The relationship between the last planner® system and collaborative planning practice in UK construction

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to identify how the newly emerging UK practice of "Collaborative Planning" (CP) for construction project delivery aligns with the advocated principles of the Last Planner System (LPS) of production planning and control. Design/methodology/approach -A mixed, qualitative, exploratory approach was adopted for the study. This entailed qualitative data through three techniques namely: semi-structured interviews, documents analysis, and structured observation. Thirty in-depth-interviews were conducted over a 12 month period with lean construction consultants, clients, main contractors, and subcontractors drawn from the building, highways and infrastructure and rail sector. Fifteen projects were visited where practices were observed. Findings -The study reveals that the current practice of CP in the UK partially aligns with the LPS principles. Where practitioners have heard of the LPS they believe it to be the same practice as CP. Limitation: This study is limited to 30 interviews, observation of 15 projects and document analysis. The aim of the study is not to generalise the findings, however, since the study examined top construction companies and practitioners in the UK and the findings were consistent across the sample, some conclusions could be made. The study is also limited to examining the construction phase only, future studies should incorporate the design phase. Practical Implication-A clear identification of the elements of current practice compared to the components of the LPS provides a contribution to the future practice of project production planning and management in the construction industry. Social implication -The study highlights a continuing resistance to collaboration within the industry. This resistance is subtly embedded within implemented practices even though they are based on collaborative working for their success. Originality and Value -This is among the first studies in the UK that comprehensively examines and reports the application of Last Planner System/Collaborative Planning practice in construction across the major construction sectors. Future studies could build on the findings from this work to develop an approach/methodology to improve the current practice.

Continuous Improvement Cells in the Highways Sector

“…The CI cells' potential in supporting the continuous improvement objective of and daily huddle meetings in the Last Planner System, which are some of the least executed parts in the Last Planner practices in the UK (Daniel et al 2017), should also be highlighted. Issues emerging from the Last Planner's weekly meeting can be transferred to and studied for continuous improvement within a CI cell mechanism.…”

Improving Construction Management Practice in the Gibraltar Construction Industry

“…The Last Planner System (LPS) is a technique within lean construction that focuses on supporting a smooth workflow through the development of collaborative relationship among project stakeholders (Ballard and Tommelein, 2017;Daniel et al, 2017;Ballard & Zabelle, 2000). The LPS consist of twelve interrelated principles (Ballard and Tommelein, 2016).…”

“…The make-ready element focuses on ensuring smooth workflow during production activities on site by ensuring the identified constraints are removed (Koskela, 2000). However, Daniel et al, (2017) found that there seems to be a reluctance in implementing make-ready planning during the LPS implementation.…”

Lean thinking in the highways construction sector: motivation, implementation and barriers

“…With two high-profile industry reports published in the mid/ late 1990s, a climate of change highlighting lean thinking as one of the way-forwards was induced for the construction industry in the UK (Latham 1994;Egan 1998). For the past 10 years, the civil construction sector in the country has been increasingly adopting lean thinking in its operations with explicit requirements from the main public clients (Wolbers et al 2005;Ansell et al 2007;Chen et al 2012;Drysdale 2013;Fullalove 2013;Daniel et al 2017). Consequently, lean thinking in the civil sector has been driven by large service suppliers and client organisations to date with some reported benefits.…”