Evaluation and Background to Lean Construction Case Study

Evaluation and Background to Lean Construction - Case Study Example The ambition of the Task Force was to bring about a Radical change in all the industries and by their experience bring about efficiency and improvements within the construction environment which would benefit all. (Paragraphs 15, 16 and 18) Lean Construction, in general, refers to a construction that would help to maximize the customer’s needs whilst satisfying the necessary and required parameters and in doing so, using the minimum amount of resources (Howell 1999). It is actually the â€Å"physics† of construction mainly based on the principles of production management (Howell 1999). It refers to a whole new kind of project delivery system which can be utilized by any type of industry including construction though best suited for complex, uncertain and quick projects (Howell 1999). There are many definitions pertaining to Lean Construction. Some define it as a â€Å"way to design production systems to minimize waste of materials, time and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount of value† (Koskela et al. 2002). According to Koskela, the construction theory needed to be reviewed to centralize on optimizing the project by taking into account the flow of work between activities and the formation and release of value (Wright 2000). The Lean Project Delivery System (LPDS) and the Last Planner System of Production Control was developed by LCI where the principles pioneered in manufacturing were applied to construction (Pinch 2005). PDS's origins can be traced back to Lean Production Management which is a manufacturing approach brought into the limelight by Toyota Motor Company in the 1980s (Pinch 2005). The term was introduced by the Toyota engineer â€Å"Ohno† (Pinch 2005). His recommendation was to stop the production line instead of delivering a defective part downstream.  This approach resulted in streamlining the workflow, minimizing inventory and obtaining an up-graded end-product of good quality (Pinch 2005).  Ã‚