© Lean Construction Journal 2007 46 www.leanconstructionjournal.org Vol 3 #1 April 2007 ISSN: 1555-1369 Lean Construction – 2000 to 2006 Thais da C.L. Alves 1 and Cynthia C.Y. Tsao 2 Abstract Construction management research in the early 1990s called for Architecture-Engineering- Construction (AEC) researchers and practitioners to investigate how the theory, principles, and techniques associated with the Toyota Production System (TPS) can be abstracted and applied to the planning and management of AEC projects. Since then, the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) has become a focal point for showcasing research efforts in this regard. Contributors to IGLC proceedings include academics, practitioners, and consultants covering a range of project types, project phases, and countries. By analyzing the keywords listed by IGLC papers from 2000 to 2006, we hope to identify major research areas to provide a perspective as to what Lean Construction means in 2006. We will also make recommendations for future research and identify strategies for streamlining the IGLC community’s efforts in categorizing papers for fellow researchers. Keywords: Lean Construction, Lean Construction research, Lean Construction implementation, IGLC, IGLC conferences, content analysis, keywords analysis, research trends Introduction Koskela (1992) served as a catalyst for research in Lean Construction. Since then, researchers working closely with practitioners have been investigating the theory, principles, and techniques of lean project delivery. These efforts cover a range of project types (e.g., housing, commercial, and industrial projects) and project areas (e.g., project definition, design, supply, assembly, and use). By understanding the extent of Lean Construction knowledge, researchers can better structure their efforts so that they build upon existing knowledge and generate new insight into less-investigated areas. This paper reviews the conference proceedings for the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) from 2000 to 2006. Adapting from the content analysis method, we begin developing an analysis of IGLC keywords to understand recent trends in research and practice. Our goal is to report on what we observed in IGLC papers, not to interpret the degree of "lean-ness" or to define "lean" categories or clusters. This paper will begin with an explanation of the content analysis approach and how we adapted it for our work. Then, we will outline our data analysis results and identify the emerging clusters of Lean Construction research. From our analysis, we will highlight 1 Assistant Professor, Structural Engineering and Construction Department, Federal University of Ceará, Campus do Pici, s/n, Bloco 710, Pici, CEP: 60455-760, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, thaiscla@yahoo.com 2 Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, 790 Rhodes Hall, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0071, Phone +1 (513) 556-3673, FAX +1 (513) 556-2599, cynthia.tsao@uc.edu