AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE MAIN BARRIERS TO LEAN CONSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTATION IN PERU

Abstract

Lean Construction (LC) has been implemented for 20 years in Peru in different types of projects: buildings, sanitary works, mining, sports infrastructure, and for the development of people, finding significant benefits after its implementation. However, some barriers make complicated Lean Construction from being applied in many projects in Peru. This research aims to identify and classify the obstacles that lead to poor implementation of Lean thinking. First, the study started with a literature review and consultation with six experts with more than ten years of experience in the implementation of Lean Construction in different types of projects, identifying thirty-two barriers to Lean Construction implementation, dividing the barriers into four types: culture barriers, technology barriers, lean philosophy, and other barriers. One hundred and twenty-four engineers from various projects are surveyed, and the main obstacles to Lean Construction implementation are ranked. The findings identified that "lack of government policies," "lack of alliances between academy and organizations," and "high use of time and cost with no return" are the main barriers related to the implementation of Lean. Research is the basis for generating a roadmap and lines of research.