Lean as an Integrator of Modular Construction

Abstract

The use of Lean concepts is growing in several industrial sectors. Corporations are seeking new ways to achieve improved operational performance and to identify process improvement measures to improve workflows. The research presented in this proposes to achieve a conceptual framework that can be used in the modular construction market. The research method selected is Design Science Research (DSR), since the research proposes to create a new artifact constituting the integration of Lean Manufacturing, Lean Thinking, Lean Construction and Lean Office in a consistent manner and one that can accommodate Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). In this paper, Permanent Modular Construction (PMC) will be investigated as an industrial construction process. PMC consists of the manufacture of components of the building with volumetric geometry, produced outside the construction site in a factory environment and then transported to the worksite to be assembled with a set of other modules, with comparably few construction activities carried out on site. In order to execute projects using this construction method it is necessary to integrated design, factory operations, transportation and construction site operations, accounting for different locations and different characteristics in a single workflow: this is one of the primary challenges of PMC.