Lean construction
value stream mapping benefits in the procurement department of a construction company
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.3066.2026Keywords:
Lean construction, Procurement, Value stream map, Quality management, Supply chainAbstract
Goal: the purpose of this study was to report how the use of Lean Construction tools helped the procurement department of a medium-sized Brazilian construction company to reduce the lead time of delivered materials on the site, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design / Methodology / Approach: this applied research adopts both exploratory and descriptive objectives, utilizing a qualitative case study strategy. Data collection involved triangulating sources such as documents, interviews, and field observations.
Results: the current Value Stream Map (VSM) pointed out that takt time of material requisitions received per day (RPD) is faster than the pace of the procurement stream. The future VSM simulated with an additional employee showed that it would be possible to reach an effective capacity of 10 RPD, meeting the engineering department’s demand, with lead time reduction from 84 to 49.5 hours.
Limitations of the investigation: the primary limitation concerns the generalizability of the conclusions, models, or theories derived from this single case study. Nonetheless, these constraints do not diminish the significance of the findings, which contributed to the company's decision to employ an additional staff member in the procurement department.
Practical implications: the procedures used in this study—including takt time calculation, processing time analysis, and the development of current and future-state VSMs—can be applied by other organizations to reduce value-stream lead times.
Originality / Value: this research differs from existing studies by combining VSM, takt time and lead time in the procurement department of a construction company.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Paloma Garrido Correia Teles, Alberto Eduardo Besser Freitag, Marcelle Candido Cordeiro, Marcelo Jasmim Meiriño
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