The need for Kaizen costing in indigenous Nigerian construction firms

The application of adequate cost management methods and techniques before and during construction activities is a major determinant of a project success. Construction cost management methods such as target costing, life cycle costing, activity based costing and kaizen costing are some of the ways in which a project cost can be effectively managed. Kaizen costing is the costing aspect of kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese word for continuous improvement and it has been used in the Japanese manufacturing sector since the 1960s. This method employs techniques for incremental cost reduction and it is based on Kaizen philosophy principles. Kaizen costing is a very useful method for post-contract cost control because it is applied during the manufacturing or production stage of a product. This cost control method creates more profit for the manufacturer, provides better quality products and improves customer satisfaction. Kaizen costing is a post-contract cost management method which can be used to increase the competitiveness of a company. This approach can be combined with target costing and other cost management methods for more effectiveness. This paper will focus on how kaizen costing can be used as a means of curbing the challenges facing the Nigerian construction firms in terms of cost overrun; project delays and abandonment; inadequate cost control management and improving competitiveness of indigenous construction firms. Based on existing literature, this paper illustrates how kaizen costing can effective contain the challenge of cost and time overrun during construction. The process of using kaizen costing during the construction phase is addressed in detail in this paper