Construction RESEARCH ARTICLE

Economics and
Building
Lean Construction Implementation in the
Saudi Arabian Construction Industry
Vol. 17, No. 1
March 2017 Jamil Ghazi Sarhan1, Bo Xia2, Sabrina Fawzia1, Azharul Karim2
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology,
1 

Australia
2 
Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Corresponding author: Jamil Ghazi Sarhan, School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment,
Queensland University of Technology, Australia. GPO Box 2434, Brisbane QLD 4001.
jamilghazii.sarhan@hdr.qut.edu.au

© 2017 by the author(s). This DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5130/AJCEB.v17i1.5098

is an Open Access article Article History: Received 26/07/2016; Revised 06/12/2016; Accepted 26/02/2017;
distributed under the terms Published 31/03/2017
of the Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) License (https://
creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), allowing Abstract
third parties to copy and
redistribute the material in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has witnessed a huge increase in construction during the
any medium or format and to last two decades. However, many projects experienced time delays, cost overruns and the
remix, transform, and build generation of massive amounts of waste. To address these challenges, lean construction
upon the material for any
has been introduced into the Saudi construction industry; however, it is still in its infancy.
purpose, even commercially,
provided the original work is This study therefore investigates the current state of lean construction implementation in
properly cited and states its the construction industry in the KSA. The objectives are to identify: the types of construction
license. waste, level of use of tools that support the implementation of lean construction, stages
of application of lean methods, and the benefits of lean construction. To achieve these
Citation: Sarhan, J.G., Xia,
objectives, a structured questionnaire survey of 282 construction professionals was carried
B., Fawzia, S. & Karim, A.
out. After the analysis of the collected data using mean score and Anova test, the following
2017. Lean Construction
Implementation in the Saudi conclusions were made. In the construction industry in the KSA, waiting is the most common
Arabian Construction Industry. type of waste, while Computer Aided Design (CAD) is the conventional tool supporting the
Construction Economics and implementation of lean construction. Furthermore, the data suggests that lean construction
Building, 17:1, 46-69. http:// is most commonly used in the construction stage of projects while customer satisfaction is
dx.doi.org/10.5130/AJCEB.
the main benefit derived from lean construction practices. This study concludes that the level
v17i1.5098
of implementation of lean construction in the KSA construction industry is increasing. The
ISSN 2204-9029 | Published by results will help benchmark the current state of lean construction implementation, which will
UTS ePRESS | ajceb.epress. enable the construction industry to identify strategies to implement lean construction in Saudi
lib.uts.edu.au Arabia in accordance with their needs and project goals, to achieve better productivity.

46 DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTEREST The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. FUNDING The author(s) received no
financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Keywords
Construction waste, lean Construction, lean construction tools, Saudi Arabian
construction industry

Introduction
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has experienced an unprecedented rise in construction
projects during the last twenty years (Ikediashi, Ogunlana and Alotaibi, 2014). Thus, the
Saudi construction industry is booming, with the current expenditure rising to more than
US$120 billion a year (Alrashed et al., 2014). Currently, the kingdom’s construction industry
encompasses 15% of its workforce and consumes more than 14% of the country’s energy
(Dhahran International Exhibition Company, 2015). However, construction projects in the
KSA normally have poor performance, which is mainly due to huge time and cost overruns
(Assaf and Al-Hejji, 2006). Furthermore, massive environmental waste is also generated by the
construction industry and the Saudi government issued a decree that requires all construction
companies to meet new resource consumption standards to minimize the impact of waste
in the construction industry (McCullough, 2014). In addition, there has been an increase
in occurrences of buildings collapsing before reaching the end of their expected lifespan
(AMEInfor, 2014). The Saudi Council of Engineers report that the average lifespan of a Saudi
building is between 25 and 50 years, compared to the 100 years observed in other countries
(AMEInfor, 2014).
To address these challenges, lean construction has been introduced into the Saudi
construction industry, and several contractors have realized the significance of implementing
lean construction (AlSehaimi, Tzortzopoulos and Koskela, 2009). The lean construction
concept is based on the Toyota Production System (TPS), which has been transformed into
a newly systemized construction method. It aims to complete a project that meets customers’
requirements through waste reduction. It also emphasizes that every process within the
construction project is critical for the improvement of the project, considering the integrated
approaches such as lean and green (Banawi, 2013). Lean construction also minimizes the
direct cost of effective project delivery management and assists construction managers in
making informed project decisions at all levels of the project. Furthermore, lean construction
promotes continuous improvement by encouraging reflection on lessons learned (Lehman and
Reiser, 2000).
However, lean construction in Saudi Arabia is still in its infancy. The implementation of
lean construction concepts in complex projects has not yet begun. Due to the lack of lean
construction adoption in the KSA, which has been constrained by various factors such as poor
equipment, an unskilled workforce, and ineffective planning, it is hard to conduct effective
research in this area (AlSehaimi, Tzortzopoulos and Koskela, 2009). To increase the awareness
and understanding of the lean concept in the Saudi Arabian construction industry, an overview
of the current status quo of lean construction application is urgently required. However, no
such studies exist in the current body of knowledge due to the lack of real data or empirical
information in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the lack of a comprehensive overview of lean
construction implementation in Saudi Arabia also prevents more in-depth studies in this area.
Therefore, this study aims to provide an understanding of the implementation of lean
construction in the KSA construction industry. Through a structured questionnaire survey
of 282 construction professionals in the construction industry in the KSA, this study mainly
investigates (1) major types of waste, (2) the current tools/techniques that support the

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

implementation of lean construction, (3) stages of application of lean methods, and (4) the
benefits of lean construction. This study will enable stakeholders such as project owners,
contractors, consultants, vendors, and the government to have a clear picture of the level of
implementation of lean construction in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. In addition,
this study provides a platform from which to conduct further studies of lean construction, and
promote its application in the construction market in Saudi Arabia.

Literature review
LEAN CONSTRUCTION
The term “lean” originated from the Toyota Production System (TPS) developed in the 1990s.
It describes the strategy that the company adopted to enhance production and consumption
efficiency of its auto goods and services (Ahrens, 2006; Howell and Ballard, 1998; Womack
and Jones, 2003). The concept of lean has its foundation in the deployment of reproducible
activities by Fredrick Winslow Taylor (Taylor’s theory) and its best historical implementation
was based on Henry Ford’s conveyor belt invention that led to mass production observed
in the 19th century (Vieira and Cachadinha, 2011). A major shift in the philosophy of
manufacturing then occurred in Japan in 1949 when Toyota sales dwindled forcing them
to retrench many their workers after the company’s evaluation showed that Taylor’s mass
production was insufficient and thus had to be reviewed and revised (Ahrens, 2006). This led to
the introduction of the Toyota Production System (TPS), which resulted in the establishment
of lean production in the 1990s. The Toyota Production System was applied together with
Total Quality Control (TQC) and was meant to reduce waste and causes of manufacturing
defects (Anvari, Ismail and Hojjati, 2011). The same concept has been adopted in the western
world with the term ‘lean thinking’ (Womack and Jones, 1996). Furthermore, the construction
and manufacturing industries have borrowed it, hence the terms “lean construction” and “lean
manufacturing” respectively.
Lean construction involves ways of designing production systems to minimize waste
in materials, time, and human effort, with the aim of generating maximum cost-effective
value (Howell, 1999; Pinch, 2005). It is concerned with a holistic pursuit of concurrent and
continuous improvements in the design, construction, activation, maintenance, salvaging and
recycling in building projects (Howell, 1999). The term ‘lean construction’ was coined by the
International Group for Lean Construction at its first meeting in 1993 (Howell, 1999). Lean
construction could be in the form of setting milestones and strategy identification of long
lead items, specifying hand offs and identifying operational conflicts, and making work ready
planning to ensure that work is made ready for installation; re-planning as necessary (Aziz
and Hafez, 2013). This system advocates identifying the root causes of waste, removing those
causes with related tools and techniques, and encouraging the prevention of waste rather than
reactively attempting to overcome the negative effects of loss (Lapinski, Horman and Riley,
2006; Womack and Jones, 2003).
There are five main principles of lean construction which help to bring production
effectiveness in construction (Howell, 1999). These principles were initially specified by
(Womack and Jones, 1996), as essential for lean thinking. First, the value of the construction
is identified based on the views of the customer. Second, value streams are generated based
on the delivery value. Third, the removal of waste by various processes influences the flows
within work processes. Fourth, the creation of a system of pull production ensures the system
does not allow delivery of materials until they are needed. Fifth, the recognizing or pursuing

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

of perfection helps to improve systems and processes and this needs to be constantly sought.
These five principles are the principles for the optimization of the system from which a
common spirit flows (Kumar et al., 2013).
Lean construction is reported to lead to increased quality and productivity in the
construction industry. For instance, Forbes and Ahmed (2011) reported that the
implementation of lean construction concepts increased the quality and productivity of
construction projects by about 77%. Lean construction results in improved working conditions
at the construction sites by decreasing physical and psychological stress (Alwi, 2003). Lean
construction enhances work flow by reducing upstream variability, which could be achieved
via improved project coordination amongst others (Abdelhamid and Salem, 2005; Vieira and
Cachadinha, 2011).
The adoption of lean construction by AEC firms is still in a transition phase (Sarhan and
Fox, 2012) due to lack of understanding about lean thinking concepts and its implementation
in construction, along with structural (from an organization perspective) and cultural barriers.
Institutional waste, focusing on dynamics of systems and relationships within organizations,
has more influence on lean construction implementation (Sarhan, Pasquire and King,
2014). It is argued that relationships can be generated among lean project management and
conventional methods through restructuring for enhancement of organizational integration
(Ballard and Tommelein, 2012). However, organizational culture plays vital role for such
integrations. Furthermore, traditional approaches present significant barriers to adopting
innovative approaches such as lean construction (Forbes and Ahmed, 2011). There is a need for
more empirical evidence to align the lean construction theory to maximise the benefits of lean
thinking concepts (Sarhan and Fox, 2013).
Currently there exists a variety of lean tools and techniques, including the Last Planner
System, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Standardized Work, The 5S process, Kaizen, Total
Quality Management (TQM), increased visualization, Fail Safe for Quality and Safety, Daily
Huddle Meetings, First run studies, The Five Why’s, Just in Time ( JIT), Plan of Conditions
and Work Environment in the Construction Industry (PCMAT), Concurrent Engineering,
Pull ‘kanban’ system, Error Proofing (Poka-yoke), Target value design (TVD), Partnering,
Total Productive maintenance (TPM), Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Six Sigma.
Table 1 shows the summary of lean tools/techniques that support the implementation of lean
construction processes.
The concept of waste in construction is still evolving. Viana, Formoso and Kalsaas (2012)
reported that the effort of the construction management community for understanding waste
is relatively small, compared to other topics, and many studies about waste have focused on the
consequences, not on the root causes that should be avoided. Waste is normally understood in
two dimensions, i.e. instrumentally and intrinsically, with the main aim to reduce or eliminate
for performance improvement (Koskela, Sacks and Rooke, 2012). These interpretations
of waste are different in construction which requires empirical justification, conceptual
compatibility, persuasiveness, and motivation for action (Koskela and Bølviken, 2013).
Creating value and only value is the best way to reduce waste in design and construction
(Mossman, 2009).
Many studies have identified the causes of waste in construction projects. Ohno (1988) suggests
that the causes of waste are related to over production, waiting, transportation, over processing,
inventory, movement, and defects. Macomber and Howell (2004) revealed that under-utilized
human potential is a cause of waste, while Koskela (2004) added making-do. Making-do is the
circumstance in which the task is begun without all the required standard inputs. Input here refers

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Table 1  Summary of the lean tools/techniques that support the implementation of

lean construction

Lean Tools/Techniques Definition References

The Last Planner System To achieve lean goals (Lehman and Reiser,
(LPS) of reducing waste, 2000; Watson, 2003);
increasing productivity, (Ballard and Howell,
and decreasing 1994; Salem et al., 2005)
unpredictability,
mainly through a social
process, by trying
to make planning a
mutual attempt and by
increasing the reliability
of the commitment
of team members. In
construction, LPS was
a method that forms
workflow and deals with
project variability.
Value Stream Mapping This tool establishes (Arleroth and
(VSM) the current state of the Kristensson, 2011)
construction process or
supply chain to identify
the wastes. The future
state helps to develop
improvement strategies.
Standardized Work Flexible regimentation (Toussaint and Berry,
lean construction tool 2013)
involving the development
of a common way for
performing specific
construction processes
based on the available
evidence.
The 5S Process The 5Ss are sorting, (Umstot, 2013)
straightening, shining,
standardizing, and
sustaining the facilities
and processes used
in construction. The
5S process increases
the productivity of the
project since it reduces
the time spent searching
for supplies, tools, and
equipment etc.

Table 1 continues on the next page

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Table 1  (Continued)

Lean Tools/Techniques Definition References

Kaizen The Japanese word for (Sniegowski, 2013)
continual improvement,
Kaizen promotes the
idea that every process
can and should be
continually evaluated
and improved in terms
of time required,
resources used,
resultant quality, and
other aspects relevant to
the process.
Total Quality Management Most of the substantial (CEC, 2005; Marosszeky
tools used to et al., 2002)
address construction
performance issues are
based on the concept of
plan-do-act. Functions
involve identification
and evaluation of the
problem, developing,
and implementing
solutions, and evaluating
and measuring the
results.
Increased visualization Communicating key (Conte and Gransberg,
information effectively 2001; Salem et al., 2005)
to the workforce through
posting various signs
and labels around
the construction site;
workers can remember
elements such as
workflow, performance
targets, and specific
required actions if they
repeatedly see them.
Fail Safe for Quality and This is a lean (Ogunbiyi, 2014)
Safety construction tool that
ensures no harm or
minimum is sustained
in the event of specific
failures.

Table 1 continues on the next page

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Table 1  (Continued)

Lean Tools/Techniques Definition References

Daily Huddle Meetings These are held (Adamu and Hamid, 2012;
to obtain the full Aziz and Hafez, 2013;
involvement of Ogunbiyi, 2014; Salem et
employees in issues al., 2005)
regarding the project
and to encourage
employees to solve
problems together.
Two-way communication
is the key to the daily
huddle meeting process
to achieve employee
involvement.
First run studies First-run studies are (Aziz and Hafez, 2013;
utilized to remodel Ballard and Howell, 1997;
important tasks. Ogunbiyi, 2014)
Operations are
scrutinized thoroughly,
and ideas and
suggestions are raised to
explore alternative ways
of doing the task. The
PDCA (plan, do, check,
and act) cycle is used
to build up the first-run
study.
The Five Why’s This is the lean (Aziz and Hafez, 2013; El-
construction iterative- Kourd, 2009; Nielsen and
question-asking Tezel, 2013)
technique that
elucidates “cause-and-
effect” mechanisms
associated with a
problem. It is a problem-
solving tool that aims
to find the root cause
of a construction-
related issue or
problem. The questions
are usually specific
to the project and
are not limited to five
questions.

Table 1 continues on the next page

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Table 1  (Continued)

Lean Tools/Techniques Definition References

Just in Time (JIT) JIT in lean construction is a (Ogunbiyi, 2014)
tool that ensures reduced
flow times: production
times and response times
(end-to-end or between
contractors and clients).
JIT may include demand-
flow or continuous-flow.
Plan of Conditions and This is a lean (Aziz and Hafez, 2013;
Work Environment in the construction tool that Ogunbiyi, 2014)
Construction Industry assures occupation safety
and health management.
It manages safety
requirements through the
risk management cycle
consisting of continuous
identification of risk,
evaluation, and control.
Concurrent Engineering This is an improved (Ballard and Howell,
design process 2003; Koskela, 1992;
characterized by rigorous 1994)
upfront requirements
analysis, incorporating
the constraints of
subsequent phases into
the conceptual phase,
and tightening of change
control towards the end
of the design process.
Pull ‘kanban’ system The pull systems are a (Arbulu, Ballard and
lean approach developed Harper, 2003; Team,
in the automotive industry 2002)
as a mechanism to pull
materials and parts
throughout the value
stream on a JIT basis.
The Productivity Press
Development Team
(2002) mentioned that the
Japanese word “Kanban”
means ‘card’ or ‘sign’ and
is the name given to the
inventory control card
used in a pull system.

Table 1 continues on the next page

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Table 1  (Continued)

Lean Tools/Techniques Definition References

Error Proofing (Poka- Poka-yoke is a Japanese (Abdelhamid and Salem,
yoke) word which can be 2005; Conner, 2009)
defined as “error-
proofing”. Shingo
introduced Poka-yoke
devices as new elements
to avoid defective parts
from flowing through
the process. It is a lean
tool that engages all
forms of activities and
devices that could help
avoid an error from
happening.
Target value design (TVD) This approach applies (Miron, Kaushik and
methods for the design Koskela, 2015)
to be developed in
accordance with the
constraints, especially
cost (e. ‘deign-to-cost’ or
‘design-to-targets’. TVD
considers the customers’/
clients’ and stakeholders’
vision to define such
restrictions and deliver
the required target
values.
Partnering This approach lead (Barlow, 1996)
to collaboration and
open exchange of
information which
implies a potentially
radical change in the
management practices
and organisational
structures.

Table 1 continues on the next page

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Table 1  (Continued)

Lean Tools/Techniques Definition References

Total Productive This tool as an integrated (Al-Aomar, 2012; Asay
maintenance (TPM) approach to maintenance and Wisdom, 2002)
that focuses on proactive
and preventative
maintenance to maximize
the operational time of
equipment, TPM blurs
the distinction between
maintenance and
production by placing
a strong emphasis on
empowering operators
to help maintain their
equipment.
Computer Aided Design In this approach, (Diekmann et al., 2004;
(CAD) engineering designs Khanzode, Fischer and
may be created and Reed, 2005)
tested using computer
simulations and then
transferred directly to the
production floor where
the machinery uses the
information to perform
production functions.
Six Sigma An organized and (Linderman et al., 2003)
systematic method
for strategic process
improvement and new
product and service
development that relies
on statistical methods and
scientific method to make
dramatic reductions in the
customer defined defect
rates.

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

to machinery, personnel, tools, external conditions, instructions, and so on. Additionally, Bossink
and Brouwers (1996) defined significant causes of construction waste into six sources: residual,
operational, materials handling, procurement, design, and other sources that may not add value
to the project. Furthermore, Garas, Anis and El Gammal (2001) classified waste under two main
headings; first, material-related waste, namely over-ordering, over-production, mishandling, bad
storage, manufacturing defects, and theft and vandalism. Second, waste as related to time, such as
waiting, stoppages, clarifications, variations in information, rework, errors, and interaction between
various specialists. Other studies have identified the most frequent types of waste in construction
(Aziz and Hafez, 2013; Engineers Australia, 2012; Koskela, 2004). In no specific order, these are:
Waiting (on people, information, material), Corrections (re-work), Transportation (haulage and
soluble handling), Motion, Over-processing (wrong methods), Inventory (storage), over production
(building ahead of time) and Making do.

Research method
To investigate the implementation of lean construction in the Saudi Arabian construction
market, a broad questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the extent to which
lean construction tools and techniques have penetrated the industry. The questionnaire was
designed to include two major sections. The first section obtains general information about the
respondents, and the second (main) part attempts to find the answers of following questions:

1. What are the major types of waste in the Saudi construction industry?
2. What is the level of use of lean tools and techniques in the KSA construction industry?
3. In which stages is lean construction implemented the KSA construction industry?
4. What are the benefits of implementing lean construction in the KSA construction
industry?

A total of 800 questionnaires were dispatched to individuals involved in the construction

industry, and 282 responses were received, representing a response rate of 35%. The survey
was started in March 2015 in Saudi Arabia. The potential respondents were approached in
two ways. First, an online questionnaire survey using Survey Monkey was conducted with
members of the Saudi Council of Engineers that included Suppliers, Specialty Contractors,
General Contractors, subcontractors, Architects, Project Managers, and Clients. An invitation
letter and questionnaire was sent to Saudi Council of Engineers first to seek their assistance
with the questionnaire survey. Thereafter, the Saudi Council of Engineers helped by sending
the survey request to its members, which resulted in 155 respondents returning their
completed questionnaires. Second, hardcopy questionnaires were sent out to 300 individuals
from contracting companies, consulting companies, academics, government, and clients.
This strategy resulted in an additional 127 respondents returning completed questionnaires.
The respondents provided information on the implementation of lean construction in their
individual projects, which was analysed and will be presented in the following sections.

Results and analysis

Figure 1 presents the background information of 282 respondents, including their
organization, experience, education background, organization or company size based on the
number of employees, approximate annual revenue (for the year 2014) of their company, and
the status of their ISO certification.

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Figure 1  Respondents’ organization profile

Figure 2  Respondents’ profile

The respondents involved in the survey were architects, clients, general contractors,
suppliers, project managers, academics, and government officials. Most respondents were from
project management companies (39%) and general contractors (23%), followed by design
consultant companies (10%) and specialty contractors (9%). The diversity of their professional
backgrounds will help to provide a balanced view for the research topic.
In this study, companies were categorized into small (less than 200 employees), medium
(201–1000 employees), and large (more than 1000 employees). The results showed that 24%
of the respondents were from small companies, 20% from medium companies, and 46% from
large companies. Additionally, company size was also analysed regarding approximate annual
revenue (financial year 2014), revealing that 9% of companies made less than US $2 million,
17% made between US $4 million to US $20 million, and 36% of companies had a revenue
of more than US $20 million. These results confirm that large companies dominate the Saudi
Arabian construction industry.
The International Standard Organization (ISO) certifies organizations based on proven
credibility and quality, especially on products or services that meet customers’ expectations.
The analysis of the status of ISO certification of the Saudi Arabian construction companies
showed that nearly half of the organizations have acquired the certification, significantly
higher than those that have not acquired the certification (17%).
In Figure 2, educational background and professional/work experience for most respondents
found they were highly educated (74% have bachelor degree) and experienced (75% have more
than 5 years’ experience), which will ensure the reliability of the research results

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Data analysis
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE
This section shows the results of the data analysis of the types of construction waste in the
Saudi Arabian construction industry. As shown in Table 2, “Waiting” has the highest mean
value of 3.58 and is ranked first. This is closely followed by “Making do” with a mean value of
3.43 and thus ranked second. From the rear, “over production” is ranked lowest with an overall
mean of 2.96. Except for over production (mean score = 2.96), all types of waste have a mean
score higher than 3.00. This suggests that they are very common in the construction industry
in the KSA.
ANOVA statistical tests were employed to examine whether the types of waste are
significantly different between “large” and “small and medium” construction companies.
Table 2 shows that except for over-processing and over production, P-values for other types of
waste are greater than the significant value of 0.05, showing that the null hypothesis is valid,
which means there is no statistically significant difference in types of waste between large and
small-to-medium companies.
As the P-values for “Over processing” and “Over production” are 0.002 and 0.027
respectively, and less than the significance level of 0.05, the null hypothesis is thus rejected.
Over processing is a result of the implementation of the wrong methods. For example, in
design process, over engineering is considered as over processing; likewise, in the construction
stage, stockpiling excess material for concreting near plant or mixer causing double handling
(for arrangement of materials) does not contributing to a good outcome i.e. a batch of concrete
for a specific pour at a given time. Similarly, over production is the production of building
ahead of time and more than is required (Bertelsen and Koskela, 2002). These types of waste
are more significant for smaller companies as they have limited resources compared to large
companies with large production units. Thus, the percentage of waste in large companies from
these two types is relatively small compared to overall production.

Table 2   Types of waste in the Saudi Arabian construction industry

Types of Waste Overall S.D. Rank Small and Rank Large Rank ANOVA
Mean Medium companies
companies p-value
Waiting 3.58 1.14 1 3.49 1 3.56 1 0.076
Making do 3.43 1.94 2 3.44 2 3.45 2 0.670
Corrections 3.38 1.13 3 3.30 4 3.37 3 0.096
Transportation 3.38 1.09 4 3.42 3 3.34 5 0.852
Motion 3.28 1.16 5 3.23 5 3.35 4 0.661
Over- 3.25 1.14 6 3.14 6 3.21 6 0.002*
processing
Inventory 3.04 1.15 7 3.23 5 2.88 7 0.046
Over 2.96 1.17 8 3.14 6 2.76 8 0.027*
Production
Note: 1= Strongly Disagree to 5= Strongly Agree

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

These two types of waste are similar for both small-to-medium and large companies but the
nature of type is different. Poor management practice is a key reason for over processing and
overproduction. Furthermore, poor quality control and lack of a quality assurance system play
a vital role.

LEVEL OF USE OF TOOLS THAT SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LEAN

CONSTRUCTION
Even though it has already been established that lean construction methods are important for
achieving beneficial results, it is important to understand the different levels of implementation
of these methods. Table 4 shows how often different lean methods are implemented in the
current Saudi Arabian construction industry. Results obtained are consistent with previous
studies such as by Gao and Low (2014), which indicates that the adoption of lean/techniques
in the construction industry is very prolonged. Forbes and Ahmed (2011), suggest this is
because of the averse-to-change nature of the construction industry.
As shown in Table 3, 12 tools/techniques have mean ≥3.0, while the other 5 tools/techniques
have a mean value of <3.00. Therefore, this is taken to mean that 12 tools/techniques are
important for supporting the implementation of lean construction in the construction industry
in the KSA. They are computed aided design (mean value = 3.97), preventative maintenance
(mean value = 3.60), safety improvement program (mean value = 3.60), visual inspection (mean
value = 3.55), continuous improvement program (mean value = 3.35), daily huddle meetings
(mean value = 3.34) and Total quality management (mean value = 3.23). Others are Use of
prefabricated material (mean value = 3.18), Target value design (mean value = 3.15), concurrent
engineering (mean value = 3.14), Just-in-time (mean value = 3.12) and Plan of Conditions and
Work Environment in the Construction Industry (mean value = 3.12). From the rear, Six sigma
and Kanban are ranked at the bottom of list by both small and large construction companies, as
they are not popular and are rarely used by construction professionals.
ANOVA tests were conducted to evaluate whether there is a significant difference in the
use of the tools between large and small-to-medium companies. Of all the tools identified in
Table 3, the result reveals that only the use of the Safety Improvement Program is significantly
different between large and small with p-value <0.05 (0.020). The reason for the difference
between both types of companies can be attributed to the high-level focus on safety in large
companies, but not in small companies who are usually contracted to execute small projects in
the KSA. The other tools have p-values >0.05 (Table 3) indicating that there is no significant
difference in their use to support the implementation of lean construction in both large and
small-to-medium companies.

STAGES OF APPLICATION OF LEAN METHODS IN THE KSA CONSTRUCTION

INDUSTRY
There are different stages in any construction project: planning, design, construction, operation
and maintenance, commissioning, and handover. Mehta, Scarborough and Armpriest (2008)
describe stages of construction project delivery. The planning stage is where the proposed
project is defined in terms of its function, purpose, scope, size, and economics. The design
stage is where the client’s design concept is produced graphically for visualisation and
appreciation. The construction stage is where the project design by architects or engineers is
realised by assembling the elements that make up the design. The commissioning/handover
stage indicates the practical completion of a project and the handover by the constructor to
the client. Usually, a commissioning professional is assigned to check whether the proposed

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Table 3   Level of use of tools that support the implementation of lean construction

Tools Overall S.D. Rank Small to Rank Large Rank ANOVA

Mean medium companies
p-value
companies
Computer-aided 3.97 1.55 1 4.04 1 3.92 1 0.747
design
Preventive 3.60 1.41 2 3.47 4 3.66 3 0.309
maintenance
Safety 3.60 1.40 3 3.55 3 3.77 2 0.020*
improvement
program
Visual inspection 3.55 1.44 4 3.62 2 3.49 4 0.783
Continuous 3.35 1.43 5 3.29 6 3.32 5 0.274
improvement
programs
Daily huddle 3.34 1.36 6 3.28 7 3.31 6 0.272
meetings
Total quality 3.23 1.47 7 3.15 8 3.25 7 0.566
management
Use of 3.18 1.68 8 3.33 5 3.16 12 0.145
prefabricated
materials
Target value 3.15 1.56 9 3.08 11 3.18 10 0.786
design
Concurrent 3.14 1.53 10 3.14 9 3.18 11 0.796
engineering
Just-in-time 3.12 1.52 11 3.12 10 3.06 14 0.509
techniques
Plan of 3.12 1.50 12 2.95 12 3.25 8 0.219
Conditions
and Work
Environment in
the Construction
Industry
Computerised 2.98 1.72 13 2.78 15 3.20 9 0.140
planning system
or ERP
Last planner 2.96 1.50 14 2.87 13 3.04 15 0.631
system
Information 2.96 1.70 15 2.76 16 3.16 13 0.181
management
system
Table 3 continues on the next page

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Table 3   (Continued)

Tools Overall S.D. Rank Small to Rank Large Rank ANOVA

Mean medium companies
p-value
companies
5S 2.85 1.71 16 2.82 14 2.84 16 0.840
Six Sigma 2.48 1.69 17 2.45 17 2.58 17 0.352
Kanban 1.93 1.61 18 1.80 18 1.99 18 0.408
Note: 1= Never to 5= Always

Table 4 Stages of application of lean methods in the KSA construction industry

  Overall S.D. Rank Small Rank Large Rank ANOVA

Mean and
p-value
Medium
Construction 3.83 1.04 1 3.69 1 3.94 2 0.151
stage
Design stage 3.81 1.1 2 3.6 3 3.95 1 0.025*
Planning stage 3.72 1.15 3 3.65 2 3.75 4 0.654
Operation and 3.7 1.13 4 3.6 3 3.79 3 0.383
maintenance
stage
Commissioning 3.59 1.14 5 3.52 4 3.64 5 0.671
and handover
stage
Note: 1= No implementation to 5= Complete implementation

plan is as built. The operation/maintenance stage indicates the practical use of the project by
occupiers. Throughout the project life span, maintenance works on dilapidated or weakened
elements are expected to be carried out at regular intervals. All these stages are important and
special teams are allocated to each stage. The implementation levels of lean construction at
each project stage are tabulated in Table 4.
As shown in Table 4, the construction stage has a mean value of 3.83, followed by the
design stage with a mean value of 3.81, then followed by the planning stage with a mean
value of 3.72. The stages of construction with the lowest mean values are operation and
maintenance, and commissioning and handover, with mean values 3.70 and 3.59 respectively.
It could be seen that the mean value for all the stages are >3.0 out of a maximum of 5.0. This
indicates that lean construction is highly implemented in all stages of construction in the
KSA construction industry. However, the commissioning/handover stage has the lowest mean
value (3.59). Therefore, future opportunities for improving the level of implementation of lean
construction should be concentrated on the commissioning/handover stage.
An ANOVA, P-value analysis was done to check for differences from the mean between
the groups. ANOVA P-values vary from 0.025 to 0.671 for different stages for lean
construction between the two groups. In these results, the null hypothesis states that the mean

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

values are equal for both groups for different reasons, as indicated in the table. As the P-value
for “Design” is 0.025, which is less than the significance level of 0.05, the null hypothesis is
rejected. So, for this technique, large and small-to-medium companies have a different mean
and differing opinions from the respondents. More consideration is given to the design of
large scale projects and sometimes it takes years to complete just the design phase of larger
projects. Whereas in small projects, comparatively less consideration is given to the design
phase, which may be the reason for the differences in opinion of respondents across the two
groups.
On the other hand, for all other stages of construction, in regards to adopting lean
construction methods the ANOVA P-value is greater than the significant value of 0.05
showing that the null hypothesis is valid and there is no significant difference in the mean
of data collected for large and small-to-medium companies. The most agreeable point is
“commissioning and hand over” for both large and small-to-medium companies.

BENEFITS OF LEAN CONSTRUCTION

Table 5 shows ranked benefits of lean construction. The results show that generally, the
construction industry is mainly concerned about getting improved customer satisfaction
(with a mean value of 3.91). Construction companies are categorized into two groups, i.e.
“Large” and “small and medium” to provide a clearer analysis of reasons for adopting a lean
construction. First, overall means were calculated as varying from 3.91 to 3.42, and then the
standard deviations were calculated, varying from 1.22 to 1.46. Analysis of the data enables
us to rank the reasons for adopting a lean construction, whereby “Customer satisfaction” is at
the top of the list and “Employee satisfaction” ranks last. Quality improvement and increased
productivity are two other main reasons identified by researchers worldwide, and these are
ranked 2nd and 3rd in the list.
The benefits of lean construction may differ for different sized companies with different
goals and production units (Research, 2013). Thus, an ANOVA analysis was conducted
and the results show that only the P-values for the top two ranked reasons (i.e. customer
satisfaction and quality improvement) are lower than 0.05. For these two reasons of lean
adoption, respondents from large and small-to-medium companies have significantly different
opinions. Customer satisfaction and quality improvement are two main factors for evaluating
the progress and reputation of any company but it also depends on the clientele and the
types and scale of projects undertaken as large companies are often engaged in mega projects
whereas small firms concentrate more on small scale construction like housing. The point that
both large and small-to-medium companies agree on most is “reduced construction time. This
may be because in Saudi Arabia delays in completion of construction projects have increased
and construction firms want to complete their projects in shorter timeframes.

Discussion
Lean construction is a comparatively new concept in the construction industry, which aims to
enhance production effectiveness. This research explored the major types of waste, tools that
support the implementation of lean construction, benefits of lean construction, and stages of
application of lean methods in the KSA construction industry.
Results showed that “waiting” is the is the most common type of waste in construction
projects in Saudi Arabia. This may be due to several factors including processing of bills,
delay in supply of materials and staff negligence as reported in previous studies (Aziz, 2013;

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

Table 5   Benefits of lean construction

Benefits of lean Overall S.D. Rank Small and Rank Large Rank p-value
construction Mean Medium companies
companies
Customer 3.91 1.27 1 3.85 3 3.83 4 0.020*
satisfaction
Quality 3.90 1.22 2 3.75 4 3.92 1 0.012*
improvement
Increased 3.88 1.26 3 3.93 1 3.76 5 0.109
productivity
Reduced 3.86 1.27 4 3.90 2 3.86 3 0.846
construction
time
Process 3.83 1.24 5 3.74 5 3.90 2 0.576
improvement
Better health 3.73 1.29 6 3.68 6 3.73 7 0.581
and safety
record
Improved 3.63 1.32 7 3.56 7 3.74 6 0.418
supplier
relationship
Better inventory 3.51 1.46 8 3.48 8 3.50 8 0.828
control/reduced
inventory
Increased 3.45 1.45 9 3.47 9 3.39 9 0.655
market share
Employee 3.42 1.33 10 3.37 10 3.39 9 0.271
satisfaction
Note: 1= Strongly Disagree to 5= Strongly Agree

Engineers Australia, 2012; Koskela, 2004). Alwi (2003), suggests that waiting is most
important type of waste in Indonesian and Australian construction projects. Alarcon (1997)
also identified waste in construction and concluded the same results for the Netherlands.
Customer satisfaction is the dominant benefit for adopting lean construction techniques by
Saudi Arabian Construction companies. It can be measured by different factors like the overall
quality of the completed project, materials used, cost, user feedback, fulfilment of the purpose
of the project, meeting health and safety criteria amongst others. Customer satisfaction about
the completed project will create a trust bond between the two parties and will likely result
in future collaboration. Quality improvement and increased productivity are two other main
benefits for adopting lean construction and are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the list of reasons. These
findings are in accordance with those of other researchers, for example, in the Brazil and
Netherland construction industries these two reasons were also identified as the main benefits
for adopting lean construction techniques (Ballard and Howell, 1997; Banik, 1999).

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

The results show that there are 12 important tools/techniques that supports the
implementation of lean construction in the KSA construction industry. Of the 12 tools/
techniques, CAD has the highest mean value, and therefore it is the most important tool/
technique. This agrees with previous studies in the manufacturing sector. KarimiAzari
et al. (2011), revealed that CAD is moderately used to support lean processes in the
manufacturing sector. In addition, the high importance of CAD may be due to the use of
the tool for design purpose. In the construction industry in the KSA, CAD is a common
design tool used by many construction professionals, especially designers and engineers.
Thus, it is very easy for these professionals to adapt the tool for lean construction
purposes.
Both large and small-to-medium construction companies in Saudi Arabia implement lean
construction methods mostly during the construction stage. Salem et al. (2005) have explained
lean construction in detail for different stages of construction projects in the US. Similarly, it is
found that lean construction methods are mainly implemented during the construction stage
as this stage is associated with maximum activities with respect to time, materials, and cost.

Conclusion
In Saudi Arabia, construction projects are facing significant delays and wastage of resources.
Even though lean construction is regarded as a powerful tool to enhance productivity by
reducing wastage, lean construction techniques are not implemented as widely in Saudi
Arabia when compared to the rest of the world. A broad questionnaire survey of 282
construction industry professionals was conducted to identify major types of waste, benefits
of lean construction, implementation levels of lean tools, and stages where lean methods are
implemented in the KSA construction industry.
The most common types of waste in the KSA construction industry in ascending order
are waiting, making do, corrections, transportation, motion, over processing, inventory and
over production. For both “small and medium” and “large” companies, waiting and making do
are the most common types of waste, furthermore, over processing and over production are
experienced to a similar degree by both types of companies. In contrast, wastage resulting from
‘transportation’ is highly different between the two types of companies, whereas, ‘inventory’ is
the least different type of waste.
The tools that support the implementation of lean construction in the ascending order of
popularity are: computer aided design, preventive maintenance, safety improvement programs,
visual inspections, continuous improvement programs, daily huddle meetings, total quality
management, use of prefabricated materials, target value design, concurrent engineering,
just-in-time approach, plan of conditions and work environment in the construction industry,
computerised planning system or ERP, information management system, 5S, six sigma and
Kanban. In addition, of all the tools, the use of safety improvement programs was found to be
different between large and small-to-medium companies in the KSA construction industry.
Furthermore, the benefits of lean construction in the KSA construction industry in
ascending order are customer satisfaction, quality improvement, increased productivity, reduced
construction time, process improvement, better health and safety record, improved supplier
relationships, better inventor control/reduced inventory, increased market share and employee
satisfaction. In addition, both customer satisfaction and quality improvement are significantly
different between large and small-to-medium companies.

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 Sarhan, Xia, Fawzia & Karim

In summary, the following are the main conclusions in this study:

1. Waiting is the most common type of waste in the KSA construction industry.
2. CAD is the most important tool for supporting the implementation of lean construction.
3. Lean construction is highly used in all stages of construction, with opportunities for
improvement at the commissioning/handover stage.
4. To achieve customer satisfaction is the major benefit of lean construction in the KSA
construction industry.

This study will be helpful for enhancing efficiency, production, and quality of construction
projects by providing an understanding of the level of implementation of lean construction
in the KSA construction industry. The study provides information about the most common
type of waste, and the tools which can be useful for lean construction in all construction
project stages in the KSA. Despite the value in the findings, there are opportunities for further
research. More research on how lean construction tools/techniques can be applied to eliminate
the different types of waste in the construction industry in the KSA should be carried out
in future. Additionally, barriers and critical success factors for lean implementation in the
construction industry in the KSA should be investigated.
There are limitations to this research. Notably, the findings in this study were mainly based
on the results of a broad questionnaire survey. As the survey was conducted for a specific
period with professionals working in the KSA construction firms, results may not represent
the whole Saudi Arabian construction industry. There is an earnest need to do case study
based research which will create guidelines to implement in the KSA construction industry.
To obtain more representative results, other methods like interviews, meetings, polls, seminars,
and observations should also be conducted.

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