Analyzing the empire state building project from the perspective of lean delivery system: A descriptive case study

The Empire State Building held the distinction for being the tallest building in the world for over 40 years since it was officially opened on May 1, 1931. In 20 months the building was designed, engineered, and constructed. In order to complete the Empire State Building under the schedule, the designers and the contractors in collaboration with other stakeholders of the project had employed a delivery method that bear close resemblances with lean delivery system. Interestingly, the Empire State Building was constructed at a time when the concept of "lean delivery systems" did not yet exist. The current article presents a descriptive case study of the delivery method of the Empire State Building project based on archival records and historical accounts. In the case study the authors have attempted to compare the delivery method with that of the lean delivery system and recognized similarities between the two. The current case study illustrates the ingenuity of the stakeholders of the Empire State Building project and should encourage practitioners to devise better production system to accomplish project goal.;The Empire State Building held the distinction for being the tallest building in the world for over 40 years since it was officially opened on May 1, 1931. In 20 months the building was designed, engineered, and constructed. In order to complete the Empire State Building under the schedule, the designers and the contractors in collaboration with other stakeholders of the project had employed a delivery method that bear close resemblances with lean delivery system. Interestingly, the Empire State Building was constructed at a time when the concept of "lean delivery systems" did not yet exist. The current article presents a descriptive case study of the delivery method of the Empire State Building project based on archival records and historical accounts. In the case study the authors have attempted to compare the delivery method with that of the lean delivery system and recognized similarities between the two. The current case study illustrates the ingenuity of the stakeholders of the Empire State Building project and should encourage practitioners to devise better production system to accomplish project goal.;