The Human Resource Management Implications of Lean Construction
Start Date: May 01
End Date: Apr 03
Project Status: Complete
This project is carried out in conjunction with the Business School at Imperial College London: www.ms.ic.ac.uk
Lean thinking
The publication of Rethinking Construction has significantly shaped the agenda for change in the UK construction industry. The recommendations of Rethinking Construction (commonly known as the 'Egan Report') received an almost unanimous endorsement from the bodies that shape policy for the construction industry. The report places an especially strong emphasis on the ideas of 'lean thinking', as originally developed in the car industry. Lean thinking comprises a complex cocktail of ideas including continuous improvement, flattened organisation structures, teamwork, the elimination of waste, efficient use of resources and co-operative supply chain management.
Human resource management
Within the UK construction industry, the language of lean thinking has since become synonymous with good practice. The danger is that lean practices are introduced in isolation from any consideration of the implications of these new ways of working for human resource management (HRM) practices. This is of particular concern in the context of declining interest in the construction industry amongst young people. Recent industry initiatives on Respect for People (M4I) and sustainable construction strongly advocate the importance of adopting a developmental approach to HRM, arguing that this is essential to the future competitiveness of the UK construction industry. Whilst a developmental approach to HRM is frequently combined with lean thinking, such a combination cannot be taken for granted in the construction sector. At present there is a notable absence of research on the way in which lean thinking is being implemented in practice. It is this gap that the research seeks to address.
Research objectives
- To ascertain current levels of awareness and implementation of lean thinking within the UK construction industry.
- To establish the associated model of human resource management (HRM) as advocated by the industry champions of lean techniques.
- To prepare ten in-depth case studies of the claimed implementation of lean techniques, paying particular attention to the balance between HRM issues and short-term efficiency gains.
- To investigate the relationship between the implementation of lean construction and the quality of working life for employees.
- To sensitise UK practitioners and policy makers to the potentially adverse HRM implications of lean construction if implemented uncritically.
- To make recommendations for future best practice.