Identifying waste in virtual design and construction practice from a Lean Thinking perspective: A meta-analysis of the literature

Abstract

In recent years, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has broadly expanded the use of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), particularly Lean Construction methods, to deliver value to their customers. VDC includes the use of Production Management using Lean methods as an integral part of the defining theory and method, and multiple case studies have concluded that the greatest performance improvement is achieved by implementing both initiatives together. This paper reviews extensive literature of VDC and Lean Construction with the intent to show benefits in the application of Lean Construction in the actual practice of VDC and to provide examples of waste and opportunities for improvement in projects if Lean methods are applied. This study found that use of Lean methods can help to reduce waste within the VDC process, in the phase of information flow (process view). Specifically, our main finding from this study was that only five types of waste represent 80% of the referenced occurrence of waste in VDC processes, which suggests that if teams use Lean Methods and focus on elimination of these types of waste (i.e., motion (excess), inventory (excess), overproduction, waiting and employee knowledge (unused)), teams can improve VDC practices dramatically.

Lean Practices Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Digital Twinning for Sustainable Construction

“…The virtual design and construction (VDC) method is applicable to BIM as a new approach to manage data and organize users and their work methods [73][74][75][76]. By implementing VDC and production management using lean methods, the achievement of performance improvement is possible.…”

“…By reduction or reliable prediction of output variability, lean construction goals can be realized, and a BIM-integrated simulation framework can be used to plan reliable production and enhance the involved parties' efficiency in construction projects. Therefore, reliable production planning is significantly important for lean construction achievement [75].…”

Mapeamento sistematizado da literatura visando a aplicação sinérgica das ferramentas lean e bim

“…Diante disto, Al Hattab e Hamzeh (2015) apontam que ferramentas originadas da indústria automobilística japonesa dos anos 50 (Lean Production) adaptadas para a construção civil (Lean Construction) têm uma grande eficácia quando aplicadas em sinergia com o BIM (Building Information Modeling). Mandujano et al (2016) caracterizam Lean como uma filosofia de administração que fornece métodos para identificar resíduos e utiliza uma série de ferramentas e princípios para minimizar ou eliminá-los. Sacks et al (2010) mencionam que as aplicações e os conceitos associados à construção enxuta são explorados até hoje por profissionais e praticantes, sendo possível apontar que seus desdobramentos produzem um ciclo virtuoso de melhoria contínua, gerando redução de tempos de ciclos, aumento da padronização etc.…”

Aplicación de un modelo Lean-BIM para la mejora de la productividad en redacción de proyectos de edificación

“…Cuanto más compleja es la redacción de un proyecto y su posterior ejecución, menor es la productividad (10). Para solventarlo deben utilizarse nuevas tecnologías que posibiliten disminuir tanto el coste de la redacción del proyecto como su posterior ejecución, a la vez que la mejora de los procesos (11), pero su implantación implica vencer la resistencia al cambio que caracteriza al sector de la construcción, uno de los más reacios a ello (12).…”