A study on the evaluation of implementation level of lean construction in two Chinese firms

Abstract

Many countries gain great benefits by applying lean methods to construction industries. China, as a great construction country, also has advocated the implementation of lean construction technologies in recent years. However, the current status and extent of lean construction implementation in China have not been well-studied. The objectives of this research are: 1) to evaluate the extent of implementation of lean construction in China, and 2) to explore the influencing factors of lean construction in China's construction firms. In this paper, two construction firms with different sizes, organizational structure, business scope, and culture are evaluated. Data was collected from interviews, questionnaires, and meetings. The findings of this paper include: 1) different firms have different implementation levels of lean construction, and 2) the key determinates of lean construction implementation in China are the knowledge of lean construction, organizational structure and culture, and market factors.