Winch, G M (2003) Models of manufacturing and the construction process: The genesis of re-engineering construction. Building Research & Information, 31(2), pp. 107-118. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
For at least the last 80 years, construction firms have been exhorted to improve their processes by modelling themselves on 'manufacturing', and the current concern for re-engineering construction is the latest manifestation of this tradition. Yet, it is rarely clearly specified which model of manufacturing should be adopted. The aim of this paper is to clarify the issues by placing the wide range of initiatives encompassed within the CIB's definition of re-engineering construction in an historical and comparative context. It reviews the history of the development of the dominant model of manufacturing - largely based on the auto industry - culminating in lean production. It then identifies an equally well-established 'alternative' model of manufacturing associated with the production of complex systems. It is suggested that attempts to re-engineer the construction process have tended to focus on the dominant model - borrowing concepts from mass production during the 1950s and 1960s, and lean production during the 1990s. The mass production model was never very relevant for construction and it is suggested that the lean production model is unlikely to be of broad relevance to the construction industry beyond housing. More appropriate are models of manufacturing derived from the complex systems industries, particularly concepts associated with project management, and the role of systems integrators.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | complex systems industries; construction performance; lean construction; manufacturing models; production theory; project management; re-engineering construction |
| Index terms: | housing, project management, history, construction industry, modelling, placing, construction process, complex system, lean production, construction firm, construction performance, engineer, lean construction |
| Subjects: | performance assessment, architectural and construction history, analytical methods, construction type, profession, organization, building construction, industry analysis, systems engineering, manufacturing engineering, concrete and cementitious materials, project management theory and practice |
| Topics: | Construction Technology, Roles and Professions, Construction Materials, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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