Mind the Gap - Project Management and Lean Tools application for Process Flow Optimisation Across Interfaces in a Construction Component Manufacturing Facility

In the last decade the development of offsite manufacturing of components has aided in the construction sector’s reduction of the seven fundamental wastes, yet offsite manufacturing poses its own issues with regards to waste. The identification of the seven types of waste (transport issues, excess inventory, unnecessary motion, waiting times, overprocessing, overproduction and defects) has led to the introduction of lean manufacturing practices in construction. As a result, the reduction / prevention of waste in the construction sector has been discussed in the literature but there is very little evidence of research being carried out into waste in the construction component manufacturing sector. The aim of this case study was address this gap through examining waste identification, monitoring and minimisation in a construction component manufacturing facility, focusing particularly on the process flow from design, manufacturing through to installation on site, as issues at these interfaces cause the majority of waste .

Six lean manufacturing based methods- process mapping, project management tools for planning and scheduling, decision making, key performance indicators, and communication systems formed the basic focal points of the investigation into waste at the process interfaces. They informed the design, execution and delivery of seven semi-structured interviews and the development / administration of a questionnaire to participants selected from staff members who met specific selection criteria. Due to COVID-19, the research was conducted through on?line vehicles MS Teams (Interviews) and MS Forms ( questionnaire admin and data capture from the Interviews).

The findings show that 100% of participants were aware the implementation of a range of lean manufacturing tools such as non-conformance reports into the process to effectively reduce waste in projects due to issues at process interfaces. Despite the use of lean tools, participants cited examples of waste primarily due to poor communication across interfaces.. More emphasis on the effective transfer of information relevant to a project across the interfaces, in particular at the client → design interface, was needed to prevent waste from creeping into the projects.