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Proceedings / IGLC 29

IGLC 29 · Lima, Peru · 2021

Slack in Construction - Part 2: Practical Applications

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

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

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

Cite this paper

APA 7th edition

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. In Proc. 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) (pp. 197–206). https://doi.org/10.24928/2021/0178

Shortened reference for IGLC papers

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. IGLC29. https://doi.org/10.24928/2021/0178