TY  - CONF
TI  - Product Variety in Construction: A Critical Review and Way Forward
AU  - Rocha, Cecilia Gravina da
AU  - Kemmer, Sergio
AD  - Lecturer, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS),  Australia. cecilia.rocha@uts.edu.au, orcid.org/0000-0001-6764-1724
AD  - Director, SK Consultoria e Treinamento, Curitiba – Parana, Brazil (https://www.sergiokemmer.com) contato@sergiokemmer.com, orcid.org/0000-0002-0803-2096
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/07/14
T2  - Proc. 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)
C3  - Proc. 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)
CY  - Lima, Peru
SP  - 594
EP  - 604
DO  - 10.24928/2021/0133
AB  - This paper presents a critical analysis of current construction literature on product variety. In particular, two theoretical bases, namely, (i) hierarchical product breakdown and (ii) generic supply chain types, that address such conceptualization are reviewed. Three limitations were encountered, which hinder their application in measuring levels of product variety and associated disruptions in the production flow of building projects. Hierarchical product breakdowns (i) do not reflect the production sequence employed for erecting a building and (ii) do not enable spatial and layout changes (a key aspect of variety in building projects) to be appropriately framed. Supply chain types, in turn, provide only a high-level understanding of the effect of product variety (or customisation) on the production flow, and thus do not allow product variety to be assessed and compared at a project level. The paper concludes by discussing a number of conceptualizations (Work structure & Work Packages, Product Variants, Decoupling Point, Modules, and Design Structure Matrix) that can advance in the understanding of product variety in construction.
KW  - Customization
KW  - process
KW  - flow
KW  - work packages
KW  - modularity
L1  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/1910/pdf
UR  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/1910
DB  - IGLC.net
LA  - English
N1  - Export date: 04 October 2026
ER  -