Barriers and strategies for lean and green in construction projects in Australia

Construction projects in many countries, including Australia need a radical change to effectively reduce wastes and enhance efficient productivity. Many benefits of lean and green paradigms would be comprehensively realised only if prevalent obstacles are thoroughly diagnosed and appropriate ways to overcome those obstacles are found. Based on a recent literature review, a set of barriers and strategies for lean and green in construction projects are compiled and reported in this paper. Also, the discussions include a summary of perceptions collated through semi-structured interviews conducted with 18 experienced design professionals in Australia. The thematic analysis reported in this paper revealed: (a) six major clusters of barriers including economic, procurement, technical, legislative, social and cultural, and organizational barriers; and (b) three expansive clusters of strategies for effective implementation of lean-green paradigm: education and training, legislation and contract controls, and economic and technical aspects.