24th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - Boston, Massachusetts, USA - 2016

Difficulties in Work Design in the Construction Sector

Wanessa Roberta Fazinga1, Fernanda Aranha Saffaro2, Eduardo Luis Isatto3 & Alessandro Kremer4

1MSc., Professor, Construction Department, University Campus –Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid (PR 445), Km 380, State University of Londrina, Londrina-PR, ZIP 86051-990, Brazil, 43 371-4455, FAX 43 371-4082, [email protected]
2Dr., Assistant Professor, Construction Department, University Campus –Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid (PR 445), Km 380, State University of Londrina, Londrina-PR, ZIP 86051-990, Brazil, 43 371-4455, FAX 43 371-4082, [email protected]
3Dr., Associate Professor, Building Innovation Research Unit (NORIE), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. [email protected]
4MSc., Master of Engineering - Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid (PR 445), Km 380, State University of Londrina, Londrina-PR, ZIP 86051-990, Brazil, 43 371-4455, FAX 43 371-4082, [email protected]

Abstract

Work standards are an essential component of lean production systems. The unique and one-of-a-kind nature of construction products adds an additional layer of complexity when designing work standards in such a particular context. This research focuses the process of designing work standards for construction. The purpose was to highlight the difficulties observed when designing the specifications that make up the standard. An in-depth case study was carried out in a company that had been struggling to meet a stable cycle time for the reinforced concrete structure phase of multi-story buildings. An analysis of the current process was undertaken and a literature review of the work standards was conducted in order to identify possible ways to specify the work elements. The study suggests that a large amount of time is spent on the work design owing to (a) the level of uncertainty (lack of productivity data to support the design of the work packages over the cycle time; frequent moving of the workers from one work package to another; lack of resources near the workstation); (b) a project being created very close to the start of the actual production and, therefore, suffering from conditions imposed by the decisions previously taken; and (c) a team of workers unaware of lean concepts.

Keywords

Standard, Work Design, Workflow

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Reference

Fazinga, W. R. , Saffaro, F. A. , Isatto, E. L. & Kremer, A. 2016. Difficulties in Work Design in the Construction Sector, 24th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , -. doi.org/

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Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

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