Improving Formwork Engineering Using the Toyota Way

Ko, Chien–Ho; Wang, Wei-Chieh; Kuo, Jiun-De

doi:10.32738/jeppm.201107.0003

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This is similar to other cases described in the literature; the PS-37 case study (Carneiro et al, 2009) describes how Goldratt's theory of constraints were developed to suit the internal and external circumstances of the business, recognising that there is no one right way to make decisions but that myriad factors will play a part. Similarly, Ko et al (2011) apply the 4Ps of the Toyota Way (Liker, 2004) to develop an improvement strategy for formwork engineering. The experience of this Company reinforces that there is not a one size fits all solution to lean implementation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing A Strategy to Enact Lean

2013

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This paper explains the strategy employed by a case study company to implement lean across the business, and to reflect on the success of this approach so other companies may consider this learning and how it might be useful to them. The strategy to enact lean in the case study company was based on creating a number of standard tools/ways of working. These tools can be considered to be standardised work for key aspects of the construction process that the company undertakes. The aim of the tools was to ensure that critical tasks would be carried out to the correct standard (quality, time, cost, health and safety) every time, across the business. Achievement of this is expected to lead to improved performance and elimination of variation (waste). To implement this strategy of using standardised work to eliminate variation and lead to improved performance, a step-by-step process was developed to create the tools/standardised work. The paper describes the process that was undertaken and how it aimed to not only produce a number of tools/standardised work, but also to involve people and managers from across the business such that lean philosophy and thinking might also begin to become embedded. The paper will firstly explain, with reference to the relevant literature, how and why the strategy to implement standardised work was chosen, the process that was defined to develop the standardised work, and what happened when that process was put into practice. The findings of the paper show that whilst the completed tools delivered business benefits, the development of the tools did not follow the planned process. The paper discusses how people within the business responded to this strategy and how the process had to be continuously adapted to cope with the current business environment and path dependencies, further evidencing that lean implementations need to be tailored to suit the needs of the individual firm, rather than there being a one size fits all solution. Further, the conclusions will be set in the context of what lean has become to mean to the case study organisation, and how this sits in the wider debate of whether lean is an all encompassing philosophy or a set of prescriptive tools and techniques.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing A Strategy to Enact Lean

2013

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“…also a goal of structural flexibility; a foundation of horizontal supply chain management. Consequently, a horizontal supply chain implementing structural flexibility is fundamental in managing a network of partners and suppliers as emphasized by the Toyota way (Ko et al, 2011). Therefore, horizontal supply chain collaboration can be considered to represent a Lean enterprise where 'the companies joined … must target the best opportunities for exploiting their collective competitive advantage' (Womack and Jones, 1994).…”

Section: Discussion -Extent and Effect Of Horizontal Supply Chain Colmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extent and Effect of Horizontal Supply Chain Collaboration among Construction SME

Björnfot

Torjussen

2012

EPPM-Journal

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The majority of companies involved in value delivery in the Swedish housing industry are Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). An SME is often managed in an informal way with focus on sales and production. Many SME are also financially vulnerable as they are strongly dependent on a few key customers and key products. As variation will always exist, SME should learn to deal with variation instead of try eliminating it. This paper hypothesises that structural flexibility in SME supply chains through horizontal collaboration leads to a regional environment of economical growth from which all active SME will benefit. The hypothesis is examined through two case studies; a Swedish supplier network that has worked together six years and a four year old Norwegian supplier network. A benefit of collaboration is knowledge sharing that lessens the economical strain of keeping up with the "latest". Other examples of collaboration are shared production resources in case of low capacity. Collaboration within supplier tier networks is considered to mark the emergence of a "collective strength" that improves individual suppliers bargaining position towards their customers. This evolution is considered an indication of the emergence of a "Lean Enterprise" within the house building sector.

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“…In Taiwan, 40% change order in the construction phase could be attributable to design problems (Chang et al 2007); in other countries and areas, 26% project deficiencies are related to poor designs (Josephson and Hammarlund 1999); and 50% house defects are due to design flaws (NEDO 1988). Therefore, formwork engineering may affect the progress of the whole project (Ko et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lean Design Process for Formwork Engineering

Ko¹,

Kuo²

2019

Proc. 27th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)

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Formwork engineering is one of major cost factors in reinforced concrete construction, which is not only critical for the successful completion of construction projects, but also critical for profitability. Traditional formwork design process includes waste, resulting non-value-adding manpower and operational time. The purpose of this research is to utilize lean thinking in formwork design so as to enhance design correctness and eliminate waste. A lean design process for formwork enginering is established to achieve this goal. In the design process, design correctness is established to review and correct design errors. An organizational learning environment is thus built. The proposed lean design process is conceptualized using stock-flow diagrams. This research validates the applicability of the proposed approach using a real case. Application results show that the proposed method can reduce wasteful manpower and operational time in formwork engineering.

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Improving Formwork Engineering Using the Toyota Way

Cited by 17 publications

References 2 publications

Developing A Strategy to Enact Lean

Developing A Strategy to Enact Lean

Extent and Effect of Horizontal Supply Chain Collaboration among Construction SME

Lean Design Process for Formwork Engineering

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