TY  - CONF
TI  - Shared Understanding: The Machine Code of the Social in a Socio-Technical System
AU  - Pasquire, Christine
AU  - Ebbs, Paul
AD  - Professor of Lean Project Management; Centre for Lean Projects, School of Architecture, Design and Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University, UK. christine.pasquire@ntu.ac.uk
AD  - Research Fellow; Centre for Lean Projects, School of Architecture, Design and Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University, UK paul.ebbs@ntu.ac.uk
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/07/09
T2  - 25th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
C3  - 25th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
CY  - Heraklion, Greece
SP  - 365
EP  - 372
DO  - 10.24928/2017/0342
SN  - 2309-0979 (ISSN)
AB  - The emergence of the explicit need for shared understanding as an underpinning flow in lean construction has generated some debate and exposed a need to provide a better explanation. Following an investigation comprising of a total of 27 interviews and several workshops, the data identifies and connects the relationship between inappropriate understanding and constraints to flow - represented through a conceptual model. The research further identified that introducing lean construction concepts associated with the Last Planner® System caused the participants to realise the importance of a shared understanding when previously they had not raised it as a source of constraint or problem. The research concludes that a shared understanding is critical to the social aspects of a sociotechnical system and needs to be precise and project specific to achieve the desired outcomes. In this way, a shared understanding can be considered to be the equivalent of a machine code in an operating system - if the understanding breaks down then so does the project delivery system.
KW  - 8th flow; common understanding; shared understanding; lean construction
L1  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/1409/pdf
UR  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/1409
DB  - IGLC.net
LA  - English
N1  - Export date: 04 October 2026
ER  -