https://doi.org/10.24928/2022/0199

So Many Flows!

Iris D. Tommelein¹, Vishesh V. Singh², Rafael V. Coelho³ & Joonas Lehtovaara⁴

¹Professor, Civil and Envir. Engrg. Dept., Director, Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), University of California, Berkeley, CA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-9941-6596
²PhD Student, Civil and Envir. Eng. Dept. and Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-6999-9727
³PhD Student, Civil and Envir. Eng. Dept. and Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0003-3298-3622
⁴Doctoral Candidate, Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, Finland, and Visiting Researcher, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL), University of California, Berkeley, CA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000- 0002-4761-3811

Abstract

Flow is one of three perspectives in the Transformation-Flow-Value (TFV) conceptualization of project production systems. Accordingly, many papers published in the IGLC proceedings and elsewhere have addressed flow on a theoretical or practical basis. This notwithstanding, quite a few of these papers describe various flows only loosely without defining them formally. For example, a term such as workflow is widely used in the Lean Construction literature, but what exactly does it refer to? This paper poses the question: What kinds of flow can be distinguished? In response, different kinds of flow are listed, some already well-described and others (e.g., assembly flow) seemingly overlooked in the Lean Construction literature. The contribution of this paper is distinguishing and defining a certain number of flows in construction, using a vocabulary that is internally consistent. Flows need comprehensive attention in the design and execution of Lean Construction systems, so it is important to be clear on terminology. The goal of providing definitions regarding flows in Lean Construction is to facilitate research and communication of ideas with scholars and practitioners around the world.

Keywords

Flow, assembly flow, equipment flow, location flow, material flow, operation flow, process flow, product flow, resource flow, service flow, tool flow, trade flow, value flow, worker flow, workflow

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Reference

Tommelein, I. D. , Singh, V. V. , Coelho, R. V. & Lehtovaara, J. 2022. So Many Flows!, Proc. 30th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) , 878-889. doi.org/10.24928/2022/0199

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