Lean Design Management Research Articles

Development and testing of lean simulation game on set-based design

Purpose Set-based design (SBD) is a lean tool widely adopted for improving design processes and providing value maximization to clients. The purpose of this paper is to present the development and testing of a lean simulation game that incorporated point-based and SBD principles. The objective of the game was to enhance learning of lean design management among construction students. Design/methodology/approach After a thorough and comprehensive literature review consisting of secondary data in journal papers, books, thesis references and primary data in the form of interviews with lean practitioners, the simulation game prototype was developed. The testing of the game was carried out with a study group. Data were collected during the gameplay with the help of a questionnaire survey on a confidence scale and Likert scale and assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, histogram, one-sample t-test and false discovery rate (Benjamini–Hochberg) correction method. Findings The data collected both pre- and post-simulation showed an increase in average confidence in understanding from 3.33 to 3.89, a 16.7% rise. The data was further interpreted by using Wilcoxon signed-rank test, indicating that the post-simulation learning experience was significantly better than the pre-simulation one. Promising positive results were obtained for the questions on game design, engagement and understanding of point-based design and SBD concepts. Originality/value The simulation game helps bridge the gap between knowledge building and real-life by effectively imitating the process. The game facilitates a dynamic and critical approach toward developing new educational simulation games and their successful incorporation in propagating lean principles in the construction industry.

Comparing Team Interactions in Traditional and BIM-Lean Design Management

There is qualitative evidence showing that design teams that use BIM-lean management have a higher level of interaction than design teams that do not use this management approach. However, there is no quantitative empirical evidence of this higher level of interaction. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present quantitative empirical evidence of the differences among the various types of interactions of a design team. Two case studies were analyzed, and their design management was assessed from a lean BIM perspective while their team interactions were assessed using social network analysis (SNA). To achieve the aim of this paper, four steps were performed: (1) case study selection; (2) description of the design management of the projects from the lean design management and BIM perspectives; (3) assessment of design team interaction; and (4) comparison using SNA. The results show that the project that applied BIM-lean management exhibited higher levels of interactions among its design team members than the traditional team; transparent, orderly, and standardized information flows; a collaborative, trusting, and learning environment; and commitment management. None of these interaction elements were visible in the project that did not apply BIM-lean management. It is suggested that an analysis be performed on a representative sample of projects in the future so that conclusive statistical inferences could be made.

Analyzing the Association between Lean Design Management Practices and BIM Uses in the Design of Construction Projects

The authors acknowledge the help and support provided by GEPUC, which provided access to data collection for this study. In addition, the authors acknowledge financial support from FONDECYT (1181648) and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Rodrigo Herrera acknowledges financial support for Ph.D. studies from Vicerrectoria de Investigacion (VRI) of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC) and CONICYT-PCHA/National Doctorate/2018 -21180884.

To trust or not to trust: is trust a prerequisite for solving design quality problems?

Low trust levels among project parties are generally believed to harm construction project performance, but the role of trust in the context of information flow and solving design quality problems (DQP) remains understudied. Whereas lean design management research highlights the importance of managing information flow, few studies have investigated the association between trust, information flow and DQP (or any combination thereof). This exploratory study investigates the association between trust and information flow in design projects and how these factors influence design quality. The paper presents a conceptual framework based on existing research on building design management and trust in a project context. The framework is elaborated on and validated using a single case study approach with multiple sites. The results indicate that even though the trust trend in the project is somewhat negatively connected to the overall amount of work and work in progress of DQP, increasing trust is not a prerequisite for solving DQP and that owners and contractors can have opposite opinions on the trust level. This study contributes to ongoing discussions about trust, information flow and design management and suggests that teams should focus on improving communication and collaboration to compensate for low trust levels.

Continuous Improvement on Detailed Design Phase: A Process Perspective

Abstract The construction project being studied is a government investment related to the relocation of a biomedical institute delivering research-based knowledge and contingency support in the fields of animal health, fish health and food safety. The project covers a total of 63,000 square meters distributed over 10 buildings with a very high degree of complexity. The design alone has required 1 million hours, which relates to a client cost of about 100 million Euro. The purpose of this paper is to study the applied methodology for managing the detailed design to identify lessons learned from the project. The theory underlying the study is inspired by lean design management and design theory linked to design as phenomena, including reciprocal interdependencies, iteration, decomposition, design as a “wicked problem”, learning, gradual maturation, etc. The article is based on an abductive research design and has been implemented as a case study where both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used.

Fostering process innovations in construction through industry–university consortium

PurposeUniversity research efforts have not been effective in developing lasting impacts on operations management in construction because of inadequate coordination between academia and industry. This study aims to describe the development of an industry–university (IU) relationship which has enabled the conduct of practically and scientifically relevant research.Design/methodology/approachDesign science research was carried out between 2016 and 2019 to build a consortium between a university and 17 design, construction, technology and logistics companies for enabling process innovations in construction. The consortium conducted industry-funded research on various topics, such as takt production, lean design management, prefabrication, measurement of waste and business models supported by digitalisation. The academic and practical impacts of the consortium’s research projects were investigated through a survey and in-depth company interviews.FindingsThe paper presents a conceptual model for creating an IU relationship to support scientifically and practically relevant research. The model includes network architects who mobilised consortium development and a joint governance body that developed a shared long-term vision and selected research topics based on this vision. The results show that using the model’s approach, the consortium selected research topics that have led to both academic publications and process innovations in construction.Originality/valueUsing empirical data, this study describes how to create a win-win IU innovation relationship that enables the implementation of process innovations into the construction sector and, at the same time, the conduct of scientific research in construction management.

Improving Building Design Processes and Design Management Practices: A Case Study

The aim of this case study, underpinned by participative action research and design science research methodologies, is to show how design and design management practices can be improved based on a new conception of design activity and lean design management. First, problems related to design and design project management are identified using a triangulation of methods, and a root-cause analysis is conducted. Second, interventions are developed, implemented, and evaluated over two iterations. The methods and practices employed in the organization under study imply it had adopted the transformation view of the conceptualization of design. It was also observed that the organization considered design strictly a technical activity. Both choices appeared to be the root causes of the problems faced by the organization. To complement the transformation view, methods and practices following the flow and value views were introduced. To counteract the strictly “technical understanding of design”, “social” concepts were introduced. As a direct result of theory-driven interventions, there were significant improvements in building design processes and design management practices.

An Assessment of Lean Design Management Practices in Construction Projects

Evidence exists for the application of lean management practices in the design process. However, there is no systematic review of this type of practice that links the design management practices to the lean construction principles. There is no tool to assess the level of use of lean design management practices in construction projects either. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the lean management practices that are performed at the design phase of construction projects. The research was divided into a literature review of design management practices; a validation of lean design management practices with a practice–principle relationship, based on an expert survey; the devolvement of a tool (questionnaire) to evaluate the lean design management practices; and an assessment in 64 construction projects (coherence, reliability, correlation, and descriptive analysis). It is concluded that evidence exists for the implementation of 19 lean design management practices. These practices are grouped into three categories: stakeholder management, planning and control, and problem solving and decision making. Additionally, in the assessment of the 64 projects, it can be observed that the lean design management practices are at initial levels of implementations, so there is a significant development gap. This research proposes a tool to assess management practices in the design phase of construction projects; then, the study identifies implementations gaps, it provides benchmarks with other projects, and it improves the design process through a taxonomy of lean design management practices.

Solving design management problems using lean design management: the role of trust

Purpose Although prior studies have noted the importance of trust for project performance, research remains scant on describing the role of trust when using lean design management (LDM) in projects. The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between LDM and interpersonal trust in solving construction projects’ design management problems. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted that included 29 trust- and LDM-themed semi-structured interviews in the USA (California), Brazil and Finland; 11 focus group discussions were also organized to validate the interview findings. Findings The study reveals how LDM contributes to solving design management problems through two distinct but interconnected mechanisms: improved information flow; and improved trust among project team members. A conceptual framework was crafted to illustrate the mechanisms in building trust by means of the social domain of LDM concepts. Research limitations/implications The conceptual framework requires testing through an international survey or through multiple case studies. Practical implications The results indicate that design management would benefit from trustful environments and that trust may be the catalyst for actors’ engagement with LDM. Managers in charge of design within projects can use the conceptual framework when selecting the appropriate LDM tools, which should include both the social and technical domains. Originality/value The study emphasizes the importance of the social domain of LDM concepts. Previous studies have focussed on information flow aspects of LDM but have overlooked the value of interpersonal trust in solving design management problems.

Applying Level of Detail in a BIM-Based Project: An Overall Process for Lean Design Management

Few construction companies apply the available lean tools and processes in an integrated manner when managing design. Additionally, lean design management tools and processes each have their own strengths and optimal phases in which they should be applied. Earlier approaches in lean design management have not explicitly included the level of detail of building information model (BIM) models in connection with planning methods. For example, the Last Planner System (LPS) uses collaborative social methods to obtain task dependencies and commitments from project stakeholders, but it does not provide any guidance regarding what those tasks should be in a BIM-based process. With regard to production, this guidance is provided by combining location-based methods, such as a location-based management system or takt planning, to LPS. In a similar manner, by combining information from various sources, this paper defines a location-based design management process using the concept of level of detail that can be integrated with LPS. The level of detail definition must be based on the requirements of the end-user in each stage of the construction project. The process was cocreated and validated in focus group meetings with design and construction companies and further evaluated and assessed by applying it in a case project.

Indicators of collaborative design management in construction projects

PurposeDesign management plays a significant role in value creation in a construction project. Within the last few decades, new design tools such as building information model have been introduced, which supposedly enhance design productivity and quality. However, no such revolution of design quality has emerged. Therefore, more research on how design management affects the quality of construction project is needed. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the connection between design management procedures and quality.Design/methodology/approachThis is a case study with a mixed-method approach. The data collection strategies used are quantitative user satisfaction survey and qualitative analysis over the documentation of the case project.FindingsA deductive analysis was conducted to four suggested indicators of beneficial collaboration. An explanation was found for how the quality of the project outcome can be forecasted from the management style and procedures.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was conducted as single case study, and therefore, greater data would enable further development of the indicators.Practical implicationsThe indicators have wide range of applicability: the clients can forecast the quality performance by evaluating the management procedures already during the project instead of waiting until the end of project. The indicator system also provides societal impact as it guides the clients to use the kind of managerial practices that improve the ability to create value in projects that are difficult to evaluate in money terms.Originality/valueThe research provides a novel way to gain a holistic view with analytical indicator tools. The research contributes to lean design management literature by providing insight to the underlying mechanism of beneficial collaboration.

Lean design management using a gamified system

Design process, due to its information- and innovation-intensive nature, is highly susceptible to change, thus waste. This attracted the attention of lean design/construction professionals in the past few years. However, limited, if any, researches have addressed this issue from the human behavior perspective. This research proposes a method that exploits the potential of the Last PlannerO System (LPS) in design management. The main contribution of this paper is improving the applicability of the LPS to design processes by incorporating a gamified pay-for-performance system to the normal practice of the LPS. It encourages motivating design engineers by granting them single point, autonomous responsibility to perform their tasks. To this end, the proposed method shifts the focus of design managers away from predicting the workflow and chronologies of design tasks towards motivating design engineers to eliminate non-value-adding works/time. To bolster the concept and examine the method, it was put into practice by construction design teams. Findings corroborate the efficiency of the method in eliminating the non-value-adding works from design processes. The findings are of practical value to consulting firms, especially design team managers who seek to maximize innovation, competency and quality outcome.

Perceptions of lean design management

The importance of managing the early design phases effectively and efficiently is relatively well appreciated, although how best to do this is not so clear. The successful use of lean management in the construction phase, using the principles largely developed by Toyota, has opened up the possibility of using lean design management, thus helping to establish a systematic approach to the creative design phase. This study explores the interpretation and application of lean design management in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC). A survey questionnaire was used to obtain an understanding of current design management processes and practices in the UK. Findings from 125 responses indicate that inefficiencies are related to ineffective design management processes (e.g. management of briefing, design, etc.) as well as problems with procurement. The main conclusion drawn is that lean design management appears valid for implementation in the AEC sector, but needs to be customised according to the project context in order to achieve the desired value for all stakeholders.

Energy-Related Risk Management in Integrated Project Delivery

AbstractDeveloping energy-efficient commercial buildings requires the use of an energy-related risk management practice that can increase the chance of achieving intended lifecycle financial goals. This paper suggests a management practice that deals with such energy-related risk, namely, project cost risk and performance risk. A prerequisite to applying the suggested management practice is a high level of collaboration among different disciplines during design development as promoted, for example, when using integrated project delivery (IPD). As a case study to validate the management practice, this paper presents a California hospital project where the unique features of IPD helped the project team apply the management practice in the course of managing the energy-related uncertainties of an energy-efficiency measure. This paper illustrates the detailed design decision-making process of the team that used Target Value Design, a lean design management method. As a contribution to the body of knowledge, t...

Integration of Lean Design and Design Management and its Influence on the Development of a Multidisciplinary Design Management Model for Remote Site Projects

A significant body of literature addresses the application of lean thinking to improving the interface between detailed design and construction production, yet none specifically focuses on remote site projects. These projects range from tourism and scientific investigation to resource exploration developments. The challenges confronting the project teams tend to fit within a sociologically oriented world where designers respond to functional, aesthetic and environmental concerns, or within a production oriented world, where strategic decisions made during the early stages of a project impact markedly upon construction, logistics and sustainability. The research aimed to establish how the integration of lean design and design management thinking influenced the development of a conceptual design management model for remote site projects, and the level of rigour achieved ‘in the field’ when tested. A postdoctoral reflective review is made of a selection of the reviewed literature, the methodology/process undertaken in the model development and testing stages, and the findings from two case studies used when testing the developed model. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected ‘working-in-the-field’ participants across a diverse range of remote site projects; the model was found to be robust and portable.

Introducing the Concept of First and Last Value to Aid Lean Design: Learning from Social Housing Projects in Chile

Value for the customer through efficient production processes is a fundamental principle of lean thinking. In lean construction, value to customers is largely delivered through project planning and control activities only. Thus, it can be argued that lean construction overlooks the opportunity to address value from the early stages of a project. Aimed at improving this, lean design arose as a new approach for design management promoting customer and end user involvement from the early stage of projects. However, even here environmental and social issues are postponed over individual requirements. As a result, lean potential in general skips the opportunity to address value from a wider perspective in which the return of value from the construction industry to society is considered. This paper proposes dividing the wider understanding of the performance of the (global) built environment from the particular (local) project requirements calling the former first value and the latter last value. The theory is triangulated through observation of how a developing country (Chile) is resolving social issues through the use of the built environment. The work described develops lean design management by providing a clearer vision of value to reduce waste and aid sustainability in the built environment.

Management of Waste in the Building Design Process: The Ghanaian Consultants' Perspective

Waste associated with building design is one of the causes of the high cost and slow progress of construction projects in Ghana. Proper management of waste at the design stage is therefore a fundamental step towards achieving speedy delivery of building projects at minimum cost. This paper seeks to examine the level of awareness of sources of waste and the application of waste reduction tools in the building design process by Ghanaian consultancy firms. Data on the design activities of the firms were collected by distributing questionnaires to consultants, while contractors and clients were interviewed. Involvement in various building design processes was also used to obtain data for the study. Results revealed a generally low recognition of sources of waste in the building design process and little awareness of waste reduction tools such as design structure matrix, batch size reduction and set-based design. It was also found that inadequate familiarity of the firms with lean thinking was among a number of limitations to the application of waste reduction tools in Ghana. This suggests that there is a need to improve the awareness of lean design management in both education and practice in Ghana.

Creating value: a sufficient way to eliminate waste in lean design and lean production

Waste elimination is a by-product of lean process, lean design and lean production management. Viewing it as the raison d’etre, focus or purpose for lean is itself wasteful. The paper shows how an alternative purpose—creating value for customers and end users—is likely to result in more effective waste elimination and lead to more satisfied customers. The second part of the paper outlines the creative process as described by Robert Fritz, views Last Planner® as a creative process, draws some lessons from that viewpoint and then examines the waste reduction processes inherent within the Last Planner System.

Eighteen “monozukuri‐focused” assembly line design and visual factory management principles with DENSO industrial examples

PurposeTo offer lean design and assembly principles with a focus on “monozukuri,” meaning sustainable, environmentally friendly factories and products with simultaneously integrated product and process designs.Design/methodology/approachBased on extensive study of products, processes and factories, 18 “monozukuri‐focused” product, process, factory design and management principles are explained by the author.FindingsThe rule‐based approach to designing lean, sustainable, “monozukuri‐focused” flexible products, processes, production systems and factories will reduce waste at all levels, and create new opportunities for satisfying dynamically changing market needs.Originality/valueReveals 18 lean design and assembly line design and management principles with some practical industrial examples.