https://doi.org/10.24928/2021/0178

Slack in Construction - Part 2: Practical Applications

Tarcisio Abreu Saurin1, Daniela Dietz Viana2, Carlos Torres Formoso3, Iris D. Tommelein4, Lauri Koskela5, Marcus Fireman6, Karina Barth7, Fernanda Bataglin8, Rafael Coelho9, Vishesh Singh10, Carolina Zani11, Natália Ransolin12 & Claudia Guerra Disconzi13

1Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering and Transportation Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0003-2929-5888
2Adjunct Professor, Interdisciplinary Department, NORIE, UFRGS, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-8958-4708
3Professor, Building Innovation Research Unit (NORIE), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-4772-3746
4Professor, Civil and Envir. Engrg. Dept., Director, Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), University of California, Berkeley, CA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-9941-6596
5Professor, Civil and Envir. Engrg. Dept., Director, Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), University of California, Berkeley, CA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-9941-6596
6PhD Student, Postgraduate Program in Civil Eng.: Construction and Infrastructure, UFRGS, Porto Alegre 90035-190, Brazil, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-5843-4715
7PhD Candidate, NORIE, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Consultant and Managing Partner at LD Consulting, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-9612-6246
8PhD Candidate, Postgraduate Program in Civil Eng.: Construction and Infrastructure, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-8859-1201
9PhD Student, Civil and Envir. Eng. Dept. and Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0003-3298-3622
10PhD Student, Civil and Envir. Eng. Dept. and Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-6999-9727
11PhD Student, Civil and Envir. Eng. Dept. and Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-6999-9727
12PhD Candidate, Postgraduate Program in Civil Eng.: Construction and Infrastructure, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-7128-8000
13PhD Candidate, Postgraduate Program in Civil Eng.: Construction and Infrastructure, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-7128-8000

Abstract

Construction projects are exposed to a wide diversity of variabilities, which suggests the existence of a correspondent wide diversity of variability coping mechanisms, whether they are designed or not. This wide diversity is not properly accounted for by the concept of buffer, as it neglects the social and informal dimensions of coping with variability. The use of the concept of slack is proposed as an alternative. A companion IGLC 29 paper defines slack and discusses its relationships with proxy concepts such as flexibility and resilience. This paper presents nine practical examples of slack in managerial processes and topics that are of interest for the lean construction community. These examples suggest that, while slack has been concealed by the lack of theorization and consistent terminology, it is ubiquitous in lean construction. Opportunities for future studies are outlined

Keywords

Slack, complexity, concept map

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Reference

Saurin, T. A. , Viana, D. D. , Formoso, C. T. , Tommelein, I. D. , Koskela, L. , Fireman, M. , Barth, K. , Bataglin, F. , Coelho, R. , Singh, V. , Zani, C. , Ransolin, N. & Disconzi, C. G. 2021. Slack in Construction - Part 2: Practical Applications, Proc. 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) , 197-206. doi.org/10.24928/2021/0178

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