Flow in Takted Projects – A Practical Analysis of Flow and Resource Efficiency

Abstract

In recent years, the methods of Takt Planning and Takt Control (TPTC) have gained significance in construction practice. The foundations for takted construction practices as well as the methods of Takt Planning and Takt Control have been described in numerous papers within the framework of the IGLC (Binninger u. a. 2017a; Frandson u. a. 2013; Frandson und Tommelein 2016; Haghsheno u. a. 2016; Heinonen und Seppänen 2016; Tommelein 2017). One of the primary goals of the methods is to create flow, allowing construction processes to be executed efficiently. In order to investigate the relationship between the methods TPTC and flow in takted construction projects, the issues of how flow is implemented in takted projects during Takt Planning and Takt Control as well as how this affects project participants were discussed. The foundations of the flow production principle were then outlined and an assessment method for determining the quality of flow was devised. The applied approach was based on the book “This is Lean” by Modig und Åhlström (2015). Hereby, workflows were measured from two perspectives and compared using an efficiency matrix. Data from practice in the form of takt plans from 40 takted projects were analyzed and empirically assessed. To date, an assessment of takted projects in relation to workflow has not been completed in any academic study. This paper provides a foundation for further research and sets a standard for assessment of flow in takted projects in real-life practice. This research serves as a pilot study in this field and invites further detailed studies of the characteristics of flow to be conducted in the future.