Identifying barriers to lean–intelligent construction in the project phase: a review

The integration of Lean Construction principles and Intelligent Construction Technologies (ICT) offers transformative potential for enhancing efficiency, minimizing waste, and improving decision-making throughout the construction life cycle. However, adoption remains constrained by complex technical, financial, environmental, and social barriers. This study conducts a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) using the PRISMA protocol to identify and classify key barriers hindering Lean–Intelligent Construction implementation. Twenty-eight peer-reviewed articles published between 2021 and 2025 were analyzed, with barriers mapped across project phases and lean waste categories. The findings reveal that technical and social barriers are the most dominant, particularly during the design and construction phases, leading to critical waste types such as waiting, defects, and over-processing. Financial and environmental barriers show more localized effects, primarily linked to inventory and motion waste during procurement and construction. The Sankey diagram visualization demonstrates that waste generation in intelligent construction is not isolated but emerges from the interaction of multiple barriers across project stages. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how digital and organizational inefficiencies propagate lean waste, providing a foundation for targeted interventions in different project phases. The findings emphasize the need for holistic strategies that combine technological innovation, organizational change management, and policy reform to achieve sustainable digital transformation in the construction sector.