Improving site management system by integrating Japanese concept of management

Abstract

Construction industry is a very fragmented and reluctant to accept changes to its current practice. Ineffective site management practice can cause wastage in the form of time and cost. This study intends to investigate how the current site management system can be improved by integrating Japanese concept of management. The current management of construction site might not be managed systematically or have some limitations. The Japanese is reputable for their effective site management methods. Potential improvement on the current site management system can be achieved by adopting some of the management system from Japan such as Lean, Just-in-time and Kanban. The methodology of the study includes literature review, interview with expert panels and questionnaire surveys. From the study, the problems and limitations related to the practices in traditional construction site management had been identified. The problems in construction site management in construction industry include wastage and the problem delivery of materials to site. In general, the respondent’s acceptance on the Japanese management principles was high. The study also found that there is a strong potential of applying some of Lean, JIT and Kanban principles to improve site managing performance. This study has concluded that these new management practices can help to optimise site management system.