Creating social value within the delivery of construction projects: the role of lean approach

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the current knowledge surrounding social value and show how lean approach supports social value realisation in the delivery of construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: A critical literature review was adopted, to gather the current knowledge surrounding social value from mainstream management sciences, construction management and lean literature. A total of 70 studies were critically reviewed. Findings: The study establishes that the current level of awareness on social value is still low and there is a dearth of scholarly publications on social value especially in construction management literature. The investigation reveals the potentials of lean approach in supporting the delivery of social value on construction projects. Social implication: This study conceptualises the community and the physical environment around where the construction project is executed as customers using lean production approach. It shows that the Transformation, Flow & Value view supports smooth workflow which enhances the achievement of social value objectives. This creates a new insight into how social value can be realised in construction project delivery. Originality and Value: This study extends the on-going debate around the need for social value in construction project delivery and contributes to construction management and lean construction literature on social value. Future studies could build on this to obtain empirical data and develop an approach/method that would support the evidencing of social value delivery on construction projects

The role of contracting strategies in social value implementation

There has been an increasing demand for social value (SV) implementation to assume a cardinal position in the infrastructure delivery efforts of infrastructure client organisations (ICOs). However, whereas successful implementation has been recorded in some projects, monumental failures have also been recorded in others. This variance in implementation performance is a cause for concern. The mode of governance applied in an infrastructure delivery endeavour has been identified as capable of influencing the implementation of SV. This observation makes imperative an investigation into the role of contracting strategies – an integral part of governance modes – adopted by ICOs on SV implementation performance. This is the aim of this study. Using a case study approach, three infrastructure projects which used different contracting strategies were selected from two different countries, the UK and Nigeria. Semistructured interviews were conducted with ICO representatives on these projects and subsequently analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings confirmed that the kind of contract adopted by ICOs influenced their ability to drive the successful implementation of desirable SV objectives through their supply chain. It is therefore recommended that ICOs ensure that the selected contracting strategies are capable of ensuring successful implementation of the desired objectives

Achieving social value through construction frameworks : the effect of client attributes

The UK Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 mandates public sector construction clients to prioritise the resolution of social challenges through procurement. Accordingly, clients are increasingly committing to delivering on social value through capital expenditure. Construction frameworks have been identified as a means of delivering social value, hence their relatively sudden attractiveness. Yet evidence suggests clients are experiencing varied social value benefits from projects procured through frameworks. The study reported in this paper sought to ascertain the causes of such inconsistency. It investigated the influence of client attributes on the ability of frameworks to deliver on social value. A qualitative case study design was adopted. Interactions between a regional framework and two clients were studied from a project procurement perspective using a viable infrastructure delivery model. Findings revealed that certain client attributes influenced a framework’s ability to achieve optimal social value. Of significance was the ability of the client to express their latent values and their ability to appoint a project manager who will serve as a social value champion. Findings from this study will enlighten clients on their contributions towards successful social value implementation when engaging with a construction framework