Exploratory Analysis on Lean Construction Practice in the Lebanese Construction Industry

The fact that the lean construction approach, a project-based production management approach, is considered as a best practice in the construction industry and a key solution to alleviate the implications of various forms of waste on the construction projects performance in general, and the Lebanese ones in particular, motivates the author to conduct a study to evaluate it as a strategic option. For that to happen, a bibliographic analysis has been developed to serve the key project objective. The bibliographic analysis is expected to help construction professionals to deepen their knowledge in Lean philosophy and its applications in the construction industry. After developing a solid background of understanding of Lean Construction, a survey to collect information from construction companies within the Lebanese territory has been conducted, followed by analysis and interpretations of the findings to examine lean construction inside the Lebanese construction Industry; that has been achieved in terms of understanding and analyzing the suitability, acceptability, and applicability of lean construction principles, tools, and techniques by Lebanese construction firms. Performed Revision has been crowned with a detailed explanation of the lean construction approach accompanied with an applicable lean construction implementation guideline. Besides that, survey results showed a wide acceptance of most lean construction principles (namely, waste elimination and continuous improvement) by Lebanese construction professionals. It has been shown as well, that lean construction tools and techniques are applied by a major portion of the Lebanese construction firms due to the significant impact these tools and techniques have on the project quality, schedule, and cost. However, all analyzed results confirm one main conclusion, that a significant portion of the Lebanese construction industry lack that adequate knowledge and understanding of lean construction philosophy, which necessitates the development of “Lean Construction Education Programs” as a principal enabler for successful lean construction adoption. This paper has been developed mainly to guide Lebanese construction professionals, especially project and construction managers, towards understanding and adopting lean construction as a mean to deliver projects of value and to inform Lebanese construction industry leaders about the current state of lean construction inside the Lebanese construction Industry.