Visualization of Work Flow to Support Lean Construction

TLDR

Lean construction requires timely information flows and process transparency, which is difficult in construction due to moving crews and changing environments, but computer‑aided visualization tools—especially BIM‑based interfaces—can provide the needed transparency. The authors developed and implemented two BIM‑based prototypes with user interfaces designed to facilitate process flow. The prototypes demonstrate synergy between BIM and lean construction.

Abstract

Implementation of advanced production management techniques, such as lean construction concepts like filtering of work packages to stabilize work flows, pull flow of teams and materials, and in-process quality control, demands effective and timely flows of information both to and from the workface. The key requirement—making the process state transparent to all participants—is more difficult to achieve in construction than in manufacturing, because work crews move continuously within a physical environment that is itself changing. Novel computer-aided visualization tools can fulfill the needs that simpler tools, such as Kanban cards, fulfill in manufacturing. Two prototypes with user interfaces designed to facilitate process flow have been devised and implemented within the context of building information modeling (BIM) software systems. They demonstrate aspects of the synergy between BIM and lean construction. Given the dynamic and dispersed physical environments and the fractured contracting arrangements typical of construction, BIM-based visualization interfaces are important tools for providing process transparency.