Lean Construction and Productivity
Why construction productivity has lagged and how lean methods improve it: BEA and BLS productivity data and the Lean Construction Institute, lean principles, value and the eight wastes, variability, flow and pull, the Last Planner System from master and phase planning through six-week look-ahead, constraint analysis and make-ready to weekly work plans, percent plan complete and reasons for variance, takt time planning and line of balance, work structuring, location-based management and buffers, prefabrication, bathroom pods, modular construction and DfMA with the HUD Code, IBC and state modular programs, measuring productivity with work sampling, crew balance and learning curves, continuous improvement with A3 reports, first-run studies and Choosing by Advantages, and a capstone lean implementation on a mid-rise residential project.
CON-410 Year 4 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 11 min
Offered by HSM University · Construction Management
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain how construction productivity is measured at industry, company, project and activity levels, interpret US productivity data critically, and identify the management factors behind lost time on site
- Apply lean principles to construction, distinguish value-adding, necessary non-value-adding and wasteful activities, and recognize the eight wastes and their countermeasures on site
- Explain how variability in dependent trades reduces throughput, use Little's Law and simple queueing results, and compare push and pull systems
- Describe the levels of the Last Planner System and lead a pull planning session that produces a phase plan with a pooled buffer
- Run a look-ahead process that screens tasks against the preconditions, maintains a constraint log, shields crews and measures Tasks Anticipated and Tasks Made Ready
- Build weekly work plans from sound assignments, calculate percent plan complete, analyze reasons for non-completion and trace them to root causes
- Prepare a takt plan by sizing zones, wagons, takt time and crews, calculate its duration, and use line of balance to detect and resolve trade conflicts
- Structure work by location, apply location-based control to forecast conflicts, and choose, place and size time, capacity, inventory and space buffers
- Evaluate prefabrication, pods and modular construction on whole-project value, apply design for manufacture and assembly, and explain the US regulatory context including the HUD Code and state modular programs
- Measure site productivity with performance factors, work sampling, foreman delay surveys, crew balance charts and learning curves, and use the results ethically
- Lead continuous improvement with PDCA, A3 reports, the five whys, Gemba walks, first-run studies, standard work, visual management and Choosing by Advantages, and connect lean practice with safety
- Prepare and evaluate a lean implementation plan for a building project, including goals, planning cadence, takt, prefabrication, measures, costs, benefits and contract arrangements
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 11 min total · final exam
- 1 The productivity problem in construction 27 min · quiz
- 2 Lean thinking: principles, value and waste 26 min · quiz
- 3 Variability, flow and pull 26 min · quiz
- 4 The Last Planner System I: master and phase planning 25 min · quiz
- 5 The Last Planner System II: look-ahead planning, constraints and make-ready 26 min · quiz
- 6 The Last Planner System III: weekly work plans, PPC and learning 26 min · quiz
- 7 Takt time planning and line of balance 26 min · quiz
- 8 Work structuring, location-based management and buffers 25 min · quiz
- 9 Prefabrication, modular construction and DfMA 26 min · quiz
- 10 Measuring productivity on site 27 min · quiz
- 11 Continuous improvement and lean culture 26 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: implementing lean on a mid-rise project 25 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Why construction productivity has lagged and how lean methods improve it: BEA and BLS productivity data and the Lean Construction Institute, lean principles, value and the eight wastes, variability, flow and pull, the Last Planner System from master and phase planning through six-week look-ahead, constraint analysis and make-ready to weekly work plans, percent plan complete and reasons for variance, takt time planning and line of balance, work structuring, location-based management and buffers, prefabrication, bathroom pods, modular construction and DfMA with the HUD Code, IBC and state modular programs, measuring productivity with work sampling, crew balance and learning curves, continuous improvement with A3 reports, first-run studies and Choosing by Advantages, and a capstone lean implementation on a mid-rise residential project.
Part of the Construction Management stream, typically taken in year 4.