Enabling Flow: Knowledge Based Construction

This post is an excerpt from the white paper, Lean Construction ‐ Advanced Project Delivery for the AEC Industry, from Dassault Systèmes’ Value Solution Business Partner CornerCube.

As organizations begin to understand the power of adopting an LPD approach to their programs and projects, they realize that a change process is underway and recognize that the production system is highly complex and dynamic.  Every project has a lifecycle beginning with the business case and defining requirements to final installation and beneficial use.  During the progression of the project’s lifecycle, the opportunity to influence or optimize the project’s development and eventual outcome lessens dramatically.

Click to tweet: “As an #AEC project progresses,
opportunity to optimize the outcome lessens dramatically”

Easily recognizable is the single line flow of delivery regardless of delivery method depicting the transformation process and buffers created (time, inventory, and capacity).  The simple flow can be as depicted below:

What is not acknowledged is that this same sequence of events is played out countless times on a project at the macro and micro level.  Every component, assembly, or action must undergo this same transformation to achieve a desired and successful outcome.

The production system looks more like the image depicted below where every work stream is affected, and managing buffers and the four knowledge flows (Information, Design, Supply Chain / Logistics, and Site Assembly) are critical.

Achieving Optimal Production

Achieving an optimal production system often includes:

• innovative operating agreements to attain integrated governance that  optimize  the  performance  of  the  collective  enterprise;
• enabling technology  platforms  that efficiently manage the immense amounts of critical data in order to optimize the knowledge and physical flows that drive value creation; and,
• effective processes that support continuous improvement and creative solutions that optimizes how work is planned, controlled and executed to drive out waste and deliver value (integrated governance, value management, delivery management).

Having the vision and desire to improve outcomes, and launching an LPD program without hesitation but with clear purpose, is often necessary to deliver beneficial change.

Click to tweet: “The desire to improve outcomes & an
LPD program w/ clear purpose is necessary to deliver change”

Industry Example

As  an  example,  Pat  Henderson,  president  of Hardstone Construction Company in Las Vegas, Nevada, sensed the potential risk on his large Tivoli Village at Queensridge Project  was  larger  than  any  one  organization  could  identify,  let  alone  manage.  To assist in identifying this risk, increase owner value, and reduce waste, he embraced several lean principles by creating an integrated virtual design and construction (iVDC) team.

Using Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA solution, the team not only  created  a  clash‐free  3D  model,  but  more  importantly,  by  leveraging  CATIA’s  knowledge  management capabilities, the team was able to drive better solutions to address extensive design changes, optimize system configurations, and support real‐time operations.

The risk Pat believed they would discover materialized as he predicted.  His preparation in assembling an iVDC team that developed production‐based solutions enabled Pat to better manage and mitigate that risk, and ensured the better outcomes he experienced.

Knowledge Flow-Based Construction

This type of knowledge flow‐based construction will dominate the conversation over the next decade. Enterprise 2.0 methodologies will drive digitally connected and highly integrated project communities where:

• 3D will become a universal language for effective communication
• Experiences and knowledge will be shared openly in a 24/7 project ecosystem to increase the speed, quality, and throughput of delivery solution
• Emerging social  software  platforms  designed  for  the  construction  industry  will  become  the  digital environments which contributions and interactions will be globally visible and persistent over time

Fernando Espana, President, Corner Cube, Inc.

To learn more, read the full white paper “Lean Construction ‐ Advanced Project Delivery for the AEC Industry” from Dassault Systèmes’ Value Solution Business Partner CornerCube.

CornerCube is a Dassault Systèmes partner located in the San Francisco Bay area, offering Lean construction solutions, 3D technology solutions, and related technical services to the AEC industry.

Click to tweet this article

Related Resources:

Lean Construction Industry Solution Experience

Lean Construction – Advanced project Delivery for the AEC Industry White Paper

Categories: 3D, Dassault Systèmes, Lean Construction

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 23rd, 2015 at 8:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.