Lean Production Using Modular Construction: Study of the Ministry of Education's Projects in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Implementation of lean production theory into the construction industry represents a tremendous opportunity to improve productivity in construction and reduce waste. Lean production, first applied in Toyota’s manufacturing process, is based on the idea of making each machine produce small volumes of many part numbers, which leads to a wide variety of low-cost and high-quality products. Toyota produces different car models from the same platform by having many common parts that fit several models. The aim of this paper is to implement the lean principles used in the automotive industry into the construction industry by using modular construction. The idea of producing a small volume of many parts can be simulated in the construction industry. A case in which lean principles are implemented is the Ministry of Education’s projects in Saudi Arabia.