ABSTRACT
Like many other industries, such as aerospace and automotive, the construction industry deals with projects. However, unlike most industries, the production run for the construction industry is often one unit rather than tens, hundreds or thousands. A good parallel is the shipbuilding industry, where a large investment is made in design and yet the product is reproduced, in the case of large vessels, in very limited numbers, with each new vessel different from the first. Consequently, although current management theory is relevant to construction, the industry is unusual due to its limited production runs, and some adaptation of current theory is required.
