A qualitative case study of construction managers’ understanding of lean thinking

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore how highway construction managers describe their understanding of lean thinking in the material selection, quality, and completion time of a project in the Northeast United States. The Japanese Toyota production system (TPS) security framework established by Taiichi Ohno provided the conceptual framework for this study. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to select 15 construction managers to participate in the study. Data were collected through open-ended, semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews, questionnaires, and asynchronous discussions through e-mails. Both inductive and deductive thematic analysis was used to analyze all the data gathered in the study. The following seven major themes emerged from the data relating to how highway construction managers describe their understanding of lean thinking in the material selection, quality, and the completion time of a project: (1) eradicating waste and improving efficiencies, (2) organizational change, (3) hazard and risk management, (4) value-based approach, (5) sustainability, (6) time and project management, and (7) maximizing profit and controlling inventory. The results indicated how construction managers describe their understanding of lean thinking in the material selection, quality, and the completion time of a project, and these could be understood through a combination of lean thinking concepts including continuous improvement 5s, and visual management.