Design of a Lean and Agile Construction System for a Large and Complex Mechanical and Electrical Project

This paper represents “work-in-progress” as part of a collaborative research project being undertaken at the Centre for Innovative Collaborative Engineering for an Engineering Doctorate at Loughborough University, UK. The programme is funded by the EPSRC and is sponsored by a major UK mechanical and electrical contractor (the sponsor company). The project will have specific objectives, which will be capable of making a significant contribution to the performance of the company. The sponsor company is developing a “construction system” in order to improve the performance of its projects, and earlier research in this field has shown that lean interventions, when applied to a case study project, has had positive results. This paper describes the next phase of the development of the construction system, and proposes a lean and agile production system model which is to be implemented on a major private finance initiative (PFI) hospital development, and in particular the mechanical and electrical (M&E) elements. The model builds upon a “leagile” concept developed from manufacturing theory, and shows how the need for leanness and agility depends upon a total supply chain and labour strategy.