The impact of product choice on lean homebuilding

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better define the relationships between product variety and lean production in enabling mass customization in industrialized homebuilding.Design/methodology/approach – This study includes a case study analysis of two housing plants that instituted lean production systems. For each company, the case study documented the company's background, the product choice offered, the lean implementation approach used, the results obtained, and the effect of product choice on the lean implementation. Using these case study findings, common trends were identified and used to develop guidelines for an effective mass customization strategy for industrialized homebuilders. This paper summarizes the extensive findings for one of the two plants and provides the recommended guidelines developed from common trends identified at both plants.Findings – Case study findings indicated that product choice does not necessarily make the implementation of lean concepts more difficult. In fact,...