34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) - Singapore, Singapore - 2026

https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0192

Accelerating construction of public infrastructures leveraging lean concepts: a case study

Dr Subhash Rastogi1, Manoranjan Misra2, Narendra Kumar Ghadai3 & Tony Jacob4

1Retired Professor, IIM Mumbai, India, [email protected], orcid.org/0009-0008-8756-3071
2Former Engineer-in-Chief and Special Secretary, Govt of Odisha, India, [email protected], orcid.org/0009-0000-1849-8909
3Superintending Engineer, Works Department, Govt of Odisha, India, [email protected], orcid.org/0009-0001-3386-0192
4Director, Constask Management Solutions LLP, India, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-6393-6787

Abstract

Public infrastructure projects often face schedule overruns due to fragmented planning, poor coordination, and weak workflow reliability. This paper presents a Lean Construction case study from India involving the construction of a 650-bed government teaching hospital, developed as an academic extension to an existing medical college. The project was part of a programme comprising four identical hospital facilities. After delays of nearly fifteen months, a pilot Lean intervention was initiated on one hospital. The intervention shifted project control from traditional quantity-based monitoring to modular and sub-modular workflow planning using physically measurable work packages. Constraint management was prioritised, and repetitive work patterns across floors and building zones were systematically analysed. Lean planning was implemented through structured monthly, weekly, and daily collaborative planning cycles involving contractors, the Project Management Office (PMO), and client representatives, aligned with the Last Planner System®. The outcomes included improved workflow reliability, effective debottlenecking of critical finishing activities, and enhanced coordination across project stakeholders. The pilot hospital was completed nearly three months ahead of the remaining projects without any increase in budget. The study demonstrates the practical applicability of Lean principles in public sector infrastructure projects characterised by complexity and multiple interfaces.

Keywords

Collaborative Planning System, Last Planner System®, workflow, constraint management, production.

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Reference in APA 7th edition format:

Rastogi, D. S., Misra, M., Ghadai, N. K. & Jacob, T.. (2026). Accelerating construction of public infrastructures leveraging lean concepts: a case study. In Hamzeh, F., Poshdar, M., & Garcia-Lopez,, N. P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) (pp. 1076–1086). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0192

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

Rastogi, D. S., Misra, M., Ghadai, N. K. & Jacob, T.. (2026). Accelerating construction of public infrastructures leveraging lean concepts: a case study. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0192

 

Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

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