Globalization in Economy applied to the profession.

Green-Lean conceptual integration in project design, planning and construction

A. International trade grows day by day. The current competitiveness scenario in which engineering
companies operate demands new production approaches, where environmental variables play a
relevant role. In this sense, the concept of sustainability must begin to be managed by all the
agents involved: engineers, architects, clients, among others. The concept of sustainability, being
of a general nature, has remained in a rather conceptual scope, which makes it difficult to
develop tools that facilitate its consideration throughout the entire life cycle of a project. The
purpose of this study was to integrate the philosophies of Sustainable Construction, or Green
Building, and Lean Construction, the latter used as a necessary complement to provide an
analysis base focused on production management.
B. The construction industry, known globally as one of the main productive areas, must be actively
involved in each of the changes that this implies. In this sense, innovative philosophies of
production, administration, environment, among others, begin to be implemented in construction
projects. Such is the case of projects developed from the perspective of Sustainability and Lean
Construction (Mao y Zhang, 2008; Gutiérrez, 2007; Kohler y Lützkendorf, 2002).
C. The progress made in these matters confirms the positive effects that the consideration of
approaches of this type has on the results of construction projects, among them: reduction of
waste, reduction of production costs, reduction of inventories, among others. Before presenting
the objective, it is deemed necessary to briefly present the scope of the environmental
preservation and production philosophies. The development of traditional construction but with a
considerable responsibility to the environment by all participating parties. This involves as key
elements the reduction of the use of energy sources and mineral resources, the conservation of
natural areas and biodiversity, and the maintenance of a healthy indoor environment (CIB, 2000).
D. The second philosophy of interest in this study is called Lean Production. This production
philosophy is based on the principles developed by Toyota, whose purpose is to produce in
accordance with customer requirements, minimizing losses and increasing the efficiency of
activities that add value. The conceptualization of this construction production paradigm has
given rise to what is known as Lean Construction, which constitutes a new philosophy of
production for construction (Koskela, 2000; Ballard, 2000; Alarcón y Ashley, 1999; Tommelein,
1998).
E. The idea of using the principles of Lean Construction in Sustainable Construction arises from the
problem that there are no management tools developed for the implementation of sustainable
projects, in a scenario where only general criteria and the fulfillment of final requirements have
been established.
F. In addition, many projects that have the prospect of achieving certain degrees of Sustainability
end up with over production costs in their construction, due to an unsystematic consideration of
production management aspects in the implementation of sustainability. An adequate
implementation of the principles of sustainability in a project should generate savings in time and
cost, and general improvements in its performance.
G. Therefore, it could be thought then that there is a balance or "trade-off between Sustainability and
Productive Efficiency. The authors of this article argue that the means used to achieve these
objectives, apparently contradictory in a project, can be aligned through work set of the principles
of Sustainable Construction and Lean Construction.
H. From a practical point of view, the concepts that originate from the Green-Lean conceptual
integration should be operationalized through an approach that maintains the theoretical
consistency of the integration, as well as, facilitates its subsequent implementation in projects. As
a means for the practical implementation of the Green-Lean conceptual integration concepts, the
authors propose Constructability. It consists of the systematic incorporation of the constructive
experience in the first stages of development of a project (for example, design and planning),
improving the constructive aptitude and the efficiency of the productive processes of a project
(CU, 1993).
I. The development of the integrated approach to the Sustainable Construction and Lean
Construction philosophies is analyzed within the Life Cycle of a project, which for this research
has been limited to the Design - Planning - Construction stages, excluding the Operation and
Deconstruction stages. . In this way, the Productive or Materialization Cycle of a construction
project is covered, considering for other phases of this study the stages of exploitation or use
(operation) and the end of its useful life, the final stage where reuse should be considered. . and
recycling of each of its parts or components (deconstruction) (Martínez, 2005).