Factors Influencing Cycle Times in Offsite Construction

In offsite construction, various factors contribute to variability in cycle times at workstations in production facilities, leading to imbalanced production lines. Understanding these factors is vital for implementing Heijunka, a fundamental lean principle that consists of levelling out the work schedule. This study presents a qualitative approach for identifying and understanding factors that influence variable cycle times at the workstation level. The application of the approach is demonstrated in reference to a semi-automated framing workstation in a panelised construction facility. A list of 36 potential influencing factors categorised into eight classes is first compiled based on observation of the process, a cross-functional diagram, and a review of relevant studies, and then discussed based on feedback solicited from personnel at the case framing station through a semi-structured interview. The approach, its application, and the results demonstrate the effect of expending effort on the identification and understanding of cycle time-influencing factors in improving the accuracy of cycle time analysis, thereby facilitating the implementation of Heijunka.