Lean Construction has become a global reference of a production system with the minimum of waste. However, previous research shows that there are several implementation scenarios, which differ from one company to another according to their own understanding of the Lean Construction principles. This work aims to fill this gap by proposing a generic framework leading to a better understanding of the basics of Lean Construction. In this paper, an original conceptual model has been developed based on a rigorous analysis of the most relevant Lean construction models that have been applied and tested in several countries. The outcome of this model shows that there are nine main Lean Construction principles, and which are: customer focus, supply, continuous improvement, waste elimination, people involvement, planning and scheduling, quality, standardization and transparency. In addition to that, the most used Lean Construction sub-principles have been identified based on an extensive literature review.
