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11th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - Virginia, USA - 2003

Construction Supply Chains: Turkish Supply Chain Configurations for Cut and Bent Rebar

Gul Polat¹ & Glenn Ballard²

¹Research Assistant, Construction Management Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey, Tel: +90-212-285-37-37; fax: +90-212-285-65-87; [email protected]
²Research Director, Lean Construction Institute, 4536 Fieldbrook Road, Oakland, CA 94619. 510/530-8656, [email protected] and Associate Adjunct Professor, Project & Engineering Mgmt. Group, Dept. of Civil and Env. Eng., University of California at Berkeley

Abstract

This paper presents current supply chain configurations for concrete reinforcement steel (rebar) in the Turkish construction industry. The supply chains were assessed by the value stream mapping method and were investigated through visits to firms involved in the supply chain and interviews with practitioners. Five different types of rebar supply chain configurations were identified in the case studies. A significant number of problems were also identified resulting from inaccurate data transfers among participants, and also from delays and interruptions in information flow. This paper details the root causes of problems throughout the supply chain comprising engineering, detailing, reckoning, fabrication and procurement processes. It is proposed that the problems are caused by fragmentation in the construction industry, and by lack of awareness of the supply chain management concept and its benefits. Finally, a set of recommendations for performance improvement are proposed.

Keywords

Concrete reinforcing steel, rebar, supply chain management, supply chain management in construction, construction supply chains, process mapping, supply chain analysis, value stream mapping.

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