key backbone practices include TVD, VSM, Gemba Walks, 5S, BIM, LPS, and PCMAT. In contrast, Flow & Pull Systems and Safety & Quality Assurance are Effect categories, dependent on the prior establishment of foundational systems. The findings emphasize that lean transformation must follow a staged, theory-grounded sequence: cultural and structural practices must precede advanced tools, such as Kanban or TQM. Consequently, this study provides an evidence-based roadmap for prioritizing interventions and accelerating lean maturity in megaprojects.
KW  - Lean Construction
KW  - megaprojects
KW  - causal hierarchy
KW  - fuzzy DEMATEL
KW  - implementation sequencing
KW  - backbone practices.
L1  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/2456/pdf
UR  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/2456
DB  - IGLC.net
LA  - English
N1  - Export date: 04 October 2026
ER  -