REDUCING WASTAGE IN THE CONCRETING SUPPLY CHAIN USING LEAN PRINCIPLES

Abstract

Lean principles in concreting supply chain have been studied and quantification of waste had been recorded. This study focuses on waste performance in the concreting supply chain in Singapore and examines the relationship between the adopted Lean practices and waste reduction. Exploratory and pilot studies were used to formulate the questionnaire. Survey questionnaires were sent by email and conducted face-to-face. 42 sets of data were collected and of which, 7 were unusable. One way t-test was conducted to study the respondents‟ perceptions on the effectiveness of adopting Lean principles in reducing wastage. Pearson Correlations analysis was carried out to study relationships between Lean practices and waste reduction of time and material waste. Based on the findings, key wastes in the concreting supply chain were established, the relationship of Lean principles and waste performance, and general perception on Lean practices and waste reduction. Interviews with three industry players were conducted to verify findings from the survey questionnaire and to have greater insight on the research problem. Lastly, a case study was undertaken to gain further insights of the identified wastages and Lean principles. A recommendation on waste reduction was made based on the findings. The relatively low number of responses and subjectivity of the data constituted to the limitation of this study. Recommendations are made to construction companies on using the more effective Lean practices to improve waste reduction in concreting supply chain.