AWP + Lean: Exploring Opportunities

Lean Construction and Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) have different process and framework descriptions, but they share the goal of improving the efficiency and quality of capital project delivery. Both approaches emphasize constraint management to ensure productive construction-related activities on  and off the worksite, including off-site fabrication and preassembly. Also, both emphasize broad stakeholder engagement and input during early planning to facilitate alignment and improve coordination.

The management of constraints across the project lifecycle and the assurance of a smooth and timely flow of integrated work and associated deliverables (physical and information) are central goals for both Lean Construction and AWP. A clear commonality and key value between the two methodologies is the recognition that safety, health, and the well-being of the worker can be designed into the process.

That being said, Lean Construction and AWP are highly complementary but not identical. Primary differences center on their descriptions of approaches, and each approach has its unique methods. Lean Construction is based on the philosophy of developing a value-driven culture of mutual trust and respect, support to production, and leveraging a set of tools for deployment. AWP is described in a more structured context of additions and enhancements to typical execution in the industrial sector by defining and organizing constraint-free executable work packages.