A Comparative Study between Lean Construction and the Traditional Production System

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 118-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Saad Bajjou ◽  
Anas Chafi ◽  
Abdelali En-Nadi
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Production System ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Value Stream Mapping ◽  
Great Ability ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Traditional Production ◽  
Traditional Construction

The growing context of globalization permanently increases pressure on the construction companies to improve their performances in order to resist to the constraints of competitiveness in the international market. It has become ineluctable to look for introducing a new alternative capable of bringing creative improvement to the traditional production system. This paper will relate mainly to the most relevant management techniques in the construction industry, and more specifically, the lean construction concept. Initially, we will determine the main characteristics of the construction industry compared to the manufacturing industry according to three levels: on-site production, one of a kind projects, and complexity. Subsequently, we will focus our attention on the main sources of waste in the construction industry. Finally, a rigorous comparative study will be carried out to show the contribution of the lean construction tools in the promotion of traditional construction especially at the level of the following factors: Creating value and eliminating waste; Planning and mutual coordination; Site organization. Lean construction as Last Planner System (LPS), Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Just-in-Time philosophy, Visual management (VM) and 5S have shown a great ability to improve the traditional production system through waste reduction, encouraging people involvement, ensuring a pull flow production, and promotion of a continuous improvement philosophy.

scholarly journals IT tools and standards supporting mass customisation in the building industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-80
Author(s):  
Kim Jensen ◽  
◽  
Kjeld Nielson ◽  
Thomas Brunoe ◽  
Jesper Larsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Mass Customization ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Mass Customisation ◽  
Industry Foundation Classes ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Productivity And Competitiveness

Research demonstrate that productivity in the Danish building and construction industry has only doubled over the last fifty years, whereas the manufacturing industry has increased six times. Utilisation of mass customization as a strategy has achieved results in the manufacturing industry in terms of increasing productivity and competitiveness, so the strategy might have potentials in the building and construction industry as well. However, mass customization as a strategy for improving the productivity of the building and construction industry has not been explored as much as in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this paper is to analysethe assumptions and possibilities for applying the principles of masscustomisation related to establishing an adaptable integrated system of entities in the value chain of the building and construction industry.The outset of the paper is a literature review concerning the utilisation of mass customization as a strategy in terms of increasing productivity within the building and construction industry. An essential part of the paper is a case study of 11 building and construction companies and an analysis of the conditions for cooperation between the entities in the value chain of the building and construction industry. The paper induces to which extent it makes sense to talk about utilisation of mass customisation by applying the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and standardisation initiatives of the construction industry provided by buildingSMART, and at the same time harvesting the benefits of the mass customization.

Development of a Maturity Framework for Lean Construction

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Gökhan Demirdöğen ◽  
Nihan Sena Diren ◽  
Zeynep Işık
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Value Engineering ◽  
Engineering Level ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Traditional Construction ◽  
Building Life Cycle ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

The issue of time and cost consuming activities such as rework, conflicts, and overlapping has received considerable critical attention by construction industry. Using benefits of lean thinking has a significant impact on the construction processes in order to achieve perfection at the whole building life cycle. The Lean construction methodology is an increasingly important area for the construction industry due to its effect on cost and value. However, the Lean construction methodology is not implemented by the construction industry professionals due to the complexity of methodology, change requirements in company organization, lack of guides for the process, etc. This study provides a comprehensive framework that focuses on defining processes which enables lean methodology implementation by demonstrating the whole building lifecycle. It will provide a broad explanation for the characteristics of each level and logical relationships between concepts. The levels of the maturity framework such as; Level 0 Traditional Construction, Level 1 Lean Construction, Level 2 Lean Construction, and Value Engineering, Level 3 Lean Construction, value engineering, and building information modeling, and Level 4 Lean Construction, value engineering, building information modeling, and data analytics were identified with a comprehensive literature review and comprehended. The findings of the study will be helpful to increase comprehensibility and implementation of lean concept.

scholarly journals Expansion of a Cohesive Appliance for a Cost Effective Road Construction Process using Lean Constructions

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
SGS Karunanayake ◽  
◽  
HSR Ananda ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Production System ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Design And Construction

The interconnection of activities required for the design and construction of building and infrastructure involves the interplay between people, technology, situations, and decisions. It requires the astute coordination of labor, materials, and plant to realize the planned progress of work. Minimizing waste and maximizing value while continuous improvement is the concept of lean. Lean construction has proven to be an alternative for such improvements so as the satisfy client by creating customer value. Through its origins in the Toyota Production System, lean is now applied as an innovative way to manage the design and construction of projects with the use of tools which address project constraints, such as complexities and uncertainties, among others. This research is an effort to implement lean construction concept to the Sri Lankan road construction industry.

scholarly journals A project-based purchasing portfolio matrix applied to the Australian construction industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Bildsten
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Effective Collaboration ◽  
Timely Delivery

AbstractFor a project to be delivered on-time and to an agreed cost in accordance with the specification, it is important to have an appropriate purchasing strategy. A project succeeds due to many factors, one of which is cost alongside timely delivery and quality. Formal purchasing strategies for different purchasing categories are common in the manufacturing industry, but less so in a project-based industry such as construction. The paper argues that purchasing strategies suited to the project-based nature of construction would improve project delivery and other success factors. The purpose of this study is to determine if a matrix could assist companies in the project-based industry to formulating their purchasing strategies. Case studies of five Australian construction companies’ purchasing practises were undertaken to support this work. There is evidence that, to remain competitive, it is necessary for companies to develop a network of well-established relationships with suppliers and subcontractors. Purchasing strategies need to be adapted to each purchasing situation as projects are rarely, if ever, the same. It is necessary, therefore, to adopt an approach that combines the best commercial deal and most effective collaboration.

scholarly journals The potential effectiveness of lean construction principles in reducing construction process waste: an input-output model

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 4141-4160
Author(s):  
M. S. Bajjou ◽  
A. Chafi
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Planning And Scheduling ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Process Waste ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Transportation Motion ◽  
Innovative Techniques

With the spread of a culture of waste reduction in the construction industry, the traditional management system has become insufficient, so it has become crucial to implement more innovative techniques to improve the performance of this sector. In response to this need, Lean Construction (LC), which is the global reference of a production system with the minimum of waste generation, has attracted several construction companies all over the world. However, previous studies indicate that are several implementation scenarios that differ from one company to another according to their own understanding of the Lean Construction concept.  In this paper, the authors attempt to fill this gap by proposing an original input-output model that aims at clarifying the main conceptual basis of  Lean Construction philosophy, as well as establishing interactions between the main principles of this concept and all sources of wastes that exist in the construction industry. The proposed model shows nine main principles: customer focus, supply, continuous improvement, waste elimination, people involvement, planning and scheduling, quality, standardization and transparency. In addition, the practical relationships between those principles and nine sources of waste (transportation, motion, inventory, waiting, overproduction, defects, over-processing, unused employee creativity, and work Accidents) have been analysed.

An empirical study of the impact of lean on the performance of the construction industry in UAE

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 694-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaber Shurrab ◽  
Matloub Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual framework for the exploration of appropriate lean techniques applicable to medium and large construction companies and measure their impact on the competitiveness and economic performance of construction companies in United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey is conducted on 215 construction professionals in UAE to investigate the lean technique’s effect on the construction companies’ performance. The data collected were analyzed with SPSS 20.0 version software using the Cronbach’s a reliability test, correlation coefficient test and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test. Findings Analysis of lean techniques in the construction industry reveals 21 lean techniques. These techniques were categorized into the six types of lean core values. Process focus was found to be the most applied type of construction core value in the surveyed companies. This is required to focus on applying other core values as it will impact the company’s economic performance positively. Research limitations/implications The integrity of the research findings is based on the accuracy and reliability of collected data from 215 respondents working for construction companies in UAE, implementing lean construction techniques within a their daily activates and not achieving significant project achievements in terms of quality improvement, speed and cost reduction without adopting the overall lean construction framework. Practical implications This research recommends a systematic approach for the implementation of the anticipated framework within a cyclical look-ahead period and emphasizes the practical implications of the proposed approach in the construction companies. Originality/value Research significance emphasizes increasing the effectiveness of the construction industry and influences the development of lean construction framework, which improves lean construction practices using the lean techniques. This contributes to the effort of applying lean techniques in the construction industry. Limited studies have been done in the construction industry, mainly in UAE, compared to lean manufacturing.

Risk assessment of construction projects in China under traditional and industrial production modes

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2147-2168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingxin Gao ◽  
Hong Ren ◽  
Weiguang Cai
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Industrial Production ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Industrial Construction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Traditional Production ◽  
Traditional Construction

Purpose High risk is one of the most prominent characteristics of the Chinese construction industry, and it poses a significant threat to construction projects. Owing to initiatives aimed at achieving high efficiency, low carbon emissions, etc., industrialization of the construction industry has become an inevitable trend in China. However, it remains to be discussed whether industrialization of construction can reduce the risks entailed in construction projects compared with traditional construction. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Based on the theory of risk life cycle, this paper proposes a practical risk assessment technique to assess the risk life cycle, including the risk occurrence time and potential financial losses. This technique is then applied to assess the differences between the risks involved in an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project executed via traditional and industrial production modes. Findings The results show that the total duration of risks in the industrial construction project is half of that in the traditional project. In addition, the expected financial loss entailed in the industrial construction project is 29 percent lower than that in the traditional construction project. Therefore, industrial construction has the potential to optimize risk performance. Originality/value There is no significant difference between the traditional and industrial construction models in terms of probability of risk. The maximum total loss might occur in the procurement stage in the case of industrial production, and in the construction stage in the case of traditional production. Moreover, the total expected loss from risk in the EPC project in the industrial production mode is only half of that in the traditional production route. This study is expected to provide a new risk evaluation technique and promote an understanding of the life cycle of risk management in the construction industry.

Assessing lean conformance by first-grade contractors in the Jordanian construction industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghaleb J. Sweis ◽  
Mohammad Hiyassat ◽  
Fares F. Al-Hroub
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Lean Practices ◽  
A Company

Purpose There is little information existing about the spread of lean among Jordanian construction companies. Building on a report by Diekmann et al. (2004), this paper aims to perform a similar investigation among first-grade Jordanian construction companies to assess the extent of implementation of lean techniques. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, a quantitative approach to measuring contractors’ conformance to lean practices was adopted. A survey of 61 contractors was conducted using both e-mails and personally delivered surveys that were completed on the spot. The results were analysed, and a practice value index, which indicates the level of implementation, was figured out for lean practices. In addition, an analysis of variance was conducted to determine whether there were differences among respondents from different construction fields. Findings The survey indicated that some procedures used by Jordanian contractors were consistent with lean construction practices. However, there was no proof that lean concepts were used on a company-wide basis. Furthermore, the survey revealed that the Jordanian construction industry lacks a “continuous improvement“ mentality, suffers from the absence of error proofing devices and provides minimal training at several levels of the organisation. Originality/value The outcomes of the study are valuable for contractors and developers of management practices, as it will encourage them to adopt lean construction holistically and identify features that are not exploited in the Jordanian construction industry.

scholarly journals APLICAÇÃO DA FERRAMENTA DE AVALIAÇÃO DA IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DA CONSTRUÇÃO ENXUTA EM TRÊS EMPRESAS CONSTRUTORAS GOIANAS

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-150
Author(s):  
Tatiana Gondim do Amaral ◽  
Lucas Barros de Paiva ◽  
Rafael Figueiredo de Paula ◽  
Rodrigo Fernandes Nobre
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Production Planning And Control ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Planning And Control ◽  
And Control

RESUMO: As práticas da construção enxuta vêm sendo difundidas de forma progressiva na indústria da construção civil e, com isso, surge a indispensabilidade de mecanismos que permitam a avaliação de sua implementação. As empresas podem aplicar os princípios da Lean Constuction possibilitando os meios para uma melhoria contínua de seus resultados em termos de prazos, custos e demanda ao cliente. O objetivo do trabalho é aplicar a ferramenta de avaliação da implementação da Construção Enxuta (LCAT) em três empresas construtoras goianas. A pesquisa é classificada como quantitativa e qualitativa, aplicada e de caráter exploratório. A partir da análise dos dados referentes à média de todas as quatro categorias (Gestão da Qualidade, Gestão da Cadeia de Suprimentos, Planejamento e Controle da Produção e Gestão de Projetos), as empresas B e C apresentaram percentuais próximos entre si, correspondendo a 61% e 62%, respectivamente. Esses resultados foram superiores ao da empresa A, equivalendo a 53%. A principal contribuição da pesquisa constituiu em evidenciar as práticas para a implementação da Lean Construction nas empresas pesquisadas e despertar a estas indicações de ferramentas que podem ser facilmente implementadas a um baixo custo.   ABSTRACT: The practices of lean construction have been progressively diffused in the civil construction industry, and with this, comes up the indispensability of mechanisms that allow the evaluation of their implementation. Companies can apply the principles of Lean Constuction by enabling them to continuously improve their results in terms of deadlines, costs and customer demand. The objective of this work is to apply the Lean Construction Assessment Tool (LCAT) in three construction companies in Goiás. The research is classified as quantitative and qualitative, applied and exploratory. Based on the analysis of the data for the average of all four categories (Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, Production Planning and Control and Project Management), companies B and C had close percentages, corresponding to 61 % And 62%, respectively. These results were superior to that of company A, equivalent to 53%. The main contribution of the research was to highlight the practices for the implementation of Lean Construction in the companies surveyed and to awaken to these indications of tools that can be easily implemented at a low cost.

scholarly journals Lean Construction Technique

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (VI) ◽  
pp. 4486-4490
Author(s):  
Raj Suryawanshi
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Construction Technique ◽  
Project Duration ◽  
Lean Principles ◽  
Management Principle ◽  
Large Research

Lean construction is as an effective management tool to enhance the productivity in construction field. Large research is being done in recent past and is an on-going process to adopt lean principles from manufacturing industry to the construction industry. In order to improve the efficiency, reduction of waste, the lean construction has been introduced as new management tool. There are many challenges in implementing the lean concept in construction industry in India. Due to lack of attention and illiteracy towards the lean management principle, stake holders associated to this like builder, contractor, and engineering and project management firms etc. are still in process of adopting this principle for construction project. In this project report efforts are made to find out main barriers towards the implementation of lean techniques in Indian construction industry with the help of questionnaire survey and actual site implementations are made to develop a process map for on-going projects. Results of the survey showed that some of the lean techniques should be given more focus to enhance the process. The framework results show that the NVA (Non Value Added) and ENVA (Essential Non Value Added) activities have the highest impact on the project duration. Therefore with implementation of the proposed lean techniques, the NVA and ENVA activities have found to be improved and their durations can be reduced considerably.

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