Title: Exploration of correct LPS practices in scheduling of large, complex, and constrained construction projects

Authors: Søren Lindhard; Søren Wandahl

Addresses: Department of Mecanical and Manufacturing Engeneering, Aalborg University, Fibigerstræde 16, 9220 Aalborg Ø, Denmark ' Department of Engineering, Aarhus School of Engineering, Aarhus University, Dalgas Avenue 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

Abstract: Last planner system (LPS) is introduced in construction to make the sites lean. LPS has been facing implementation challenges which result in a misused or limited LPS. To compare application with theory, daily application of LPS was monitored at three construction cases. In all cases it was registered that only parts of LPS were applied. When application was compared with theory it was found that some elements were misused. The four main schedules were all applied, but the interactions between the plans did not function. Moreover, the rules of the making-ready process were not observed, and were offered little concern. The result was a low-efficient scheduling tool. To overcome the implementation challenges of LPS the knowledge level first needs to be increased. Furthermore, there is a need for support in the entire organisation. More energy or stubbornness should be put into the implementation to anchor the changes deep into the organisation.

Keywords: last planner system; LPS; scheduling; application; implementation; lean construction; large projects; complex projects; constrained projects; construction projects.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2015.068005

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2015 Vol.7 No.1, pp.56 - 71

Received: 21 Feb 2012
Accepted: 17 May 2012
Published online: 31 Mar 2015 *

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