In a dynamic, project-based environment, lean operations (LO) offer efficient project delivery for facility management (FM). Despite challenges, many professionals aim to adopt LO techniques. To address these challenges, this study aims to explore the barriers to implementing LO in FM.
A comprehensive literature review was initially carried out to identify the barriers to LO. Then, a survey is developed to gather professional expertise, and these barriers are assessed using the relative importance index and exploratory factor analysis to identify their impact on lean implementation.
The study findings indicate that lack of lean knowledge, training and technical skills among key stakeholders are primary barriers to LO in FM. Furthermore, the study’s findings suggest that top management, as well as onsite managers and other stakeholders, should prioritize the implementation of LC practices. Based on these findings, a framework is proposed that highlights the common barriers to LO and their impact on key project performance measures.
This study explores the differing perspectives of contractors, consultants and clients regarding the barriers to implementing LO in FM within developing economies. The outcome of this study can assist researchers and FM practitioners in focusing their attention and resources on the important difficulties that must be overcome for LO to be implemented in practice. The paper should be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the area of quality and lean project management.
