Abstract
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan has a number of construction SMEs that provide services to both the government and private sectors. The industry, however, has been criticised for their substandard work and delayed completion times with projects. Applying lean principles has helped in improving work quality and efficacy and reducing delays in construction projects. The methods used for conducting this research included a critical review of current and existing literature and quantitative methods. A structured questionnaire using the Likert-Type scale was used to measure attitudes and opinions by asking the extent to which participants agree or disagree with a particular question or statement. The findings revealed that SMEs in the Ekurhuleni metropolitan area were implementing some lean principles unknowingly. The research determined a lack of educational support programmes within the SME sector to elucidate on the importance of the lean principles. Despite operating under crippling COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, the SMEs should work hand-in-hand with large construction companies to produce skilled labour, develop healthy competition and constantly seek new ways to improve implementation processes.
M.Tech. (Industrial)