Barriers to lean construction implementation in Zimbabwe

Purpose: Increased waste during projects execution has led to time and cost overruns within the Zimbabwean construction projects industry. However, contextual barriers to lean construction implementation are yet to be established for derivation of effective remedies. The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that sought to determine barriers to lean construction implementation and assess the existence of statistically significant differences because of gender, designation and educational levels of respondents. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey was administered on construction professionals for the collection of quantitative data. Factor analysis was used to reveal interrelated significant sets of barriers to lean construction implementation. Non-parametric statistical methods were also used to determine significant differences because of demographic variables. Findings: Integration- and performance-related, human capital management–related, quality management–related barriers were determined as the highest-ranked of the nine significant components. Significant differences because of gender, designation and educational levels were non-existent for aggregated barriers, generally indicating consensus on the barriers. However, individual barriers showed inadequacies in management requirements for lean construction implementation from architects and those with diplomas and degrees. Research limitations/implications: The determination of barriers establishes the knowledge for construction policy evaluation for enhanced performance of the construction industry. However, because of the exploratory nature of this study, the insights of clients were not considered. Originality/value: Context-specific barriers to lean construction implementation were determined for consequent construction policy improvements in the construction industry.