Lean management system as a tool for improving construction productivity

Abstract: Poor construction waste management is one of the major causes of project failure in the construction industry and one of the ways of mitigating the challenge is through the use of lean management (LM). This study examines the use of LM to enhance effective productivity in the South African construction industry. 60 well-structured questionnaires were administered on construction professionals such as architects, quantity surveyors, civil engineers, project manager and construction manager out of which 42 were retrieved. Lean management mostly focused on adding value to the product as well as reducing waste in time of things in cycle, it also reduce waste of time through effective time management as well as reduce waste of materials and energy. This indicated that with lean management, everyone becomes a thinker and a creator of something. These requirements are known as willingness to change and the potential self-disapproval. If fully implemented, LM will enhance better construction productivity through reduced inventory, less process waste, just in time delivery, minimize inventory, the use of adequate equipment, encourage collaboration, improve teamwork, improve construction productivity, improve leadership skills and improve labour flow reliability. It was further revealed that the main significant aspect that lean management evolve around is culture, because the culture of lean is subjected on workers being entirely involved and accepted to practice the lean application in common trainings as well as their tasks. It is therefore necessary for construction organizations and concerned parties to improve level of awareness of construction stakeholders especially construction workers on lean management system through workshops, advertisement, training, etc. This will not only aid better productivity in the industry but will also ensure that clients are provided value for their money