The Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL) at UC Berkeley is a research institute dedicated... more The Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL) at UC Berkeley is a research institute dedicated to developing and deploying knowledge and tools for project management. The Laboratory is housed under the umbrella of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). Projects are temporary production systems. P2SL is dedicated to developing and deploying knowledge and tools for the management of project production systems and the management of organizations that produce and deliver goods and services through such systems. Project production systems include for example construction, product development, software engineering, air and sea ship building, work order systems, job shops, performing arts productions, oil field development, and health care delivery. Companies worldwide, and especially those involved in the Northern California construction industry, are invited to team up with P2SL staff and students, and use our resources to advance the theory as well as the implementation of the lean construction philosophy, principles, and methods in the industry, its companies, and its projects. Our goal is to advance and deepen understanding of how to deliver lean projects. All members of the industry are invited to become contributors and to participate in the Laboratory:
Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose... more Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
As in manufacturing with its Industry 4.0 transformation, the enormous potential of artificial in... more As in manufacturing with its Industry 4.0 transformation, the enormous potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is also being recognized in the construction industry. Specifically, the equipment-intensive construction industry can benefit from using AI. AI applications can leverage the data recorded by the numerous sensors on machines and mirror them in a digital twin. Analyzing the digital twin can help optimize processes on the construction site and increase productivity. We present a case from special foundation engineering: the machine production of bored piles. We introduce a hierarchical classification for activity recognition and apply a hybrid deep learning model based on convolutional and recurrent neural networks. Then, based on the results from the activity detection, we use discrete-event simulation to predict construction progress. We highlight the difficulty of defining the appropriate modeling granularity. While activity detection requires equipment movement, simulat...
Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, Jul 27, 2022
Takt planning is being lauded as a new tool for construction planning. It is described in the aca... more Takt planning is being lauded as a new tool for construction planning. It is described in the academic literature and successfully applied in practice. But is it just a tool for planning? This paper aims to show that takt planning can serve as the basis of a framework that supports the application of various lean tools and methods and, accordingly, is a tool to enable lean thinking in construction. Using this framework, the paper illustrates through examples how a project team benefited from using takt to identify where to apply lean tools and methods. It shows how takt informs when and where in the workflow it is appropriate to apply various lean tools and methods such as identification of bottlenecks, workflow reliability (process stability), underloading, process capability, mistakeproofing, standardization, continuous improvement, and cycle time reduction. The contribution of this paper is to highlight that a lean journey that starts with takt may proceed with implementing numerous lean tools and methods other than those directly pertaining to takt itself.
Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, Jul 27, 2022
Construction projects need adequate planning to set a structure and direction for production, but... more Construction projects need adequate planning to set a structure and direction for production, but simultaneously call for effective control to maintain the direction when something unexpected happens. Effective control is of utmost importance for takt production, which is especially vulnerable when disruptions occur. While previous takt production research has primarily focused on how to form a good takt plan, little attention has been given to how to control and continuously improve takt production systems effectively. Addressing the gap, this study inspects takt control through the lenses of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). First, we argue that takt control can be perceived through three different failure categories: failures within wagons, failures in handoffs, and failures in takt trains. We discuss the peculiarities of takt control through these categories and provide examples of failures with their respective failure mode(s) and possible control action(s). Second, we construct an FMEA-based framework for effective takt control that shows how to recover from failures and avoid them altogether. Future research may consider validating the failure categories and the framework through case studies or simulations, and examining their applicability in supporting digital takt production.
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC)
Activity-level space scheduling involves allocating site space over time to static and dynamic co... more Activity-level space scheduling involves allocating site space over time to static and dynamic construction resources such as robots. The resulting coarse layouts pertaining to activity-related time intervals serve to coordinate the motion planning of multiple robots. This cannot be done with existing motion planning tools, as computational demands make path-planning for multiple robots in dynamic environments prohibitively expensive. An interactive and graphical decision-support tool, named MovePlan, is presented to assist in space scheduling. Its output layouts can be used to refine individual robot's trajectories using traditional path-planning algorithms.
“Advancing” Advanced Work Packaging (AWP), Dec 18, 2016
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) refers to an approach for planning the delivery of capital projects... more Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) refers to an approach for planning the delivery of capital projects that aims to maximize productivity at the work face by aligning the deliverables of engineering design with what is needed in construction. The term Advanced Work Packaging was coined only a few years ago, and industry implementation to date appears to vary significantly. This article explores questions such as: What does the AWP approach entail? What success may be expected? Is there room for improvement?
The California Budget Act of 2016 included a provision to "complete a post-implementation review ... more The California Budget Act of 2016 included a provision to "complete a post-implementation review of the Project Resourcing and Schedule Management (PRSM) information technology system upgrade completed by the Department of Transportation". The PRSM system referenced is Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software deployed at Caltrans in 2014 and intended to enable Caltrans to effectively plan State employee and consultant time spent on activities related to projects in its Capital Outlay Support (COS) program. A team of researchers in the Engineering Project Management Program at UC Berkeley was selected to conduct the review of PRSM. This report summarizes the team's findings. Looking inside Caltrans at how the agency is using PRSM, Section I reports on the researchers' review of Caltrans documents and the interviews they conducted with sample groups of Caltrans staff. The study shows that PRSM has become a well-established system: it is now used agency-wide by approximately 3,000 Caltrans users with read/write access and many others with read-only access. Caltrans staff are using PRSM for project resourcing, especially for annual budgeting, but are not using all its scheduling functions to their potential. Looking outward for practices different from those of Caltrans that may reveal opportunities to improve Caltrans' project management practices with PRSM support, Section II reports on findings from the researchers' scan of comparable software, survey of state departments of transportation, interviews with private engineering firms, and review of recent developments and best practices in project management. The study shows that PRSM is but one of several possible-but still among the most highly-rated software system choices. Study recommendations include: continuing with ongoing PRSM training for District personnel to ensure consistency in use across the State, engaging more directly with the system vendor to voice Caltrans' needs for future software enhancements, changing the current Caltrans workflow to include systematic project baselining, and developing task management practices using the Last Planner® System to enhance work flow reliability and thereby improve efficiency and project performance. This Report ends with a summary of all findings and lays the foundation for scope to be pursued in subsequent, applied research with Caltrans, aiming to further leverage the support that PRSM use can provide in its project management practices.
Author(s): Blampied, Nigel; Tommelein, Iris D., PhD | Abstract: The California Budget Act of 2016... more Author(s): Blampied, Nigel; Tommelein, Iris D., PhD | Abstract: The California Budget Act of 2016 included a provision to “complete a post-implementation review of the Project Resourcing and Schedule Management (PRSM) information technology system upgrade completed by the Department of Transportation.” The PRSM system referenced is Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software deployed at Caltrans in 2014 and intended to enable Caltrans to effectively plan State employee and consultant time spent on activities related to projects in its Capital Outlay Support (COS) program. In this Part A report, the researchers studied PRSM as implemented and in practical use, based on a Caltrans document review and interviews conducted with sample groups of Caltrans staff. The result is this factual, non-judgmental description of how PRSM is used and what it is used for. The researchers’ initial sense from the PRSM review meetings is that over the course of three years of deployment, PRSM has become a ...
Lean thinking is an example that shows how innovation in the manufacturing industry also leads to... more Lean thinking is an example that shows how innovation in the manufacturing industry also leads to improvements in the construction industry. Modular product design is common in mechanical engineering, enabling companies to reduce costs and development time. Various methods and tools exist to design modular products. Modular design is not new to the construction industry, but a conducted literature survey reveals that the number of available methods and tools is limited in comparison with mechanical engineering. Therefore, this paper systematically searches for learning opportunities between both industries in terms of modularization. Firstly, the two sectors are compared on a high-level basis. Following this, the objectives for modularization are compared. Finally, existing methodologies are analyzed. Overall the findings indicate that the construction industry would benefit from process models that help to systematically modularize buildings based on different module drivers. Addit...
Building Information Modelling (BIM) refers to models of geometry of a facility to be designed an... more Building Information Modelling (BIM) refers to models of geometry of a facility to be designed and built. The goal of the BIM development process is to build an error-free model in an efficient way. The use of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles has proven successful for adapting the BIM development process to the needs off the project, thus avoiding rework during development of the model. Integrated modelling of conflicts between building components (often called ‘clashes’), the BIM development process, and the organizational structure of the development team with the Multiple Domain Matrix (MDM) enabled deduction of planned and actual communication flows in the organization. The two perspectives of communication were compared as part of ‘Check’ in the PDCA cycle. Comparison identified problems in the BIM development process, which were the starting point for root cause analysis.
Proc. 27th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC), 2019
To err is human but people can design and make systems that are less error-prone, and more fail-s... more To err is human but people can design and make systems that are less error-prone, and more fail-safe and defect-free than many are today. One such lean design practice is called mistakeproofing (poke yoke). It is integral to the Toyota Production System and successfully practiced in numerous industry sectors. Mistakeproofing is not as widelynor as intentionally practiced in the Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) industry as it could be. To promote conceptual understanding and adoption, this paper presents 6 mistakeproofing principles. To further spur innovative mistakeproofing practices, it also presents the 40 principles of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Mistakeproofing examples from the AEC industry demonstrate how these two sets of principles can be directly linked to rationalize existing mistakeproofing practices and, in addition, to potentially design "innovative" ones. As such, this paper supports the drive for industry innovation in developing products and processes of greater quality and thereby contribute to construction industry performance improvement.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore opportunities and barriers to using lean construc... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore opportunities and barriers to using lean construction to address issues related to the value, quality and scalability of affordable housing production in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a case study of a housing developer in Ecuador that used lean construction in the design and construction stages of an affordable housing project. The study describes how the developer addressed operational challenges derived from implementing a customization strategy and analyzes qualitative and quantitative data to assess the outcomes of lean initiatives. Findings The developer reduced cost and delivery time without sacrificing consumer choice. However, the economic and policy conditions worked against the benefits of lean construction, demonstrating the importance of the regulatory context in facilitating or inhibiting lean initiatives and construction innovation. Research limitations/implications This paper focuses on ...
Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC), 1991
CIPROS* is knowledge-based simulation system that enables its users to relate project design draw... more CIPROS* is knowledge-based simulation system that enables its users to relate project design drawings and specifications to process networks and associated resources. Each process is defined in terms of actions, corresponding project components, availability and attributes of resources, a network of operations and queues, and operation functions. CIPROS infers process precedence from user-defined action dependencies. The CIPROS knowledge base contains process networks and operation functions corresponding to different construction techniques and methods. In addition to the knowledge base and a user interface, CIPROS includes a generic discrete-event simulator. Project simulation produces statistical reports for management review, instrumental to assessing the quality of a construction plan and identifying areas for improvement. The system thus augments construction plans with knowledge pertaining to the interaction and characteristics of construction resources and models the uncertainty inherent in construction operations. Integrating construction plans with resource information and probabilistic operation durations is key to building executable construction plans.
The Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL) at UC Berkeley is a research institute dedicated... more The Project Production Systems Laboratory (P2SL) at UC Berkeley is a research institute dedicated to developing and deploying knowledge and tools for project management. The Laboratory is housed under the umbrella of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). Projects are temporary production systems. P2SL is dedicated to developing and deploying knowledge and tools for the management of project production systems and the management of organizations that produce and deliver goods and services through such systems. Project production systems include for example construction, product development, software engineering, air and sea ship building, work order systems, job shops, performing arts productions, oil field development, and health care delivery. Companies worldwide, and especially those involved in the Northern California construction industry, are invited to team up with P2SL staff and students, and use our resources to advance the theory as well as the implementation of the lean construction philosophy, principles, and methods in the industry, its companies, and its projects. Our goal is to advance and deepen understanding of how to deliver lean projects. All members of the industry are invited to become contributors and to participate in the Laboratory:
Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose... more Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
As in manufacturing with its Industry 4.0 transformation, the enormous potential of artificial in... more As in manufacturing with its Industry 4.0 transformation, the enormous potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is also being recognized in the construction industry. Specifically, the equipment-intensive construction industry can benefit from using AI. AI applications can leverage the data recorded by the numerous sensors on machines and mirror them in a digital twin. Analyzing the digital twin can help optimize processes on the construction site and increase productivity. We present a case from special foundation engineering: the machine production of bored piles. We introduce a hierarchical classification for activity recognition and apply a hybrid deep learning model based on convolutional and recurrent neural networks. Then, based on the results from the activity detection, we use discrete-event simulation to predict construction progress. We highlight the difficulty of defining the appropriate modeling granularity. While activity detection requires equipment movement, simulat...
Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, Jul 27, 2022
Takt planning is being lauded as a new tool for construction planning. It is described in the aca... more Takt planning is being lauded as a new tool for construction planning. It is described in the academic literature and successfully applied in practice. But is it just a tool for planning? This paper aims to show that takt planning can serve as the basis of a framework that supports the application of various lean tools and methods and, accordingly, is a tool to enable lean thinking in construction. Using this framework, the paper illustrates through examples how a project team benefited from using takt to identify where to apply lean tools and methods. It shows how takt informs when and where in the workflow it is appropriate to apply various lean tools and methods such as identification of bottlenecks, workflow reliability (process stability), underloading, process capability, mistakeproofing, standardization, continuous improvement, and cycle time reduction. The contribution of this paper is to highlight that a lean journey that starts with takt may proceed with implementing numerous lean tools and methods other than those directly pertaining to takt itself.
Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, Jul 27, 2022
Construction projects need adequate planning to set a structure and direction for production, but... more Construction projects need adequate planning to set a structure and direction for production, but simultaneously call for effective control to maintain the direction when something unexpected happens. Effective control is of utmost importance for takt production, which is especially vulnerable when disruptions occur. While previous takt production research has primarily focused on how to form a good takt plan, little attention has been given to how to control and continuously improve takt production systems effectively. Addressing the gap, this study inspects takt control through the lenses of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). First, we argue that takt control can be perceived through three different failure categories: failures within wagons, failures in handoffs, and failures in takt trains. We discuss the peculiarities of takt control through these categories and provide examples of failures with their respective failure mode(s) and possible control action(s). Second, we construct an FMEA-based framework for effective takt control that shows how to recover from failures and avoid them altogether. Future research may consider validating the failure categories and the framework through case studies or simulations, and examining their applicability in supporting digital takt production.
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC)
Activity-level space scheduling involves allocating site space over time to static and dynamic co... more Activity-level space scheduling involves allocating site space over time to static and dynamic construction resources such as robots. The resulting coarse layouts pertaining to activity-related time intervals serve to coordinate the motion planning of multiple robots. This cannot be done with existing motion planning tools, as computational demands make path-planning for multiple robots in dynamic environments prohibitively expensive. An interactive and graphical decision-support tool, named MovePlan, is presented to assist in space scheduling. Its output layouts can be used to refine individual robot's trajectories using traditional path-planning algorithms.
“Advancing” Advanced Work Packaging (AWP), Dec 18, 2016
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) refers to an approach for planning the delivery of capital projects... more Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) refers to an approach for planning the delivery of capital projects that aims to maximize productivity at the work face by aligning the deliverables of engineering design with what is needed in construction. The term Advanced Work Packaging was coined only a few years ago, and industry implementation to date appears to vary significantly. This article explores questions such as: What does the AWP approach entail? What success may be expected? Is there room for improvement?
The California Budget Act of 2016 included a provision to "complete a post-implementation review ... more The California Budget Act of 2016 included a provision to "complete a post-implementation review of the Project Resourcing and Schedule Management (PRSM) information technology system upgrade completed by the Department of Transportation". The PRSM system referenced is Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software deployed at Caltrans in 2014 and intended to enable Caltrans to effectively plan State employee and consultant time spent on activities related to projects in its Capital Outlay Support (COS) program. A team of researchers in the Engineering Project Management Program at UC Berkeley was selected to conduct the review of PRSM. This report summarizes the team's findings. Looking inside Caltrans at how the agency is using PRSM, Section I reports on the researchers' review of Caltrans documents and the interviews they conducted with sample groups of Caltrans staff. The study shows that PRSM has become a well-established system: it is now used agency-wide by approximately 3,000 Caltrans users with read/write access and many others with read-only access. Caltrans staff are using PRSM for project resourcing, especially for annual budgeting, but are not using all its scheduling functions to their potential. Looking outward for practices different from those of Caltrans that may reveal opportunities to improve Caltrans' project management practices with PRSM support, Section II reports on findings from the researchers' scan of comparable software, survey of state departments of transportation, interviews with private engineering firms, and review of recent developments and best practices in project management. The study shows that PRSM is but one of several possible-but still among the most highly-rated software system choices. Study recommendations include: continuing with ongoing PRSM training for District personnel to ensure consistency in use across the State, engaging more directly with the system vendor to voice Caltrans' needs for future software enhancements, changing the current Caltrans workflow to include systematic project baselining, and developing task management practices using the Last Planner® System to enhance work flow reliability and thereby improve efficiency and project performance. This Report ends with a summary of all findings and lays the foundation for scope to be pursued in subsequent, applied research with Caltrans, aiming to further leverage the support that PRSM use can provide in its project management practices.
Author(s): Blampied, Nigel; Tommelein, Iris D., PhD | Abstract: The California Budget Act of 2016... more Author(s): Blampied, Nigel; Tommelein, Iris D., PhD | Abstract: The California Budget Act of 2016 included a provision to “complete a post-implementation review of the Project Resourcing and Schedule Management (PRSM) information technology system upgrade completed by the Department of Transportation.” The PRSM system referenced is Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software deployed at Caltrans in 2014 and intended to enable Caltrans to effectively plan State employee and consultant time spent on activities related to projects in its Capital Outlay Support (COS) program. In this Part A report, the researchers studied PRSM as implemented and in practical use, based on a Caltrans document review and interviews conducted with sample groups of Caltrans staff. The result is this factual, non-judgmental description of how PRSM is used and what it is used for. The researchers’ initial sense from the PRSM review meetings is that over the course of three years of deployment, PRSM has become a ...
Lean thinking is an example that shows how innovation in the manufacturing industry also leads to... more Lean thinking is an example that shows how innovation in the manufacturing industry also leads to improvements in the construction industry. Modular product design is common in mechanical engineering, enabling companies to reduce costs and development time. Various methods and tools exist to design modular products. Modular design is not new to the construction industry, but a conducted literature survey reveals that the number of available methods and tools is limited in comparison with mechanical engineering. Therefore, this paper systematically searches for learning opportunities between both industries in terms of modularization. Firstly, the two sectors are compared on a high-level basis. Following this, the objectives for modularization are compared. Finally, existing methodologies are analyzed. Overall the findings indicate that the construction industry would benefit from process models that help to systematically modularize buildings based on different module drivers. Addit...
Building Information Modelling (BIM) refers to models of geometry of a facility to be designed an... more Building Information Modelling (BIM) refers to models of geometry of a facility to be designed and built. The goal of the BIM development process is to build an error-free model in an efficient way. The use of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles has proven successful for adapting the BIM development process to the needs off the project, thus avoiding rework during development of the model. Integrated modelling of conflicts between building components (often called ‘clashes’), the BIM development process, and the organizational structure of the development team with the Multiple Domain Matrix (MDM) enabled deduction of planned and actual communication flows in the organization. The two perspectives of communication were compared as part of ‘Check’ in the PDCA cycle. Comparison identified problems in the BIM development process, which were the starting point for root cause analysis.
Proc. 27th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC), 2019
To err is human but people can design and make systems that are less error-prone, and more fail-s... more To err is human but people can design and make systems that are less error-prone, and more fail-safe and defect-free than many are today. One such lean design practice is called mistakeproofing (poke yoke). It is integral to the Toyota Production System and successfully practiced in numerous industry sectors. Mistakeproofing is not as widelynor as intentionally practiced in the Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) industry as it could be. To promote conceptual understanding and adoption, this paper presents 6 mistakeproofing principles. To further spur innovative mistakeproofing practices, it also presents the 40 principles of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Mistakeproofing examples from the AEC industry demonstrate how these two sets of principles can be directly linked to rationalize existing mistakeproofing practices and, in addition, to potentially design "innovative" ones. As such, this paper supports the drive for industry innovation in developing products and processes of greater quality and thereby contribute to construction industry performance improvement.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore opportunities and barriers to using lean construc... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore opportunities and barriers to using lean construction to address issues related to the value, quality and scalability of affordable housing production in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a case study of a housing developer in Ecuador that used lean construction in the design and construction stages of an affordable housing project. The study describes how the developer addressed operational challenges derived from implementing a customization strategy and analyzes qualitative and quantitative data to assess the outcomes of lean initiatives. Findings The developer reduced cost and delivery time without sacrificing consumer choice. However, the economic and policy conditions worked against the benefits of lean construction, demonstrating the importance of the regulatory context in facilitating or inhibiting lean initiatives and construction innovation. Research limitations/implications This paper focuses on ...
Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC), 1991
CIPROS* is knowledge-based simulation system that enables its users to relate project design draw... more CIPROS* is knowledge-based simulation system that enables its users to relate project design drawings and specifications to process networks and associated resources. Each process is defined in terms of actions, corresponding project components, availability and attributes of resources, a network of operations and queues, and operation functions. CIPROS infers process precedence from user-defined action dependencies. The CIPROS knowledge base contains process networks and operation functions corresponding to different construction techniques and methods. In addition to the knowledge base and a user interface, CIPROS includes a generic discrete-event simulator. Project simulation produces statistical reports for management review, instrumental to assessing the quality of a construction plan and identifying areas for improvement. The system thus augments construction plans with knowledge pertaining to the interaction and characteristics of construction resources and models the uncertainty inherent in construction operations. Integrating construction plans with resource information and probabilistic operation durations is key to building executable construction plans.
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Papers by Iris Tommelein