Do Management Practices Impact Cost and Schedule Indicators? Comparative of Case Studies

Abstract

Construction labor productivity has declined over the last 50 years. Contrary to mainstream reporting of significant improvement in construction project productivity through inventions, techniques, methods, and technologies, construction labor productivity has decreased. Is this contradiction real? The research answers the question: is there a significant and measurable difference in project performance (cost, schedule) between projects that use Management by Means (MBR) – using lean construction practices, and Management by Results (MBR) – using traditional construction practices? The research analyzes, compares and draws hypotheses based on cost and schedule differences from planned and actual data, as reported by 70 cases from 7 companies. The aggregate construction cost of these projects is $20.46 billion USD and the aggregate construction size is 35.59M gross square feet. Conclusions bring back two themes of the systemic nature of construction: autonomous agency, and loose coupling. The information-rich data leads us to identify future research using comparative analyses.