https://doi.org/10.24928/2020/0006

Divergent Beliefs About Productivity Despite Concurrent Engineering and Pull Planning, a Case Study

Ida M. Tvedt¹

¹PhD candidate, NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, +47 907 94 323, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-8203-6602

Abstract

Increased productivity is one of the benefits expected when design work in construction is carried out as concurrent engineering using techniques as pull planning. In this context, the evaluation of productivity does not encounter whether the belief of productivity as a concept is homogeneous within the team. A possible consequence of a heterogeneous understanding is unpredictable variety in the behavior of team members'. Efforts to better the performance of design teams through collaborative work processes, so far, have generated limited evidence of the diverse beliefs of productivity. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss whether the collaborative work processes concurrent engineering and pull planning ensure a homogeneous understanding of productivity. The author of this paper studied a design team in a Norwegian construction project through interviews, observations and document analysis. Designers were asked what productivity is to them, and in what setting it is most evident. The results show that there are conflicting beliefs of what it means to be productive in the team. Also, the project organization does not measure the team’s productivity due to the collaboratively structured delivery model. This choice is thought to have an effect on the team’s heterogeneous understanding.

Keywords

Perceived productivity, design teams, collaboration, concurrent, pull planning

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Reference

Tvedt, I. M. 2020. Divergent Beliefs About Productivity Despite Concurrent Engineering and Pull Planning, a Case Study, Proc. 28th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) , 301-312. doi.org/10.24928/2020/0006

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