Abstract:
The manufacturing industry has been a constant reference point and a source of innovation for
construction over many decades. The lean concept is one of such strategies adopted by the construction
industry from the manufacturing industry to improve performance. In order to take benefit of lean
techniques developed in the manufacturing industries, it is important to identify which categories of
manufacturing systems are best applicable to construction. Many research studies have identified
construction as a lean resistant industry because it differs from manufacturing due to site production,
temporary multi-organisation and one-of-a-kind nature projects. The main objective of this study is to
find different characteristics of construction processes and how lean techniques can be adopted to
them. The method used for this study is a practice oriented research approach where it compares the
characteristics of two construction processes with manufacturing process characteristics. In the
attempt of visualising the existing process, value stream mapping techniques were used. It is identified
that the construction process is a combination of fabrication and assembly processes with different
characteristics such as layout, material flow, information flow, and work element. It can be concluded
that certain construction techniques like pre-fabrication soften the construction peculiarities.
Citation:
Vilasini, N., Neitzert, T.R., & Jayatilaka, P.R. (2012.). Appropriateness of lean production system for the construction industry. In S. Senaratne & Y.G. Sandanayake (Eds.), Global challenges in construction industry (pp. 355-363). Ceylon Institute of Builders. https://ciobwcs.com/downloads/WCS2012-Proceedings.pdf