Last Planner and Zero Accidents Program Integration - Workforce Involvement Perspective
Antti Leino1 & Jan Elfving2
1Manager for Safety Development, Business Unit Skanska Finland, P.O.BOX 114, FI-00101 Helsinki-Finland, Phone +358 20 719 2082, [email protected]2Head of Nordic Procurement Unit, Skanska AB, P.O.BOX 114, FI-00101 Helsinki-Finland, Phone +358 20 719 3168, [email protected]
Abstract
Construction is one of the most dangerous industries. In the European Union around 1300 workers are killed each year (EASHW, 2004). Additionally, the economic costs of all injuries, ill health and fatalities are vast. This questions the whole construction sector from both social and economical perspective of sustainable development. Construction organisation Skanska Finland has applied zero accidents program since 2004. Implementation of Last Planner™ System to the organisation, as a part of the lean construction production management initiative, started in 2006. There is a variety of lean construction (LC) learning approaches described (Hirota, E. H., Formoso, C. T., 1998). Also benefits in the use of Last Planner™ System on safety performance have been reported (Thomassen M. K. et al, 2002). The literature does not, however, report integrated implementation of LC and zero accidents program. Decision on introducing shared actions to implement Last Planner™ system (LP) and zero accidents program were made. This was based on two hypotheses. H1: LP will offer a framework and structure to health and safety (H&S) management and zero accidents program will offer stepping stones to educate and train lean thinking. H2: LP and zero accidents program implementation require workforce engagement. Better workforce involvement will increase weekly work plan reliability, thus increasing productivity. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used during 2007-2010. Meetings, discussions and personnel surveys were used to collect data from personnel. Study shows shared value-base between the two initiatives, e.g. valuing, respecting people, zero waste and prevention policy. Integrated use of tools such as go-see, visualisation, constraints removal and workforce engagement is not only beneficial but often necessary to achieve improvement, e.g. to create mutual trust to the change process. Workforce involvement also seems to increase weekly work plan reliability.
Keywords
Involvement, Safety, Accident, Lean, Construction, Last Planner™, Workforce
Files
Reference
Leino, A. & Elfving, J. 2011. Last Planner and Zero Accidents Program Integration - Workforce Involvement Perspective, 19th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , -. doi.org/
Download: BibTeX | RIS Format
Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.
2015 © All Rights Reserved.