Apply EZStrobe to simulate the finishing work for reducing construction process waste

Abstract

Vietnam, classified as a developing nation, encounters numerous challenges within its construction sector, including the scarcity of comprehensive and documented historical data regarding risks and a deficiency in embracing contemporary methodologies to mitigate the impact of risk factors on construction project objectives. This paper outlines initial findings from an ongoing research endeavor that centers on implementing Lean Construction (LC) techniques to enhance construction management practices specifically for marble floor finishing work within Vietnam. Therefore, this study aims to apply the construction lean principle combined with discrete-event simulation (DES) by using EZStrobe to simulate the marble floor finishing process in reality, from observing and collecting data of each activity in the actual process on the site. By building, running simulations, and resulting from real-world simulations, we'll understand the sources of waste, and then apply lean construction principles through methods such as just in time, reduce the batch size and resources priorities, and multi-skilled teams for the initial construction process. The study's lean modeling results has led to a 13% reduction in construction cycle time, a 141% improvement in process efficiency, a 268% enhancement in average productivity, and a 96% reduction in labor cost. The result has become the reference document resource for the managers and construction engineers to improve the performance of not only general finishing work but also marble floor finishing work.

Study on Labor Productivity Improvement Based on Situational Awareness and Improved Value Stream Mapping

“…While earlier strategies were considered to be more focused on resource efficiency improvements, LC focuses on flow efficiency improvements [9]. It has been demonstrated that by identifying waste sources and applying LC principles such as "just-in-time", "multi-skilled teams", etc., the cycle time of a construction project was reduced by 13%, technical efficiency was improved by 141%, average productivity increased by 268%, and labor costs were reduced by 96% [10].…”