Organisations must constantly monitor, measure, evaluate and improve their
processes in order to remain competitive. Construction organisations are no different
in this aspect and are increasingly realising the need for process improvement due to
external and internal pressures. The construction industry is working towards
improving its efficiency by implementing process improvement techniques such as
Lean Construction along with information and communication systems. Business
processes and information technology are closely associated and better results can be
achieved by addressing them in an integrated manner. This paper provides details of a
case study where an extensive business process improvement exercise was carried out
over a period of five years alongside a major Enterprise Information System
implementation. All major organisational units were assessed and its processes were
modelled and evaluated with a view to improvement within the lean framework.
Finally a continuous process improvement framework was put in place to avoid the
risk of stagnation. The lean continuous improvement framework resulted in each
organisational unit taking responsibility for their own processes ultimately leading to
higher profitability and smoother supply chain processes. The case study also
demonstrated that even smaller business units and its processes affected the overall
value chain in a major way and the importance to analyse the process
interdependencies between organisational units.