Developing and evaluating a framework for process improvement in an alliance project: a New Zealand case study

Abstract

‘Lean thinking’ holds out the promise of dramatic improvements in construction production processes, especially in waste minimization. While there exist empirical studies of ‘leanness’ with regard to non-relational-type projects, there is a need to analyse its applicability in relational contexts, such as an alliance. The application of ‘lean’ to a project alliance in a viaduct replacement in New Zealand is investigated here. The primary objective is to define a framework to streamline improvements in processes and to verify the applicability of the defined framework to a real construction alliance project. Participant observations, project documentation and action research meetings were used to collect data on the waste identification and elimination processes. The findings indicate that the construction work in a project alliance can be improved considerably by eliminating or reducing waste. Moreover, the savings are substantial, as the processes investigated were cyclic and repetitive. This framework is equally suited to waste detection and improvements at the site level. Project organizations should detect needs and opportunities for process change and transform processes accordingly. The current lack of any waste elimination technique, which could provide a significant competitive advantage for industry participants, has been established. Organizational conditions exist in project alliances that help to disseminate and sustain the lean concept.

Keywords:

• Action research
• alliance
• lean
• process improvement
• waste.