Teaching and Training Efforts of Academia and Industry Towards Lean Construction in India

Abstract

Lean construction is gaining traction in India. While there are a few companies which have become first movers and gained advantages of lean implementation in construction projects, there still are many companies which still need to adopt lean construction. At this juncture, the role of academia and industry is vital for accelerating lean implementation. However, the studies indicating lean teaching and training efforts are limited in the Indian context. Therefore, research is conducted to explore how Indian construction companies are adopting lean and how academia is contributing to lean construction, which is the aim of the study. Multiple research methods are used to obtain information on lean implementation. The results indicate that organisations have started lean implementation mainly for cost and time benefits, but there is a difference in training their employees and trade partners. Academia is teaching lean construction majorly as an elective than as a compulsory course. Further, measures to accelerate lean implementation in India are proposed. Overall, this paper presents the efforts of industry and academia towards lean implementation in India and is a source of information for construction companies in emerging and developing economies wishing to initiate the lean journey.