Special Issue "Towards Construction 4.0: The Connection of Lean Construction and Industry 4.0"

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Patrick Dallasega
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Interests: Industry 4.0; lean construction; lean manufacturing; supply chain management; production planning and control in MTO and ETO enterprises
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the mid-1990s, lean management methodologies established in manufacturing have been adapted and applied in the construction industry under the term "lean construction". This has led to drastic reductions of lead times and costs and improved levels of quality.

The so-called "fourth industrial revolution", also known as Industry 4.0, is transforming a wide range of industrial sectors, from manufacturing to construction. Construction 4.0 refers to the digitalization and automation of the construction industry by using technologies like building information modeling (BIM); additive manufacturing; advanced prefabrication; industrial internet of things; cloud; big data analytics; autonomous robots; as well as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. These new technologies have the potential to further increase the productivity, quality, and safety of construction sites.

In some cases, lean construction methodologies are the basis of Construction 4.0. In other cases, Construction 4.0 may further empower lean construction. This Special Issue features a collection of new applications of Construction 4.0 as well as their interrelations with lean construction. 

Submissions for the Special Issue include but are not limited to the following topics:

  • Construction 4.0 technologies and concepts;
  • Lean construction management;
  • Implementation and applications in practice;
  • Relationship between lean construction and Construction 4.0

Dr. Patrick Dallasega
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Lean construction
  • Industry 4.0
  • Construction 4.0
  • Relationship.

Published Papers (6 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

Article
Barriers to Adopting Lean Construction in the Construction Industry—The Case of Jordan
Buildings 2021, 11(6), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11060222 - 23 May 2021
Viewed by 771
Abstract
During the last few decades, there has been a greater understanding of the role of lean construction (LC) in achieving better management of construction projects and enabling the application of the fourth industrial revolution in the construction industry (Construction 4.0), which in turn, [...] Read more.
During the last few decades, there has been a greater understanding of the role of lean construction (LC) in achieving better management of construction projects and enabling the application of the fourth industrial revolution in the construction industry (Construction 4.0), which in turn, has the potential to improve the practices and outcomes in the construction industry. This paper aims to identify the barriers to adopt LC practices by taking a case of the Kingdom of Jordan. A questionnaire that included 30 barriers that were resulted from a comprehensive literature review was distributed and filled by 326 respondents from the Jordanian construction industry. The findings showed that the absence of support from the top management, low awareness toward LC, lack of training, and the absence of transparency are amongst the most serious factors that hinder the adoption of LC. The findings in this paper might be helpful to improve the knowledge about LC and support the adoption of new techniques that might improve the performance in the construction industry. Full article
Article
Construction Logistics Centres Proposing Kitting Service: Organization Analysis and Cost Mapping
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030105 - 09 Mar 2021
Viewed by 543
Abstract
The construction industry represents an important part of the global economy but is known for many issues such as harmful emissions, low productivity, waste generation, poor ergonomics, and construction incidents and accidents. A logistical view has proved to be a solid basis for [...] Read more.
The construction industry represents an important part of the global economy but is known for many issues such as harmful emissions, low productivity, waste generation, poor ergonomics, and construction incidents and accidents. A logistical view has proved to be a solid basis for improving construction performance while construction logistics centres (CLC) are gaining interest and proposing more services such as Kitting. Since the CLC-kitting-based approach is a new phenomenon, it is still a relatively unexplored topic. Hence, this paper addresses how this configuration could be applied to construction projects and what are its related costs information. The research design is based on a single case study showing the CLC-kitting use by a French general contractor in a student housing project. Data has been collected through site visits, observations, project documents, and discussions conducted with construction managers and logistics planners. Data analysis identified realized effects from deploying CLC-kitting in construction projects. Therefore, recommendations are provided, at both strategic and operational levels, which can be leveraged in similar projects. Finally, an identification of constructions logistics costs shows their distribution along the supply chain and was evaluated at 14.7% over material purchasing price. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
AHP-Systems Thinking Analyses for Kaizen Costing Implementation in the Construction Industry
Buildings 2020, 10(12), 230; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings10120230 - 05 Dec 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1274
Abstract
The incessant reportage of cost overruns and abandoned projects in contemporary literature have accentuated the need for a re-examination of the nature of the cost management strategies deployed to these projects. This study explores the potential of kaizen costing strategy to engender effective [...] Read more.
The incessant reportage of cost overruns and abandoned projects in contemporary literature have accentuated the need for a re-examination of the nature of the cost management strategies deployed to these projects. This study explores the potential of kaizen costing strategy to engender effective cost management within construction project delivery systems in developing countries. Data collected during this study were analysed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and systems thinking approaches to determine the criticality of the factors influencing the effective implementation of kaizen costing. Seven (7) archetypes leading to final causal loop diagram identified the incorporation of the plan–do–check–act approach to project and cost planning, the budgeting system of the construction companies, overhead cost reduction during construction and the overall procurement process. Executing these archetypes will potentially reduce high overhead costs, project cost and time overruns, as well as enhance construction industry sector growth policies and construction organisation corporate governance. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Lean Thinking and Industrial 4.0 Approach to Achieving Construction 4.0 for Industrialization and Technological Development
Buildings 2020, 10(12), 221; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings10120221 - 28 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1237
Abstract
The construction industry is responsible for the infrastructural and physical development of nations and plays a pivotal role in determining economic equilibrium of nations of the world; hence, there is a need for constant evolving of advanced ways of carrying out construction operations. [...] Read more.
The construction industry is responsible for the infrastructural and physical development of nations and plays a pivotal role in determining economic equilibrium of nations of the world; hence, there is a need for constant evolving of advanced ways of carrying out construction operations. The concept has led to the evolution of Construction 4.0, which entails harmonizing disruption in technological applications to enhance construction productivity. The study, therefore, provides an attempt at evolving an enhanced approach to improve construction processes and resource management through application of lean construction and Industry 4.0. The purposive sampling method was used in this study to collect data. The data collection instrument consists of a structured questionnaire designed in a Likert scale of 1 to 5 distributed to 100 construction professionals through an online method that is actively involved in construction operations. The following parameters were censored and profiled, while the results are in tables and charts. The parameters include areas of lean thinking that could enhance Construction 4.0, areas of disruption in Industry 4.0 that influence Construction 4.0 advancement and parameters for practical integrating of lean thinking approach and Industry 4.0. Additionally, the influence of Industry 4.0 in technological development for the construction industry, disruptive innovation of Industry 4.0 and gains towards Construction 4.0. Furthermore, the relevance of Construction 4.0 in construction productivity, the importance of Construction 4.0, industrial application drivers in achieving Construction 4.0, future of Construction 4.0, achieving automation goal in construction and performance expectation of lean thinking and Industry 4.0 in the construction industry are found necessary. Simple percentage, Spearman rankings, Chi-square test, Student-T test, Mann–Whitney-U test and Relative Agreement and Importance index are the tools used to process the data. The study discovered, among others, the veracity of contingency approach in harnessing attributes of the lean thinking concept and disruptive applications in achieving Construction 4.0. The study recommends the application of the hybrid model suggested in the study as a guide to deployment of an application that could help in industrial productivity. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

Review
Toward BIM and LPS Data Integration for Lean Site Project Management: A State-of-the-Art Review and Recommendations
Buildings 2021, 11(5), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11050196 - 07 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 774
Abstract
Over recent years, the independent adoption of lean construction and building information modeling (BIM) has shown improvements in construction industry efficiency. Because these approaches have overlapping concepts, it is thought that their synergistic adoption can bring many more benefits. Today, implementing the lean–BIM [...] Read more.
Over recent years, the independent adoption of lean construction and building information modeling (BIM) has shown improvements in construction industry efficiency. Because these approaches have overlapping concepts, it is thought that their synergistic adoption can bring many more benefits. Today, implementing the lean–BIM theoretical framework is still challenging for many companies. This paper conducts a comprehensive review with the intent to identify prevailing interconnected lean and BIM areas. To this end, 77 papers published in AEC journals and conferences over the last decade were reviewed. The proposed weighting matrix showed the most promising interactions, namely those related to 4D BIM-based visualization of construction schedules produced and updated by last planners. The authors also show evidence of the lack of a sufficiently integrated BIM–Last Planner System® framework and technologies. Thus, we propose a new theoretical framework considering all BIM and LPS interactions. In our model, we suggest automating the generation of phase schedule using joint BIM data and a work breakdown structure database. Thereafter, the lookahead planning and weekly work plan is supported by a field application that must be able to exchange data with the enterprise resource planning system, document management systems, and report progress to the BIM model. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review
Additive Manufacturing Applications for Industry 4.0: A Systematic Critical Review
Buildings 2020, 10(12), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings10120231 - 06 Dec 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 1557
Abstract
Additive manufacturing, including 3D printing (3DP), is one of the critical pillars of Industry 4.0 and the next construction revolution. Several countries, including China, have utilized 3DP on larger scales or real projects. However, reviews of the lessons learned from previous large-sized practices [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing, including 3D printing (3DP), is one of the critical pillars of Industry 4.0 and the next construction revolution. Several countries, including China, have utilized 3DP on larger scales or real projects. However, reviews of the lessons learned from previous large-sized practices of 3DP utilization are scarce. This paper presents a few practical applications of implementing 3DP over the past decade and suggests a direction for future research work. Recent publications on 3DP practices are systematically reviewed using an interpretivist philosophical lens, and more specifically, the nozzle characteristics are focused upon. The Scopus and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) journal databases are utilized, resulting in the examination of 54 English and 62 Chinese papers. The selected practices from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao are considered for this review. A content critical review approach is adopted, and the identified papers are critically reviewed. These papers reported key challenges and advantages from their reported practices, such as limitations in aggregate sizes, nozzle sizes, standards, post-occupancy satisfaction, final product quality, productivity challenges and other associated risks. The paper reports upon prominent limitations and signposts directions for future investigations. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop