Comparison of project management and lean construction in a real road project

Abstract

Project Management, PM, refers to the practice of planning, executing and controlling certain tasks to achieve specific goals at the specified time. Applications of this methodology (such as the Gantt chart) are commonly used in construction road projects. In order to increase productivity and reduce project costs, alternative management approaches (such as the Lean Construction, LC) can be followed. In this approach, the lean manufacturing principles are applied to achieve a delivering value with less waste (or in other words, with lower construction time). The aim of this study is to compare the traditional PM and the LC for the construction process of an actual road built in Cairo (Egypt) between the cities of Cairo and Alexandria. In this study, the analysis of certain parameters (such as the percent plan complete, root cause of delays or the total project duration) will be analysed for different construction scenarios. The results of the paper illustrate the advantages of using LC over the traditional PM approach in road projects.