Lessons Learned on Teaching Choosing by Advantages

Abstract

Decision-makers on construction projects are faced with complex, multidimensional challenges that require grounded, thoughtful decisions be made to further the project. This paper discusses a breadth of strategies for training construction teams to implement the Choosing By Advantages (CBA) decision-making method. These strategies are analyzed based on coaches' experiences and observations in terms of short and long-term learning outcomes. The unique circumstances of every construction project requires that lean coaches draw from a variety of teaching techniques to tailor the learning process to the specific needs of trainees. For example, while some trainees can quickly learn the basics of CBA theory, they often struggle to implement CBA in a practical context if not provided with proper support. Coaching proves efficacious in enabling construction teams to both make and carry-out decisions, however, a long period of training (12-16 weeks) is often necessary for thorough implementation and expertise in CBA.

Defining More Sustainable and Innovative Solutions Through Choosing by Advantages

“…The idea of using Choosing by Advantages (CBA) as a driver for structured innovation came from the authors' combined experiences in training CBA (Arroyo et al, 2019) and using CBA as an integrated decision and value engineering method, where the project team systematically used CBA to choose from design alternatives in preliminary design as described in (Schöttle et al, 2018a). The structured process and cross-disciplinary collaboration led to optimised solutions and ideas for improvements as a 'bi-product' of the decision process on previous projects.…”

“…Choosing by Advantages was developed by Jim Suhr (Suhr, 1999) to support his work in the U.S. Forest Service. Through the work of many Lean practitioners, but for this study in particular referring to Paz Arroyo, the method was made operational for the AEC industry in Europe (Arroyo, 2014), (Arroyo et al, 2019). The method is a multi-criteria decision method to facilitate assessment between two or more alternatives based on the perceived advantages of the alternatives.…”

“…However, by continuously using CBA as a driver for innovation on more projects, the terminology and process can become more familiar for the participants and the process of reaching a shared view on a decision becomes more efficient (Arroyo et al, 2019). This could compensate for the loose scope in the beginning of the project and set a framework to channel the knowledge and skills for the technical experts into innovative thinking within a project setting.…”

Reducing Bias in the Hiring Process Through Choosing by Advantages: A Case Study

“…Thus, in the construction sector, different methods have been applied for decision makings, such as WRC (Weighting, rating, and calculating), AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), and CBA (Arroyo 2014). Arroyo et al (2019) indicate that CBA has gained more attention in the construction industry in recent years. This increase has been driven by demands for more collaborative project organizations and transparent decision-making processes due to the synergy of CBA with other agendas such as improving sustainability and safety and by a growing need to incorporate multiple factors into the decision-making process.…”

Lean Tools Proposal to Mitigate Delays and Cost Overruns in Construction Projects

“…In this paper, a Lean Implementation Plan is proposed to identify Lean tools, methods, and approaches that allow mitigation of the factors causing delays and cost overruns in construction projects. These Lean tools have been extracted through a literature review, according to the State of Art and Practice (Arroyo et al 2019;Castiblanco et al 2019;Farzad and Cameron 2019;Giménez et al 2019;Gómez-Sánchez et al 2019;Hackler et al 2019;Ryan et al 2019;Salazar et al 2019;Skaar 2019;Taggart et al 2019).…”