Barriers to the Implementation of Lean Construction Principles

LC implementation in the construction industry is still in the initial stages. Even the concept is developed in the early '90s, but the application of lean principles in the construction industry is minimal. From the literature review, various kinds of barriers are identified, depend on the country of application. After a detail literature review, it is found out the most common obstacles which are mentioned in the majority of the papers are seven main challenges in implementing LC shown in figure #15. These are: managerial, technical, human attitude, the process of lean (how it works), educational. Government, and financial, and some others are the main barriers in implementing lean in construction projects. The most prominent barrier which is identified is the lack of commitment from the top management of the company or organization to implement lean on construction projects. Lack of involvement of senior management is also related to other aspects of the organization. For instance, the lack of communication of the senior management with stakeholders is also an aspect that makes it difficult for the stakeholders to adapt to the LC concept (Marhani et al., 2013).

Figure 15: Barriers in Implementing LC in the Construction Industry

Barriers in Implementing

LC Managerial

Technical

Human Attitude

Lenghty Process Educational

Government/S takeholder

Financial

Under the technical barriers in the implementation of the LC concept is the constructability aspect of the project. Besides, the uncertainty in the production process is also contributed as one of the barriers. The lack of involvement of all the stakeholders right from the pre-construction stage causes the constructability of design vaguer, which later on in the construction stage causes a variety of design changes that reduce productivity. It is also significant that human attitude toward the adoption of new techniques and skills slows down the productivity of the construction process and even the implementation of LC in the industry (Marhani et al., 2013).

Abdullah et al. (2009) explain that attitude means the tendency regarding the intent, commitment, and co-operation that need to be present in the stakeholders if they want to implement LC in construction. Such a kind of attitude toward the adoption of LC will affect the productivity of the construction industry.

Proper training is necessary for the stakeholders who are involved in the construction related to the LC to develop some expertise related to the implementation of LC in the industry. Lack of proper training and knowledge related to the application of LC makes it challenging to adopt the LC in industry. Although training and educating the employees may take time and effort, the top management has to play there role to expand the training and education to implement the LC concept (Abdullah et al., 2009).

Finally, financial barriers are also significant, owing to the unstable market condition for construction and the higher cost of construction, but lower Return on Investment (ROI) makes the implementation of the LC concept in the industry riskier. Also, lack of a reward or incentive system in the construction project makes the employees more resistant to adopt new techniques, which makes the implementation of LC more difficult in the industry (Marhani et al., 2013).

Sarhan et al. (Sarhan et al., 2017) 2017 divide the barriers in the implementation of LC in the construction industry into two categories based on developed countries and developing countries. Developed countries include UK, Germany, and Singapore, while the developing countries include Malaysia, India, China, Libya, Ghana, and Uganda. This suggests that barriers to the implementation of LC in construction are more apparent in developing countries rather than in developed countries. In the study, he identifies that unwillingness to adopt innovation was one of the significant barriers in Singapore to implement LC in the industry.

Further, in developed countries like the UK, it is found out that barriers to the implementation of LC in the construction industry are lack of adequate awareness and understanding, lack of commitment of top management, and human attitude. The human attitude was the most critical barrier in the implementation of LC in construction. In developing countries, the focus on the obstacles to implementing LC in construction is more similar to the developed countries. The most common barriers identified in the developing countries are lack of management commitment, limited understanding of the concept of lean construction, and unwillingness to adopting new ideas. Some of the significant barriers identified to implement LC in the construction industry are (Sarhan et al., 2017):

• Managerial: Lack of willingness of top management.

• Technical: Problems with the constructability of the design.

• Human Attitude: unwillingness to change.

• Lack of education.

• Absence of communication among the construction team.

• Unavailability of benchmark performance.

• Traditional management practices.

• Unfavorable organization culture.

• Lack of uncertainty in the production process.

• Absence of standardization.

• Absence of adherence to time commitment.

• Absence of Government or Client involvement.

• Corruption.

• Absence of financial resources.

• Absence of workforce.

• Lack of participation of contractors and experts in the design process.

• Extensive used of sub-contractors.

• Unclear project definition and outcomes.

• Long-time required to implement the LC process.

• Uncertainty in the supply chain.