Need for innovation in supplying engineer‐to‐order joinery products to construction

Abstract

Purpose -The construction industry has been criticized for not keeping up with other production industries in terms of cost efficiency, innovation, and production methods. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge about what hampers efficiency in supplying engineer-to-order (ETO) joinery-products to the construction process. The objective is to identify the main contributors to inefficiency and to define areas for innovation in improving this industry. Design/methodology/approach -Case studies of the supply chain of a Swedish ETO joinery-products supplier are carried out, and observations, semi-structured interviews, and documents from these cases are analysed from an efficiency improvement perspective. Findings -From a lean thinking and information modelling perspective, longer-term procurement relations and efficient communication of information are the main areas of innovation for enhancing the efficiency of supplying ETO joinery-products. It seems to be possible to make improvements in planning and coordination, assembly information, and spatial measuring through information modelling and spatial scanning technology. This is likely to result in an increased level of prefabrication, decreased assembly time, and increased predictability of on-site work. Originality/value -The role of supplying ETO joinery-products is a novel research area in construction. There is a need to develop each segment of the manufacturing industry supplying construction and this paper contributes to the collective knowledge in this area. The focus is on the possibilities for innovation in the ETO joinery-products industry and on its improved integration in the construction industry value chain in general.

Managing supply chain risks and delays in construction project

“…The lean concept has been widely applied in manufacturing to reduce waste that restricts process efficiency. However, the development of production processes by adopting lean principles in the construction supply chains is still in its infancy (Forsman et al , 2012). The peculiarities of this industry prevent the elimination of all waste in its supply chain.…”

“…Out of the seven wastes in the lean concept (Forsman et al , 2012); inventory waste is hardly eliminated at all from the construction supply chain. In many instances, inventory is essential for companies, because of imbalanced demand and production capabilities, long distances between suppliers and customers, low delivery reliability and speculative intentions as well as inflation expectations (Lukinskiy and Panova, 2017).…”

“…They depend on how accurately the amount of material and their associated flows during the project are forecasted. Insufficient information is a problem, and stochastic materials flow through the value stream likewise hinder the universal application of lean principles to the construction supply chain (Fearne and Fowler, 2006; Forsman et al , 2012; Eriksson, 2010). In essence, the lean concept focuses substantially on the process flow, and a synchronization of demand and production.…”

Understanding dynamism and complexity factors in engineer-to-order and their influence on lean implementation strategy

“…It can be seen as a supply chain arrangement or set of strategies followed in manufacturing (Chen 2006;Gosling and Naim 2009;Narasimhan, Swink, and Kim 2006). ETO can be regarded as a continuum of strategies (Olhager and Östlund 1990) to realise uniquely designed products for specific needs (Forsman et al 2012). …”

Supply Chain Digital Innovation in Complex Capital Projects

“…As reported in Fig. 3, the majority of the documents included in the literature search referred to the construction sector, proving that there is already considerable interest in the digital transformation of capital project supply chains [6] [21].…”