Towards lean and green thinking in construction projects at Gaza Strip

Background and problem: Integrating lean and green principles while implementing construction project has become an important aspect of modern construction. Lean construction and green building are used to maxi­mize the economic benefits, address quality, reduce waste and minimize the negative environmental impacts in con­struction.

Aims: The objectives of this paper were to measure the degree of knowledge of lean and green approaches in con­struction industry in Gaza Strip and to identify the most important benefits from application of lean and green in construction.

Methodology: Literature review and questionnaire survey were used in this study. A total of 155 copies of the questionnaire were distributed randomly to owners, con­sultants and contractors in the Gaza Strip, and 119 copies of the questionnaire were received.

Results: The results revealed that the awareness level of lean and green construction by owners, consultants and contractors in the construction industry in Gaza Strip is moderate. There are very important benefits of applying lean and green construction such as “reduce non-useful work that does not add value to work”, “reduce the environmental impact of the construction process” and “saving the money needed to complete the project”.

Conclusions: It was concluded that integrating both concepts on projects showed that lean leads to green but not necessarily vice versa. The fields of lean and green thinking, however, have been developed largely independent of each other. There is a big gap in the knowledge and application of the lean construction and the green application.