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

https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0221

Evaluation categories to measure the lean adoption for organizations

Nozomi James Hirata1, Robert Leicht2 & John Messner3

1PhD Candidate, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0009-0006-7121-2838
2Professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-6705-8141
3Charles and Elinor Matts Professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, Director, Computer Integrated Construction (CIC) Research Group, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-7957-1628

Abstract

There have been several assessment tools developed to evaluate the adoption of lean in construction industry organizations, but there is no generally accepted approach to consistently measure the adoption. Further, the existing models lack structure and use limited reference to the existing models outside of the construction domain. Some models have also excluded the involvement of industry experts in the development and evaluation process. Capability maturity models have been found to be a valuable approach for self-assessment, continuous improvement, and benchmarking. This study aims to formally identify categories for lean organization adoption as a foundational step to create a maturity model to evaluate the lean maturity of an organization. The authors found a total of 214 different categories in the literature and subsequently grouped, removed, and refined them with assistance from lean experts. This analysis yielded a total of 33 potential categories. These categories were then rated by industry experts to determine their inclusion in the maturity model. Future work will include developing a model, validating it, and disseminating the maturity model to the community.

Keywords

Lean construction, continuous improvement/Kaizen, standardization, organization maturity.

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Reference in APA 7th edition format:

Hirata, N. J., Leicht, R. & Messner, J.. (2026). Evaluation categories to measure the lean adoption for organizations. 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. 1145–1155). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0221

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

Hirata, N. J., Leicht, R. & Messner, J.. (2026). Evaluation categories to measure the lean adoption for organizations. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0221

 

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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