https://doi.org/10.24928/2021/0104

A Case-Based Study of Lean Culture Among South African Contractors

Fidelis Emuze¹ & Willem Mpembe²

¹Professor, and Head, Department of Built Environment, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-7714-4457
²Postgraduate Diploma Graduate, Department of Built Environment, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-8804-8206

Abstract

Problems such as low productivity, poor health and safety, poor working conditions, waste and insufficient quality, and poor performance are experienced in the South African construction industry. The call for change is necessary as South African construction is constrained by a lack of required skills and under-performing employees and management, which collectively generate waste on projects. However, lean construction (LC) concepts, tools and techniques could be used to resolve such problems that exist in South African construction. Thus, the study reported in this paper was undertaken to investigate how contractors could help to drive the implementation of lean construction in South Africa. A multi-casestudy research design was used to discover how contractors could addressimplementation problems by adopting a lean culture. The results from the study, obtained through crosscase analysis, showed that the contractors perceived that LC cannot be implemented so there is significant scope for tackling resistance to change through engaged LC education and training.

Keywords

Contractors, culture, leadership, lean construction, people

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Reference

Emuze, F. & Mpembe, W. 2021. A Case-Based Study of Lean Culture Among South African Contractors, Proc. 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) , 353-362. doi.org/10.24928/2021/0104

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