https://doi.org/10.24928/2024/0103

Application of the Work Density Method to in-Situ Pile Production in Heavy Civil Engineering

Anne Fischer¹, Philipp Baumgartner², Iris D. Tommelein³, Konrad Nübel⁴ & Johannes Fottner⁵

¹PhD Student, Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow, Logistics, TUM School of Engrg. and Design., Techn. Univ. of Munich, Germany, +49 89 289 15932, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-2106-3735
²Graduate Student, Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow, Logistics, Dept. of Mech. Engrg., Techn. Univ. of Munich, Germany, [email protected]
³Distinguished Professor, Civil and Envir. Engrg. Dept., Director, Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1712, USA, +1 510 643-8678, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-9941-6596
⁴Professor, Chair of Construction Process Management, TUM School of Engrg. and Design, Techn. Univ. of Munich, Germany, +49 89 289 22410, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-2863-1360
⁵Professor, Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow, Logistics, Dept. of Mech. Engrg., Techn. Univ. of Munich, Germany, +49 89 289 15918, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-6392-0371

Abstract

The Work Density Method (WDM) is used in takt planning for defining zones with equal workload. To date, this method has been applied mainly to building construction. This paper investigates the WDM’s applicability to equipment-driven processes in heavy civil engineering, specifically to the in-situ production of foundation piles for a highway infrastructure project. Two existing computer-based programs that support the application of the WDM, WoLZo and ViWoLZo, were used to find a suitable grid size based on data from a real-world project. The results show the potential of using the WDM (1) to define zones with equal workloads, given that pile groups are irregularly distributed over the construction site space, (2) to compare different scenarios based on work density as a metric (e.g., scenarios with different uses and sequencing of equipment), and (3) to derive a takt time and process duration when using multiple pieces of equipment that must coordinate their efforts and work in sync. Compared to the building construction application, the heavy civil engineering application reveals new requirements when using the WDM and takt planning in general, regarding the geometrical and logistical needs of equipment-driven operations that constrain how zones can be defined.

Keywords

Production system design, takt planning (TP), Work Density Method (WDM), heavy civil engineering, work structuring, workload leveling, foundation piles, infrastructure project.

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Reference

Fischer, A. , Baumgartner, P. , Tommelein, I. D. , Nübel, K. & Fottner, J. 2024. Application of the Work Density Method to in-Situ Pile Production in Heavy Civil Engineering, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 32) , 261-272. doi.org/10.24928/2024/0103

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