Lean construction, takt time planning

Abstract

Lean construction is a project based production process which focuses on good, reliable and predictable scheduling. The focus and the whole idea with lean construction is maximizing value and minimizing waste, especially in terms of working hours. It is a new way of thinking and will take time and effort to implement into the daily routine of a construction worker and an engineer, but will in the long run be cutting cost, increase productivity, make the whole construction process faster and managing projects more efficiently if done the right way. When using takt-time planning the construction industry looks at a concept very similar to the assembly line principal. The difference is that the workers and different sectors of the team moves around. To visualize this, it will be like a train with different fields in every train car driving in a decided order through the building. I order to prevent stoppages in the production and workers waiting, every car needs to have the same pace. Results from various studies show that workers working in a takt time system has more control and a tidier workplace. Takt time planning can also show for less conflicts, better workforce and higher utilization of labor, than in more traditional planning concepts.