The impact of a collaborative planning approach on engineering construction performance

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Hackett, V., 2017. The impact of a collaborative planning approach on engineering construction performance. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

The thesis presents the findings from the longitudinal implementation of lean construction on the ongoing refurbishment of an integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in North Western Australia. Refurbishment of existing plant is a sub-sector of the Engineering Construction (EC) industry, an industry involved in the design and construction of large-scale industrial facilities including oil and gas plants. The sector is called engineering construction in the United Kingdom and Australia and industrial construction in the United States and Canada. EC is beset with poor performance levels in terms of cost, time and quality outcomes. Despite the ongoing use of innovative practice, the sponsor company experienced similar optimisation challenges in the process of executing construction projects. The research problem was the performance achieved on the ongoing refurbishment projects. The research aim was to investigate the impact a collaborative planning approach on performance and develop implementation guidance.

A quantitative analysis of data from the Sponsor Company (SC) documentation revealed wastes specific to EC refurbishment projects, including transportation and movement, with attendant planning issues. Lean construction uses a collaborative planning approach to act against waste, particularly transportation and movement. Therefore, lean construction was viewed as an appropriate approach to act as an antidote. Observational research was used to address a gap in literature which is the lack of research investigating EC culture and environment. Action research (AR) over 7 cycles, was used to investigate the implementation of elements of the Last Planner® System (LP®S), a collaborative production planning approach, and a collaborative knowledge transfer tool called Team Work Design (TWD), designed and applied by the researcher. Primary data for analysis was extracted from LPS reporting and semi-structured interviews, with secondary data obtained from SC documentation. The longitudinal field research informed the development of implementation guidance. This addressed a gap in knowledge, which is the shortage of such guidance.

The study contributed to research practice and to knowledge. Contributions to practice included the development of guidance for the implementation of the LPS, the development of the TWD tool and the use of pull planning workshops to develop the work strategy and master programmes. Contribution to knowledge included the demonstration of workforce ability to autonomously evolve lean construction practice in response to the work environment. The implication of the research is that the guidance will inform future LPS and TWD implementation.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Hackett, V.
Date:	August 2017
Divisions:	Schools > School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	04 Oct 2017 08:15
Last Modified:	23 Aug 2021 09:53
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/31787