Applications of Lean Principles for Construction Safety Management: A Literature Review

The construction sector is considered one of the most hazardous sectors globally due to its risky work practices and unsafe nature. Researchers have investigated various avenues to promote safe behavior and conditions. One of the popular ways is the application of Lean principles. Research investigations have been done to investigate the applications of Lean principles to resolve safety issues in the construction industry. However, there is a lack of systematic analysis in presenting a comprehensive picture of the applications of Lean principles for Construction Safety Management (CSM). Therefore, this study aims to perform a systematic literature review to comprehend the synergies between Lean and CSM. To this end, this study considered peer-reviewed research journal articles from the Scopus and Web of Science literature databases, and an in-depth content analysis has been performed. The results highlighted the United States of America as a leading country, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics as the leading organization, and Dr. Wu Xiuyu as the foremost researcher in this domain. The current research trends investigate the implementation of Lean Construction (LC) practices, examine their impact, and identify the benefits and barriers to implementing LC for CSM. At last, the theoretical and practical contributions of the study and future research opportunities are discussed.