A bibliometric review of lean principles in highway pavement for productivity improvement

Abstract

A past study of 25 years reveals the positive impact of lean principles on highway pavement productivity. This bibliometric review extracted 389 papers from the Scopus database that revolved around three terms, “lean principles,” “highway pavement,” and “productivity improvement,” and used VOSviewer for scientometric analysis and scientific mapping. Study reveals that addressing this topic on a global scale is of chief significance, given the potential variations in indices of the issue across different countries or provinces. This research undertakes a comprehensive qualitative analysis that highlights diverse indicators that exert influence on the productivity of pavements. Additionally, this analysis also seeks to propose potential avenues for future research within lean construction. An intensive investigation provides four unique clusters of words that have been formed through the process of keyword science mapping within the context of the lean principles, which are road segment, techniques, productivity improvement, and lean. Last but not least, 4 pointers are recommended that will help stakeholders and policymakers assess pavement performance practices, identify areas for improvement, and execute targeted interventions to improve productivity.