Waste management using lean construction and building infrmoation modelling: systematic literature review

Abstract

Construction waste chains are propagated into interrelated, fuzzy, and complex nature, which make them challenging to address. The conventional approaches have failed in treating construction waste because they focus on waste symptoms instead of diagnosis the root causes. Additionally, there are few attempts to capture the whole taxonomies of waste based on the theory of production in construction. The synergies of Lean and BIM are well-documented improvements to construction production theory and practices and constituted the foundations to provide productivity improvements, automated workflows, and sustainable development. Lean-BIM facilitates significant analytical and actionable measures towards construction waste, by attacking waste at source, and limiting its’ occurrence. However, many measures to address waste elimination are not explored collectively. Thus, this paper reviews the impact of Lean and BIM synergies on waste taxonomies and elimination methods. Four main areas of knowledge communicated over the period 2000-2019, production planning and control systems; design management; supply chain management; and pursuits towards sustainable lean construction. Based on a systematic review of 32 published papers in academic journals and conference proceedings. There is a great need to provide more evidence-based research that reports lean metrics and BIM workflows impacts on core construction wastes. Research insights and future developments towards waste elimination identified and suggested, not only from a production point of view but also sustainable dimensions.