Challenges for last planner system implementation; Sri Lankan construction industry perspective

In a rapidly moving world, it is imperative to adopt the latest tools and techniques for the Sri Lankan construction industry to survive in the global market. The Last Planner System (LPS) is one such tool that sets out a proper communication medium and regulates the workflow throughout the construction by individual phase monitoring and remedying the process. Yet, the implementation of LPS is still in the infancy stage in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the potential challenges of implementing LPS within the Sri Lankan construction industry. Nine industry experts were identified by judgemental sampling, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data related to the research under the qualitative approach. Content analysis was used to analyse the data using NVIVO. The research identified 42 challenges pertaining to five LPS stages for the Sri Lankan construction industry. Further, the Master planning and Phase planning stages are crucial as it has many challenges during the implementation compared to other stages. It is recommended to identify the specific challenges concerning each firm’s infrastructure for successful LPS implementation in the Sri Lankan construction industry. This research uncovers further areas to identify the strategies to minimize the identified LPS implementation challenges.