Developing a tool to assess workers' understanding of lean concepts in construction

Abstract

In order to reap the benefits of Lean Construction, construction companies should integrate, empower and enable all personnel involved in the construction process whether on or off site. As such, construction workers need to be trained on lean construction concepts and principles. The purpose of this paper is to develop a tool to assess the workers' understanding of Lean concepts in construction. In this paper, the lean construction concepts are categorized into eight main areas: planning and control, standardization, pull production, wastes, kaizen, site organization, quality and safety. A lean construction worker knowledge profile was formulated based on the aforementioned categories. This profile encompasses all the knowledge, information, and lean background that a construction worker should distinguish, utilize and harness on the construction site. This lean profile formed the basis for a survey tool conducted on different construction sites in Lebanon to test its efficacy in identification areas of weaknesses in understanding lean principles as the lever of consruciton workers. Out of the eight categories, the workers lacked mainly the required acquaintance in pull production and waste. As a result, training exercises and games are recommended to instill lean construction concepts in the everyday behaviour, practice and job performance of construction workers.