Construction projects involve the creation of a temporary organization consisting of a

number of individual organizations $($owners$,$ designers, contractors, subcontractors, and

suppliers, etc.$)$ brought together to execute a project. The adoption of the lean construction

methodology presents a paradigm shift for many organizations who have been accustomed

to traditional construction practices.

Lean construction is a holistic approach practiced by a team of construction individuals in

the pursuit of continuous improvements aimed at minimizing costs and maximizing value to

clients in all dimensions of the built and natural environment, including but not limited to:

planning, design, construction, activation, operations, maintenance, salvaging, and recycling.

With lean methods, performance is optimized at the project level, whereas traditional project

management methods attempt to increase total project performance by optimizing each

individual activity without regard to how it affects other trades and$/$or subcontractors.

While lean construction does not replace the project master schedule, or other tools that

define the overall work schedule, it does utilize better short$-$term planning and control that

improves the timely completion of job activities, and thereby reduces the variability of work

output associated with traditional methods. Through the use of The Last Planner$$ System

$($LPS$)$ developed by Greg Howell and Glenn Ballard, co$-$founders of the Lean Construction

Institute, foremen and crew leaders are empowered to determine the specific tasks that will

be performed during the following weeks, since they are the direct line supervisors closest to

the work environment and are more familiar with its relationship to each person$$s capabilities.

The $$Last Planner$$ System$$ concept emphasizes the need to have a continuous flow of work,

where workers are not waiting on work and work is not waiting on workers. Consequently

there is more cooperation and accountability among the crews to focus on the project goals

as one team as opposed to self$-$interest in their own work task.

The lean principles, methods, and tools utilize a higher degree of measurement than normally

required in the traditional construction management. While conventional project management

focuses on costs, lean construction also focuses on such things as the percent of planned

complete $($PPC$)$ and the variations that cause tasks to not be completed, utilizing value

stream mapping, supply chain and assembly, pull planning, and problem solving techniques to

eliminate waste in our construction operations. To accomplish this requires a cultural change

in behavior of the organization and its people. But one cannot force change on people. They

have to be motivated by the intrinsic satisfaction that comes from outstanding performance.

A$.$ Leadership Styles

Implementing lean construction principles requires a cultural shift for the company and the

team members using it$.$ It is not a $$magic pill$$ or a $$silver bullet$$ that will solve all of the

problems overnight. It is an operating system that must be supported by the leadership

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throughout the organization. To be successful with lean construction, Forbes and Ahmed $($pp$.$

$133-134)$ suggest the following conditions should be in place:

$+$ A willingness to change is essential

$+$ A commitment to training and learning

$+$ A quality$-$oriented culture

$+$ A shared vision of all stakeholders

$+$ A commitment to reducing all forms of waste as defined as actions and$/$or processes

that do not add value

$+$ A commitment to cost and performance measures

$+$ A willingness to include design stages in the lean operating process

$+$ Collaborative relationships

$+$ Utilizing information technology to effectively manage the construction process and

sharing information between the parties

The implementation of the lean construction methodology represents a paradigm shift

for many owners, designers, contractors, and suppliers who have been accustomed to

traditional construction management processes. For the project leadership team, i$.$e$.$ project

managers, superintendents, foreman, etc. Forbes and Ahmed $($pp$.136-137)$ suggest their

fundamental style of leadership may need to change to be effective in an integrated team

approach to management.

The primary responsibilities of lean leaders are:

$+$ Ensure processes are running as designed

$+$ Improve processes

$+$ Empower and develop people

Attributes or characteristics of lean leaders are:

$+$ Practice servant leadership

$+$ Be willing to learn and able to teach

$+$ Enable and celebrate the successes of others

B$.$ Team Collaboration

This change in leadership style is necessary to support the use of collaboration in an

integrated team environment. Real collaboration exists when individuals$/$organizations

forming a project team work together to the mutual benefit of the entire project by achieving

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