Modular Assembly with Postponement to Improve Health, Safety, and Productivity in Construction

This paper presents the outcome of an engineering study as part of the design and development of a lean and agile construction system and in particular its supply chain component. This combines modular assembly with a postponement function to be tested on a case study project (not reported here), the objective of which is to improve health, safety, and productivity for the company sponsoring the research. The contribution to research is the combination of countermeasures described in this paper that have been developed and incorporated into a wider construction system, in the same way that manufacturing has used this strategy with great success. A further output is the development and use of an innovative method for assembling, transporting, and installing mechanical and electrical modules, whereby modularization can be achieved with or without offsite manufacturing capability. The research forecasts a reduction of onsite labor of 35% compared to using traditional methods of construction, with less onsite operatives at risk of injury carrying out simpler assembly tasks within ergonomic mobile work cells. Further research is proposed to measure the benefits of the construction system following its implementation on a case study project.

[1]  Alistair G.F. Gibb,et al.  'Lean' as an Antidote to Labour Cost Escalation on Complex Mechanical and Electrical Projects , 2005 .

[2]  Lauri Koskela,et al.  Critical Flow – Towards a Construction Flow Theory , 2006 .

[3]  Cipriano Forza,et al.  Work organization in lean production and traditional plants , 1996 .

[4]  Christine Pasquire,et al.  Leaner Construction Through Off-Site Manufacturing , 2002 .

[5]  Chris I. Goodier,et al.  Barriers and opportunities for offsite in the UK , 2005 .

[6]  Ubiraci Espinelli Lemes de Souza,et al.  Symbiotic Crew Relationships and Labor Flow , 2004 .

[7]  A. Harrison,et al.  Implications of form postponement to manufacturing: a case study , 2004 .

[8]  David R. Riley,et al.  Sequence Planning for Electrical Construction , 2006 .

[9]  Alistair G.F. Gibb,et al.  Modular Assembly in Healthcare Construction – A Mechanical and Electrical Case Study , 2008 .

[10]  Jeffrey K. Liker,et al.  The Toyota way : 14 management principles from the world's greatest manufacturer , 2004 .

[11]  Christine Pasquire,et al.  Design for Manufacture and Assembly , 2003 .

[12]  Christine Pasquire,et al.  Transforming traditional construction into a process of modern assembly using construction physics , 2007 .

[13]  Christine Pasquire,et al.  Design of a Lean and Agile Construction System for a Large and Complex Mechanical and Electrical Project , 2006 .

[14]  N. D. Burns,et al.  Implications of postponement for the supply chain , 2003 .

[15]  John L. Burbidge.  Period Batch Control , 1988, Computer-Aided Production Management.

[16]  Peter Fredriksson,et al.  Mechanisms and Rationales for the Coordination of a Modular Assembly System: The Case of Volvo Cars , 2006 .

[17]  Graham Winch,et al.  Critical Space Analysis , 2006 .