ABSTRACT
Effectively transferring Lean knowledge and skills to owners, architects, engineers, and constructors (OAEC) requires behavioural changes within an industry that has been legitimately criticised for entrenched practices and low productivity. Documenting how knowledge transfer is successfully taking place in other settings, such as at academic institutions, can be helpful to those wishing to efficiently introduce Lean into their own OAEC organisations.
Lean educational efforts within academic settings have been brought to light through earlier publications. This chapter summarises the content of Lean Construction courses from 12 US-based universities. Tabulated results from two separate papers published five years apart revealed that: (a) the content of Lean curricula is evolving as grading formats, types of readings, and numbers and types of simulations have grown; and (b) Lean curricula as defined by a recently developed Associated General Contractors’ (AGC) Lean certification programme are starting to permeate academic coursework.
Investigation of the evolution of Lean education within academia helps us to better understand a driver of change as students enter the OAEC industry following graduation. The intent of this chapter is to document this moment in time, as well as to raise a question about the potential impact of curriculum standardisation on future continuous improvement initiatives with respect to Lean Construction philosophy, methods, and tools in the OAEC industry.
