Lean readiness level of the Azerbaijan construction industry

This paper identifies and measures the Lean readiness of the Azerbaijan construction industry. A survey questionnaire was utilised to evaluate the Lean readiness of this industry by measuring its quality practices and to test three hypotheses. The Lean readiness framework developed by Al-Najem et al. (2013) was taken as a basis for this study; however, there can also be seen some adaptations made from the framework developed by Diekmann et al. (2003). The questionnaire was sent to 57 Azerbaijan construction companies, from where 20 responses were obtained. The results derived from the questionnaire showed that the Azerbaijan construction industry is not ready to implement the Lean methodology. It also found that there remains a lack of trust between employee and employer relations. Lastly, it is evident that the size of the companies does not play any considerable role on Lean readiness of construction companies and does not make any sense for choosing construction prerequisites. This study can be beneficial for those Azerbaijan construction companies that are interested in the implementation of Lean construction, or which are interested to increase their level of competitiveness.