A comprehensive assessment of lean management practices for public buildings maintenance in Ghana

Purpose Public buildings in the developing world have been characterised by poor maintenance practices. With budgetary limitations amidst high maintenance costs, adopting lean principles is paramount to reduce waste and enhance maintenance efficiency. Despite the plethora of knowledge on lean management, its application within the context of public building maintenance in the developing world remains unknown. This study seeks to explore and establish lean maintenance principles for public building maintenance. Design/methodology/approach Consistent with the procedure of an exploratory sequential mixed methods research, literature reviews and focus group discussions were initially conducted to establish relevant indicators, followed by a general questionnaire survey. The main statistical analytical tool used was exploratory factor analysis. Findings The results demonstrate that lean practices is nascent for public building maintenance. The exploratory factor analysis confirmed all indicators under nine components. Practical implications The indicators established in this study are useful for maintenance teams to optimize their efforts to enhance maintenance efficiency. Action points from this study have wider implications for public building maintenance in the developing world where lean maintenance practices are burgeoning. Originality/value The paper calls for a pragmatic shift in the traditional building maintenance to adopt a lean approach. This paper contributes to knowledge by advancing the growing literature on lean building maintenance with particular emphasis in a resource-constraint setting like Ghana.