Case Study: An Application of Last Planner to Heavy Civil Construction in Korea

Yong-Woo Kim1 & Jin-Woo Jang2

1Assistant Professor, Constr. Mgmt. and Wood Product Engrg. Department, 153 Baker Lab, State Univ. of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, 315/470-6839, FAX 315/470-6879, [email protected]
2Ph.D. Student, Constr. Mgmt. and Wood Product Engrg. Department, 153 Baker Lab, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, [email protected]

Abstract

The Last Planner is a production planning and control tool used to improve work flow reliability. Many companies have adopted the principles and reported the results of the case studies. The lean construction and the Last Planner principles have recently been introduced in Korea. Some companies in Korea are trying to adopt the Last Planner as their production control tool. However, they often face difficulties in applying the tool to their sites for a variety of reasons. The application can encounter some resistance when applied to the sites that contain different planning and organizational systems. These barriers make the application of the Last Planner to the country with a greatly different culture, interesting. This paper introduces case studies of two heavy civil construction projects, along with descriptions of the ways that the Last Planner was applied, and how the work flow reliability was improved. It also discusses the prerequisites and barriers to implementation, of the Last Planner, in heavy civil construction projects in Korea. The results can be used as a reference for companies to improve their work flow reliability for future projects.

Keywords

The Last Planner, Heavy civil construction, Production control, Work flow reliability

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Reference

Kim, Y. & Jang, J. 2005. Case Study: An Application of Last Planner to Heavy Civil Construction in Korea, 13th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , 405-411. doi.org/

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