A survey on production planning system in construction projects based on Last Planner System

Abstract

Production planning has a critical role in obtaining project success through improving the reliability of workflow. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of production planning in construction projects. This study aims to examine the current practice of production planning system in Vietnam Construction Industry (VCI) based on the Last Planner System (LPS). An assessment framework for production planning procedures has been employed according to the previous studies. Questionnaire survey, case study and expert survey were employed in this study. The results of analysis have indicated that most of production planning procedures at team workshop step and weekly work plan step in VCI are well performed; whereas most of procedures at lookahead plan step are superficially performed. Master schedule and weekly work plan are the most used plans when executing a construction project. Tool for constraints analysis and tool for measurement of percent plan completed are highly employed. ‘Low understanding of the concepts of LPS’ and ‘language and culture issues’ are the largest and smallest barriers respectively. ‘Indirect cost savings’ is the most beneficial factor if the present barriers are removed. This study then proposed some relevant solutions to enhance the performance of production planning processes in VCI.