08-010 LCJ Why isn’t the UK construction industry going lean….pdfVIP

Mossman, Alan (2009) “There really is another way, if only he could stop … for a moment and think of it”—Why isn’t the UK construction industry going lean with gusto?. Lean Construction Journal 2009 pp 24 - 36 Forum essay “There really is another way, 1 if only he could stop … for a moment and think of it” — Why isn’t the UK construction industry going lean with gusto? Alan Mossman2 Summary Even though there is now recognition that the Venice Arsenal (16C) and Henry Ford (Model T production line 1920s) were both precursors3, the idea of lean production didn’t become popular until the publication of Womak Jones’ The Machine that Changed the World in 1990. Six years later the more general idea of lean thinking received considerable publicity. In 1998 the Egan committee commended the UK construction industry to study and learn from colleagues in other sectors who were already applying lean. In parallel Lauri Koskela coined the term lean construction in 1992 and from 1993 the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) has met annually to discuss applications of lean to the end-to-end construction process (see ). Following a brief review of the definition of lean construction, this essay explores some of the reasons why there has not been more implementation of lean in UK construction over the decade since Egan and includes reference to experience elsewhere. Drawing extensively on anecdote and hearsay, this essay—it is not a research paper—is the start of a research process that I’d love others with the time the resources to complete to pick up. It concludes with a preliminary hypothesis and suggestions for rigorous research. Introduction I had a call one morning i