Flow Production of Construction Processes through Implementing Lean Construction Principles and Simulation

Abstract

The construction industry is one with a large number of specialized areas and disciplines, many based on cyclic processes at construction phase. With the advent of the lean construction concept, a few researchers have begun to apply lean principles to construction processes at construction phase. This paper seeks to test the applicability of lean principles to one of construction operations using discrete-event simulation. One of the general simulation tools with a powerful 3D animation in this regard is ARENA, which is used in this paper. Data required to simulation model development were gathered from the construction site. It concluded that the concepts of lean construction can be applied properly using simulation as means of testing lean concepts prior to actual field implementation. Results of the simulation models showed that lean principles enhanced the performance of the selected processes by reducing the total time of the project and increasing the process efficiency.