Lean-Sustainable Approach to Manage Production and Environmental Waste During the Construction Phase

Abstract

Conventionally, lean is applied to manage production waste (activities that exist in the production process but add no value to it) while sustainability is usually adopted to reduce environmental waste (excessive consumption of resources and substances released into the air, water, and land). The aim of this research is to develop a framework that can manage production and environmental waste in construction projects based on lean construction and sustainability. The research started exploring the problem through reviewing the literature extensively, resulting in two major problems. The first problem is related to the current understanding and management of waste in construction, where waste is mostly interpreted and addressed based on its final form. Accordingly, the first objective was designed to extend the concept of construction waste and enhance the current understanding of different types of waste and impacts from both lean and sustainability perspectives. The second problem is that production and environmental waste are managed separately in current construction management practices. While lean construction could manage production waste, and sustainability could improve the environmental performance in construction projects, integrating these two approaches would enhance the construction performance to a great extent. Accordingly, the second and third objectives of this research were designed to identify the relationship between production and environmental waste factors, and to develop a framework that can simultaneously address production and environmental waste during the construction phase. The research follows the steps of design science (constructive research) methodology. Data was collected by conducting systematic literature review, semi-structured interview, and worldwide questionnaire survey. On the basis of findings from these methods, the framework was developed which was then evaluated through experts’ interviews from lean construction and sustainability. Further, the framework was illustrated in a case example to test the flow of its components and workability to a real construction project. The findings of this research include providing a clearer understanding of waste in construction (from theory to practice), highlighting the relationship between production and environmental waste, and proposing a framework for managing both types of waste concurrently.