The role of experience feedback channels in the continuous development of house-building platforms

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to describe how the experience feedback (EF) from building projects contributes to product platform development in house-building companies. House-building companies seek improvements to decrease costs, improve flow and decrease variability. Industrialised concepts using predefinitions in product platforms have provided a way of storing and reusing knowledge in project-based house-building organisations. However, the innovation in platforms is mainly incremental and based on EF from implementations in projects. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative data were gathered via interviews, archival studies and observations, and analysed to identify the underlying structures used to manage the incorporation of EF during platform development. Four different EF channels were studied at one Scandinavian house-builder. The data are explained using an analytical framework based on diffusion of innovation, product platforms and EF. Findings – EF is distributed over the value chain to improve the platform over time. By using multiple channels with differing contents, it is possible to balance client demands and variation with production efficiency. Platform development using feedback channels provides opportunities for double-loop learning. Operative work on projects and the strategic decisions made by developers continuously improve the platform through a combination of knowledge pull and push. Originality/value – A combination of different EF channels and strategies for developing knowledge pull are shown to be essential for the incremental development of product platforms in project-based house-building organisations. The development of product platforms requires a shift away from the construction industry’s dominant project focus towards a more product-oriented view of house-building. Integrating the design phase with the supply chain enables variety but also creates a need for continuous platform development.

Investigation of Innovation during Bid Evaluation Process in the Road Construction Industry

“…Road contractors have also documented the underlying of industrialized house-building which is based on the platform used to progress efficiency by reducing difficulty and cumulative standardization [26][27][28]. In this context, building type like modular building [29,30], is a costly offsite road construction approach [30,31] and current frames-of-reference have been challenged through the use of building systems [23,30]. Tactically concentrating beyond single construction projects and the integration of knowledge in different organizations also fundamentally varies from building in separate projects [11,30].…”

Diffusion of innovation in a contractor company

“…The three platforms were developed in different autonomous subsystems of IC, thus representing three different contexts, in accordance with the previously noted substantial degree of autonomy (Dubois and Gadde, 2002;Eriksson, 2013) and complexity of social systems (Bresnen et al, 2006;Gadde and Dubois, 2010;Shibeika and Harty, 2015) in construction. The three platforms represent various degrees of standardization (Figure 1) and potentially varying degrees of radicality because introducing a platform concept challenges current frames-of-reference (Engström and Levander, 2011;Jansson et al, 2015). In 2002, IC launched a project to develop an IHB method to produce apartment blocks with shorter construction periods and costs, but greater quality according to IC's annual report of 2002.…”

“…Contractors have also recognized the potential of platform-based industrialized house-building (IHB) to improve productivity by reducing complexity and increasing standardization (Thuesen and Hvam, 2011;Jansson et al, 2014;Bonev et al, 2015). Modular building (Gibb, 2001), more extensive offsite construction (Gibb and Pendlebury, 2006) and use of building systems (Lessing et al, 2015) challenges current frames-of-reference (Engström, 2012;Hedgren, 2013;Jansson et al, 2015). Strategically focusing beyond single building projects and integrating knowledge across organizations also radically differ from construction in standalone projects (Lessing et al, 2015).…”

Design Breakdown in Industrialized Construction: Supporting Lean Manufacturing

“…Continuous improvement towards perfection is at the heart of LM (Liker, 2003). Little is known about the process of capturing production knowledge and developing it as a source for improvement in a house building company (Jansson et al, 2015). In the management of future projects, the long term investments of integrating design and construction competences are created in a tension between short-term efficiency and long-term innovation (Eriksson, 2013).…”