196,495 research outputs found
Lean construction: Prospects for the German construction industry
No full textThere is little, if any, information available about the range and dissemination of lean concepts among construction companies in Germany. Building on the methodologies and conceptual frameworks used in earlier work in the UK (Common et al., 2000) and the Netherlands (Johansen et al., 2002) this study carried out a similar survey among German construction companies to discover the current understanding of lean principles, perceptions of lean and trends in lean development. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of an email questionnaire sent to large German construction companies indicates that there is little awareness of lean in the German construction industry and that hardly any company uses lean concepts on a company wide basis despite evidence that procedures and techniques that are used on German construction sites are generally consistent with lean construction practice. There appears to be cultural resistance to a manufacturing derived, production-system-view of construction
Lean Design Management in a Major Infrastructure Project in UK
No full textLean Design Management (LDM) is a response from the lean construction community to overcome the chaotic design process in the AEC industry. Many tools, processes and methods were adapted to the context of design with limited success. This paper presents the use and adaptation of different lean design tools and processes in two phases of a major infrastructure project in the UK. The project is the new high-speed railway to be the backbone of the UK transport network, and it is considered Europe’s largest infrastructure project. The lean design implementation occurred in a Joint-Venture (JV) that had been awarded the main works civils contracts. This paper also compares the results of combined use of adapted last planner in phase 1 and adapted design structure matrix in phase 2, and identifies some of the practical challenges and benefits of the implementation of lean design management. The main contribution of this paper is the contextualisation of different project organisational structures and its influence on the success of the LDM tools implementation. Moreover, a common result for both phases is the enhancement of project communication, collaboration, and transparency of information for planning and control of the project activities
Lean six sigma in a call centre : a case study
No full textThis paper, a case study, aims to illustrate the application of lean six sigma in a call centre of a service industry corporation. The study draws on process information and primary data from a real project. The study describes improvements in the operation of the call centre attributable to lean six sigma: increase in first-call resolution ratio, reduction in operator turnover and streamlining of processes. The introduction of lean six sigma into the call centre daily operations' management may have organizational benefits. Although lean six sigma has been extremely successful in the last two decades in the manufacturing sector, its applicability to the service sector has been a controversial topic. This study illustrates its application to a fast-growing area of the service sector, assisting companies in identifying areas of development for their call centres
Enabling lean design management: An LOD based framework
No full textQuestion: How can we use the Level of Development (LOD) concept to better develop BIM models under a Transformation, Flow and Value (TFV) perspective? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to introduce a new LOD framework to relate the LOD value of a model element to its actual design context and to manage the design process according to the TFV theory. Research Method: Review and analyze current LOD definitions and guidelines. Develop a new LOD framework and align its use to lean design management. Findings: The new framework enables the application of lean design principles through a practical use of the TFV theory. The defined LOD variables, the LOD matrix, and the parametric nature of BIM models facilitate the integration of the TFV theory into the management of design workflow on BIM projects. Limitations: The LOD framework needs to be applied experimentally to investigate its full potential. Implications: The paper builds on the LOD and TFV theories. Researchers can employ current findings to develop new design management procedures and tools to ameliorate the quality of the design process as well as the final design product. Value for practitioners: This study provides practitioners with a systematic and flexible procedure to define and manage LOD requirements inside BIM models. It also enables them to integrate lean design principles into the project’s workflows. © 2016, Lean Construction Institute. All Rights Reserved
Beyond Lean: Simulation in Practice
No full textLean thinking, as well as associated processes and tools, have involved into a ubiquitous perspective for improving systems particularly in the manufacturing arena. With application experience has come an understanding of the boundaries of lean capabilities and the benefits of getting beyond these boundaries to further improve performance. Discrete event simulation is recognized as one beyond-the-boundaries of lean technique. Thus, the fundamental goal of this text is to show how discrete event simulation can be used in addition to lean thinking to achieve greater benefits in system improvement than with lean alone. Realizing this goal requires learning the problems that simulation solves as well as the methods required to solve them. The problems that simulation solves are captured in a collection of case studies. These studies serve as metaphors for industrial problems that are commonly addressed using lean and simulation.https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/books/1001/thumbnail.jp
A customised lean model for a Chinese aerospace OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)
No full textThe aim of this research is to introduce Lean Thinking in a systematic and cost
effective way; moreover, it is to bring Lean Principles and apply Lean Tools to
the new aerospace companies. In particular the research will develop a
customised Lean manufacturing model. The following objectives will be
achieved during the research. 1); Investigate the principal features of Lean
Thinking, and identify state of the art in Lean manufacturing implementation. 2);
Identify the current situation of a specific Chinese aerospace company and the
requirements needed in becoming Lean. 3); Develop a customised Lean model
for applying Lean into a new Chinese aerospace company. 4); Validate the
Lean manufacturing model by experts in the company and university.
The Chinese traditional thinking is different from lean think. Therefore, to
implement Lean in China will face some distinct barriers. The author attempts to
resolve these problems through a customised lean model. According to the
literature review and researcher‘s knowledge, there is no paper developing a
model linking to the barriers of lean implementation in Chinese manufacturing.
Therefore, the author will attempt to fill in this gap during the research.
The questionnaire and assessment tool will be used to collect information from
the company. Best practices will help to establish the structure of the model.
However, in China, most companies implement lean through copying examples
from the United States, UK and other Western countries without combining their
current situation and culture. The contribution of this research is to develop a
model to link Chinese barriers and a company‘s situation for lean
implementation.
Finally, this model will be validated by company and academic experts. The first
validation is based on the sponsoring company. Other validations are achieved
by academic experts and industrial expert
Beyond Lean: Simulation in Practice, Second Edition
No full textLean thinking, as well as associated processes and tools, have involved into a ubiquitous perspective for improving systems particularly in the manufacturing arena. With application experience has come an understanding of the boundaries of lean capabilities and the benefits of getting beyond these boundaries to further improve performance. Discrete event simulation is recognized as one beyond-the-boundaries of lean technique. Thus, the fundamental goal of this text is to show how discrete event simulation can be used in addition to lean thinking to achieve greater benefits in system improvement than with lean alone. Realizing this goal requires learning the problems that simulation solves as well as the methods required to solve them. The problems that simulation solves are captured in a collection of case studies. These studies serve as metaphors for industrial problems that are commonly addressed using lean and simulation.https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/books/1006/thumbnail.jp
A Lean Workflow Index for Construction Projects
No full textTraditional monitoring methods for construction project control based on the earned-value method provide measures of cash flow and schedule compliance. However, they do not tell managers anything about the quality (stability, continuity) of the workflow, and the results are not timely enough for effective control. In order to improve workflows where lean production control is applied, direct measures of workflow are needed. Kalsaas and others have proposed measures of daily or weekly workflow for specific tasks, but their measures cannot be used for real-time project control and they were not tested or calibrated over complete project life-spans. The Lean Workflow Index (LWI) that we propose directly reflects the smoothness and continuity of workflow lines in flowline charts. In the first stage we define a set of possible tracking parameters and propose the lean workflow index formula as a combination of them. A survey of lean experts was conducted in which they graded workflow quality for as-built flowline records for 12 projects. The results of the survey were then used to calibrate parameter coefficient values in the LWI formula by using a goal seeking algorithm. The resulting formula was used to compute the LWI for three high-rise residential projects. The major advantage of the proposed lean workflow index is that it monitors project workflows in real-time so that construction teams can be continuously aware of and improve their performance in the areas that are measured.Peer reviewe
Interaction of Lean and Building Information Modeling in Construction
No full textLean construction and Building Information Modeling are quite different initiatives, but both are having profound impacts on the construction industry. A rigorous analysis of the myriad specific interactions between them indicates that a synergy exists which, if properly understood in theoretical terms, can be exploited to improve construction processes beyond the degree to which it might be improved by application of either of these paradigms independently. Using a matrix that juxtaposes BIM functionalities with prescriptive lean construction principles, fifty-six interactions have been identified, all but four of which represent constructive interaction. Although evidence for the majority of these has been found, the matrix is not considered complete, but rather a framework for research to explore the degree of validity of the interactions. Construction executives, managers, designers and developers of IT systems for construction can also benefit from the framework as an aid to recognizing the potential synergies when planning their lean and BIM adoption strategies
Evaluating lean in healthcare
No full textThe overarching aim of this thesis is to evaluate Lean implementation in the
English NHS. Against a background of financial austerity measures and the
ostensible widespread adoption of Lean in the UK public sector, and particularly
by healthcare organisations, the objective is to understand how Lean is being
implemented by NHS hospital Trusts, and whether there is any quantitative
evidence that Lean implementation is improving hospital performance. Adopting
Pettigrew and Whipp’s (1991) framework of strategic change, this thesis aims to
present theoretically sound and practically useful research through an exploration
of the context, process and content of Lean implementation by English hospital
Trusts. In order to achieve this, the research employs a mixed methods research
design incorporating document analysis3, quantitative analysis and case study
analysis to afford an insight into the implementation of Lean from multiple
viewpoints and facilitate the development of new insights relating to the
phenomena of Lean implementation in English hospital Trusts.
The research provides a contribution to knowledge in three key areas: firstly
through the identification and validation of a typology of approaches to Lean
implementation by English hospital Trusts i.e. a characterisation of the method of
Lean implementation; secondly through quantitative analysis and discussion of
the potential link between Lean implementation and increased performance; and
thirdly a set of propositions that provide a narrative and logic to explain the
influence of contextual factors upon the process of Lean implementation in
English hospitals
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