The addresses
He formally opened the Technical Conference on 3 July 2024, after the Industry Day and the workshop day and Gemba walk, and delivered the closing address that brought the conference to an end. Both addresses were recorded and are published here.
The opening keynote welcomed an international community to the first IGLC held in New Zealand, and the closing address brought the technical conference to its conclusion on behalf of the host university. Between them sat the scientific core of the week, with lean construction research from across the world presented in Auckland.
The conference
The programme ran from an Industry Day on 1 July through a workshop day, three days of technical conference and a PhD School on 6 July. Speakers included Professor Glenn Ballard of the University of California, Berkeley, a co-founder of IGLC. The chairing team was led by Dr Mani Poshdar, with Professor Amirhosein Ghaffarianhoseini, Professor Charles Walker and Janie van Woerden.
AUT’s own account of the conference noted that the built environment accounts for between 15 and 20 percent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, which is why lean methods, which make projects easier to manage, safer, faster, cheaper and of better quality, carry a sustainability argument as well as a productivity one.
Significance
Bringing IGLC to Auckland placed AUT at the centre of the international lean construction community for a week, and connected it with industry through sponsors and contributors including Lean Construction ANZ, Argon & Co, McConnell Dowell, Implenia, Beca and the Chartered Institute of Building.
The conference also formed part of the School’s programme of international conferences, alongside SASBE 2024 and GDI 2025, that brings external income and international standing to AUT. Its legacy at the university includes the Lean Construction Student Association, founded at AUT in 2025 with his support.
