Abdelghani, Mohammad (2021) Towards a generalized value stream mapping and domain ontology to support the enabling of industry 4.0 in construction. PhD thesis, University of Alberta, Canada.
Abstract
Abstract: Construction projects have temporary fragmented supply chains that face many challenges, such as lack of trust, inadequate knowledge management, and poor communication. These challenges led to poor performance in terms of low productivity, high cost, schedule delay, and poor quality. Construction is a conservative industry resists changes to its structure and adoption of technology and new management principles. The study aims to develop a value stream mapping and information management frameworks for construction projects. The developed frameworks can support the elimination of wastes and facilitate the integration of the construction supply chain, which ultimately reduce the project's cost and lead time. It can also support the current shift towards Industry 4.0, which targets the enabling of Construction 4.0. Surveys and interviews are conducted to determine existing tools to exchange information, the extent of value stream mapping (VSM) adoption, and the key performance indicators in Alberta. The results show Alberta's industry mainly depends on face-to-face discussions, phones, and emails to exchange information. The knowledge most likely stays at the individual levels and neither shared nor stored and poorly managed. This hinders knowledge capitalization, as well as the integration of the value chain network. Alberta's construction industry hasn't adopted lean management tools yet, and no common key performance indicators (KPIs) are established. Case studies are completed to implement VSM in procurement case studies. The results show traditional VSM can efficiently identify wastes in the current state of repetitive construction processes and eliminate them in future ones. The study proposed a new VSM framework for non-repetitive processes, which is more suitable for onsite construction activities. The framework is implemented in case studies. The results show significant improvements in terms of reducing wastes and the project's lead time. The construction industry lacks standard methodology for ontology development. The ontologies that have been developed in construction have a deficiency in a philosophical basis and built for a specific use, and for certain project types and phases. To support knowledge management, which can facilitate information flow in the construction supply chain, an ontology for construction knowledge is developed using the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) structure, ISO 12006-2 recommendations, and input from industry experts. BFO is a mature upper ontology. It provides a framework to build a complete ontology based on philosophical basis. An ontology for the VSM framework is also developed using the BFO structure, so it can be integrated with the construction knowledge ontology. The developed frameworks can also support the industry's current efforts to promote more collaborative project delivery approaches
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Ahmad, Rafiq and Doucette, John |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction 4.0; value stream mapping; ontology |
| Index terms: | survey, ontology, information flow, repetitive construction, face, ISO, interview, knowledge management, integration, methodology, construction project, value stream mapping, construction activity, productivity, key performance indicator, case study, industry 4.0, schedule delay, onsite, value chain, construction 4.0, construction industry, lead time, collaborative project, formal ontology, construction supply chain |
| Subjects: | professional development, value chain strategy, education and knowledge transfer, management, industry analysis, information systems, organizational analysis, project controls, construction logistics, data collection methods, business, technology adoption, project delivery, knowledge theory, standards development, production management, research methods, building construction, digital engineering, contractual arrangements, construction operations, psychology |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Site Management, Organizational Design, Time Control, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy, Construction Technology, Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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