https://doi.org/10.24928/2018/0218

Is Integration of Uncertainty Management and the Last Planner System a Good Idea?

Olav Torp¹, Trond Bølviken², Sigmund Aslesen³, Lars Petter Fritzsønn⁴, Åse Haagensen⁵, Sebastiano Lombardo⁶ & Tobias Saltveit⁷

¹Associate Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, +47 934 226 73, [email protected]
²Director, Strategy, Improvement, HR and HSE, Veidekke Entreprenør AS, Norway; Also Professor at the University of Agder, Norway, +47 909 68 043, [email protected]
³Research and Development Manager, Team Veidekke DA Ulven, Veidekke Entreprenør AS, Oslo, Norway, +47 922 18 492, [email protected]
⁴Project Director, AF gruppen, Oslo, Norway, +47 971 60 478, [email protected]
⁵Risk Manager, AF gruppen, Oslo, Norway, +47 997 91 529, [email protected]
⁶Associate Professor, Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway, +47 930 12 003, [email protected]
⁷Design Manager, AF gruppen, Oslo, Norway, +47 918 29 331, [email protected]

Abstract

The Last Planner System (LPS) is a tool for project planning and control, and is an important contribution from Lean Construction. LPS focuses on scheduling, task coordination and time management. Uncertainty Management (UM) is a key element in Project Management, where uncertainty is the totality of opportunities (potential upsides) and risks (potential downsides). UM addresses all types of uncertainty (related to cost, time, quality, scope, safety, customer satisfaction, company reputation, etc.). The aim of UM is to exploit the opportunities and reduce the risks. Two construction companies involved in this research are working with both LPS and UM. One has extensive experience with LPS, but less experience with UM. The other has extensive experience with UM, but less experience with LPS. Two questions are raised and discussed in the paper: 1. Could project planning and control be improved by an integration of LPS and UM? 2. If yes, how could LPS and UM be integrated to improve project planning and control? The paper proposes a conceptual model where UM tools are integrated in the plan and meeting structure of LPS. The model is to be tested in forthcoming case studies.

Keywords

Uncertainty Management, Risk, Last Planner System

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Reference

Torp, O. , Bølviken, T. , Aslesen, S. , Fritzsønn, L. P. , Haagensen, Å. , Lombardo, S. & Saltveit, T. 2018. Is Integration of Uncertainty Management and the Last Planner System a Good Idea?, 26th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , 658-668. doi.org/10.24928/2018/0218

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