Advanced metrics for construction planning

Production planning and control are critical in guiding projects toward meeting their targets. This paper uses the power of the last planner system (LPS) combined with conventional methods to assess schedule performance. Although previous studies have proposed multiple metrics within LPS, research correlating these various metrics to overall schedule performance has been both challenging and time-consuming. This study proposes new metrics and details a calculation method to measure significant aspects of planning performance that are not yet supported by a measurement metric. Moreover, the paper introduces a framework and a dashboard to employ these metrics to guide project-level and production planning. Results from applying the proposed framework to two construction projects in the United States show that projects tend to run behind the scheduled milestones due to poor performance in (1) making tasks ready and removing constraints, (2) committing to critical tasks, and (3) matching load to capacity. Findings underline major issues in construction planning where teams constantly struggle with aligning near-term planning with long-term planning. The proposed metrics can provide a proactive detection of issues and constant visibility of project status so that planning teams can apply earlier control measures to improve reliable planning and reduce milestone delays.