Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) combined with Lean construction practices consistently motivates collaboration and drives project efficiency, according to a recent research report analyzing ten completed projects. The study reveals that while IPD requires upfront investment in negotiating shared risk/reward structures and fiscal transparency, the resulting foundation of trust and mutual respect significantly boosts team performance.
The Power of Collaboration
The research demonstrates that IPD fosters a “project first” or “team first” attitude, often anchored by shared financial incentives and driven by clear owner goals. This collaborative environment provides fertile ground for Lean practices to flourish. Universally, teams found pull planning to be highly valuable, with initial resistance quickly dissolving as schedule savings of days or weeks materialized. The Plus/Delta retrospective tool was also cited as a high-impact, low-effort method for continuous improvement. Many teams reported that Lean metrics on reliability and accountability fueled healthy competition and tracked progress towards goals.
Owner Satisfaction & Value Creation
Owners who adopted IPD and Lean experienced high levels of satisfaction across schedule, budget, and quality. Eight out of ten owners indicated they would likely or extremely likely use this approach again. Notably, several projects allowed owners to add significant scope by reinvesting savings generated through collaborative efficiency. This demonstrates that IPD and Lean not only deliver projects on time and within budget, but also unlock additional value for stakeholders.
Resilience & Problem Solving
The study highlights the resilience fostered by IPD and Lean cultures. One architect noted that without the IPD agreement, the team would likely have ended up in litigation. In another case, Lean practices and a collaborative mindset allowed a team to overcome a technical roadblock that could have halted progress, preserving the project schedule despite the delay. This underscores the ability of these methods to navigate challenges that would ordinarily disrupt construction projects.
Remaining Questions & Future Research
While the study confirms the effectiveness of IPD and Lean, it also raises important questions for future research. Notably, teams with high Lean effectiveness reported lower-than-average project complexity, even when projects were objectively complex. One hypothesis is that clear, actionable goals established through Lean practices simplified the perception of project difficulty. Further investigation is needed to understand this correlation.
Another area for exploration is the optimal proportion of team members included in risk/reward pools relative to project size. Finally, the industry needs standardized metrics to measure and advance the adoption of IPD and Lean. The research team sought consistency in metrics across the studied projects, but found variation instead. Developing a widely accepted set of metrics remains a key goal for the future.
In conclusion, the study provides strong evidence that integrating IPD with Lean construction practices is a powerful combination for driving collaboration, improving efficiency, and maximizing value in construction projects. While further research is needed to refine best practices and standardize metrics, the benefits of this approach are clear
