The last planner system of production control by herman glenn ballard
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Publicado: 15 de diciembre de 2010
THE LAST PLANNER SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION CONTROL by HERMAN GLENN BALLARD
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering of The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
School of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering The University of Birmingham May 2000
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many individuals and companies contributed to this research. To name a few:
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DavidSeymour, my thesis advisor Anne Seymour, for giving me a home in Birmingham David Hoare and Peter Deasley, thesis examiners Greg Howell, business partner and co-thinker Lauri Koskela, for his example and inspiration Todd Zabelle and the Pacific Contracting team for their willingness to try new ideas Leo Linbeck III, Ed Beck and Kathy Jones of Linbeck Construction for sharing opportunity and data (3 ofthe 5 cases were Linbeck projects) Norm Barnes and the Barnes Construction team for access to projects Iris Tommelein, external thesis advisor and colleague at UC Berkeley Jeanne Ballard, my wife, for putting up with me, especially my absences from home
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ABSTRACT
Project controls have traditionally been focused on after-the-fact detection ofvariances. This thesis proposes a control system, the Last Planner system, that causes the realization of plans, and thus supplements project management's concern for management of contracts with the management of production. The Last Planner system has previously been successively applied by firms with direct responsibility for production management; e.g., speciality contractors. This thesis extendssystem application to those coordinating specialists, both in design and construction, through a series of case studies, one of which also explores the limits on unilateral implementation by specialists. In addition to the extended application, two questions drive this research. The first question is 1) What can be done by way of tools provided and improved implementation of the Last Plannersystem of production control to increase plan reliability above the 70% PPC level? Previous research revealed substantial improvement in productivity for those who improved plan reliability to the 70% level, consequently there is reason to hope for further improvement, possibly in all performance dimensions, especially with application across an entire project rather than limited to individualspeciality firms. That question is explored in three case studies, the last of which achieves the 90% target. The second research question is 2) How/Can Last Planner be successfully applied to increase plan reliability during design processes1? That question is explored in an extensive case study, which significantly contributes to understanding the design process from the perspective of active control,but unfortunately does not fully answer the question, primarily because the project was aborted prior to start of construction. However, it is argued that the Last Planner system is especially appropriate for design production control because of the value-generating nature of design, which renders ineffective traditional techniques such as detailed front end planning and control throughafter-the-fact detection of variances.
1
In this thesis, the term “design” is used to designate both design and engineering activities, not shaping space to aesthetic criteria.
Issues for future research are proposed, including root cause analysis of plan failures and quantification of the benefits of increased plan reliability for both design and construction processes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PageTitle Page Acknowledgements Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Conceptual Framework 1.2 Assumptions 1.3 Contribution to Knowledge 1.4 The Author's Role in the Research 1-5 1.5 Structure of the Dissertation 1-1 1-1 1-3 1-5
1-8
2.0 Critique of Production Control 2-1 2.1 What is Production Control? 2-1 2.1.1 The Meaning of “Production” 2-1 2.1.2...
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering of The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
School of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering The University of Birmingham May 2000
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many individuals and companies contributed to this research. To name a few:
q
DavidSeymour, my thesis advisor Anne Seymour, for giving me a home in Birmingham David Hoare and Peter Deasley, thesis examiners Greg Howell, business partner and co-thinker Lauri Koskela, for his example and inspiration Todd Zabelle and the Pacific Contracting team for their willingness to try new ideas Leo Linbeck III, Ed Beck and Kathy Jones of Linbeck Construction for sharing opportunity and data (3 ofthe 5 cases were Linbeck projects) Norm Barnes and the Barnes Construction team for access to projects Iris Tommelein, external thesis advisor and colleague at UC Berkeley Jeanne Ballard, my wife, for putting up with me, especially my absences from home
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
ABSTRACT
Project controls have traditionally been focused on after-the-fact detection ofvariances. This thesis proposes a control system, the Last Planner system, that causes the realization of plans, and thus supplements project management's concern for management of contracts with the management of production. The Last Planner system has previously been successively applied by firms with direct responsibility for production management; e.g., speciality contractors. This thesis extendssystem application to those coordinating specialists, both in design and construction, through a series of case studies, one of which also explores the limits on unilateral implementation by specialists. In addition to the extended application, two questions drive this research. The first question is 1) What can be done by way of tools provided and improved implementation of the Last Plannersystem of production control to increase plan reliability above the 70% PPC level? Previous research revealed substantial improvement in productivity for those who improved plan reliability to the 70% level, consequently there is reason to hope for further improvement, possibly in all performance dimensions, especially with application across an entire project rather than limited to individualspeciality firms. That question is explored in three case studies, the last of which achieves the 90% target. The second research question is 2) How/Can Last Planner be successfully applied to increase plan reliability during design processes1? That question is explored in an extensive case study, which significantly contributes to understanding the design process from the perspective of active control,but unfortunately does not fully answer the question, primarily because the project was aborted prior to start of construction. However, it is argued that the Last Planner system is especially appropriate for design production control because of the value-generating nature of design, which renders ineffective traditional techniques such as detailed front end planning and control throughafter-the-fact detection of variances.
1
In this thesis, the term “design” is used to designate both design and engineering activities, not shaping space to aesthetic criteria.
Issues for future research are proposed, including root cause analysis of plan failures and quantification of the benefits of increased plan reliability for both design and construction processes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PageTitle Page Acknowledgements Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Conceptual Framework 1.2 Assumptions 1.3 Contribution to Knowledge 1.4 The Author's Role in the Research 1-5 1.5 Structure of the Dissertation 1-1 1-1 1-3 1-5
1-8
2.0 Critique of Production Control 2-1 2.1 What is Production Control? 2-1 2.1.1 The Meaning of “Production” 2-1 2.1.2...
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