2025, Vol. 4, Issue 2, Part A

Background: The construction industry is evolving toward integrated approaches that enhance sustainability, efficiency, and collaboration. Among these, the combined application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Lean Construction (LC) has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome traditional inefficiencies.

Objective: This study evaluates the impact of BIM-Lean integration on project performance across key sustainability and efficiency indicators, including cost, schedule, waste, and energy intensity. Methods: A mixed-methods design was applied to three large-scale commercial projects that adopted BIM and lean workflows. Quantitative data were gathered on schedule adherence, cost variance, waste generation, and energy performance, while qualitative data captured stakeholder collaboration and workflow efficiency. Comparative analysis between pre- and post-integration phases was conducted using descriptive statistics, bootstrap confidence intervals, and effect size calculations.

Results: Integration yielded significant improvements in multiple performance metrics: schedule adherence improved by 24.5%, cost variance reduced by 74.6%, waste intensity decreased by 44.3%, and energy intensity declined by 16.1%. RFIs were reduced by 40.6%, and pre-construction clash resolutions increased by 136.2%. Environmental performance gains were accompanied by strong effect sizes, underscoring the practical significance of the results.

Discussion: These improvements highlight the synergistic value of combining BIM’s digital coordination with lean’s process optimization, resulting in enhanced sustainability outcomes and project predictability. The findings also reveal the importance of structured implementation, early stakeholder engagement, and standardized workflows for successful integration.

Conclusion: BIM-Lean integration offers a scalable pathway to more sustainable, efficient, and collaborative construction practices. Practical recommendations include early integration of planning workflows, capacity building, performance monitoring, and policy standardization to institutionalize these practices across the industry.