Abstract:
The Ready-Mixed Concrete (RMC) industry is one of the fastest growing construction sectors and
plays an important role towards infrastructure development. The RMC industry is expected to rise
from INR 155-160 billion in 2009 - 2010 to INR 395 - 400 billion in 2014 – 2015 in India. The use of
RMC for construction has proved to be advantageous due to its assured quality, accuracy in the mix
proportion, faster construction, less workforce and improved workspace utilization. The RMC industry
life cycle consists of five major phases namely manufacturing of raw materials, transportation of raw
materials to batching plant, batching plant operations, delivery of concrete to site and site activities
for placing and compaction. Significant amounts of resources such as materials, energy and water are
used during these five phases. The transportation of raw materials and concrete is considered as one
of the major sources of energy use and emissions. This study investigates the application of lean
concepts for improving the environmental performance of RMC industry operations. First, the current
status of RMC industry is presented. Second, a detailed study of resources used during various phases
of RMC industry is summarized based on case studies carried out in Chennai. Third, lean concepts
relevant for construction to minimize or eliminate non-value adding activities and wastes are
discussed. Finally, this study presents a conceptual framework based on lean thinking to improve the
environmental performance of RMC industry. This framework can be used to evaluate alternate RMC
production scenarios and enhance the decision-making process for better production and
environmental performance.
