Improving Formwork Design Using Lean Thinking

Abstract

Formwork is one of major engineering works in reinforced concrete projects. Its performance affects project success and therefore profitability. Formwork engineering could be divided into design and construction phases. Conventional formwork engineering involves unnecessary non-value-adding activities, such as change orders and material movement. The objective of this study is to applying lean thinking in formwork design to reduce unnecessary waste, increase design reliability, and enhance construability. A lean thinking formwork design process is proposed to achieve the goal. Concurrent design and Building Information Modeling (BIM) ideas are used in the process to improve visibility. Design reliability is improved using design correctness reviewed by project stakeholders. Thus, a continuous learning culture is developed. A real building project is used to validate the feasibility of the proposed method. Analysis results demonstrate that the proposed approach could be used to increase design reliability and enhance construability, thus reduce unnecessary waste in formwork design.