Construction Integration and Innovation through Lean Methods and E-Business Applications

During the past decade, manufacturing and service industries have greatly increased their levels of productivity, quality and profitability through the use of lean methods and information technology. Despite these advances, the majority of construction work is based on time-honored techniques, attended by fragmentation (due to increasing sub-contracting), supply-chain deficiencies and high defect rates. These factors typically result in wasted labor and materials. Estimates indicate that up to 30% of construction costs is lost to inefficiencies, mistakes, delays, and poor communications. As global competitiveness increases, so will the expectation of higher levels of productivity in the delivery of constructed facilities. Increasingly, customers in other industries expect their suppliers to be flexible, communicative, and responsive to their needs in today's fast-paced business environment. Construction organizations that fail to utilize the foregoing approaches will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. This paper proposes a combination of lean techniques and e-business approaches to overcome these shortcomings. A framework is proposed for providing technical support for lean methods and e-business applications, and for continuous improvement in the associated activities.