Requirements and Barriers to Adoption of Last Planner Computer Tools

Hyun Jeong Choo1 & Iris D. Tommelein2

1Ph.D. Candidate, Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt. Program, Civil and Envir. Engrg. Dept., 215 McLaughlin Hall #1712, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, [email protected]
2Professor, Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt. Program, Civil and Envir. Engrg. Dept., 215-A McLaughlin Hall #1712, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, [email protected]

Abstract

The Last Planner methodology has been applied to construction and design. These efforts have resulted in the development of computer programs (WorkPlan and DePlan) that guide production units in creating reliable work plans. One of these programs was extended to include distributed planning and coordination and space scheduling capabilities as well (WorkMovePlan). During and after the development of these tools, LCI member companies used them and provided valuable feedback. Some of these companies have developed in-house spreadsheet applications to meet their own particular needs. These beta-testers were familiar with the Last Planner concepts, which allowed them to make suggestions based on their conception of the Last Planner methodology. This paper reports on the feedback from the beta-testers of WorkPlan, DePlan, and WorkMovePlan. This feedback provided a foundation for further specifying requirements for the Last Planner computer tools. The paper also discusses barriers to adoption of Last Planner tools in companies that are new to lean construction and in companies that have already started lean transformation. These findings not only assist in improving existing tools but also reveal new areas for computer tool implementation.

Keywords

Last Planner methodology, lean construction, design management, construction management, production management, computer tools, distributed planning, coordination, planning, scheduling, space scheduling, WorkPlan, DePlan, WorkMovePlan, work package, assignment.

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Reference

Choo, H. J. & Tommelein, I. D. 2001. Requirements and Barriers to Adoption of Last Planner Computer Tools, 9th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , -. doi.org/

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