2 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that thesis titled “ Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Indian Construction” is a bona-fide record of work done by Ravi Jain (Entry No2013 CET2150) to the department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. He has fulfilled the requirements of this thesis, which to the best of my knowledge has reached the required standard. This thesis is carried under my supervision and guidance and has not been submitted else-where for the award of any other degree. Dr. Kumar Neeraj Jha Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
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2
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that thesis titled “Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Indian
Construction” is a bona-fide record of work done by Ravi Jain (Entry No2013 CET2150) to
the department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. He has fulfilled
the requirements of this thesis, which to the best of my knowledge has reached the required
standard. This thesis is carried under my supervision and guidance and has not been submitted
else-where for the award of any other degree.
Dr. Kumar Neeraj Jha
Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Kumar Neeraj Jha,
Department of Civil Engineering for his guidance, support and continuous encouragement
throughout the research.
I also express my extreme gratitude to Mr. Harsh Raghuvanshi and Mr. Dilip A Patel, Research
Students for help in research plans and obtaining contact details of the construction
professionals.
I am extremely thankful to all the construction professional who provided their valuable time to
fill the questionnaire.
I am thankful to all my friends who have helped in the research.
Ravi Jain
2013CET2150
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ABSTRACT
Construction projects are facing are large cost and schedule overruns in India. This can be
attributed to different types of waste in the industry. It is necessary to understand nature of waste
and causes of waste in Indian construction and then find suitable tools to eliminate or reduce
them. The Lean Construction and Six Sigma can provide such tools.
The purpose of the research is to analyze the wastes in the Indian Construction, the awareness of
Lean and Six Sigma and the extent of use of Lean and Six Sigma tools. The research also tries to
access the possible ways of interaction of Lean and Six Sigma.
In the research work a questionnaire has been prepared according to research objectives and sent
to construction professionals. The responses will be analyzed and practical framework for the
implementation of Lean Six Sigma will be developed.
The research will help the construction industry to systematically address the wastes and
This methodology is used for designing a new product or a new process.
Define- Defining the process deliverables or requirements of the customer...
Measure- Measuring the process deliverables.
Analyze –Analyzing the options to achieve process deliverables.
Design – Designing the process or product.
Verify- Verifying the achievement of objectives by performance evaluation.
Steps described above are completed by using different techniques of Six Sigma some of which
are derived from quality improvement tools
2.3.3 Statistical definition of Six Sigma
Six Sigma uses statically based methodology to measure the process variation or defect rate. This
definition is used in the ‘measure’ step of Six Sigma Methodologies.
Sigma, defined as the standard deviation, in statistics is a measurement of variation with respect
to mean. The sigma level of an organization is related to defects free products.
For a product upper specification limit (USL) and lower specification limit (LSL) are defined
according to customer requirements. The distance in terms of sigma of the mean from the
specification limits denote sigma level. The organization try to achieve maximum sigma level.
Six Sigma level is achieved when the mean of the process is at the distance of six sigma from the
nearest specification limit.
The sigma level is related to different process capability matrix.(Desale & Deodhar, 2013;
Tenera & Pinto, 2014).
DPMO (Defects per million opportunity) is such a matrix which is related to sigma level.
Table 2-3 shows the sigma level conversion with DPMO and Yield Level.
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Table2-3: Basic Six Sigma Conversion Table To DPMO(Pheng & Hui, 2004)
Yield=Percentage of items
without defects
DPMO(Defects Per Million
Opportunity)
Sigma Level
30.9 690000 1
69.2 308000 2
93.3 66800 3
99.4 6210 4
99.98 320 5
99.9997 3.4 6
2.3.4 Six Sigma Techniques and Tools
Process Flow Chart-
It is used to show and analyze all the activities for a product. It is similar to value stream
mapping in the lean construction.
Process Capability Matrix and Process Performance Matrix
These matrix are calculated by the yield level or DPMO and USL, LSL and mean of the process.
Process capability matrix is used to evaluate existing process while process performance matrix
is used for evaluation of performance measures. It is used in ‘measure’ phase of Six Sigma
implementation.
Cause and Effect Diagram
It is used in Analyze phase of Six Sigma implementation .This is used to obtain the root cause of
a problem or variation. It is also known as Fishbone Diagram or Ishikawa Diagram because it
was developed by Ishikawa and looks like Fish structure. It uses 7M’s, namely, Man, Materials,
Machine, Method, Measurement, Milieu to find the root cause of an effect as depicted in fig.2-1.
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Fig 2-1 Cause and Effect Diagram ( Banawi ,2013)
CTQ(Critical to quality )
Critical to quality characteristics are defined as the deliverables of the process
improvement with relation to customer’s requirements. It is the ‘Define’ Step of six
Sigma. Han et al. (2008) used the cycle time of concreting as the CTQ. The DPMO or
process capability matrix has been calculated for this CTQ.
Pareto Chart
Pareto chart are the part of Analyze phase. They are charts on 2-dimension where vertical axis
shows the different factors or causes for variation or a problem in descending order of their
frequency of occurrence. The top most factor causing a problem is given most priority by this
way.
SIPOC
This is used in ‘define phase’ of the six sigma where supplier, input, process, output and
customer are identified of a process.
Six Sigma has many tools and techniques other than described above. Some of them are 5 why
analysis, control charts, design of experiments (DOE), Taguchi loss function.
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2.4 Lean Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma is interaction and integration of principles and tools of Lean Construction and
Six Sigma to reduce waste to maximize value to customer. Authors have presented frameworks
and case studies for implementation of Lean Six Sigma.
Abdelhamid (2003) proposed that as the objective of Lean Construction is to reduce wastes by
generating reliable work flow and hence reducing process variation. , it can interact with Six
Sigma to reduce process variation. He suggested use of Six Sigma Methodologies DMAIC and
DMADV in phases of Lean Construction as Lean Project Delivery System as shown in fig.2-2.
He further stressed that lean seeks to increase value to customer. Six sigma tries to reduce the
defects defined by customer and thus maximize value to the customer.
Fig. 2-2: Lean Project Delivery System and Six Sigma (Abdelhamid, 2003)
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Al-aomar(2012) proposed that six sigma rating can be used as a performance indicator.
Pheng & Hui(2004) presented use of six sigma in building industry with a case study. DPMO
level was measured for quality of internal finish. Sigma level was found low .The contractor took
improvement measures. It improved sigma level and quality of production.
Tenera & Pinto (2014) presented a framework to implement Lean construction using Six Sigma
steps DMAIC. It helped company to identify the project management problems and their
solutions.
Banawi (2013) presented a framework to integrate lean, green and six sigma .He proposed 3
steps of this framework as follows:
Waste Identification using Lean Construction tool, Value Stream Mapping.
Assessment of impact of waste on environment using Green Tool, Life cycle assessment.
Elimination of waste using Tools of Six Sigma.
Han et al.(2008) proposed a framework to integrate lean and six sigma so that they can be used
to reduce the weakness of each other as shown in fig.2-4.
Fig.2-3 Concept of Six Sigma integrated approach with lean construction(Han et al., 2008)
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2.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter presents the literature related to waste, Lean construction, Six Sigma and Lean Six
sigma. Lean Six Sigma implementation is still in starting phase and limited research papers are
available in this area.
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3 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
This chapter represents the data collection and data analysis steps of the research.
3.1 DATA COLLECTION
3.1.1 Data Collection Tool
The data collection tool is an online questionnaire. The questionnaire has been prepared
according to research objectives. The table 3-1 represents research objective and the related
attributes in the questionnaire. The questionnaire has been given in annexure.
Table3-1: The research objectives and question format in the questionnaire
Research Objectives Attributes in the questionnaire
1. Identification of types of waste and
causes of waste in Indian Construction
Frequency of different types of wastes ,
causes of wastage
2. Acceptability and suitability of Lean
and Six Sigma in Indian Construction
Awareness of Lean and Six Sigma, Barriers
on implementation of Lean and Six Sigma.
Techniques of Lean and Six Sigma
3. Level of application of Lean and Six
Sigma Tools in Indian construction
Extent of use of tools and techniques of
Lean and Six Sigma
4. Integration of Lean and Six Sigma in
Indian Construction
Analysis of Possible ways of Interaction of
Lean and Six Sigma
3.1.2 Questionnaire Preparation
The questionnaire starts with the brief information about the project. The questionnaire is
designed to receive the participant information and experience. The questionnaire consists of 12
questions related to research objectives. These questions have been prepared by literature survey
presented in chapter2.
The table 3-2: provides the types of waste and causes of waste and literature reference.
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Table 3-2: Type of waste and causes of waste used in the questionnaire survey of the project
Literature Type of waste Cause of Waste
Al-aomar (2012), Chaturvedi,
(2013)
Long Approval Process, Idle
Periods/wait periods, Activity
Start Delays ,Frequent
interruptions in work , Repair
Work
Lack of Coordination,
Improper Site Management,
Lack of Skilled Manpower,
Poor planning, Poor Quality
Control, Material Shortage
Al-aomar (2012), Chaturvedi,
(2013), Chandrasekar &
Kumar (2014), Banwai (2013)
Rework , Defects ,
uncompleted work ,
Equipment Downtime, Need
for clarification in design,
Error in design /lack of
constructability in design
,Long transport time, Damage
of inventory , Excessive
Supervision
Weather Conditions,
Accidents, Poor maintenance
of equipment ,frequent
changes in design , frequent
changes in customer demand,
remoteness of site, poor
storage methods
The table3-3 represents the possible ways of interaction of Six Sigma with Lean Construction
and the literature source.
The barriers on implementation of Lean and Six Sigma are lack of awareness, lack of
commitment, financial constraint, less research in this area, no governmental support have been
identified by Al-aomar, (2012, Chandrasekar & Kumar( 2014) in India.
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Table3-3: Identification of Possible ways of interaction of Lean and Six Sigma
Type of Interaction Literature Source
Understanding customer requirements ,
measuring customer satisfaction level
Abdelhamid (2003)
Identifying root cause of wastes Tenera & Pinto (2014)
Greater involvement of leadership Firat( 2012)
Systematic Approach to reduce waste Chandrasekar & Kumar( 2014)
Setting Performance Improvement Goals Han et al.( 2008)
Broader quality concept Firat (2012)
Awareness within organization Banawi( 2013), Desale & Deodhar (2013)
Six sigma Rating as a measure of lean
application
Al-aomar (2012)
3.2 DATA ANALYSIS
3.2.1 Response Collection
Likert Scale
The questionnaire consists of close ended questions. This will provide objective answers. The
choice of the answer by respondent is represented by a number 1 to 5 based on Likert scale.
Likert scale was developed by Likert in 1931. The respondent are asked to provide to rate an
attribute based on their agreement. Here attribute refers to items on list of type of waste, cause of
waste, tools and techniques of Lean Construction and Six Sigma. The scale is as follows.5-
Strongly agree, 4- Agree, 3- Undecided (neutral), 2-Disagree, 1- Strongly Disagree. The data
converted on Likert scale is suitable for statistical analysis.
3.2.2 Response Analysis
The statistical analysis is done by using software Microsoft excel and SPSS (Statistical Package
for Social sciences).SPSS is a software by IBM which can be used questionnaire survey analysis.
This software will be used to analyze the data by following analysis
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Internal Consistency analysis of the data
Cronbach’s alpha will be used to find the internal consistency of the questionnaire based
responses. It measures the consistency of a responses with the other set of responses. It
represents the reliability of the data. It can be calculated by SPSS. The range of cronbach’ alpha
for the internal consistency as given in table 3-4.
Table3-4: Cronbach alpha and internal consistency (George & Mallery, 2013)
Cronbach’s alpha Internal consistency
α≥0.9 Excellent
0.7≤α0.9 Good
0.6≤α≤0.7 Acceptable
0.5≤α≤0.6 Poor
α≤0.5 Unacceptable
Ranking of the attributes
This will be done to rank the attributes which needs to be given priority. This will guide the
author to suggest a framework on implementation of Lean and Six Sigma in Indian construction.
It will be done by the following parameters obtained from SPSS, Frequency Index and Relative
Importance Index.
3.2.2 Graphical Result Presentation
Different attributes according to different parameters as received can be plotted by Pareto chart,
pie charts and other formats according to requirements.
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4 WORK PROGRESS AND FUTURE PLAN
4.1 WORK PROGRESS
The questionnaire has been prepared with the literature study. The questionnaire has been
provided in appendix.
Questionnaire has been sent to the construction profession working in construction companies.
The questionnaire has been sent to the construction professionals working in large scale
construction companies of India and local construction companies in Delhi. The questionnaire
has been sent to around 100 individuals. It also has been sent to institute working in the field of
lean construction and six sigma as Institute of Lean Construction Excellence, Mumbai (ILCE).
The companies include L&T Construction, Samsung industries, DMRC (Delhi Metro
Corporation Ltd. 25 responses have been received yet.
The participant profile has been shown in fig. 4-1.
Fig 4-1: Profile of the construction professionals
Familiarity of Lean Construction and six sigma is represented in fig4-2 and 4-3 of the
participants who have replied till now.
Senior/Mid level Manageemnt, , 46%
Si te Engineer20%
Planning Engineeer27%
Des igner/Architect7%
Participatnts Profile
Senior/Mid level Manageemnt
Site Engineer
Planning Engineeer
Designer/Architect
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Fig4-2: Familiarity of Lean Construction in Participants
Fig .4-3: Familiarity with Six Sigma
All other attributes will be analyzed after receiving of all the responses.
Familiar with Lean Construction, 80%
Unfamiliar with Lean Construction,, 20%
Familiar with Lean Construction
Unfamiliar with Lean Construction
97
3
Familiar with Six Sigma
Unfamiliar with Six Sigma
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4.2 FUTURE PLAN
The future plan consist of the following:
To follow –up the participants to request them to fill the questionnaire as the response rate
has been low.
To approach more construction professionals to fill the questionnaire survey.
To interact with the respondents after they have replied. It is done to understand the
application of Lean and Six Sigma in their organization.
To understand case studies of Lean and Six Sigma in Indian construction and Site visits to
wastes on construction sites.
Analysis of Data
To suggest a framework for implementation of Lean and Six Sigma in India.
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REFERENCES
Abdelhamid, T. S. (2003). Six -Sigma in Lean Construction Systems: Opportunities and Challenges. In IGLC-13. Blacksburg , VA. Retrieved from
http://leanconstruction.dk/media/16779/Six-Sigma in Lean Construction Systems_Opportunities and Challenges.pdf
Achanga, P., Shehab, E., Roy, R., & Nelder, G. (2006). Critical success factors for lean
implementation within SMEs. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 17(4), 460–471. doi:10.1108/17410380610662889
Al-aomar, R. (2012). Analysis of lean construction practices at Abu Dhabi construction industry. Lean Construction Journal, 105–121.
Banawi, A. A. (2013). Improving Construction Processes by integarting Lean , Green and Six
Sigma. University of Pittsburgh.
Chandrasekar, A., & Kumar, M. L. (2014). Effective Utilization of Lean Management in Construction Industry. International Journal of Engineering and Innovative Technology,
3(12), 29–33.
Chang, L., Chao, C., & Lin, Y. (2005). The Application of Six Sigma Approach in Construction : A Case Study for Improving Precast Production Management. Retrieved from
Howell, G. (1999). What is Lean Construction. In proceedings of the 7th Conference of the International Group for Lean (pp. 26–28). Berkeley, California, USA.
Jens, A., & Henrik, K. (2011). Waste in Lean Construction. Chalmers University of Technology.
Koskela, L. (1992). Application of the new production philosophy to construction.
Liker, J. (2004). The Toyota Way: Fourteen Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.
Pheng, L. S., & Hui, M. S. (2004). Implementing and Applying Six Sigma in Construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, (August), 482–489.
Shanmugapriya, S., & Subramanian, K. (2013). Investigation of Significant Factors Influencing Time and Cost Overruns in Indian Construction Projects. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering, 3(10), 734–740.
Tenera, A., & Pinto, L. C. (2014). A Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Project Management Improvement
Model. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 119, 912–920. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.102
Womac, J. P., Jones, D. T., & Roos, D. (1990). The Machine that changed the world. New York:
Harper Collins.
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APPENDIX – QUESTIONNAIRE
Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in India
1. Ravi Jain , an M. Tech. Student (Construction Engineering and Management ) at Indian
Institute of Technology , Delhi invites and requests you to participate in a research project
titled " Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Indian Construction " .
2. This research is being conducted under the Guidance of Dr .Kumar Neeraj Jha, Associate
Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (http://web.iitd.ac.in/~knjha/)
3.The objective of the study is to understand current state of application of Lean and Six Sigma
Tools in Indian Construction Industry and how Lean and Six Sigma can interact together to
remove wastes in Indian construction . More information about Lean and Six Sigma can be
obtained from here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_construction and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma.
4. Your Participation is voluntary. Information provided will be used only for research purpose
only and treated CONFIDENTIALLY .Please help by replying to following Survey. It would take around 15 minutes. In case of need of any clarifications, please contact at