Identification of potential improvement areas in industrial housing: A case study of waste

Identification of potential improvement areas in industrial housing: A case study of waste

2012

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.60164/36ir1egbw

Authors: Åsa Gustafsson, Johan Vessby, Lars-Olof Rask

Citation:

Gustafsson, Å., Vessby, J., and Rask, L. (2012). Identification of potential improvement areas in industrial housing: A case study of waste. Lean Construction Journal, 2012, pp 61–77.

Abstract:

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to categorize waste in the construction industry for a specific building system (using wood as the load-bearing elements).

Research method: This case study consists of the following three parts: 1) current state maps of the supply chain; 2) identification of waste appearing at the construction site; and 3) a time study of the installation process.

Findings: This paper proposes that waste in the construction supply chain for the current case can be categorized as follows: Defects and Controls, Logistics, Utilization of Resources, Health and Safety, and System and Structure.

Limitations: The current paper is based on a single case study; and hence, its results need to be replicated in further studies.

Implications: This study contributes to previous knowledge with regards to lean construction and waste (as it specifies the waste concept with regard to the construction industry).

Value for practitioners: This paper provides a categorization of waste in the construction industry in which the categories are inherent from the same source. Hence, elimination of the waste is facilitated by identifying an overall solution for each category rather than for individual types of waste.

Key words: Logistics, Value Stream Mapping, Waste, Wooden Residential Buildings

Paper type: Case study