978-1-5386-4225-2/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE
Towards Implementing Lean Construction in the
Moroccan Construction Industry: Survey Study
Mohamed Saad Bajjou
Department of Industrial engineering
Laboratory of Industrial Techniques, Faculty of Sciences
and Techniques, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University
Fez, Morocco
Mohamedsaad.bajjou@usmba.ac.ma
Anas Chafi
Department of Industrial engineering
Laboratory of Industrial Techniques, Faculty of Sciences
and Techniques, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University
Fez, Morocco
anaschafi@gmail.com
Abstract—Traditional construction management techniques
are criticized by its inability to deliver construction projects on
time, with the quality requested by the customer, and without
cost overrun. It has become crucial for Moroccan construction
practitioners to seek creative approach and to look for new ways
of thinking in order to resist to the increasing competition and to
survive with market constraints, especially when compared to the
significant improvements achieved in the Moroccan
manufacturing industry.
Lean Construction (LC) is a very effective approach to design
production systems for the purpose of reducing waste of time, of
materials, and effort as well as generating the maximum possible
amount of value. Lean construction has been introduced into the
Moroccan construction industry; however, it is still in its infancy.
Based on a structured questionnaire survey, this article aims to
evaluate the perceptions of the Moroccan construction
professionals on the Lean Construction implementation in the
Moroccan construction industry. To achieve this objective, a total
of 330 responses were collected and then analyzed using
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V20.0 for
Windows).
The following conclusions were made, more than half of the
respondents (172 professional; 52.1%) think that Lean
Construction approach is adapted to any size of Moroccan
companies; the respondents agreed that Lean Construction
implementation would add positive impacts to the Moroccan
construction projects (with an overall mean value of 3.84); LC is
a high priority for the Moroccan construction projects (with an
overall mean value of 3.84).
Keywords— Lean Construction; Questionnaire survey;
Moroccan construction industry;
I. INTRODUCTION
The construction industry is considered a sector of activity
characterized by a significant participation in economic
growth. In Morocco, the construction sector contributed by
6.3% of total value added [1] . It employs nearly one million
people (9.3% of the active population) [2].
Although the construction industry contributes tangibly in
reducing the unemployment rate and strengthening the national
economy, this sector is also facing many challenges: projects
delay, cost overrun, low quality, and it is considered within the
most polluting sectors [2]–[6].
Construction projects in Morocco generally have low
performances, which is mainly caused by huge cost and time
overruns [7]. Furthermore, the Moroccan construction
companies are also characterized by a massive waste
generation pushing them urgently to meet new creative
management system at the aims to minimize the impact of
waste and improve the performance of construction projects.
To overcome these challenges, LC philosophy has been
introduced into the Moroccan construction industry, but it still
in its infancy. The LC approach derives essentially from Lean
Manufacturing, and especially from the Toyota Production
System (TPS) [6], [8], [9]. It aims to deliver construction
projects while meeting customers’ requirements through waste
reduction and value maximization [10], [11]. Furthermore, LC
promotes continuous improvement by encouraging people
involvement from the employee to the top management [12]–
[14].
To increase the awareness of the LC techniques in the
Moroccan construction industry, an overview of the current
understanding of LC implementation is urgently needed.
However, no such studies have been done in the current body
of knowledge. Therefore, this survey study aims to explore the
perception of the Moroccan construction professional about the
LC implementation at the national level. Through a structured
questionnaire survey of 330 construction professionals in the
construction industry in morocco, this study mainly
investigates (1) Suitability of LC to Moroccan construction
companies, (2) Benefits of LC implementation on the
performance of Moroccan construction projects, and (3)
Priority of LC philosophy for the Moroccan construction
projects.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Lean is a management system that has already shown his
great performances in the manufacturing industry, specifically
in the automotive sector. Lean manufacturing system derives
from Japanese manufacturing industry, especially from Toyota
Production System (TPS) [15]. There is no doubt now that the
lean production approach has become very popular by its
ability to achieve industrial excellence for the manufacturing
sector through waste minimization, and it spreads gradually