Lean practices in construction: a comprehensive literature review on enhancing project performance

Despite the implementation of Lean Construction (LC) that has gained considerable attention in the construction industry, the sector continues to encounter similar problems of cost, time, quality and safety overruns repeatedly. However, implementation of Lean remains uneven as a result of superficial understanding of concepts, resistance to change and weak performance measurement systems. Therefore, this systematic review synthesises studies indexed in Scopus (2008-2025) to review the implementation of core Lean tools and barriers to implementation, as well as their respective impacts on project performance. Results reveal that the Last Planner System (LPS), Just-in-Time (JIT) delivery and Value Stream Mapping (VSM) have promising potential to enhance construction project cost, time, quality and safety performance, but their effectiveness is contextspecific at both organisation and regional levels. The review also found that leadership commitment, supply chain integration and standardisation are enablers to implementation, while contractual misalignment and project environments remain major barriers. Additionally, the review identified the emergence of Lean 4.0, which refers to the integration of Lean with digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), although the evidence base is still scarce. Overall, the results from the synthesis support the findings from previous studies on the importance of systems thinking and structured performance measurement, while also identifying gaps for future research, particularly in the long-term evaluation, cross-country comparisons and integration of Lean-digital technologies. The results also provide useful information for industry practitioners, while contributing towards the development of a more cohesive theory of LC.