Dynamic Lean Management of the Naval Construction Process

Abstract: The naval and private construction industries face shared problems in regard to cost over-runs and delays that may be addressed in part through improvements to the construction process. The scope of this study is to examine the naval construction process from design to implementation, with special emphasis on the role of design sharing and constructability. We use the System Dynamics methodology to model the construction process and conduct simulations to examine the impact of project management decisions. We conclude that increased constructability efforts and design sharing mitigate the impact of cost over-runs and project completion delays, and that when limited resources exist it is best to focus improvement efforts early rather than later.