Reflections on the Challenges of the Ethiopian Construction Industry

These days the concept of competitiveness in the construction sector has gained and has been gaining unprecedented importance. International construction markets are considered more accessible to foreign firms as a consequence of globalization. Numerous international contractors have started to strategically develop overseaspropositions to gain new revenue and minimize domestic market risk.Construction industry all over the world is dynamic and the reason for this include clients’ growing demand, complexity of construction projects, advancement in technology and introduction ofnew innovation amongst others (Ali Parsa, Simon Huston, Anil Kashyap (2015)). Construction by its nature is a complex task that needs tight planning and control system and tools throughout the project life. The progress of a construction can be affected by lots of factors. Koskela (1992)indicated that these problems are poor production planning, weak project management, defective design, poor quality, inferior working conditions, and low safety arrangement. Unfortunately, such problems resulta significant waste level for construction projects like lagging behind the schedule, poor quality work and cost overrun characterized by low productivity and limitedcompetitiveness(Fiallo c., M. & Revello P., 2002). To enhance competitiveness and be successful in the dynamic environment requires more sophisticated management tools and appropriate Production Planning and Control (PPC) tools. Currently, Lean Construction (LC), as defined by the Lean ConstructionInstitute “. the application of lean thinking to the design & construction process creating improved project delivery to meetclientneeds and improved efficiency for constructors. ”;is considered as a good approach to design production systems and diminish waste of resources and time as well as obtainthe maximum possible efficiency.The term 'lean construction' is an adaptation of lean production techniques applied to the construction industry. Very broadly it can be characterized as techniques aimed at maximizing value and minimizing waste. It is very hard to achieve high level of reliability in constructionplan. Last Planner System (LPS), whichis a planning, monitoring and control tool that follows lean construction principles has been developed as a useful technique for production planning and control in construction. It has been successfully and widely implemented in many construction projects in developed countries such as United States, Brazil, Chile and Korea. It helps to increase the reliability of planning, improve production performance and create a predictable and smooth workflow bycoping with theuncertainties in design. In Ethiopia, there are anumber of different level contractors who are involve in road, dam, and house building projects. However, thesecontractors are not involved on projects that require high competition and are prone to the problems that are listed above. Therefore, it is useful to identify the basic strategies that Ethiopian contractors can proactively adopt to respond to changing internal and external circumstances in order to achieve more sustainable growth in the international construction market. In this context, it will be necessary for Ethiopian construction firms to adopt differentmethods of operation in order to be competitive in the global construction markets.