Discrete Event Simulation Enhanced Value Stream Mapping: An Industrialized Construction Case Study
2013
Download PDFDOI: https://doi.org/10.60164/m91tqhahc
Authors: Erikshammar Jarkko, Weizhuo Lu, Stehn Lars, Olofsson Thomas
Citation:
Jarkko, E., Lu, W., Lars, S., and Thomas, O. (2013). Discrete Event Simulation Enhanced Value Stream Mapping: An Industrialized Construction Case Study. Lean Construction Journal pp. 47–65.
Abstract:
Research Question/Hypothesis: Can a production process design framework created by integrating Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and Discrete Event Simulation (DES) be used to assess the production system performance, as predicted by a future state design of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) working in industrialized construction?
Purpose: To explore a production process design framework in which VSM is used to identify doable improvements and DES provides analytical evaluation of them.
Research Method: The demonstration was carried out at a Swedish SME industrialized construction component manufacturer
Findings: VSM is unable to evaluate analytically the performance of the future state design. This inability leads to unnecessary implementation iterations. VSM assumes a deterministic model and cannot describe the dynamic behaviors of a system. The dynamic behavior of the construction processes will result in the future state design not performing as expected. However, analytically evaluating the future state with DES helped the case company to implement a new production process design.
Limitations: DES modeling is still time-consuming and needs skilled professionals, the cost of which can be prohibitive for SMEs as demonstrated in this case study.
Implications: The integration of DES and VSM provides a framework to evaluate and communicate the outcome, hence enhancing the application of VSM.
Value for practitioners: A lean framework, which can be used, for industrialized construction processes especially by SMEs with very limited resources, to validate changes before implementing them.
Keywords: Value stream map, Discrete Event Simulation, Industrialized Construction, Small Business, Process Design
Paper type: Case Stud