https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0261
Operationalizing lean project control through data-driven weekly reasoning
Eyob T. Mengiste1 & Borja Garcia de Soto2
1Instructor, Civil and Urban Engineering Program, Researcher, S.M.A.R.T Construction Research Group, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-4841-74762Associate Professor, Civil and Urban Engineering Program, Director, S.M.A.R.T Construction Research Group, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-9613-8105
Abstract
Lean construction emphasizes flow, pull-based planning, and continuous risk management; however, its practical implementation still is very labor-intense and relies heavily on periodic meetings, manual interpretation of fragmented data, and lagging indicators of project performance. This paper presents an automated operationalization framework for Lean project management decision-making. The framework fuses standard project documentations such as periodic site observations, structured textual reports, and approvals into a continuously updated temporal representation of the project state. This fusion of information is used to evaluate constraints and estimate the execution readiness level of tasks. Moreover, this framework helps project managers detect workflow disruptions and constraint-related risks and generate Lean-consistent execution alternatives. The paper provides the system architecture, data integration logic, and reasoning mechanisms, and validates the approach through an automated deployment over 16 consecutive weekly planning cycles of a real construction project, demonstrating its feasibility as an operational tool for Lean project control.
Keywords
MCTS, multi-armed bandits strategy, constraint management, LPS, lookahead.
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Reference in APA 7th edition format:
Mengiste, E. T. & Soto, B. G.. (2026). Operationalizing lean project control through data-driven weekly reasoning. 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. 214–226). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0261
Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:
Mengiste, E. T. & Soto, B. G.. (2026). Operationalizing lean project control through data-driven weekly reasoning. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0261
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