Filho, A N d M; Filho, F M M; Miranda, A N d and Miranda, M I A d (2005) Improving the root pile execution process through setup time reduction. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 21st Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2005, London, UK.
Abstract
Recent structural transformations in the construction sector have created the need for building constructors to attend competitive criteria such as cost, time and quality. Therefore, construction companies are searching for new production philosophies to support their improvement efforts and are demanding from subcontractors a similar level of involvement and commitment to these goals. As participants of the construction productive chain, companies active in the field of foundation engineering are also being required by building firms to improve their work methods. However, because of the very nature of its work, geotechnical engineering presents peculiarities, which differentiate it from the rest of the building industry. These peculiarities are usually cited among the main causes for the slow development of its processes. This paper discusses the experience gained with the application of lean production principles to the root pile execution process. Recognizing the importance of performance measurement, the used methodology combined Work Sampling and SMED method concepts. Its application in a case study involved three phases: identification of current performance levels; development and implementation of improvement opportunities; and comparison with posterior performance levels. The methodology provided a set of coherent and related performance measures that showed how lower setup times can help increase foundation engineering productivity.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | performance measurement; foundation engineering; setup time; work sampling; productivity |
| Index terms: | building firm, sampling, time reduction, building industry, methodology, subcontractor, implementation, construction sector, case study, performance measurement, philosophy, construction company, transformation, lean production, commitment, performance measure, productivity |
| Subjects: | research methods, performance measurement, manufacturing engineering, management, philosophical studies, industry analysis, practitioner, organization, business, data collection methods, contractual arrangements, psychology |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Procurement, Roles and Professions, Quality Management, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here