I will begin with discussing the history of lean thinking and then discuss the most compelling and promising tools enabling lean thinking.
The very concept of lean construction originates from Taichi Ohno's innovative management philosophy - Toyota Production System (TPS). Precisely, the same Toyota Production System is known as "Lean" in western world.
Ohno states in his book - Toyota Production System- Beyond Large Scale Production - the two most important building blocks of TPS are Just-In-Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM).
JIT in a layman's words is an approach with the objective of producing the right part in the right place at the right time. And TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc.) to focus on meeting customer needs and other organizational objectives.
Last Planner® System (LP®S) of production control is a tool based on JIT philosophy. Frequently applied by lean constructors in planning process and more precisely in scheduling process. LP®S encompasses the principles of JIT and utilizes the concept of Kanban too. LP®S makes plans more reliable and it is a building block of lean philosophy into construction just like JIT in TPS.
Second building block of TPS is total quality management (TQM) that is concerned with quality management, as the name indicates and for doing so its focus is on value creation. Repeat work is a big waste in Ohno's book that we all agree. Rebuilding a wall wrong built or redoing the MEP tasks because of defective drawings and so conflicts is certainly waste and poor quality management. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a technology that enables integration and visualization of the facility in virtual world. Contractors use BIM to detect conflicts and Architects use it to communicate their design rationale to all the stakeholders.
Lean is a philosophy but you need methodologies and tools to make lean a reality. Last Planner® System and Building Information Modeling are serving the purpose. Despite several cultural, training, educational, leadership, contractual and legal barriers these innovations are diffusing in the construction industry.
The very concept of lean construction originates from Taichi Ohno's innovative management philosophy - Toyota Production System (TPS). Precisely, the same Toyota Production System is known as "Lean" in western world.
Ohno states in his book - Toyota Production System- Beyond Large Scale Production - the two most important building blocks of TPS are Just-In-Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM).
JIT in a layman's words is an approach with the objective of producing the right part in the right place at the right time. And TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc.) to focus on meeting customer needs and other organizational objectives.
Last Planner® System (LP®S) of production control is a tool based on JIT philosophy. Frequently applied by lean constructors in planning process and more precisely in scheduling process. LP®S encompasses the principles of JIT and utilizes the concept of Kanban too. LP®S makes plans more reliable and it is a building block of lean philosophy into construction just like JIT in TPS.
Second building block of TPS is total quality management (TQM) that is concerned with quality management, as the name indicates and for doing so its focus is on value creation. Repeat work is a big waste in Ohno's book that we all agree. Rebuilding a wall wrong built or redoing the MEP tasks because of defective drawings and so conflicts is certainly waste and poor quality management. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a technology that enables integration and visualization of the facility in virtual world. Contractors use BIM to detect conflicts and Architects use it to communicate their design rationale to all the stakeholders.
Lean is a philosophy but you need methodologies and tools to make lean a reality. Last Planner® System and Building Information Modeling are serving the purpose. Despite several cultural, training, educational, leadership, contractual and legal barriers these innovations are diffusing in the construction industry.
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