Energy consumption and carbon emissions assessment of integrated production and erection of buildings’ pre-fabricated steel frames using lean techniques

The growing development of the building industry and the significant contribution of the construction industry to global energy consumption and CO2 emissions demonstrate the need to apply techniques such as lean techniques aimed to reduce environmental impacts by reducing wastes. The present study, using lean techniques has tried to improve the processes of production, transportation, and erection of pre-fabricated steel frame (PSF) components in terms of the energy consumption and CO2 emissions. In this regard, value stream mapping (VSM), just in time (JIT), continuous flow, and total productive maintenance (TPM), as four lean techniques, are used aimed to identify and eliminate processes’ wastes and improve the resource efficiency. To assess the impact of applying lean techniques, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology outlined in the ISO 14040 is used. The results indicate that the energy consumption and CO2 emissions are reduced by 9.2% and 4.4%, respectively, that shows the ability to improve the environmental performance of the installation of PSFs by using lean techniques. •Installation of pre-fabricated steel frames (PSFs) of residential buildings is studied.•Environmental impacts of installation of the PSFs are assessed based on ISO 14040.•Lean techniques are applied to reduce environmental impacts of the installation of PSFs.•Applying lean techniques for installation of PSFs reduces the environmental impacts.•Annual energy consumption and CO2 emissions were reduced by 9.2% and 4.4%, respectively.