Implementation of Lean for small and medium-sized enterprises to reduce waste

Purpose: Waste and negligence in the construction industry is a way too big factor of the high costs occurring. To reduce those wastes, some companies in the manufacturing industry has started to apply Lean to get a more effectively work. Lean Construction is the construction industries counterpart and this investigation investigates what Lean Construction methods for waste management can do for small and medium-sized enterprises.The goal of this work is to analyze how small and medium-sized enterprises can work to get Lean in to the companies processes to reduce perceived wastageMethod: The methods that is used to achieve the goal and to answer the chosen questions is literature studies, interviews and participant observation.Findings: Based on the methods that is used has different factors to reduce waste been acquired. Better communication, awareness among employees, management commitment and keep the work to the time schedules is important factors for improvement.Implications: Better planning is basis for a more efficient construction process.The most important thing for small and medium-sized enterprises can think about is that expensive solutions do not need to be better than simple methods. The developed factors in this investigation can help companies that want to achieve a more efficient construction process. The reason that this investigation is theoretically based, the derived factors should be applied in real projects to see what impact they have.Limitations: The investigation is limited to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and is a case study at Brantås Bygg. The study include rework, waiting, movements and transports. The interviews are made with working managers, foremans and carpenters at Brantås Bygg. The participate observation is made at a project in the central parts of Vetlanda, Sweden.Keywords: Lean Construction, Wastes, SME, Implementation issues