This article presents an alternative approach to management in the construction sector, by introducing an innovative management focus that is increasingly gaining ground at an international level: that of "lean construction", This new approach, based on management concepts of the Toyota production system, considers the causes of many of the problems that restrict construction efficiency, and focuses on the reduction of losses throughout the productive flow. A description is also given of the LPD model ("lean project delivery") as an integral perspective for the entire value chain of construction that is now revolutionizing the means of developing complex, rapid and highly uncertain projects in the United States and in other pioneering countries in the introduction of these ideas, Reference is also made to the relation between these ideas and the concept of "partnering" and public-private collaboration earlier introduced in Europe. The article describes the basic aspects of one of the most widely used tools in lean construction; that of the last planner, and goes on to present the impact caused by the introduction of this management system and the results obtained in tens of projects where this has been applied. The paper concludes with a reference to the small degree of adoption and application of "lean construction" in Spain.