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AN APPRAISAL OF THE READINESS OF NIGERIAN BUILDING CONSULTING FIRMS TO ADOPT LEAN CONSTRUCTION PRINCIPLES

ABSTRACT

Studies have shown that construction projects are susceptible to problems such as low productivity, poor safety, inferior working conditions, insufficient quality, lack of timely communication and coordination amongst project stakeholders, and rising litigation. The adoption of lean construction principles within the manufacturing and other industries had led to notable improvement and resulted in improved time-to-market, reduced production cost, improved quality of the product and active customer involvement. The study was aimed at appraising the readiness of Nigerian building consulting firms to adopt lean construction principles. The method of study involved a critical exposition of related literature and empirical study employing the mean scores and VERDICT readiness assessment model for analysis. A structured questionnaire was issued to a sample size comprising 100 firms drawn from a finite population of 133 Nigeria building consulting firms operating within Northern Nigeria. The result of the study revealed that the level of awareness of lean construction principles is increasing. Also, reduced cost and less waste were identified as the most important benefits of adopting lean construction principles; availability of trained professionals and education and skills development are the most important facilitators for adopting lean construction principles; inadequate exposure to requirements for lean implementation and inadequate preplanning are the most important barriers to adoption of lean construction principles in Nigeria construction industry. Nigeria building consulting firms has process/project readiness to adopt but do not have management, people and technology readiness to adopt lean construction principles. The study concludes that Nigeria building consulting firms are not yet ready to adopt lean construction Principles. The study recommends continuous awareness campaign of lean construction principles and its potential benefits via education and training to professional bodies, tertiary institutions offering any building construction related programmes and stakeholders in the construction industry.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Construction is a key sector of the national economy of nations contributing a big portion to their total employment and revenue generation. The problems facing construction are well documented such as low productivity, poor safety, inferior working conditions, insufficient quality, lack of timely communication and coordination amongst project stakeholders and rising litigation (Koskela, 2000 and LePatner, 2007). The UK Government initiated reports such as the Latham Report (1994) and the Egan Report (1998), both of which recommended the improvement of the construction industry‘s business performance.