A lean approach to construction: an historical case study

The paper outlines a case study revealing the early employment of flow principles in construction. Insights are gathered with a view to assist present-day efforts to adopt alternative management approaches in construction, such as lean production and just-in-time. The case is that of Jennings, previously one of the largest house-building organisations in Australia. Concurrent with Toyota'™s development of lean production, including the just-in-time production method, Jennings employed some of the principles to which lean ideas are attributed. Their practices included the use of flow production, supply-chains, standardised design approach, unitary production, and quality measurement. Jennings'™ practices are reviewed and the way in which the organisation initially adapted them to the characteristic conditions of construction examined. Further the circumstances surrounding the dilution of these principles, an act which has partly led to the novelty of lean approaches in construction today, are reviewed.