Abstract:
The incessant reportage of cost overruns and abandoned projects in contemporary literature
have accentuated the need for a re-examination of the nature of the cost management strategies
deployed to these projects. This study explores the potential of kaizen costing strategy to engender
e ective cost management within construction project delivery systems in developing countries.
Data collected during this study were analysed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and
systems thinking approaches to determine the criticality of the factors influencing the e ective
implementation of kaizen costing. Seven (7) archetypes leading to final causal loop diagram identified
the incorporation of the plan–do–check–act approach to project and cost planning, the budgeting
system of the construction companies, overhead cost reduction during construction and the overall
procurement process. Executing these archetypes will potentially reduce high overhead costs,
project cost and time overruns, as well as enhance construction industry sector growth policies and
construction organisation corporate governance.
