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EXPORT DATE: 19 April 2024

@CONFERENCE{Hofacker2010,
author={Hofacker, Alexander and Gehbauer, Fritz },
editor={Walsh, Kenneth and Alves, Thais },
title={The Tonnage-Flow}, 
journal={18th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction}, 
booktitle={18th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction}, 
year={2010},
pages={558-568},
url={http://www.iglc.net/papers/details/682},
affiliation={Research Associate, Technology and Management in Construction, Karlsruhe Institute of  Technology, Am Fasanengarten Geb.50.31, 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany, Phone +49-160 99085916  Alexander.hofacker@kit.edu ; Professor Dr.-Ing. Fritz Gehbauer, M.S., Head of the Institute of Technology and Management in  Construction, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Am Fasanengarten Geb.50.31, 76128 Karlsruhe,  Germany, Phone +49-721 6082646, fritz.gehbauer@kit.edu },
abstract={In steel fabrication and erection, the production flow is measured by counting the amount of fabricated and erected tons. This leads to several questions: is this indicator sufficient to visualize the real productivity? Are there better metrics to display process performance? Thirdly, how can lean methods like pull, Kanban, ConWIP and SMED improve these processes? A study of steel fabricators in Germany and Chile revealed that the only KPI today is the global metric of [hours/ton] related to the finished products. The lack of performance metrics, high process variability and individual production justifies the first research question concerning whether there are common patterns behind all steel-fabrication processes. Further questions involve finding the right metrics and determining which lean-methods could be best applied at certain work-stations to optimize the whole production flow. Data is measured in detail considering the whole steel-fabrication process including the erection of the building on site. This paper provides an exemplary in-depth exploration of the cycle times and process variability of the work-stations conducting ―fitting-welding‖ operations. The application of PULL through Kanban and CONWIP as well as takt-time control and SMED is discussed. A three level KPI-concept is elaborated, to support pull in the whole supply chain. Finally the study provides a basis for simulating the steel fabrication and erection process as tonnage flows by continuous simulation (HECRAS) or the one-piece concept of DES-Simulation (SPS).  },
author_keywords={Steel-fabrication process, Production metrics, Process variability, Standardisation,  Product complexity, Continuous- and discrete event simulation },
address={Haifa, Israel },
issn={ },
publisher={ },
language={English},
document_type={Conference Paper},
source={IGLC},
}