Purpose -Although leanness is certainly not a new concept it is doubtless still relevant. Interestingly, newly developed manufacturing paradigms and systems are always examined in relation to leanness. In other words, leanness serves in most cases as the landmark paradigm with which comparisons are being drawn between the latter and recently pioneered approaches. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the evolutional orbit that leanness has followed over the years and serve as a herald of the current state of this evolution, which will be discussed further, in a separate paper. Design/methodology/approach -A great part of this paper is devoted to highlighting the misconceptions surrounding issues such as what leanness really constitutes and what are the key concepts and practices that leanness encompasses. Two successful lean transition stories are presented showing how these lean tools and techniques were implemented in the cases of two UK-based manufacturing companies. Findings -Because of its inherently dynamic nature, leanness has undergone and still is undergoing a process of continuous and never-ending evolution, the current state of which is expressed in the form of the lean enterprise model. Nevertheless, despite the undiminished attention and interest for leanness, the literature has failed to keep track of this evolution. For this reason a significant proportion of the literature relies on a rather antiquated vision of leanness. Originality/value -The paper reviews two major waves of literature criticising leanness with the first focusing on its social aspects and the second questioning its universality mainly with respect to its limited applicability in high variety-low volume production systems.

PurposeOne of the world's largest construction markets is in Asia where construction activity is boosted by investment on transport infrastructure. This paper aims to identify and analyse causes of cost overruns in transport infrastructure projects in Asia and assess their importance and statistical relationship with project size.Design/methodology/approachThe paper pursues the following objectives. First, it identifies factors contributing to cost overruns. Second, using case data and regression analysis, it establishes the statistical relationship between project size and cost overruns. Third, it analyses questionnaire data to rank causes of cost overruns according to their frequency, severity and significance. Last, the paper identifies contract types mostly associated with cost escalation.FindingsThe findings confirm a moderate correlation between cost overruns and one indicator of project size. Awarding contracts to the lowest bidder is identified as the most significant cause of cost overruns. Lump‐sum contracts were found to have the greatest influence on the occurrence of cost overruns.Research limitations/implicationsStratified sampling would allow the evaluation of how cost overruns are perceived by different professional groups. Further research can focus on measures for the prevention of cost overruns.Originality/valueThe causes of cost overruns have been at the focal point of research however, most studies consider cost overruns in specific Asian countries. Moreover, transport infrastructure projects have received little attention or been underrepresented in datasets comprising general construction projects. The paper seeks to fill this gap by carrying out in‐depth investigation of cost overruns in transport infrastructure in the broader context of Asia.

No abstract

The link between active learning and the development of graduate attributes has been cogently advocated in pedagogical research. Despite the extensive adoption of fieldwork in environmental and social sciences, enigmatically, there are no reported applications of fieldwork in construction and related engineering disciplines. This paper employs a case study approach to address this gap and exemplify the application of fieldwork in a postgraduate construction degree programme. It presents a robust design framework for assessed residential fieldwork that aids the scaffolding of a holistic set of graduate attributes. The framework promotes undertaking field-based experiential learning in international destinations in order to support the development of adaptable leadership and graduate future readiness for the fourth industrial revolution. After discussing its theoretical underpinnings, the paper presents the context for the case study, the design framework and stages of the fieldwork and concludes with an evaluation of its implementation, limitations and implications for practice.

No abstract