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20th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - San Diego, California, USA - 2012

Utilization of Extra Planning Activities by Construction Companies in Sergipe, Brazil

Débora de G. Santos¹, Joana Grosskopf², Andreza Menezes Souza³, Antônio T. dos Santos Neto⁴ & Luiz Fernando M. Heineck⁵

¹Dr., Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil, Phone +55 79 2105 6700, FAX +55 79 2105 6684; [email protected]
²Civil Engineering, Master’s Student, Post-Graduation in Civil Engineering Program, Federal University of Sergipe, SE, Brazil. Phone +55 79 2105 6700; [email protected]
³Civil Engineering, Master’s Student, Post-Graduation in Civil Engineering Program, Federal University of Sergipe, SE, Brazil. Phone +55 79 2105 6700; [email protected]
⁴Undergraduate Student, Civil Engineering Department, Federal University of Sergipe, SE, Brazil. Phone +55 79 2105 6700; [email protected]
⁵PhD., Professor, Production Engineering Department, Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, Phone +55 85 3267 0096; [email protected]

Abstract

The peculiar characteristics of civil construction associated with obstacles to the production process result in constraints that cause downtime for workers, often filled by non value-adding activities. This research work is directed to construction companies that are already using extra planning activities, informally, to remove these constraints. We wanted to identify the tacit knowledge level of construction managers working in Sergipe, Brazil, relative to extra planning activities. We applied a structured checklist for the following knowledge areas: Learning, Work Safety, Constructability, Lean Construction, Reengineering, Theory of Constraints, Quality and Productivity, and Planning and Production Control. Major findings of this research are related to those knowledge areas most applied by the respondents: Work Safety (92.31%), Reengineering (83.59%) and Lean Construction (77.62%). We could identify that the least widespread knowledge area was Theory of Constraints (67.31%). The authors are of the opinion that the informal implementation of these activities demonstrates the lack of dissemination of knowledge among managers. With this in mind, in future research, we will focus on facilitating the implementation of activities in these areas, and particularly in the area of Theory of Constraints, seeking to formalize it.

Keywords

Lean Construction, continuous improvement, extra planning activities, constraints analysis, process, production, value

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